Choosing the Right Face Cream Picking out the perfect face cream can be an extremely confusing thing! There are so many options, varieties, brands, labels, keywords, recommendations, types, guarantees, promises and advertisements that we are bombarded with every single day so it can be very difficult to decipher which is the best product for your particular needs and skin type. What works for one person may not have any positive effects on another. How to choose the right face cream is largely dependent upon the type of skin you have, what you want from the face cream and how old you are. Of course, it goes without saying that younger skin is very different to older skin and within this variation, skin types differ vastly. Younger Skin Young skin needs relatively little in the way of repair and restorative nutrients. It has suffered relatively little environmental damage and still maintains a high level of natural collagen, elasticity and moisture levels. Problems associated with younger skin usually surround blemishes and flaws as opposed to wrinkles or pigmentation issues. When picking a face cream for young skin it is always best to go for protective products that will target the very early signs of aging and prevent any sun damage or other pollutants from damaging the skin in the future. Oily skin should always go for oil-free products while dry skin needs to be constantly hydrated. A BB cream is a great option for young skin as it combines hydration, coverage, sun protection, nourishment and a dewy complexion without having to resort to heavy foundations or unnecessary supplementary cosmetics. Mature Skin How to choose the right face cream for more mature skin is quite different. Aged skin has extremely different properties than younger skin. It has lost much of its tone, radiance, elasticity and youthful appearance and so restorative and nourishing products are fundamentally important here. How to choose the appropriate product depends on how severely the skin has aged, whether or not it has been very damaged by the sun or even a poor diet. Wrinkles and uneven tone are very common factors of mature skin so choose products that are rich in nutrients, enzymes, collagen, proteins, keratin, vitamins, minerals and other replenishing ingredients. It is also vitally important to pick a cream with an inherent UV protection and a healthy dose of vitamin E which can often be lacking in older skin. There are several brands available that target mature skin and combine a range of specialised ingredients which are designed to target the most common problems of older skin.

How to Manicure at Home Giving yourself a home manicure is a great way of saving money. Manicures are treatments that really require regular, even weekly, updating which adds up to a lot of cost. But most women see it as an essential part of their grooming and look so are not willing to sacrifice their perfectly coiffed nails in order to save the pennies. But there is a compromise in the form of home manicures. By doing it yourself, you get the nails you want while also saving money – the perfect solution! The Initial Problems with a Home Manicure Nail treatments and colours demand a steady hand, the right equipment and more than anything, practise. Home manicures are not something you will be immediately good at upon your first try. It’s hard enough to master the art on someone else let alone doing it to your own hands. There is also the issue of one hand being more dextrous than the other so practise and persistence is certainly required but will pay off in the end. The Basic Components of a Home Manicure To begin, you will need a nail buffer, emery board, cuticle sticks, cuticle lotion, nail varnish remover, cotton wool pads, nail varnish colours – whichever you please, and a bowl of warm water. A clean and even workspace that you are comfortable in, and from which you can easily access all the products that you need, is also essential. Remove any old nail varnish residue with the cotton pad and nail varnish remover. Using an emery board, sand down each nail in a smooth curve and use the buffer to smooth the nail surfaces. Immerse your hands in the bowl of warm water to soften the cuticles and then push them down or remove them completely. This encourages nail growth and also makes for a neater surface. The Finishing Touches Once the grooming process is over, then you can decide if you want to colour your nails. There are so many great options to choose from depending on your taste – a French polish, white tips, completely neutral, bright and neon or even the new stick-on extras that are on trend at the moment. Applying the colour can be tricky, particularly if it is a strong colour but again, this comes with practise. Steady your hand as much as possible and ensure that your hand is over a towel or cloth so that any fallen drops are neatly collected. If more than one coat is needed, ensure that the first coast is completely dry first, as applying a new layer on a damp one can result in clumping and uneven coverage.

If you have tangled, frizzy, lifeless dry hair, you must look for the right products to feed your hair, and which will ascertain that you cam comb through without breaking it. If you take time to take care of your damaged hair, this will make it smoother, silkier, and soft to touch, which will enhance your self-esteem too.

Add moisture to your hair using shea butter

When your hair is brittle and damaged due to dryness deep condition the hair using shea butter, this will give it a boost of life. Many hair specialists concur with the fact that shea butter is great for dry and damaged hair, and you can even treat the hair at home and not have to continue enduring dehydrated hair.

