It seems we’re always looking for a quick fix or a miracle product to make our skin appear healthy and youthful. Though it’s true that some products and procedures can improve the appearance of your skin, there is no miracle product that will erase time’s effects on your skin. The best method to slow down the effects of time is prevention. Keeping your skin youthful by living a healthy lifestyle and taking care of yourself will keep you from needing costly procedures that can be damaging to your skin. The following is a list of tips to help you prevent unnecessary aging and keep your face looking healthy, firm and glowing.

Focus Areas for Great Skin

On a daily basis, most of us focus on our face more than anything else. Our makeups have SPF added, we wear hats to shade our faces from the sun, we apply night cream to our faces at night. But, what do we do for our other high-exposure areas? Nothing. That’s why they say you can tell a person’s true age by looking at their hands and neck. The hands, neck and chest are often the first areas to show signs of aging. They are exposed to the sun as much as your face and are usually neglected when we moisturize and apply sun protection.

Face

Chances are, you already have a face routine in place. I’ve provided a daily routine below for you to consult to make sure you’re not forgetting anything when you care for your skin each day. The main things to remember are:
Washing: Make sure to wash your face with a gentle facial cleanser each day.
Exfoliate: Exfoliate once a week with a product that contains alpha hydroxy or another dermabrasion to cleanse your face of dead skin and smooth uneven patches.
Moisturize: Moisturize in the morning and at night (more on this below).
SPF: For everyday wear, make sure your lotion or face makeup has at least an SPF 15. If you will be in the sun for an extended period of time (longer than going from your car to a building), apply a stronger SPF that is made for your skin.

Hands

We often neglect our hands simply because we use them so often. Applying an SPF once in the morning seems like it would help, but as soon as you wash your hands, you’re back to square one. If you spend any amount of time at all in the sun, apply SPF to your hands after each washing. This sounds tedious, but it’s the same as applying moisturizer to dry hands in the Winter, right? Many brands are starting to make a hand-lotion that contains sunscreen.

Neck and Chest

I am very guilty of neglecting my neck and chest. After a few Summer days of working in the garden, my neck and chest (and shoulders) are definitely the first to show signs of sun exposure. Since my face lotion contains SPF, I always think I’m fine. So, what SHOULD I be doing? Each time you wash and moisturize your face, you should also attend to your neck and chest. There is no need to get a special product made exclusively for these areas. Your face products are perfect.

Lifestyle Tips to Keep Skin Healthy

Living a healthy lifestyle will make you feel better on a day to day basis, have more energy and look better, too! In addition to your waistline, your skin is one of the first areas to show how well you’re taking care of yourself.

Water

We’re always hearing how important it is to drink plenty of water each day. Drinking plenty of water keeps your skin hydrated, glowing and elastic. Water also works to flush out toxins that can be damaging to your overall appearance. How much water should you drink? Stick with the 8 glasses rule. If you live in a dry climate or are susceptible to dry skin, you may want to drink more. Another rule of thumb I’ve heard is to take your weight and half it. That is the number of ounces of water you should drink each day.

Sun Exposure

Sleep

‘Beauty Sleep’ isn’t a myth. Getting plenty of sleep really does help keep your skin looking healthy and fresh. While you sleep, your body works to repair the damage you did to it throughout the day. Getting too little sleep will make your skin dull, pale and puffy.

Exercise

Getting a fair amount of exercise (at least 30 minutes 4 times a week) not only makes your body healthier, it results in healthy skin as well. Exercise increases blood flow and releases toxins, both great for skin elasticity and glowing complexions.

Foods for Healthy Skin

Eating well can make a huge difference in the health and longevity of your skin. The most important vitamins for your skin are A, C and E (Just remember FACE without the F). Look for those in the foods you eat and in the moisturizers you put on your face. Eating poorly and depriving your body of the vitamins it needs is like starving your skin, making it appear dry, dull and older looking.

Leafy Greens

Leafy greens are rich in Vitamin A which help keeps skin cells healthy.

Citrus

Citrus keeps our levels of Vitamin C high, important for the creation of collagen.

Avocados, Sweet Potatoes

Avocados and Sweet Potatoes are great sources of Vitamin E which prevents water loss.

Berries

Berries are rich in antioxidants, necessary to flush our bodies of toxins that can damage the skin. Antioxidants also help protect the skin from sun damage.

Fish, Flaxseed

Fish and flaxseed are high in Omegas 3, 6 and 9 which are what create healthy cell membranes. Basically, if you have healthy cell membranes, more water will remain in your skin and your skin will look younger and fuller.

Whole Grains

Whole grains, particularly whole wheat, contain Selenium. Selenium makes your skin more resilient against damage from sun and other environmental factors.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal contains Gamma Linolenic Acid. ‘What’s that’ you ask? GLA is an essential fat that depletes as we get older. It works to restore the skins plumpness and elasticity and is found almost exclusively in oatmeal.

Green Tea

Green tea is a great anti-inflammatory. If you’re someone who experiences puffiness, try having a cup of green tea each day.

