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Aside from exposure to the sun or an adverse reaction to a certain cosmetics, hyper-pigmentation can be caused by an influx of hormonal activity. You can blame the blotchy-ness on your yet-to-be-born baby, but you won’t need to wait nine months before your skin is back to normal. Tumeric is a spice from India that tastes delicious, but it’s also used to treat a long list of health-related ailments. Its presence in cosmetic products serves as an anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial agent for agitated areas.Ole Henriksen Enlighten Me face serum ($60, sephora.com) has tumeric, plus Vitamin C and mulberry extract to deliver stability and radiance back to your skin—giving a boost to your maternal glow.
You were on the right track with using oil to heal your dry skin but you have to be cautious about which one you choose. Lots of oils are made up of mineral oils, which are better for your body but not great for your face because they clog pores. Instead, go for essential oils. Decléor Paris‘ Radiance Cure Kit ($60, at the Bay) includes the Source D’éclat 10-Day Radiance Power Cure. It’s full of essential oils— from grapefruit and lemon—that purify the skin and put a stop to any bacteria. Pair that with the gentle exfoliation of the Radiance Revealing Peel-Off Mask and you’re on the fast track to perfectly refined skin.
Perfection is a tough standard to meet when your schedule only allows for a certain amount of primping in the morning. Maintain your night-before routine but embrace the idea of doing textured hair the next day. Combine a flexible styler like Sebastian Professional‘s Potion 9 ($20, at salons) with the heat of your hairdryer to give your hair character as you twist it into an imperfect braid or curl in some loose waves—both looks are on-trend and easier to achieve after eight hours of pillow talk.
Hot wax and cotton strips are great for removing facial hair from the cuticle, but they also leave pores wide open in their wake. Aestheticians often press a finger over raw skin before finishing with a dusting of baby powder, and both are to blame for blocking your pores with zit-forming impurities. Hedge that risk by treating the area with witch hazel, nature’s finest anti-impurity asset. Weleda‘s bottle of Refining Toner ($22, atweleda.ca) has loads of it, plus lemon juice and vitamin C to clarify and calm the hostile situation.
You can create a pretty scary zombie with fake blood and wet toilet paper, or you can morph into a feminine green fairy (like Kylie Minogue in Moulin Rouge) using an emerald shadow on your eyes and in your hair. Choose a product that’s really high-pigment, like Make Up For Ever‘s Aqua Cream #22 ($25, at sephora.com) to layer densely around your eyes or blend more transparently on your cheekbones and around your ears. After spraying your hair with a leave-in conditioner, use the same colour to streak your hair like an elfin pixie or a high-fashion witch—whichever you wish.
Never underestimate the neck’s ability to reveal your true age. It’s often forgotten during the morning/evening ritual of vitamin-rich creams and high-SPF sun protection, but your neck has thin skin and requires just as much cleansing and exfoliating as your face—if not more. Using one product all over will help you remember your neck and forget the forgetfulness. We’re fans of Mèreadesso’s Face and Neck Toner ($120, at mereadesso.com) because not only does it suit both areas, it also combines the benefits of a moisturizer, toner, serum, primer, and under-eye cream so neglect of anything, really, is a thing of the past.
No need to cut down on late-night dips when you can manage frizz with John Frieda Touch-Up Flyaway Tamer ($15, at drugstores). Pop the mascara-like wand into your purse to tidy unkempt strands. Its main ingredient, Inca Inchi Oil, will smooth your ballerina bun back in place and add a little shine for good measure.
Reapplying chemical SPF is a must in order to guarantee that you’re protected for more than a few hours after application, but some products prove to be more makeup-friendly than others. Sunforgettable by Clarion mineral powders ($63, through physicians and medi-spas across Canada) allow you to load up on UVA and UVB protection without having to tamper with your makeup, since you can apply it directly overtop.
Nutrient-rich oils and sticky pomades can stand in the way of an every-other-day shampooing schedule but there are two ways around this problem: first, embrace the “grease” and work with it because slick, super-tight ponytails are sexy—models wear them all the time. Secondly, you can manage the amount of residual product left in your hair by prepping with a primer, much like you do before applying foundation on your face. Joico‘s Structure Foundation Hair Prep + Primer ($20, joico.com) will control frizz on its own, or act as a barrier between your hair and heavier products so you can brush it out and procrastinate shampooing for another day.