Use leave in conditioners

Regardless of the kind of hair whether natural or relaxed, your dry hair will benefit a lot from using leave in conditioners frequently, especially after every shampoo session. After shampooing and towel drying the hair, apply a medium amount of leave in conditioner into your palm, and massage it into the hair, beginning with the scalp. Then use a wide-tooth comb to untangle the hair gently while ensuring each hair strand receives sufficient conditioning.

Use deep conditioning treatments

Use a deep conditioner at least once a week, after shampooing the hair every 3 to 4 days unless you work in a very dusty or smoky environment, which will demand that you wash the hair every day. Dry hair, needs to retain as much moisture as possible, and washing too much deprives it of the much-needed moisture. After shampooing, apply deep conditioner to the hair working it into all the hair strands and scalp in the best way possible, while ensuring that each strand gets enough of it. Massage it into the hair and scalp, and comb through using a wide-tooth comb, and apply a warm towel to deep condition. Then wait for about 20 – 30 min, remove the towel, rinse and dry the hair using a low heat dryer. Doing this on a weekly basis will ascertain dry hair management and treatment.

Use sun protection on the hair

When going out in the sun use a sun protection leave in conditioner. This will help repair dry hair and even protect it from further damage. On the other hand, you can also spray it with coconut, jojoba or argan oil before you go out in the sun, pool or beach. When you are choosing products to use for your hair, ensure that they have the following ingredients since they contain the essential nutrients to treat dry hair. Biotin that helps the hair grow, Vitamins A, C, B and E, cooper, iron, collagen, amino acids, and zinc oxide.

Enjoying the beautiful fragrance of a perfume can be one of life’s most joyous experiences. If you already have a few favorite aromas, well and good. Most people stick to the fragrances that they already know. But what if you are a newbie and do not know where to start? There are so many types of fragrances out there, that it is easy to get overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. Know What You Like The first thing to do when you want to choose a new perfume is to decide on what you like and what you don’t. For example, do you like floral? If you do, there are two kinds – single floral and floral bouquet. The bouquet is of course a combination of a few flowers, resulting in a rather heavy scent. On the other hand, there is the oriental aroma that is quite ‘animalic’, and the woody aroma dominated by woody scents of sandalwood, cedarwood, and several others. There are a number of other classes of smells, and once you know which category you like, it will be easier to focus on your target scents. Finding Your Signature Scent The reason to choose a new perfume goes beyond the joy that the smell brings to your senses. Your perfume is an extension of your personality. It is your signature feature, something you want people to associate you with. That is why it is important that you take your time when you choose new perfumes. At best, you can try only two different scents in a day, and smelling the two should be done hours apart from each other. By trying more than one smell at one time, you might be blending the scents to create a ‘new’ perfume that does not really exist. Your Nose Might Shut Down Your nose is designed with some smell sensors embedded in it. Unfortunately, the sensors cannot handle many smells at any one time. If you force them to smell beyond their capacity to do so, they might just shut off, leaving you not smelling anything at all. It takes more than half an hour in a no-smell environment to get the sensors working again. That is why some shops provide coffee beans for their customers to sniff on when they choose new perfumes. The beans are supposed to refresh the senses so that you can try a couple more smells before they shut off. This works fine on some people, but not on all. So depending on the strength of your sensors, you might not be able to choose your new perfume effectively in just one day. The effort you take to choose new perfumes is well worth your while, because once you have identified the most suitable perfume for yourself, you will be able to enjoy it for many, many years to come.

Easy Ways to Reduce Cellulite Cellulite is the infliction of most women and the dreaded cottage-cheese look is something most will do anything to avoid or lessen. The lumpy, dimple-infused areas are usually the thighs and buttocks but can actually be anywhere that have a certain amount of fatty deposits such as the arms and stomach. It is certainly a commonly believed assumption that only women with significant weight problems have cellulite but this is not the case. Even thin women can get cellulite though perhaps not to the same extent as an overweight person. Cellulite is basically uneven textures in fatty deposits on the body and there are many things that you can do to reduce it, though it is almost impossible to eliminate completely so make sure that your expectations are realistic! Diet and Exercise Most things boil down to better diet and exercise and cellulite is no different. Reduce cellulite by enhancing your diet to include as much anti-oxidants and nourishing foods as possible. This smoothes out fatty deposits and breaks them down so that areas of cellulite are seen to be more smooth and less lumpy. Foods which are great for this are all types of berries and fruits, avocadoes, nuts, fresh, natural produce and wholegrains. Cutting out as much processed food as possible will do wonders as salt is a big culprit in making cellulite worse. Reduce cellulite easily by flushing out toxins and salt using water and natural juices. Water retention and high levels of salt in the body leads to more pronounced cellulite so simply by drinking more water and reducing processed foods in the diet, you can reduce cellulite easily. Supplementary Products Reduce cellulite even further by investing in a good product that targets cellulite-prone areas. These products usually require the user to apply a cream, serum or lotion into the problem areas regularly over a certain period of time. Alternatively, body-brushing in the shower has been to shown to reduce cellulite easily. This involves a hand-held body brush that you basically brush down your body with, which helps to flush out toxins and promote blood circulation. This simple activity can make a difference as it encourages oxygen flow which in turns breaks down fatty and toxic build up in cellulite-heavy areas. Regular massages are also a great way to improve this condition. Again, by manipulating the skin and encouraging blood flow, cellulite can be improved. There are also a range of innovative and evolving treatments available in beauticians which target cellulite if you have a bigger budget.

