Beauty Tips Blog

Ole Henriksen of Denmark is as famous for his day spa on Sunset Boulevard, LA as his beauty products. His eponymous line includes the bestselling roll-on blemish attack for oily and blemish-prone skin, which has benzoyl peroxid, salicylic acid and zine, a triple pimple-fighting combination. It’s a powerful formula that banishes bacteria. Ole Henriksen blemish attack purifying mask is a new addition to his blemish attack line. Purifying clay lifts impurities off the skin. Used twice weekly, it removes excess oil and prevents breakouts. Blemish attack daily defense gel with aloe vera is another new product worth trying. It has lactic acid and glycolic acid promotes cell renewal and evens out skin tone.

Let’s talk nutrition for a moment. A lot of people got over their South Beach Diet phase, which went on for a while. For some, it probably wasn’t so easy to stick to, but for others, maybe it was just more expensive. But you have to admit, SBD has its good points. One of them was that you could go snacking. Healthily, of course. Never have pizzas and pudding cups been better for you. Kraft’s South Beach Diet line still has lots of yummy bars and snacks without going overboard on calories and sugar. High on protein, fiber and flavor—an awesome combination.

Say your BFF is not exactly the girly girl but you want to give her a beauty product as a gift. Tall order? Not with Urban Decay. These two products need no wrapper and no lengthy apology. Choose of three lip potions and store it in this limited edition silver-plated ring. Poison Ring comes in a gorgeous purple faux snakeskin box lined with black velour. Did we say rocker chick? There is no gift (in the beauty section, at least) quite like it. Commando’s dog tag packaging is for the camouflage-wearing army girl. Inside are two lip glosses, Naked XXX Shine Cooling Lip Gloss and O Ultraglide Lip Gloss, leaving no excuses for dry lips in the battlefield. The adjustable chain makes it good for the bar and the barracks.

Self-tanners can suck moisture off skin, leaving it parched and dry. To remedy this, many skincare brands have developed self-tanning moisturizers, among them Jergens, Neutrogena, L’Oreal, Dove and Coppertone. Most complaints come from the unpleasant self-tanner smell and the stains some products leave on clothes. As an alternative, you can also combine self-tanner and lotion or moisturizer in your hand before applying. This produces just a hint of color that looks natural and won’t streak the way tanning lotions do. Whatever you use, unless they’re Neutrogena and Jergens with SPF 20, don’t forget to use sunblock as moisturizer or self-tanner alone won’t protect you from harmful UV rays.

Alright, alright. It was designed with makeup artists in mind. But it's hard not to gush over Ólafur Ómarsson's MixUp, a ceramic palette for mixing makeup color on one's hand. The white plate is attached and secured to the hand using velcro and can be removed and replaced easily. It frees up the artist's hands and provides plenty of room of whatever pigments you need to combine. Think of natural-looking, glowing skin as the finished canvas, masterpieces in their own right. Who wouldn't want that? Now if only we could go to Iceland...

Image from omarsson.com

If it’s been a while since you last updated your makeup kit, here’s a good addition to your collection: cream blush. No brushes needed, just a touch on the cheeks using your fingers is enough to give you that natural sun-kissed look. A great thing about cream blush is that it’s handy to bring along for quick touch-ups.

A lot has been said about DuWop Blush Therapy and makes it worth mentioning. It’s in stick form for easy application without any mess. Nearly all the makeup brands have joined the cream blush bandwagon, so there’s a great selection in practically as many shades as powder blush.