Gentry
"Perspectives"
June 2006 |
No-Nonsense Advice
Ingredients for Looking Great.
Gentry's Christine VanDeVelde discusses skin care, cosmetics, and the
latest cosmetic procedures that really work.
I am addicted to Diet Coke, mystery novels, Balenciaga bags, and beauty.
Beauty products, that is. I believe in the transformative power of the
perfect blush, the redemptive act of a visit to the cosmetics counter,
and the irresistible appeal of anti-aging creams. I came of age with
Jean Shrimpton, the world's first supermodel and the face of Yardley
cosmetics. My Saturdays were spent at Chester's Department Store in
Sterling, Illinois, stocking up on Yardley's Twiggy eyelashes and
Slicker lip polish -- "to wear under your lipstick, over your lipstick
or all alone!" Slickers came in three colors -- Tan-Tan, which was
brown, an orange Sun Slicker, and Surf, which was a frosty slate blue.
One of the many advantages of being young is that
you can experiment with blue lipstick without dramatic social
repercussions. But for women of a certain age -- anyone who can legally
order a martini -- makeup should be like the best clothes: it should fit
perfectly. So how do you get there? Other than a great makeup artist,
one of the ways is the tried-and-true recommendations of friends. So,
here are my favorite finds from the last year to help you safely
navigate the pharmaceuticals, botanical infusions, serums, tints, and
concealers, as well as the miracle cold cream that can cost $1,000 a
jar.
Mineral Makeup
About a year ago, a makeup artist introduced me to
Bare Escentuals I.D. Bare Minerals mineral makeup. Mineral makeup is
exactly as it sounds -- natural minerals like zinc oxide, mica, kaolin
and titanium dioxide are literally scraped off rocks, then micronized
into a silky powder. A friend who is a plastic surgeon had been touting
it to me for a while because it's so irritant-free -- with no
fragrances, preservatives, oils or talcs, it's even safe to use after
cosmetic procedures like chemical peels and face lifts. But I'm a bit of
a snob when it comes to cosmetics, so I was skeptical of anything sold
in infomercials and on QVC. After all, if it's so great why weren't the
Estee Lauder companies setting up a mineral makeup counter at Saks?
Well, they are.
In the last few months, mineral makeup has become
the "It girl" of the cosmetics world. Neutrogena, Physicians Formula,
Urban Decay, Trish McEvoy and MAC will all introduce mineral lines by
this summer. Why? Because it has SPF protection, is anti-bacterial,
hypoallergenic and so pure that it's the best alternative for anyone who
has sensitive, allergic or acne-prone skin. But the most compelling
reason to try mineral makeup is that it gives you phenomenal coverage
while providing such a natural, glowy look that you get what looks like
a professional result every time you use it. Warning: there is a
technique to the application of mineral makeups. Sephora has
step-by-step instructions on their website and, when you order from Bare
Escentuals I.D. Minerals, the products come with a videotape or DVD that
illustrates the best way to apply them. Mineral makeup is pricier than
oil and water-based makeups, so if you're going to splurge on it, pay
attention to the instructions -- it's time well spent. Also, make sure
your purchase is 100% pure -- the actual minerals should top the
ingredient list. I've tried Bare Escentuals, Colorscience, and
gloMinerals and my daughter uses Jane Iredale, all of which I can
recommend.
(Bare Escentuals is
available at Sephora in Palo Alto. LaBelle Day Spas in Palo Alto carry
gloMinerals. Jane Iredale is available at SkinSpirit in Palo Alto.
Colorscience is available at
www.dermstore.com.)
The Skin Type Solution
According to one source,
the average consumer spends $200 every month on skin care products. That
sounds low to me. Sephora's best-selling Prevage Anti-Aging Treatment is
$150. A Dior lip gloss is $23. St. Tropez self-tanner is $37. Daily
moisturizers from Chanel, La Prairie, and Clinique run anywhere from $60
to $650. There goes your monthly budget. And how many times have you
bought a $75 product only to find it makes your eyes water, your face
break out or your foundation slowly melt off? I hate wasting money on
products that don't work.
And now I don't have to,
thanks to The Skin Type Solution: A Revolutionary Guide To Your Best
Skin Ever by Dr. Leslie Baumann, Director of Cosmetic Dermatology
and head of the University of Miami Cosmetic Center. According to
Baumann, if you don't know what kind of skin you have, you can't know
how to care for your skin. Hence, our budget-busting purchases of
products that don't work. Baumann's book uses a 64-part questionnaire to
diagnose your skin type, replacing the four too-broad categories of
normal, combination, dry and sensitive, with 16 types based on oily vs.
dry, sensitive vs. resistant, pigmented vs. non-pigmented, and wrinkled
vs. tight.
