Dedicated Posts

A few weeks ago, a good friend of mine stood in front of a rack of Simple Skincare products in Duane Reade, looked at them and then left because she didn’t know what to buy. Later she texted me and said she really wanted to try the line, but didn’t know what worked for her. Of course, I offered up my favorites, but I also realized that what works for my skin doesn’t necessarily work for everyone else.

Luckily, the folks over at Simple Skincare put together a handy new (and free!) Skin Health Consultation quiz to help you figure out exactly what products you need. Though the quiz is short, it’s also very specific and delivers the advice customized to your skin type. Don’t know if you have combination skin? Exactly how sensitive is your skin? Not sure what a T-Zone is? No worries- the quiz doesn’t throw around any beauty lingo- it just asks you the basics like “Is your forehead oily?” The one question that did get me- “How many glasses of water do you drink per day?” I’m ashamed to state the answer! (more…)

I pare this down for the office…

Some people have shoe drawers, some have food drawers, but I have a beauty drawer at the office. The truth of the matter is, I know when I’m settling into a new workplace once my beauty drawer is fully stocked with all the goodies to keep me glowing during the day and ready to take me from work to evening.

So what are the essential beauty products to keep at the office?  I pare them down to the basic necessities- read on to find out! (more…)

My grandmother, who is 86, and has enjoyed a life of soft and smooth skin let me in on a secret once while I was battling all kinds of skin problems.  Her secret was to shelve all the irritating scrubs, masques and treatments I was layering on my skin.  Her whole life, she said, she only used 1 product on her face- a gentle soap and water. Well, I don’t think I could survive on just soap (I mean my skin does need moisturizer every day), but I took the spirit of her advice to heart: only to use the bare essentials and to let your skin breathe. This is particularly important if you have sensitive skin, since the more products you layer on, the more likely it is that something will end up irritating it.

We already discussed in a previous post, that sensitive skin can be triggered or worsened by using products with added irritants such as fragrance and dyes. Makeup can also be cause for potential sensitive skin flare-ups, since it masks skin. But even if you’re steering clear of those ingredients and using makeup that doesn’t irritate your skin, it’s still good to keep your skincare routine Simple.

So what are the must haves? (more…)

There’s something about March that seems to make me extra tired.  Maybe it’s because the weather changes day-to-day, causing me to feel extra blah on gray days.  Maybe it’s because it’s cold and rainy and I’m so antsy for spring. Maybe it’s because I have extra sensitive skin in between seasons. Or maybe it’s just because it’s always one of the busiest times at work.  Oh yeah, and Daylight Savings doesn’t help either. All I’m saying is, March is tough and I’m always looking for some extra help in the energy department.

The folks over at  Simple Skincare asked me to share some of my favorite pick-me-up tips.  Let me know if you use the same tactics and what some of your tips are! (more…)

By now, we know that Simple Skincare  is an amazingly gentle and effective range of skincare products perfect for people with sensitive skin.  But how do you know if you have sensitive skin?

Well consider the following quiz:

• Do a lot of skincare (or other) products make your skin feel: irritated- redness, stinging, burning, tightness or other discomfort?
• Are you particularly sensitive to ingredients in your products, such as fragrances?
• Do you tend to get red or blotchy patches, especially when exposed to the outdoor elements? (more…)

We’re giving away a month’s worth of BeautyMint skincare to a lucky reader! Entering is 100% free:  register with BeautyMint & leave a comment below and one person will be drawn by random.

If you’ve ever wanted customized skincare but without the hassle of having to do a ton of research yourself, you’ll have to give BeautyMint a try! The service not only provides a completely personalized line of products suited for your skin needs (backed by celebrity dermatologist, Nerida Joy), it even delivers them right to your door every month. Talk about star treatment!

The process starts off with a simple and (I thought, pretty fun) quiz where you provide details about what aspects of skincare are most important to you (wrinkles? sunspots? elasticity?).  I, naturally, put all of the above as very important for me to address and the site recommends a regiment of different products based on your skin needs. Products range from the basic cleanser and moisturizer to very area-specific targeted treatments such as Brightening Eye Gel (I also put dark circles as very important issue I need to address). The best part is- everything you need is shipped to you and super easy to use so you don’t need to worry about figuring out different products for different needs.  Oh and products are shipped monthly so you will always have a fresh batch to start off each month. Each month’s supply ranges between $39.99 and $49.99, which is a steal for an entire regime!

