EXPERT SECRETS | Backstage beauty tips

HAVE YOU ever wondered why models’ skin always looks so luminous even though they’re notorious for having bad skin (thanks to a poor diet and lifestyle)? Or how their vertiginous hairstyles stay in place? All is not as it seems in the world of backstage beauty thanks to a few ingenious tricks from stylists and makeup artists. Over the years, I’ve learned quite a few of these tricks of the trade. My favorites? The big tease, applied arts and owning it...

Continue reading...

Originally written by Jessica Teas for Smarter Beauty Blog in a three-part series. Image credit: flickr.com/photos/37210152@N02/3675088916/sizes/m/in/photostream/

EXPERT SECRETS | Alice Hart-Davis shares 3 top tips for great teen skin

BRITISH BEAUTY expert Alice Hart-Davis recently penned a beauty bible for teens with no other than her teen daughter, called Be Beautiful: Every girl's guide to hair, skin and make-up and shared a few tips on how to keep teen skin (and, let's face it, adult skin too) looking great... She says:

1. Keep it clean and moisturised: all skin needs moisture, even if it’s oily. Water and oil are two different things and however much you are trying to minimize oil production in your skin, you want to give it moisture to keep it hydrated. There are plenty of oil-free moisturisers out there."

2. "Keep it protected from ultra-violet light. That means sun-screen, worn every day. It’s not just hot sunshine that can damage the skin, it’s the slow build-up of damage done by everyday exposure to daylight. Get into the habit of wearing cream with an SPF, then you won’t have to worry so much about future wrinkles."

3. "If you suffer with acne, get professional help. Your doctor should be able to prescribe antibiotics that may help, or can refer you to a dermatologist. To docs and derms, spots are a condition that can be treated, not a rite-of-passage that you have to endure!"

Be Beautiful, by Alice Hart-Davis and Molly Hindhaugh, Walker Books, £9.99.

EXPERT SECRETS | Sweat the small stuff

THE DEVIL’S in the details, or so they say. I tend to agree. With appearances, overarching characteristics (nice body, hair, makeup, etc.) are what we believe we notice the most, but you’ll certainly have an extra edge – a sort of togetherness, an allure that people can’t quite place – if you pay heed to these little things too. So get the big picture sorted then focus in on these:

CUTICLES that are a mess make you look a mess. Every time my nails are done (at home or a salon), people comment on how nice I look. A friend from deepest, darkest Virginia once told me that everybody’s more attractive with a manicure. Too right, girlfriend....

CONTINUE READING...