With all of the new product innovation that has spurred such competition amongst beauty brands, a few cosmetics stand out as being particularly unique. Special effects have given us products that allow us to look flawless while doing the following:
1. Glowing in the dark
Wow everyone at a party or club with fluorescent makeup! These products provide a pop of color both day and night. During the daytime, they provide ordinary pigmented color and react with UV light to glow in the dark. For your lips, try the Stila After Glow Lip Color ($18 at Sephora), which is a long-wearing moisturizing lip crayon that comes in two bright colors: fuscia and tangerine. Then, dust the rest of your face and/or body with the Make Up For Ever Fluo Night ($31 on www.makeupforever.com). This finely milled loose powder comes in a variety of colors (including a translucent white) and can be mixed with other cosmetics to enhance colors and turn them into fluorescent formulas. Both of these products are limited edition products (the Fluo Night is an older product and a little harder to find), so scoop them up while you can! And you can't forget about the nails. The Glow in the Dark Nail Polish ($6 at American Apparel) is a convenient, affordable option.
2. Sleeping
The biggest beauty crime is not washing off your makeup before bed. However, the bareMinerals Pure Transformation Night Treatment ($60 at Sephora) changes what we think about sleeping in makeup. It's a pigmented powder that works its magic as you sleep. Formulated with minerals, this powder hydrates, smooths, minimizes pores, and brightens so that you wake up with a more even skintone and a luminous glow. The feature that really differentiates it from other night treatments is that it provides coverage. You fall asleep with a flawless complexion and wake up with a more naturally flawless one as well ;)
3. Swimming
Want to look fabulous from the beginning to the end of your next pool party? Well, with Make Up For Ever's Aqua products you can. It features a collection of waterproof eye cosmetics (shadows, liners, mascara, and eyebrow corrector) and lip cosmetics (pencil and color). The line even contains an Aqua Seal ($21 at Sephora) that allows you to convert any powder eye cosmetic into a waterproof liquid one. However, the Aqua collection is missing waterproof face cosmetics. But don't worry because the Make Up For Ever brand does make a Face & Body Liquid Makeup ($40 at Sephora) to provide waterproof coverage for
the face and body. Since oil and water don't mix, many waterproof formulas tend to be super oily or waxy. However, the Face & Body Liquid Makeup is nice, since it's water-based, so no breakouts! And fix those more specific imperfections with the Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Waterproof Concealer ($22 at Sephora). Feel free to dive, splash, and frolic in the water without worrying about smudging or running!
In general, you should reserve these products for occasional rather than regular use, with the exception of the Pure Transformation Night Treatment (since it's a gentle skincare + cosmetics product). The ingredients that make a product glow in the dark or waterproof can be harsh, but vary based on each product. I usually advocate healthy products only, but some of these products do contain parabens as well as other toxins. But honestly if you're using them once in a while, it's not a huge a deal. Also, there are only 1 or 2 of each of these product types currently on the market, and there aren't any healthy alternatives available. The take away? These products are super fun, and you should definitely use them for the occasions for which they are meant :)
The night is a crucial time of repair for your skin.
While you are sleeping, your skin is fighting off signs of aging as
well as environmental damage from pollutants and the sun. During this
process, cell turnover occurs, and your skin is regenerating the
collagen-producing cells that are responsible for skin elasticity.
All of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc. that are in your serums and other face products can help with this process and make sure that your skin gets the most out of its beauty sleep. Some more intensive treatments that often produce overnight results in terms of improving skin appearance are sleeping masks.
In fact, masks are getting hotter and hotter in the beauty world with 66% growth in 2013. Why? Well, masks definitely offer immediate benefits. You simply rub them into your skin before you sleep (generally once or twice per week) and wash them off in the morning. While you are sleeping, the mask will work its magic!
There are different types of sleeping masks that are designed for various skin needs. Check out these healthy products:
For intense hydration, apply the La Neige Water Sleeping Pack ($27 on amazon.com)
before you hit the sack.
Water sleeping masks are a common product in Korea that have made it over to the US. Korean beauty brands including La Neige make such a product. It's the perfect way to add a surge of moisture to your skin as you sleep, whether the winter weather is drying out your skin or you simply want to get a healthy glow. The invigorating gel consistency is refreshing and non-greasy. Key ingredients like ceramides, chesnut extract, beta glucan, and hunza apricot extract help purify skin, regenerate cells, prevent moisture loss, and improve skin's texture.
To brighten overnight, slather some Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial ($48 at Sephora).
Want to wake up to more radiant skin? The Korres Brightening mask can do the job! Potent wild rose and vitamin C help fade dark spots, even skin tone, moisturize, and protect skin. One night wearing this mask will give you that radiance that you get after receiving a facial. Perfect for women of any age or skin type!
Improve skin elasticity with the Dr. Jart+ Premium Firming Sleeping Mask ($48 at Sephora)
Using hyaluronic acid to help skin retain moisture, kava to boost collagen production and elasticity, and Korean medicinal herbs to purify and boost cell turnover, this masks creates a protective barrier that locks nutrients and moisture into your skin as you sleep. So, you wake up with skin that feels supple, plump, and soft.
If you want to fight blemishes when you sleep, try the Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Clarifying Colloidal Sulfur Mask ($42 at Sephora)
It's tough to find sleeping masks that target oily/acne-prone skin, but Dr. Dennis Gross makes one! In addition to minimizing pores, this mask acts as a pore strip that draws out black heads, impurities, excess oil, and bacteria as you are sleeping. Sulfur helps fight pimples, licorice reduces acne scares and inflammation, and bentonite mattifies. And the mask does all of that without drying out skin. If you have a big day ahead of you, apply this mask the night before to make sure that you don't wake up unpleasantly surprised with a fresh zit that morning.
Next time you have a big event...a party, appearance, holiday...slap on one of these sleeping treatments the night before so that you can put your best face forward ;)