TDO has partnered with BeautyMint to give away a beauty kit to a lucky reader- register with the site and be sure to leave a comment below to enter.  We will place a credit in your account for you to try a month’s worth of skincare for free. We will pick a reader randomly in a week.  You can also use promotion code DAILY to get $20 off your first month’s kit. We can’t wait to hear more about your experience!

We’ve partnered with Daily Makeover to bring you the low down on hair trends this Oscar season. Below we re-post their Oscar 2012 hair predictions.

Hollywood’s “Night of Nights” is right around the corner, and while we don’t know who will take home the oh-so-coveted Oscar Awards, we do know that all you beauty junkies out there will be mentally casting your vote for Oscar superlatives – who has the best dress, the best accessories and of course… who has the best hair?

Michelle Williams’ wears color that complements her skin tone.

We spoke with the pros at Wella Professionals, the hair brand who has a very impressive roster of red carpet hair under their belt already from this season, including Madonna, Michelle Williams, Claire Danes, Emma Stone, Zoe Saldana, Emily Blunt and Shailene Woodley, to get the inside scoop on what hair looks will heat up the red carpet this Sunday. (more…)

If you’ve been following TDO for the last month or so, you’ll know that I’ve been tapped as a brand ambassador for Simple Skincare. What exactly is Simple you say? We’ll it’s the #1 facial skincare line in the UK and launched this month in North America. Luckily as a brand ambassador, I’ve had their range of skincare products in my hands for months- and I’ve been using and loving them!

If I had to sum up the philosophy behind Simple’s brand it would be this: only put in the good stuff (vitamins, nutrients) and none of the bad stuff (perfumes, dyes, irritants) to create a range of products that are suitable for people with all different skin-types, even super sensitive ones. Sounds simple? It is! No muss, no fuss- just simple skincare. (more…)

A good daily skincare routine helps keep your skin well maintained, moisturized and healthy, but it can’t perform miracles on its own.  As your body’s largest organ, your skin’s condition is closely tied to your lifestyle such as how you eat, drink, sleep and exercise. Below we share some tips on how you can keep your skin healthy by making good lifestyle choices.

1. DONT DRINK ALCOHOL EXCESSIVELY

According to some studies, excess alcohol consumption can deplete Vitamin A levels in our bodies. Vitamin A is responsible for promoting cell turnover which keeps our skin fresh, youthful and healthy. In addition, Vitamin A is also important to helping our skin defend against free radicals, molecules that cause aging and damage by breaking down collagen fibers. Thus the result is that when our Vitamin A level goes down, our skin is unable to fight the bad stuff or renew itself, making it dull and damaged. Too much drinking can actually lead to faster aging.

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Having been a beauty blogger for over six years now, I’ve been lucky enough to learn from many of the top minds in dermatology about how to keep your skin healthy. There are so many opinions (and myths) out there about the best ways to take care of your skin- but regardless of brand or product affiliation, doctors and scientists all agree on a few important things.

 1.     Wear SPF every day regardless of weather

Everybody knows (hopefully) that hitting the beach without your trusty tube of SPF is a no-no, but doctors advise wearing protection every day regardless of if it’s sunny or not. Lack of sun protection is the leading culprit of a myriad of skin problems for people of all races and skin colors. Even in cloudy weather, harmful rays penetrate your skin causing all kinds of damage from premature aging to spots and pigmentation. In fact, sun damage can happen even if you are indoors by windows or while driving. To be safe, all dermatologists agree that applying a daily SPF is one of the most important things you can do to prevent skin problems.

2. Be gentle with your skincare routine even if you have problematic or oily skin.

I know when I was battling teenage acne, all I wanted to do was strip my skin of any oil by using the harshest products I could find. As it turns out, you’re not doing yourself any favors Not only does overusing harsh products aggravate existing skin problems, it can also cause more issues like tightness, redness, peeling and irritating of healthy skin. Instead, my doctors always recommended offsetting a medicinal product with a gentle moisturizer to help keep the skin calm.

Simple Skincare, a sensitive skincare brand I was introduced to years ago just launched in the USA with a great lineup of gentle products that are perfect for sensitive skin. They are the UK’s No. 1 Facial Skincare brand & have tapped me to be a brand ambassador for them this year. I’m super excited because I really love the products and now my bathroom will always be fully stocked with all the goodies.

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