Leavin' on a jet plane...

Hey all!
So I am off for a little R&R and my blog will be kind of quiet this week - sorry! I promise to resurface next week when I am sure I will have some sort of crazy Valentine's day commentary!

But for today I leave you with a note on something that is sadly too big to bring on a plane, but is the perfect moisture pick me up for your skin- in the air or just about town....

Clinique Moisture Surge Face Spray Thirsty Skin Relief - $20 (Clinique counters and Sephora nationwide, online at Clinique.com)

Okay - I am seriously in love with this spray. I have forever been looking for something that could deliver a shot of moisture to my sad winter skin (we have little bottles of hand lotion everywhere but try to apply your regular face moisturizer over your make-up and you have one hot mess!)

This spray has finally stepped up to the task of being my on-the-go face moisturizer. You can use it underneath or on top of make-up and you can use it as much as your little heart desires. It delivers just the right amount of moisture to help out when needed and it will not ruin or streak any make-up genius you have going on.

I love it and will definitely be fishing it out of my checked bag as soon as I get off the plane tomorrow!

Keep looking fabulous,
BGND

Product of the week - January 13th, 2009

Okay, I know it is not Thursday. But as I sit here with a sore nose once again this season (seriously- how did I go years without one cold and so far already have three this year?! I guess I was due...), I was overwhelmingly thankful once again for a very simple product in my life.

What product you ask would cause me such happy moment in a time when the skin around my nose (and under it) is red, peeling, itchy and just generally unpleasant?

Petroleum Jelly (aka Vaseline) - $2.00 to $4.00 (depending on brand and size), Drugstores nationwide

Now perhaps you are scoffing at my POTW this week. Maybe you consider it some old fashioned relic of another time and think why would I ever have this next to my lovely creams and potions? Because it works. Very well. For many many things. For example, whenever a cold strikes and I am blowing my nose roughly 256 times a day, nothing is as soothing to the overused area as a thin coat of Petroleum jelly. It soothes, it protects and no it does not clog the pores in the area. When my hands get really dry and crack in the winter? Once again, petroleum jelly to the rescue. What if my lips are chapped? Or if I have run out of eye make-up remover? Stretch marks? Sensitive baby skin?

The list goes on and on.

Now some simply called petroleum jelly "Vaseline", a brand name just like "Kleenex" for a tissue. If you are a "Vaseline" person go for it, but know that for the most part a simple generic is the same in the this case and half the price. In fact, the jumbo jar in my cabinet? Target brand of course.

It is cheap. It works. You will be SO grateful to have it around when you least expect it. Go get some and survive winter and every other season!

Keep looking fabulous,

BGND

P.S. Just because this is hilarious:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOR4qekHWlA

Happy New Year!

Hello my faithful BGND readers! It is 2009 (wow!) and I am back and ready to attack any and all skin care and make-up issues anew. My apologies to the lack of posts for the end of December...between the holidays and a nasty little spyware virus that sunk it's teeth into my computer (and had it out of commission for roughly two weeks), I had no way to post. But I am back and I am here with something humbling for the new year.

What you ask? What new foot am I starting out on for 2009?

A retraction of sorts- gasp!

That's right ladies and gents, a product (or product type I should say) has worked it's way back into my good graces. And what is it?

Toner!

I don't know about all of you but I have been having some WEIRD winter skin woes. Isn't acne supposed to be worse in the summer and not in the winter? I mean by all general knowledge one would think that sweaty summer heat + gunky lotion + sunscreen would ultimately top cold outdoor wind + drying indoor heat when it comes to the clogging pores equation. Well the truth is- often times in winter our skin is worse. The reason? Exfoliation! We forget that even ravaged winter skin has dead skin cells that need to be cleared so our skin can breathe and regenerate just like our summer skin does. But because we are so afraid of over drying and stripping skin of any natural oil in the winter, we often do not exfoliate enough.

So in my current state I sought out some new advice for my newly minted skin exfoliation issues.

