Published on June 1, 2009
by Megan Segura
Strolling through Borough Market in London the other day, I stumbled upon Wild Wood Groves Argan Oil. I had heard stories about this mystical oil being the rarest in the world and was curious about its special properties. I know small amounts are used in some beauty products, but I have never seen 100% pure oil available for sale before. I bought it immediately and was schooled in its history and beauty benefits.
Argan oil comes from a small area of Morocco where Berber women produce the oil by grounding up the seeds from the thorny argan tree. It takes 2 days of work, crushing and pressing the seeds to produce just one liter of this beauty potion. Due to over grazing by local goats, the trees are now protected and the Berber women of the area are only allowed to produce a small amount at a time, which makes this coveted oil even more rare.
For centuries argan oil has been a well-kept beauty and health secret of the Berber women, who use the oil to nourish their skin, nails and hair. It contains twice the amount of vitamin E as olive oil and is rich in anti-oxidants. Eight essential fatty acids help prevent moisture loss in the skin and its amazing anti-aging properties are well documented.
You only need a few drops of this non-greasy liquid gold to moisturize and protect your complexion. Rub a little on the hands and on cuticles to soften them up or rub a small drop into really dry hair to re-hydrate it instantly. I love the stuff and learned you can even cook with it and make yummy dishes, which is fab — if I cooked that is!
As an established makeup artist, many beauty brands send me samples of their latest products for consideration. I only write about the items that I truly love and I always abide by Daily Makeover’s Editorial Ethics Pledge in each of my Positively Beautiful posts.
Published on May 29, 2009
by Megan Segura
Bright, bold shades aren’t the only makeup colors that are hot this summer. Shimmering shades of nude on lips and eyes are super chic and modern as well.
For the eyes a simple wash of sparkling beige with a hint of sunset gold from the lash line to the brow bone will compliment any eye shape or color. Pair it with a slight smudge of chocolate brown liner and jet-black mascara for perfect definition. For fair to medium skin tones, try Stila’s Silk Shadow Wash in Kitten or Benefit’s Velvet Eyeshadow in Fawn Over Me. For darker skin, try nudes that have a bit of warm bronze to them like La Femme Sparkle Dust in #9.
To keep your face balanced apply a blush with a slight kick of color like an apricot or subtle coral that will compliment the nude eye and lip. Apply the blush with a big fluffy powder brush and keep it concentrated on the apples of the cheeks only.
Keep lips looking soft and luminous by choosing nudes that are sheer or have an opalescent sheen to them. If you are fair to medium, use Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Inspired By Carmindy Natural Shine Lip Gloss in Sparkling Champagne or Lancome’s Color Design Lipstick in Natural Beauty. For darker skin Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Inspired By Carmindy Color Comfort Lip Care in Seashell Nude is perfect.
If the whole monochromatic nude look is a bit much for you, then just pick one feature to play with and you’ll still be on point for the season!
As an established makeup artist, many beauty brands send me samples of their latest products for consideration. I only write about the items that I truly love and I always abide by Daily Makeover’s Editorial Ethics Pledge in each of my Positively Beautiful posts.
Published on May 27, 2009
by Megan Segura
Sweet to eat and sweet to treat!
Is there anything sweeter than honey? Not only does it taste yummy, it also has fantastic beauty benefits, so we can enjoy eating it and using it on our skin and hair. In some cultures and ancient religions there is a superstition surrounding honey and many use it in rituals to attract money, love, admiration and attention.
My personal love of honey products started when I was on a girl’s trip to Tulum, Mexico and stumbled upon a local perfumery at the beach resort Coqui Coqui. The perfumery made this organic fragrance oil called Mielum that smelled like honey and was supposed to help attract men and money, according to local mythology. I bought 5 of them! I dab it on before big meetings or a special night out and love the light sweet fragrance it emanates.
The smell is so subtle and lovely that I began looking into other honey based products. It turns out honey is rich in nutrients, amino acids, enzymes and antioxidants. It makes a wonderful moisturizer and can be used as skin beautifying facial mask. Simply apply it to a moist face and then cover your skin with a warm washcloth and let it steam the honey into your pores. Then rinse off with cool water and check out how fab your skin looks!
Honey is so hydrating it can be found in hair products and makeup as well. I found an amazing shampoo by Terax called Miele, which is perfect for dry hair because it adds in tons of moisture. Burt’s Bees Honey Lip Balm is great for smooth, sweet-tasting lips and I love Korres Thyme Honey 24-Hour Moisturizing Cream because it’s fab for your face.