The Importance of Sun Protection Everyone knows that it is important to protect yourself from the sun, especially with global warming on the rise. However, there is a long way to go before the general population uses sun protection on a regular basis in their day to day lives. Whilst it is unrealistic to expect people not to tan, there are a number of ways in which to protect yourself from the sun’s harmful UV rays. Ultraviolet light can be extremely harmful to human skin, and if it were not for the Earth’s atmosphere protecting us from approximately 97% of the sun’s heat most living organisms would be in huge trouble. From sun scream to sun glasses, here are a few important tips to help you form a daily sun protection regime. Sun Cream One of the most effective ways of protecting yourself from the sun is by applying sun cream on a daily basis if you know that you are going to be outside. The sun can burn you even on a cloudy day, so it is especially important that young children with delicate skin are properly looked after. Sun cream is ranked by factors, and the higher the factor the more protection you get. For children, it is best to apply sun cream of factor 30 upwards. If you are going to the beach or a river, you may also want to invest in some waterproof cream. Sun protection for children is incredibly important as prolonged exposure to the sun can result in severe forms of skin cancer and other such complications. Cover Up Of course, the best way to protect yourself from the sun is to cover up. Wearing loose fitting linen or cotton clothes will help keep you cool, and a sun hat will help shade your head. Prolonged exposure to the sun can start premature aging in your skin, so to combat the stresses of daily life outdoors invest in a decent face moisturiser to apply every night. Avoid the use of sun beds and instead enjoy the real thing. There are countless horror stories of people receiving severe sun burn from sun beds, and children under 16 should never be permitted to use one. Wear a decent pair of sun glasses which have recognised UV protection. Aside from the practical benefits of helping you to see properly, good sun glasses will protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful UV rays. Having said all this, it is good for you to enjoy the sunshine outdoors so don’t be tempted to stay inside all the time – it is up to you to protect yourself properly.

Choose the Perfect Foundation Cream for Your Skin The vast majority of women use some type of skin cream as a basic primer or foundation for their look. But while many simply go for a recommended brand or an expensive looking product, it is far more important to identify the perfect foundation cream for your individual skin type rather than assuming that a good brand will suit all as this is not the case. Cosmetics like skin creams are made to support the healthy and youthful appearance of skin. If the correct type of product is not used, then the purpose of the cream is bring defeated. Identify your Skin Type One of the very first things to do in order to find a skin cream that will optimise your skin type, is to identify exactly what type of skin you have. The 3 main categories here are oily, dry or combination. It is also worth noting if your skin is sensitive and how old you are. Once you have done this, you may come up with a description like; oily, sensitive and mature or; dry, normal and teenage. Oily and dry descriptors are pretty self-explanatory whereas combination skin usually means that the person has an oily t-zone but is dry in other facial areas. Establish what needs to be Corrected or Helped Once you know your skin type, think about problems you have with your skin. Many common skin-related issues centre on things like enlarged pores, blemishes, uneven tone, wrinkles, dullness or pigmentation. Establishing any such problems will finalise what you need from your skin cream. Typically, those with oily skin should always go for oil-free products as oil blocks pores even further. Those with dry skin should choose extra moisturising properties to balance their skins hydration and prevent dry patches and flaky skin. Finding the Perfect foundation Cream So, now you know what skin type you have and have recognised problems that you need help with. This information is vital in order to find the perfect cosmetic that will protect and perfect your skin while supporting the problematic issues. For example, an individual with oily skin in their early 30s with blemishes should opt for creams that are oil-free and loaded with protective nutrients to fend off early signs of aging. A woman with dry skin in their 50s should choose enhanced moisturising lotions with wrinkle-fighting ingredients and a wealth of sun protection properties. A final thing to consider is day or night cream. Day products should always include UV protection while night creams should act to restore and replenish the skins natural properties.