Little did I know that the product most derms recommend for fixing the winter exfoliation issue is toner! If you use the right toner, you will gently remove the excess skin that has built up but still baby your skin the way it needs to be babied in winter.

I set out to use my holiday time as a 7 day trial run - sort of my own toner test. The product? Good old reliable Clinique Toner #2. I used it religiously morning and night for one week, and continued with the rest of my skin care routine as usual. The results? Happy, glowing, less clogged skin! Not only that, I looked and felt smoother and my pesky forehead fine lines even seemed diminished.

So there you have it, I am back on the toner train - at least for the winter months. Perhaps when the weather gets better I will return to my old toner-free practices, but for now- I am loving it!!

Keep looking fabulous in 2009!

BGND

P.S. I still stand by my original post that toner is not for everyone. I only sought it out because I was having a particular issue. If your skin is fine and you already have an exfoliating treatment in your skin-care routine do not rush to add toner. You don't want to over -do anything and end up with a raw face. But if you are interested in trying toner, go gently and work your way up to the toner strength that works for you!

Vote your way to moisture!

Happy election day BGND readers! Hopefully you have all gone out there and done your civic duty (whether your blood runs blue or red). I have a feeling that some of you had to stand outside waiting in line or even more likely, walk a bit to your polling place? And I bet the weather at your polling place was one of three options depending on what part of the country you live in. 1)Cold and blustery, 2) cold and clear or 3) dry and clear. Now, just like that "I Voted" sticker is displaying your patriotic spirit, your skin is showing the effect of today's election and the weather you faced to cast your ballot. So in this post, I am finally going to address the TON of mail that I have received about the effects of winter weather on our poor faces. (I recently addressed dry skin on the body (see the post from 10/30/08) but today, the face is front and center.)

We all know winter skin is different from summer skin. And often times it seems like as soon as we get one skin care routine down pat, the seasons change and we are faced with a whole mess of new skin irritations to deal with. To clear up some of the confusion and help you survive the gray months, the following is my list of winter skin MUSTS...things that will not only help your skin during the dry and/or cold winter, but will allow you to come out ready to rock some glowing skin come spring.

1) Exfoliation is not just for summer

Just because your skin is dry and patchy, maybe even irritated, it does not mean you should stop exfoliating. Now, don't go crazy with super harsh scrubs because they can make things worse but use a creamy scrub that will allow for the cell turnover you need during this time of the year but won't cause any more redness than you already have thanks to the elements. If you don't exfoliate, all those sad, dull, dry skin cells will just sit on the surface of your face, making things worse than they already are.

2) Winter is not another term for "no sunscreen months"

NOPE. Don't even think it. Ever gotten burned on an overcast day? You always need sun protection and just because the sun isn't beating down doesn't mean those pesky UVA and UVB rays aren't sneaking through.

3) Winter clothes, winter moisturizer?

One common winter mistake is that people switch to a winter cream but do not go with the right one. I have seen 25 year old girls buying cream designed for mature skin just because they want something super thick and hydrating. You have to make sure that what you are using is right for your unique set of problems, and not just something that looks heavy duty. Always make sure it still has the ingredients you need but doesn't conflict with anything else you may be doing. So if for instance you are someone with dry winter skin that is noticeable flaky or irritated, look at what you have been using in the summer months - see what the ingredients are and they try to find a creamy or richer version of that. This will usually do the trick. You will be moisturized but not missing or conflicting with any of your other regimen steps. A good example of this kind of "step-up" would be the Clinique moisturizers. They offer many that come in different moisturizing strengths..so if you are someone who generally uses their Oily skin level, drop to the more hydrating combination skin level and see if that extra surge of moisture does the trick. It usually will and you will still be getting all the good things you need into your skin.

(A side note on this, if you are not using a serum- please start. It truly is the first step in getting nutrients into your skin and sealing in moisture. A good serum can make more difference than any different or new moisturizer could. That may be all the switch or winter upgrade you need. More on this in tomorrow's blog post.)

So all, whether or not your candidate wins today - at least your skin will look winning!

Keep looking fabulous!

BGND