Get sweet on this sticky stuff and it will keep you looking good!
As an established makeup artist, many beauty brands send me samples of their latest products for consideration. I only write about the items that I truly love and I always abide by Daily Makeover’s Editorial Ethics Pledge in each of my Positively Beautiful posts.
Published on May 21, 2009
by Megan Segura
I was at my dermatologist Dr. Rosemarie Ingleton’s office the other day getting my monthly facial from my girl Michelle, when she busted out this new vitamin C product. After applying it to my face, she told me that if I started using it before my moisturizer each day that my skin would look incredible.
That evening when I got home my skin was extra radiant. My skin usually looks better right after a good facial but this stuff was like magic! That night at dinner my friends commented on the appearance of my skin and I told them that it must be the new vitamin C serum I was using. It unfortunately smells a little like echinacea and dirt, but happily the scent does go away as soon as you slather on your moisturizer.
We’ve heard all about how vitamin C is a very strong anti-oxidant that boosts our immune system to defend us from colds and how it has skin enhancing properties, but new scientific research shows that applying it topically really helps build collagen, reduces sun damage and wrinkles and tones and tightens the skin. The more studies they do on the subject, the more they see just how incredibly well it works.
For me this is certainly true — I have melasma on the sides of my face and on my chest due to the sun damage I did to myself as a teen growing up in sunny California. After just one week on this serum, the melasma seems much lighter and the texture and firmness of my face is great. The product Michelle gave me is called Ascorderm Contouring Serum Plus, which is said to have 8.5x the concentration of L-Ascorbic acid in the skin and works for 8 hours. Because I have the melasma this serum is the perfect one for me to reduce the brown areas and protect me from further photo-damage.
A few other fantastic vitamin C products out there are: Skinceuticals C E Ferulic, Nature’s Gate C For Yourself and MD Skincare Hydra-Pure Vitamin C Serum. I also recommend eating a lot of vitamin C-rich fruit and drinking yummy fresh OJ. Might as well attack aging from all sides!
As an established makeup artist, many beauty brands send me samples of their latest products for consideration. I only write about the items that I truly love and I always abide by Daily Makeover’s Editorial Ethics Pledge in each of my Positively Beautiful posts.
Published on May 19, 2009
by Megan Segura
You know the old expression “if it’s too good to be true then it probably is?” I was doing a private consultation with a woman the other day who asked me what she should look for when it came to skin care. She said she was so confused at drugstores and department stores because all of the products made tons of claims and she did not know what was right for her.
There were eye creams that were firming, anti-aging, brightening and soothing; face creams that contained sunscreen, alpha-hydroxy acids, luminizing particles and dark spot faders; one self-tanner declared it would tone you, tan you and improve skin’s texture all in one hour. Oh, if only that were all true!
The real truth is that you need to narrow it down. You need to sit down with a dermatologist and find out what your main skin concerns are. For example, if you worry about wrinkles then get a strong sunscreen for prevention, an anti-aging serum for skin rejuvenation and a good face and eye cream for moisture.
While it may seem like a good idea to buy one product that claims to do it all, rather than three or four that only do one specific job, the real truth is that there are no do-everything miracle creams out there. Buying specific products that actually deliver on their claims will help you get the results you are looking for.
To really get the desired effect you need to buy the best product made for your specific needs. This will do more for you then months of slathering on some BS cream that tells you it will do everything, including washing your car and making you dinner.
If you combine all the ingredients it takes to accomplish all the claims made by these all-purpose creams, it winds up getting so diluted that there will never be a high enough percentage of ingredients to actually do the job. So go for a pure product and let the real magic happen. Here are a few of my favorites:
Cetaphil Daily Cleanser – the best straight up cleanser around
Eucerin Original Moisturizing Lotion – the perfect creamy body lotion for dry skin
SkinMedica TNS Night Eye Repair – a powerful anti-aging cream for your eyes.
SkinCeuticals Sport UV Defense SPF 45 – my favorite strong sunscreen, I put it on every day before my moisturizer and makeup
GlyDerm Lotion Lite – This glycolic acid will lightly slough off dead skin and promote cell turnover
Obagi Nu-Derm System – this is the best for fading sun damage and melasma
Latisse – makes eyelashes grow the real way, not the false mascara-claiming way
As an established makeup artist, many beauty brands send me samples of their latest products for consideration. I only write about the items that I truly love and I always abide by Daily Makeover’s Editorial Ethics Pledge in each of my Positively Beautiful posts.
