I’m not one to buy products I see advertised on TV. I need to learn more about a product than I can in 30 seconds, so I prefer to research things I see on TV online and off to learn more. Proactiv Solution is one of those products. I’ve been seeing it on late night TV commercials for years, but other than the glowing celebrity endorsements, I didn’t know much about it or how it worked. With one daughter on the verge of puberty, I turned to Acne.com to investigate the claims put forth by Proactiv, and what I read was interesting. I’m actually thinking about sending the link to Acne.com to my oldest, so that she can learn that chocolate and oily foods don’t cause acne, as well as other popular acne myths. Lord knows, it’s hard enough being a middle school kid without your face being wrecked by acne!

I’ve been wearing makeup for oh…almost 20 years now? The makeup tips I use today are the same tips I picked up in my teens by reading Seventeen and Sassy magazines. I’ll never forget the question one Sassy reader asked…she wanted to know if she should only apply makeup to her face in one direction, so that her pores wouldn’t be clogged. The beauty editor replied, “No, your pores are not vertical blinds.” HA! Silly, but it stuck with me all of these years, and it’s something I read at least 15 years ago.

Being 32 now, it occurred to me that there are probably improvements I could make in my makeup routine, and I don’t want to take advice from the 60 year old lady staffing the Clinique counter at the department store. I found a great assortment of makeup tips for all ages, from how to apply lipstick to eyeliner. (I know a few women who could use that eyeliner advice!) If you want to look like the “after” on What Not To Wear instead of the “before”, this is the place to get tips and advice to shake up your makeup!

When I was in my teens, I was constantly told I looked younger than my age. Being told you look 13 or 14 when you’re 16 isn’t necessarily a good thing at that age, and I never appreciated comments like that. Of course, now that I’m 31, I’d LOVE to be told I look young for my age, but it ain’t happening! I did run into a high school acquaintance this weekend, and he used works like “great”, and “skinny” to describe how I looked now, as compared to 15 years ago, but he didn’t say “young”. It’s probably the gray roots that kept that particular word from leaving his mouth! Amazing how fast twelve years of marriage and three kids will age you, right?

Of course, it’s not as if I’m using any special skin care products to keep that youthful glow on my face. I’m so pressed for time these days, my skin care consists of washing my face in the shower, at night, and putting makeup on to look presentable before leaving the house. There are all sorts of products designed for women my age who want to protect their skin (and look younger) and one in particular has a great offer available right now. When you spend $100 or more at Borba.com this month, you’ll receive a free bottle of Skin Balance Water as your gift. Borba features products like HD-Illuminating Plasma Crystals, which resurface and re-texture your skin to reflect more light and minimize the appearance of pores. What I really like is that if you’re pressed for time, you can combine steps in the treatment plan and still get great benefits! If you’ve got time to spare, do the full treatment, and if not, give yourself a quickie and go!

There’s a new hair care line from France making a big splash here in America. Boost is a new line of hair products that promises to fix issues like slow growing, or thinning hair, without making the hair you have weighed down, heavy feeling, or oily. The products use herbal extracts instead of silicones to keep your hair feeling oil free and weight less. The line even includes products that can assist with Alopecia Areata, which is a rare condition in which patches of hair are lost from the head.

During trials of the product, 16 of 35 patients showed a significant improvement while using the Alopecia Areata hair care products.

I am a huge fan of a waxing technique called a Brazilian wax. For those of you who don’t know what this is, it’s a process, similar to a bikini wax, except ALL of the hair from your nether regions will be removed. And I mean ALL. Your waxing professional will have you in positions that no one has ever had you in before in order to get every last bit of hair from your girly parts. The benefit of this is that you can go for about a month of bikini season without any shaving. The first time I had a Brazilian, I didn’t know what to expect. I had only read about it, and had never seen one done. It’s not for the faint of heart. It does hurt, and you will be getting up close and personal with a stranger holding hot wax.

I came across this Brazilian bikini wax video that shows the actual wax process. It’s for adults only, and it does contain a bare hiney shot. Videos like this are created for us in the spa and beauty industry so that people can learn how to perform the techniques, but I think it’s great for someone who is interested in getting a Brazilian!

Most women wear makeup every day. We consider the price, the color, and how it looks and feels on our skin. A few of us consider the ingredients, or the brand, and whether or not the product has an SPF built into it. Women of color may feel that an SPF product, or special skincare made for pigmented skin isn’t important - but it is! Just because your pigmented skin tans beautifully and never burns doesn’t mean it isn’t being damaged by the sun and UV rays.

The right skin care for pigmented skin is rarely found in the aisle of a grocery store, so if you have pigmented skin, you’ll need to think outside the box when you’re ready to buy your makeup and skincare products.

