BLOG
2015 Skincare Favorites
Now that the year is coming to an end, it's time for my annual round-up of the products that I used this past year. Here is a list of my 2015 skincare favorites. These products either made the biggest impact on my skin (outstanding results) or products that I especially enjoyed using (e.g. great texture, comfort, ease of use, packaging, scent, etc). This list does not include samples (for example, foil packets or sample-sized tubes/jars) that I tried. Everything here is new except for a few old favorites that are so outstanding, I had to mention them again (noted with an asterisk *). You'll notice [...]
Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays!⭐ Merry Christmas!🎄 Wishing all of you well! Here's a #winterwonderland if you're missing snow.❄☃ I actually am, in spite of being a weather wimp. The weather is getting crazier. It's an unseasonable 72 degrees here on the East Coast. I'm wearing a short sleeve shirt instead of a thick sweater. 😅 Isn't this a lovely scene though? Wish we still did things like this. And I wish I were outside skating myself. Figure skating is one of my loves 🙂 Best wishes and take care wherever you are right now! Photo: Claus Hoie, Skating On Town Pond, 2003, watercolor, East Hampton [...]
Lira Clinical Anti-Aging Treatments For A Special Person
Lira Clinical anti-aging treatments for a special someone in my life - my mother ❤ For Christmas 🎄, she's getting these products that I recently tried and love. She's already a fan of the Vitamin C serums, Lite Serum, and Lift Creme, so I'm pretty sure she'll like these too: ⭐FIRMING SERUM - The open jar with CLEAR product in the center. This is a liquid serum in a pump jar. Unusual packaging for a serum. Fantastic idea. It pumps out exactly what you need - not too little and not too much. And of course, it's great for keeping [...]
EYE TIP – If Your Eyes Get Irritated Easily, Try This Simple Tip
Do your eyes get irritated easily? Before you assume a product is irritating for your eyes, try this eye tip: Apply your eye cream with a DIFFERENT FINGER or the OPPOSITE HAND than the finger/hand you use to apply other products. A hidden source of irritation is accidental transfer. If you apply a serum or cream that has exfoliating ingredients or other "active" substances to your face, the residue of that product is still on your fingers. If you use those same fingers to apply eye cream afterwards, you can transfer that residue to your eyes. I did this [...]
My Routine For Preventing Acne Scars And Dark Spots
Two weeks ago, the Skin Gods decided to put a gigantic cystic pimple on my cheek. They must've felt like challenging me, because it has been a challenge to say the least. I call it the runaway pimple because it was enormously inflamed, and it wasn't easy bringing it down. I wrote extensively about treating that cyst in my last post. Today, let me show you some of those products for preventing acne scars and dark spots. The cyst is healing fine. The huge bump has largely subsided and shrunk in height and width. Now there's just a small dark red spot with a bump. [...]
Treating A Cyst – A Classic Case of Adult Hormonal Acne
An unexpected guest arrived on my cheek last week - a giant pimple. But this time, it was more than just your ordinary pimple. The skin under the pimple felt hard and there was a large bump. The size of the bump was larger than the actual pimple. I felt some pain in the area. What was going on? A massive ball of inflammation, sebum, and dead skin had blown up inside the follicle (pore), creating a cystic type of pimple. Today's article is about treating a cyst and understanding why it forms in the first place. If you understand why it happens, you [...]
An Easy Step To Skip – My Masking Habits And Tips For Easier Masking
It's been a while since I've given myself one of these. When you get busy, it's easy to skip the 'non-essential' steps in skincare. But it's a holiday weekend, and I plan to catch up on masking! Getting a relaxing, professional facial at a spa is a wonderful treat. Of course, it's a luxury service for many of us. But you can achieve very similar benefits at home. Masking is one of the steps of a spa facial that is easy to replicate at home. All you need is 30 minutes of uninterrupted, quiet time, your hands, an exfoliant, and a [...]
Happy Thanksgiving – Eat The Rainbow For The Holidays
Happy Thanksgiving! Here's some healthy food inspiration for the holidays. A salad of roasted baby carrots, beets, Swiss chard, and pine nuts. Orange, purple, and green. A treat not just for the eyes, but for every inch of skin 🙂 The only rule about food I bother to remember is this - eat the rainbow! Eat this, eat that. This has A and B and will cure X. That has C and D and will prevent Y. Too much to remember! The study of nutrition is always evolving. And lacking in conclusive evidence for all the benefits you read about in the [...]
How Wrinkles Form & What You Can Do
We all know what wrinkles look like. Especially if we have them on our face and body. But do you know why you get them? I thought it'd be useful to dig into the anatomy of wrinkles. If you understand how wrinkles form, you will be more savvy about what can and cannot be done to improve them. With so many wrinkle creams and serums claiming to reverse wrinkles, it's tough to know what can realistically be achieved. I think most of us are skeptical of lofty claims, and rightly so. I don't even read marketing copy anymore. They all say the same thing [...]
AM Anti-Aging Routine For Autumn – Layering & Spot Treating Explained In Detail
This was my morning skincare routine today. It's all explained in detail here. Even if you don't have the same skin type or issues as me, or prefer to use other brands, I go over how I layer my products (the sequence and rationale for each step), how I spot treat my different issues, and essential steps that you should be following regardless of your skin type. Plus I comment on why I like these products. This is an AM anti-aging routine for autumn weather for a Normal skin type with the following skin conditions: hyperpigmentation on the cheeks fine lines around eyes loss of firmness [...]