Let's Be Merry

And sometimes do our best Janis Joplin imitations. Whoops! Hopefully a bad case of Hangover Face is the worst thing you woke up with. Not that I'm accusing you; perhaps you know a friend that's suffered from the telltale symptoms? Puffy face, puffy red eyes, dry dull skin, dark circles, possibly also bags the size of steamer trunks.

What to do? Er, to tell your friend 'Jane' to do?  First of all, did she take her makeup off, or faceplant directly onto the sofa?  If the latter, start with a quick detox mask.  In the meantime, park either Peter Thomas Roth's Cucumber mask in the refrigerator, or a washcloth soaked in that handy mix of green and black tea that I mentioned in a previous post.  Remove the detox mask, and cover your face with PTR mask (even around your eyes), put in moisturizing eyedrops, and drink this concoction:  12 oz glass of water with one tab Berocca, one tab Alka-Seltzer, chase with a milk thistle capsule.  Alternatively, smooth on a soothing/hydrating gel (even plain aloe vera gel works), and cover with the chilled washcloth.  Put teaspoons over your eye sockets (yes, the convex bowl parts).  Emerge 10 minutes later miraculously de-puffed and on your way to sort-of normalcy.  Now get in that shower and get to work!

Random Thought Bubble

My friend Y never wears sunglasses. This drives me bats. The skin around our eyes is super delicate, and needs as much protection as we can offer. As a result of her irrational refusal to submit to my demands, she's the only person I know who has every burnt her eyelids. She claims that she doesn't burn them every time she's out in the sun because she normally wears a lot of dark eyeshadow. True or urban myth? True. Colored makeup pigments frequently have a lot of minerals, which are natural sunscreens. That being said, wear sunglasses!

Now if you do manage to burn your eyelids, brew a strong cup of tea, using one black and one green tea bag. Let it cool, then refrigerate. Soak two cotton pads in the tea, and place them over your eyes for ten minutes. Repeat an hour later, and before bedtime.

Tis the Changing of the Seasons

And potentially the end of the world, based on the weather we're having here in New York. But is that important? No! What's important is how dry our skins get as soon as the weather turns and the heat goes on. I don't know about you, but one day I wake up and my legs itch, my face feels too small, and my feet? Ugh.

A humidifier is your best friend, full stop. But you need to tweak your routine as well.

This is going to sound strange, but if you drink coffee, replace half your consumption with green tea. Really, it makes a huge difference. No idea why. Add moisturizer (or a richer version) under your sunscreen in the morning, and on top of your anti-aging cream at night. Don't hesitate to add oil during the day, and humidity as well. 

What works you ask?  Glad you did.  :-)  For body, Amlactin is the king of lotions.  Its available at every drugstore on earth, is super hydrating, lasts all day, AND is the best weapon on the market for combating KP (keratosis pilaris, aka lots of little red bumps that look like a rash, often appearing on backs of arms and/or tops of thighs, or, if you're super unlucky like me, the sides of your face.)  Downsides:  it smells funny, and the ultra-high dosage of lactic acid may be too strong for some.  To combat the funny smell, I combine it 2:1 with a scented lotion, and if its super dry outside, I make that scented lotion Malin + Goetz Vitamin B5 body lotion, which smells nicely of Bergamot plus has the hydrating benefits of B5.  At night, I put on either Aveeno Positively Ageless Firming body lotion or Weleda Sea Buckthorn Body Oil, and wake up fabulous.  Possibly also looking younger.

Under sunscreen, I use SKII hydrating serum, Sunday Riley Juno oil, or my all-time hydrating favorite, B5 gel by DermaQuest or SkinCeuticals.  Downsides of all of the above:  price tags are astronomical.  At least they all require a very tiny amount to be effective, small comfort that when you're trying to justify the insane amount that you've just spent on some tiny vial of something.  Demand samples of masks at the SKII counter to help yourself get over the sticker shock.

And finally, those feet that more closely resemble hooves:  Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Creme.  Accept no substitutes.  Plus socks.