Vitamin Supplements

Eating well is definitely important, but we don’t always get adequate levels of the vitamins we need from food alone. That’s why it’s a safe bet to take supplements as well. A multi-vitamin will probably cover your bases, but you’ll probably need to also take a fish oil supplement to get your Omega 3 and 9 fix.

Moisturize to Keep Skin Looking Young

Now that we’ve talked about nourishing your skin from the inside out, let’s focus on surface level solutions. Moisturizing your skin at least twice a day is so important. Remember your grandma’s cold cream routine? She was onto something (but she probably didn’t use enough sunscreen).

Morning

In the morning, apply a light moisturizer that contains at least SPF 15. Follow with a moisture-rich eye cream. Apply with the ring finger and tap eye cream all around the eye to hydrate this delicate area.

Night

For night, apply a thicker cream that will firm and hydrate as you sleep. Use eye cream again here, but you can wear a thicker one since you won’t be applying makeup.

Balance

The main thing to keep in mind as you work with your skin is to find a balance between oiliness and dryness. Find lotions that help you maintain a balance.

Daily Routine for Healthy, Glowing Skin

To Have Younger Looking Skin, Prevention is Key!

If you’re 18 or 48, prevention is key to achieving and maintaining healthy looking skin. Eat well, sleep well, exercise well, apply that sunscreen and dote on your skin (including your hands, neck and chest). You’ll be happy you did!

What do you think of these tips?
What do you do to take care of your skin? Any homemade remedies or practices that you’ve found make a huge difference?

These jeans are so amazingly cute for Summer, I wish I had all 6 pairs. Instead of dropping a ton of dough though, I tried the polishes instead. First, I tried the light orange called ‘In My Back Pocket’. Usually a pink or nude girl, I loved being a little daring with this neon shade. And, I received tons of compliments. It’s a striking color that definitely draws attention to your digits. Next, I’m going for the purple, ‘A Grape Fit!’. I tried it on one of my nails when I was at the salon the other day and decided I definitely need to go for it! ‘No Room For The Blues’ might be a good option for Fourth of July pedis. Or, if you’re not feeling the bright crayon colors, go with the more neutral taupe, ‘Over the Taupe’. Gotta love new shades for Summer!

I figured I should go ahead and write a review about these products since I’ve basically been a walking commercial to my friends lately.


I have to preface this post by saying these are not products I would usually try. I am a salon shampoo kind of gal, hopelessly devoted to Aveda, Bed Head and Pureology products. So, when two great friends gifted me Victoria’s Secret So Sexy Shampoo and Conditioner for Dry and Damaged Hair, I was grateful but skeptical.


One of my friends had used it before and said the smell was fantastic. I figured anything that aromatic must be filled with perfumes which are usually damaging to your hair. So, I didn’t have high hopes for these products.


A few days later, I decided to try them. The first thing I loved was the smell! It is not too overpowering and complements other lotions and perfumes well. Then, that day, I had about 5 compliments about my hair. People kept asking if I’d gotten my hair cut or deep conditioned. All I’d done was use a new shampoo and conditioner. My hair was shiny, full and unusually tame.


My hair was so soft, I figured it would get greasy sooner than usual. Not so. I was able to go just as long between washes as when I used other products.


I’ve now used So Sexy for about 2 months. I just had my hair done last week and my stylist commented on how healthy my hair was. My hair has always been healthy and I wouldn’t usually buy products for ‘Dry and Damaged Hair’, but these products have done such great things for my hair, I wonder what I ever did without them! I’ve always seen commercials for Pantene, etc. and longed for shiny, bouncy hair like the models in the ads. This is, by far, the closest I’ve come.


Lucky for you (and me since I’m nearing the end of my bottles), these products are on sale 3/$24 now. I think I might try the hairspray as well this time.


Have you ever used Victoria’s Secret hair products? Which ones and what did you think?

Celebrities Wearing Lavender Eyeshadow

Katie Holmes wore lavender shadow earlier this year for the premiere of her hubby’s movie, Valkyrie. She chose to wear the shadow on her upper lid only, paired with heavy eyeliner and thick mascara.


January Jones applied lavender shadow all the way around her eyes for the Producer’s Guild Awards.

How To Wear Lavender Eyeshadow

Simple

Using a quality shadow brush, apply lavender shadow to the lid and into the crease. Apply the shadow evenly. For a slight shadow, use a crease brush to apply just a touch more shadow in the crease at the outside corner of the eye. Follow with heavy eyeliner or no eyeliner, depending on your look and finish with mascara.

Glam

Using a shadow brush, apply lavender shadow to the lid and into the crease. Apply the shadow evenly. Take a crease brush and apply shadow under the eye, connecting the shadow line at both corners of the eye. Follow with heavy eyeliner to the outside corner of the top lid and heavy mascara.

Lavender Eyeshadow Recommendations

Shown: Smashbox Spellbound (worn by the model shown above), MAC Idol Eyes, MAC Beautiful Iris


Also check out Bobbi Brown’s long wear gel eyeliner in Violet Ink.


Any of these quality shadows will work well to help you achieve the look. If you choose another shadow, make sure it has a bit of shimmer and is a nice, bright lavender.

Do you like the lavender eyeshadow trend?