Mascara presents a challenge to people with oilier skin, and those who have extra-straight or super-short lashes. Get awkwardly close to a mirror and examine how your eyelashes grow—if they jut out and appear completely curl-free, our solution lies therein. By administering a curl at the lash line, you’ll lift lashes up and away from your eye area where mascara-shifting oil exists. Some people use a spoon and their thumb (Google it), while others prefer the refinement of a full tool kit, like Joe Fresh‘s Eye Grooming Kit ($10, joe.ca) to carefully lift and separate their lashes into shape.
Nothing livens up a winter-parched pout quite like a swipe of saturated colour⎯one for each day of the week! ($8 each, joe.ca)
Box dyes come with super-conditioning treatments but they’re usually gonzo after only a shower or two. Continue returning the vitamins and proteins you withdrew for at least a few weeks—we would suggest enlisting a blend of reparative oils to do it. Oil permeates sapped strands with ease, and we like Sally Hershberger‘s Hyper Hydration Super Argan Serum ($16 at Shoppers Drug Mart) the best. Its trifecta of oils (Argan, Bran, and Amala) is jacked with antioxidants and proteins to drench parched pores and smooth split ends fast.
A balanced diet (to the best of your ability) and a weekly wash of your pillow cases will help, and so will your commitment to a consistent skin-care system. We like the Olay Professional Pro-X Clear Acne Protocol system ($50, at drugstores) because it was designed with young-adult, acne-prone skin in mind. The system includes a cleanser and treatment with a gentle yet effective amount of salicylic acid, plus a super-light moisturizer to hydrate and reduce redness in sensitive skin. Even better, its price is pretty friendly, even for the cash strapped.
We love glassy lips, especially when paired with a smoky eye, but finding a gloss that won’t stick like honey is a challenge. A good option, instead of a liquid gloss, is a shiny solid, like Shine Sensational Pop Sticks by Maybelline ($10, at drugstores). They’re tinted like ice pops and taste like fruit. Wear alone for a hint of colour or over lipstick for added shine.
Makeup pro Pat McGrath created lips that looked like velveteen tulip petals by painting them with opaque and creamy sherbet shades of lipstick. We recommend trying Nars’ Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in “Bolero” ($30 at NARS counters andnarscosmetics.com)– it’s peachy-pink, matte and pretty close to perfect.
Think pink instead of taking the word “nude” too literally, as lips are flushed not flesh tone (whatever that colour may be) when they have nothing on them. Avoid shades with brown or beige undertones, and choose a pinky taupe or copper instead. The most flattering shades are close to your natural lip colour, with a subtle shimmer or shine. We like the rosy coral and gold ribbon in Nars’ “Beautiful Liar” ($24, atnarscosmetics.com) because it’s barely there but flattering, like fancy lingerie for the lips.
Tie your hair in a high pony or top bun and spray with L’Oréal Paris Hair Expertise Colour Radiance Spray ($7, at drugstores). Not only does it protect against harmful UV rays but it also keeps annoying fly-aways off your face
Nicole by OPI’s Texture Coat ($11, at drugstores) is a line of six polishes that dry artfully think shatters and splatters in charming shades like gold, turquoise and white. Do a three-minute mani with one of these to mend your botched manicure and forget about chips for a few days.
Keira swayed from using traditional black liner to smudge around her eyes and used a flat, non-shimmery grey shadow instead. Finding the correct finish—matte and flat, opposed to waxy and shiny—is key to getting this look right. We recommend using your finger to spread Joe Fresh Cream Eye Shadow in “Slate Grey” ($6, at Joe Fresh) over your lid and below your lower lashline before using a Q-tip or makeup brush to perfect the edges. It’s a highly-pigmented grey that blends easily, thanks to its creamy formula, but dries matte and will easily stay put all day.
I recommend taking a scientific approach to your beauty regime and look to the colour wheel for inspiration. Tints that are completely opposite on the spectrum attract and flatter one another so, if your eyes are super-red, use the complete opposite hue—a cyan blue—as your creative solution. For office-appropriate wear that still looks cool, apply pigment with a wet, fine-tipped brush along your waterline and subtly at the base of your upper lashes. Blue shadow is no longer reminiscent of the ’80s: Jil Sander, Zac Posen, 3.1 Phillip Lim, and Chanel all put sea-blue eyes on their runways for Fall 2011, and we especially love Outremer Single Eyeshadow by Nars ($26, narscosmetics.com) for its extreme azure illumination.
