BEAUTY WITH NICOLE - BB CREAM

BB Cream

Have you discovered BB cream yet? What are you waiting for? BB cream has become a working woman’s best friend, a one-and-done product that eliminates the need for many other skin care products.

BB is short for “blemish” or “beauty” balm. Think it’s only a tinted moisturizer? Think again. BB cream is an all-in-one skin hydrator, primer, foundation, and sunscreen. Some BB creams also contain caffeine and antioxidants that will help tighten and rejuvenate your skin.

BB creams are now available from many cosmetic manufacturers. You’re bound to find one that best suits both your skin and your budget.

BEAUTY WITH NICOLE-- THE PERFECT MAKE-UP MATCH

If you’re pinching pennies like I am, you probably can’t afford department store cosmetics any more. But how do you keep from wasting money by buying the wrong shade? Today beauty editor Nicole Emmerling comes to the rescue. -- AP

That’s right, Anastasia! Have I got a secret for you! Department store cosmetic counters will let you try before you buy, but that’s not the case when you buy your cosmetics at one of the big box stores such as Target or any of the drug store chains.

So here’s what you do --

Go to your favorite department store and sample shades until you find what you want. Remember the product name and color. Don’t feel guilty about not purchasing anything. People sample without buying all the time.

When you get home, go onto Beauty Matchmaker at the L’Oreal website. Select the cosmetics category, then the brand you chose,  the product, and the shade. The website will generate the equivalent L’Oreal color for you.

Prefer Cover Girl products? Go to the Cover Girl website to find the right Cover Girl shade to match the department store brand.

Wow! What a great tip, Nicole! Thanks for sharing. Readers, do you have any beauty tips you’d like to share? Let’s hear from you. -- AP

BEAUTY WITH NICOLE-- MAKE-UP BRUSH CARE

Beauty editor Nicole Emmerling has some tips today for caring for and extending the life of your make-up brushes. -- AP

Thanks, Anastasia! Many of us have moved away from cosmetic wedges and are now using brushes to apply everything from foundation to powder to lipstick to liner and shadow. Good make-up brushes can be pricey, so you want to treat them with care. If you don’t, you’ll be replacing them often.

Here are some tips that will help extend the life of those brushes:

For brushes where you change color often (eye shadow, liner, and lip brushes), you’re going to need to remove the color after each use. The easiest way to do this is to place a moist paper towel in the palm of your hand. With the brush in your other hand, twirl the brush around the paper towel until you’ve removed all the color. Place the brush on a clean towel to dry.

With repeated use, bacteria and oils will build up on make-up brushes. To sanitize your brushes use a make-up brush cleaner every week or two. Follow the directions on the brush cleaner.

Every few months you want to give your brushes a deeper cleansing. Wet the bristles with warm water and massage a small amount of your face cleanser into a lather. Swish the brushes around in warm water to rinse off the cleanser. Use your fingers to squeeze out any excess water from the bristles and reshape them. Place on a clean towel to dry.

Hmm…sounds quite similar to the way I care for my watercolor brushes. Thanks, Nicole! Readers, do you have any similar tips you’d like to share with us? Let’s hear from you! Post a comment to win a book from our Book Club Friday guest author. -- AP

BEAUTY WITH NICOLE-- MAKE-UP EXPIRATION DATES

Make-up is expensive, and if you’re like me, you don’t want to throw out a half-empty container of mascara or bottle of foundation, but beauty editor Nicole Emmerling has some very good reasons why you shouldn’t hold onto cosmetics past a certain point. -- AP

Thanks, Anastasia! Most of us are very conscious about checking expiration dates on food products. We don’t purchase a gallon of milk with tomorrow as a sell-by date, and we toss anything in the fridge that looks or smells odd. Unfortunately, most of us don’t do likewise for our cosmetics. Make-up has a shelf life. It doesn’t last forever, even though most contain preservatives to extend their shelf life. (Note: Natural make-ups contain no preservatives and have a much shorter shelf life.)

Keep in mind that your make-up and make-up applicators come in daily contact with germs from your hands, face, and mouth. Every time you apply make-up, you run the risk of cross-contamination, promoting bacterial growth, and causing infection. That’s why it’s so important to make sure your make-up stays as contamination free as possible.

Below I’ve listed a general guide for various cosmetic products, but here are 5 tips to get you started:

1. Just like with food, if it looks or smells odd, through it out.

2. Toss out anything that’s over 2 years old.

3. Can’t remember when you purchased the product? When in doubt, toss it out.

4. Many products won’t have an expiration date printed on the container. Take it upon yourself to mark the container with the expiration date after you purchase it.

5. Never use your fingers to apply make-up. You’ll contaminate the product in the container. Clean make-up brushes in warm sudsy water every couple of weeks, and use disposable sponge applicators to lessen the growth and spread of bacteria.

Typical shelf life for non-natural cosmetics:

3-4 months
mascara
liquid eyeliner

Up to 1 year

concealer
cream and gel cleansers

water-based foundation
nail polish

Up to 18 months
oil-based foundation
cream blush
cream eye shadow

Up to 2 years
powder
powder blush
powder bronzer
powder eye shadow
pencil eye liner
lipstick
lip liner
lip gloss

Thanks, Nicole! I guess it’s time to toss that purple eye shadow from before the millennium!  Anyone else have make-up that qualifies as an antique? Post a comment to be entered in the drawing for a free book from our Book Club Friday guest author this week. -- AP 

BEAUTY WITH NICOLE--NATURAL PRODUCTS FOR A NATURAL LOOK

The newest trend in beauty is the “natural” look. Yeah, right! Most of us don’t look all that hot au natural. And the older we get, the greater the flaws that need masking. That trowel look is so wrong, though. Our beauty editor Nicole Emmerling has the secret to looking natural while covering up the stuff you don’t want others to see.-- AP

And that secret, Anastasia, is mineral make-up. Mineral make-up is not just for “women of a certain age,” though. It’s great for anyone with problematic skin, whether you have acne, rosacea, or other skin issues.  Mineral make-up is a natural product for a natural look.

Regular make-up adds talc, colors, fillers, chemicals, and weight to your skin. Mineral make-up is natural, weightless and invisible, yet it covers minor flaws beautifully. And it’s both non-comedogenic and inert, so that if your problem is sensitive skin, your less likely to have a reaction from it. What mineral make-up does contain is zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, both of which provide sunscreen protection.

Although mineral make-up isn’t cheap, you’ll find you’ll need to use a lot less of it than regular make-up to achieve the same coverage. The biggest mistake women make when first switching to mineral make-up is that they use too much. Use less than you think you’ll need. You’ll be surprised at how well mineral make-up covers.

Another great beauty tip from Nicole! Have any of you tried mineral make-up? What do you think of it? Let’s hear from you. Everyone who posts a comment this week is entered in the drawing for a book from our Book Club Friday guest author. -- AP