Holiday Pre-Party Perfection

It is holiday season – a time of dashing from work to parties and from parties back to work. I have a fail-proof way to get ready and have glowing skin, even after a long day:

1. Have hair blown out before work in morning. (Much better than waiting for a hair dresser that is behind in schedule. Or, if it is the weekend, it frees up the afternoon to be with the kids.)

2. Dash home, wash face with gentle cream cleanser (Dermalogica Essential Cleansing Solution) hop in shower, wear shower cap. (Cheesy, but effective.)

3. Once out of the shower and dried off, put on a cozy robe. Keep hair in shower cap, while swiping a gentle cleansing water across the entire face with a cotton ball, including eyes. Cleansing waters are like non-toner toners.
They get your skin extra clean, are non-oily and non-drying. Just like putting water with a kick
on your face. My favorites are Caudalie Cleansing Water or Darphin Azahar Cleansing Water.

4. Use a gentle peel pad – either MD Skincare Alpha Beta Peel Pads or Peter Thomas Roth Unwrinkle Peel Pads or Trish McEvoy Beta Hydroxy Pads to exfoliate and smooth the skin. This is the key step for a healthy glow! Foundation goes on beautifully after this.

5. Next, I put on Darphin Hydraskin Serum. I am dry and this adds extra moisture. I also put Laura Mercier Foundation Primer on to make sure my foundation goes on smoothly and does not seep into my fine lines. (If you are oily, skip the serum step and use Laura Mercier Foundation Primer in Oil-Free).




6. I then do my eyes. For me, heavy navy eyeliner and the use of my Shu Uemura eyelash curler prior to mascara is a must.



7. Next foundation (I go with heavier coverage for night), concealer, cream blush, then lips.

8. After 20 minutes, not including the shower, I am done and ready to get dressed.

I have been doing it this way for years. It really is the trick to a speedy, healthy glow.

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Fried Hair Relief

I was out in California touring our stores in San Francisco and L.A. and made a huge mistake. I had someone blow out and flat iron my hair – and she did not know what she was doing. She basically fried my already highlighted hair. Enter Frederic Fekkai Salon Glaze. I am in love with this product. It is like an extra conditioner you use after your conditioner. (Ok, I confess, sometimes I use it instead of my conditioner.) I get the best hydration and shine from this product – everyone comments when I use it. I just use it in the shower, leave it on for 3 minutes and voila – instant moisture, strength, and shine. It doesn’t weigh my hair down at all. So much shine in so little time . . . 

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