beautygeeks

I’m pretty sure everyone knows of the Marcelle brand of skincare and cosmetics. They’ve been a drugstore staple for as long as I remember, definitely since I was a teenager. Yes, that was only last month, but no matter Read the rest of this entry »

As soon as I find out someone has oily skin (yes, I do that quite often), I tell her she needs M.A.C Blot Powder pressed powder. Oh goodness, I just realized that’s exactly what happens. I don’t ask whether she uses it, I tell her she must. Well so she should. Men, too. Read the rest of this entry »

I thought I made my wardrobe work hard, what with my unceasing demands that it make my Tweedledee figure-type look good. SunSoul ups the ante by promising to make skin look good, in a new-millennia having-your-colours-done* kind of way.

In basic terms, part of the theory behind SunSoul is that high-intensity blue light treats and prevents acne breakouts, and yellow light reduces skin damage. The company’s two lines of clothing, Blumöd for acne aid and Yelomöd for skin rejuvenation, use techno-geeky fluorescent microfibre fabric designed to block and convert the sun’s harmful rays as it magnifies good-for-skin sections of the light spectrum. Specific blue and yellow pigments filter UV waves as the density of the weave delivers an Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) of 50+. (Yes, you still need SPF on skin not covered by the clothes.) Just choose the colour to suit your needs: blue to improve breakouts or yellow to reduce signs of skin aging.

Lightweight and breathable, both lines of clothing are appropriately athletic in design and offer long- and short-sleeve tees as well as hats, caps and visors. Pricing ranges from $70 for a visor to $140 for a long-sleeve top.

Clothes that improve skin with just a few worn-in-the-sun hours per week? Sounds all science-fiction-y, doesn’t it? I thought so as well until I checked the website to find out who’s behind this. Turns out the chair of the management team is a Dr. Michael Kreindel, who is crediting as having invented some of today’s popular laser treatments, such as IPL (Intense Pulsed Light, which reduces sun damage) and ELOS (a radiofrequency-and-light technology). As well, high-profile Toronto-based dermatologist Dr. Stephen Mulholland is part of the SunSoul team.

Think about it. If SunSoul does as it promises, we can go into the light. I’ll have to work hard to get over one big problem, though: Fluorescent yellow is just not my colour.

SunSoul is available at www.sunsoul.com or via 1.866.414.7685.

* For you young’uns who don’t know what having your colours done means, it’s an ’80s craze with a good heart: a professional analyses your colouring — hair, skintone, eyes — to determine what makeup and clothing colours flatter you best.

Okay, so I’m not the quickest person in the bathroom in the morning — or ever for that matter. Good thing I don’t have to share. (Clive-O has his own place across the pond. Keeps the romance alive.) Still, I do appreciate a time saver in my A.M. routine. Dermalogica Age Smart Skin Resurfacing Cleanser hits the mark by cutting out my need for a separate exfoliant.

Exfoliation is key to keeping most skin types clear, bright and youthful. Got dry skin? Slough off the flakes and your skin will absorb moisturizer better. Prone to breakouts of uncomplicated acne? Regular gentle exfoliation to remove oily build-up and debris will help prevent eruptions. Dull complexion? Yup, it’s layers of dead cells lazing about on your face like teenagers sleeping in on a weekend, and it’ll get worse — the skin’s natural shedding process slows considerably as we age. Routine exfoliation picks up the slack and encourages faster cell renewal, which leads to a smoother, brighter complexion.

Dermalogica Age Smart Skin Resurfacing Cleanser ($45.50) gets rid of lollygagging dead cells as it cleanses thoroughly. Instead of scrubby beads or grains, lactic acid (an alpha-hydroxy acid) does the work in a non-drying formula gentle enough to use twice a day on my slightly sensitive skin. The product info promises a noticeable difference in smoothness and brightness after just one use, but I’m a regular-exfoliation geek, so my gauge was whether my skin would remain smooth if I swapped my usual face wash and exfoliant for Skin Resurfacing Cleanser. My skin actually feels smoother — whoa.

And of course because I exfoliate regularly, I use moisturizer with SPF 15 or higher every morning and stay out of the sun as much as possible. Removing dead layers from the skin gives a girl a fresh complexion, but also makes her more susceptible to sun damage if she doesn’t use protection.

If only I could figure out what to do with all that extra time I’m saving every morning.

Dermalogica Age Smart Skin Resurfacing Cleanser is available at select spas and salons; visit www.dermalogica.com to find a retailer near you.

There are ways to put the prettiest flush in your cheeks and there are ways to put the prettiest flush in your cheeks. I choose Benefit Posietint. It’s that good.

Enough said if you’re a Benetint fan. But if the term “cheek stain” makes you twitch or back away, would it help if I said the colour and texture would make you look younger?

Let’s pause for a TIP: Cheek stain can sound scary, particularly if you have dry skin. “Work quickly,” we’re told. But you don’t have to break the sound barrier to rub it in. All “work quickly” means is apply and blend on one cheek, then apply and blend on the other. If your skin’s dry, just moisturize cheeks lightly before hitting the bottle. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve decided Fridays should be for posts about things that start with F. Fun. Frivolous. Freaky. Fitness. Fashion. Fierce… well, you get the idea. Today it’s about LookFab. Or free! if you wanna get persnickety.

If you live in downtown Toronto or are planning on trekking in over the weekend, stop in at 144 Bloor St. W and take a little a tour of the LookFab space. You’ll meet four different beauty stations, each of which addresses specific beauty areas such as hair, face, cosmetics or body. Young, perky, pretty things will tell you all about shower gel, moisturizer, foundation and more; take no notice that they’re in fact a bit young for some of the skincare products. What does it matter when you’ll exit with a freebie-bag of stuff like Venus Divine shower gel, the new Venus Embrace razor (which rocks), and a Cover Girl Lash Blast mascara (the big orange one Drew Barrymore’s all about; it also rocks) to try out at home? In fact it’s a chance to see how it feels to be a beauty editor for a few minutes.

Get the feeling by 5:30 pm on Sunday, though — that’s the last day for the Toronto location. Calgary is the next stop, from May 22nd to June 5th.

And isn’t persnickety a fantastic word? Even if it doesn’t start with F?

I’m not a fan of suntanning. Not just because I’d rather buy a leather handbag than become one, but because my sensitive, burns-easily skin doesn’t much like the feel of direct sunlight. Too hot. So I have a bit of added incentive to slather on SPF (it seems to lessen the feeling of the heat on my skin).

Of course I am a fan of looking younger than my years. Genetics play a part, but staying out of the sun does, too. I love the shady side of the street.

And I’m a fan of not developing melanoma. So is Marcia Cross, the milky-skinned star of “Desperate Housewives” and spokesperson for Skin Cancer Takes Friends, an Olay-sponsored national awareness campaign to educate on the subject of sun protection. Two of her family members had melanoma; you can read more on that on the site.

I figure learning our young-uns about SPF is the route to take. I’ve told my friends, Kata, 12, and Marissa, 13, to visit the site. Sure there’s a pretty little bracelet bonus to be had if they send an e-card from skincancertakesfriends.ca to 10 of their friends, but they stand to learn something along the way, no?