ORIKI Cosmeceuticals is a line founded in 1984 by American Board Certified dermatologist and biochemist Dr. Tuan Nguyen. Dr. Nguyens philosophy is that there are more than just the skin types of dry, normal, combination, and oily, because pigmentation plays such a big part in how to care for your skin. Because AMO skin types (Asian, Mediterranean and Olive) react differently from fair skin, and can turn a darker color after scarring, or acne, you need a skin care product that will work with your skin instead of against it, like this Whitening Serum.

I’m a nosy little thing when it comes to celebrities, so when I see these new moms who always happen to be Hollywood A-listers strutting their stuff down the red carpet a few months, I always have to wonder HOW they got back into shape after giving birth. Especially the moms giving birth to twins…yeah, Julia Roberts, I’m talking about you! Is it some wacky cabbage diet? 8 hours a day of working out? Or have those hot celebrity moms gotten their very own tummy tuck, courtesy of a doctor who performs celebrity plastic surgery? And if these Hollywood stars aren’t talking about their surgeries, how does a California plastic surgeon make a name for himself? It’s not as if you can announce that you performed a nose job on someone after they’ve paid you to keep your big yap shut! It’s got to be pure torture, not being able to brag on the fabulous work you’ve performed.

That said, wouldn’t it be nice to have the cash to have your nose job done like a celebrity? A posh office with state of the art technology, nurses catering to your every whim and need - not like in a regular hospital where you press that darn call button for hours before someone pays you any attention! Te office has a private entrance away from the paparazzi, and you can leave and get into a waiting limo, without anyone knowing you had a little work done! If you’ve got to have plastic surgery, that’s the way to do it. Living large and all that - rodeo drive style! Maybe you’ll even see one of those Hollywood A listers on your way in…

I’m turning 31 next week, and along with that comes a need to change my beauty routine. Oh, I don’t mean all at once, but there comes a point in your life where you maybe realize that the products you’ve loved and relied on for years aren’t cutting the mustard anymore. As we age, our skin changes, our body changes, and we need new products to keep up with those changes. Sooner or later, I’m going to start seeing fine lines and spots that will serve as a constant reminder of a sunburn I got 10 years ago.

Emerge Skin Care is a new line I’ve heard a lot about lately, and I’m intrigued. The line was created by dermatologists and has several distinct products to combat some of the problems I’m currently facing, without surgery or other drastic measures. But what makes this company really stand out is their commitment to the environment. Emerge doesn’t print catalogs, and they don’t package their products in boxes. They made the choice to do that in an effort to prevent using (and wasting) 15,000 lbs of paper a year on things most of us throw away. Bravo!

I was reading my nephew’s blog earlier this week, and although he’s 24, he was blogging about acne. Join the club, kid. Join the club! I don’t know why I ever thought that acne would magically end once I turned 18, but obviously I was wrong, wrong, wrong! And my oldest, who will be 12 this year, is just experiencing her first breakouts. I don’t know how to tell her it’s going to get way worse, before it will get better. Just like this acne website says, there’s different kinds of acne, and my daughter, my nephew, and myself - well, chances are we’re all experiencing different kinds! The site has some great tips on prevention, as well as acne TREATMENT options, like Proactiv and prescription medications. (I have to say, I think I’ve tried it all at one point or another. The only thing that really worked for me was going on Accutane about 5 years ago. It changed my life! That said, I never tried Proactiv - it wasn’t really as big of a product back then, as it is now.)

Be sure to check out the myths section too. Perhaps you’ll want to read it while eating some chocolate, or after not washing your face. Or while tanning! (You’ll see what I mean when you read it!)

I’m 30, and still get the occasional breakout. Gray hair and zits - quite the combo! For a long time, I went to a dermatologist and tried a lot of different things, from oral antibiotics to Retin A. Finally, I turned to Accutane, which did the trick for me. At the time I was seeing my doctor, Proactiv wasn’t on the market, but now you can’t walk through the mall without seeing a kiosk of the product. Turn on the TV and you’ll see Britney Spears, P. Diddy and Jessica Simpson talking about how Proactiv has changed their lives. And while acne.com is sponsored by the product, they don’t push it too much on the site. The site is designed to be a resource for anyone who deals with acne, whether you’re a teen or an adult sufferer. There’s information on prevention (yes, you can actually prevent it!), the various treatments available, and popular acne myths (for example, acne is NOT caused by chocolate, french fries, or makeup!)

If you DO want to give Proactiv a try, this is the site to buy it from. Right now you can save $20 on the Proactiv 3 step treatment/prevention system. Why pay full price? The set includes toner, cleanser, and lotion.