Once you've diagnosed
your skin type, Baumann provides detailed regimens, product
recommendations, prescription treatments, and lists of ingredients each
skin type should look for or avoid when purchasing products. The product
recommendations provided range from drug store brands to department
store lines, with advice on when to splurge and when to save, and
include every imaginable treatment from moisturizers, toners, and eye
creams to sun protection, foundations, and pharmaceutical serums. As
Baumann notes, it's not the price of your skin cream that matters, but
whether it's right for your skin. This, of course, explains why despite
all the hype and the fact that many of my friends swear by the tres
expensive Crème de la Mer, it has never done anything for me except
make my skin break out. After reading Baumann's book, I'm now using
Purpose Moisture Lotion with SPF, available at Long's Drugs, and my skin
has never looked better.
(The Skin Type
Solution: A Revolutionary Guide To Your Best Skin Ever by Dr. Leslie
Baumann, published by Bantam, $22.)
Beauty Blogs
I first became aware of
beauty blogs when the media sites I frequent covered the story of Nadine
Haobsh. As "Jolie in NYC", Haobsh blogged about the freebies, celeb
gossip, secrets and insider info of the beauty biz after she clocked out
of her day job as a beauty editor for a national magazine. Outed by the
media, Haobsh lost her job, racked up more than a million hits on her
website, picked up a book contract and signed on as a blogger for
Jane magazine -- all the while continuing to dish candid talk about
beauty. Her latest entries address Lancome mascaras, cellulite creams
and Bumble and Bumble hair powder.
Haobsh and her fellow
beauty bloggers offer endless how-to tips, product ideas and
makeup artist advice. When every new issue of Vogue touts a bag
full of new products and treatments, it's great to have a virtual
community of girlfriends to help cut through the confusion about
eyeshadow shades, the price of foundation, medi-spa treatments, and the
question of whether or not you need primer. And while national magazines
probably wouldn't recommend a bad product, they tend to feature makeup
and skincare from companies with millions of dollars for product
launches. Blogs offer advice and reviews on the little-known as well as
the mass-market and high-end. For example, I learned more about mineral
makeup in the blogs of the beauty addicts and editors who are obsessed
with it than in the pages of Allure. If you're a makeup junkie
looking for the best blush, want to share a pointer on applying
self-tanner or need to reminisce about Clinique's Three-Step System with
a fellow traveler, check out these blogs:
After all, when Googling
"mascara" returns more than 13 million results, we can use all the help
we can get! Enjoy…
One of the things that is indispensable to a great
beauty routine is expert advice, so we consulted some local authorities
this month. Here four of our experts weigh in with their
recommendations.
One of the most sought-after beauty items on the
Peninsula is an appointment with Menlo Park dermatologist Dr. Recia
Blumenkranz. Booked months in advance by teenagers and their parents,
Blumenkranz is known for her pleasant, matter-of-fact manner as well as
her aesthetics and expertise. Her favorite new products include:
- Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Sunblock SPF55 with Helioplex --
"It feels like nothing, smells good, and is a great sunscreen," says
Blumenkranz
- Restylane injections for wrinkles -- "I'm so impressed by
how natural it looks and how long it lasts," she says.
- Prevage, MD -- Blumenkranz calls this the most effective
and cosmetically elegant of the topical antioxidants.
Former nurse practitioner and medical researcher
Linda Levenson brought together a team of experts in medicine,
aesthetics and beauty technology when she opened the popular Morphosis
Rejuvenation Studio on San Jose's Santana Row. Her picks for making her
clients look and feel better include:
- The Titan -- Levenson says this is the most popular
procedure at Morphosis. Using an FDA-approved infrared light, the
treatment stimulates collagen repair and growth, resulting in younger,
tighter-looking skin.
- Skin Medica TNS products -- Made from NouriCel-MD, the recovery
complex, eye cream and body mist use a mix of multiple human growth
factors, as well as proteins, collagen and other ingredients first
used for wound healing to deliver visible improvement in wrinkles
and skin firmness.
Board certified in Facial Plastic Surgery, as well as Otolaryngology
and Head and Neck Surgery, Dr. Mary Lynn Moran is well-known among the
ladies who lunch and the soccer moms who car pool as the go-to girl for
setting back the clock a few years. She shared a few of her favorite
products, most of which are available at her offices in Woodside or at
her favorite weekend haunt, Neiman Marcus.
- Fotofacial treatments -- This treatment uses
intense pulses of light to penetrate the skin and reduce redness, age
spots and sun damage.
- LaRoche-Posay Anthelios XL 60 tinted sunblock -- The
sunblock of choice for the smart set that frequents the beaches of Turks
and Caicos.
- Prada tinted moisturizer
- Nectifirm Cream -- "A high-tech combination of ingredients
that improves the overall appearance of the neck, which is incredibly
difficult to treat by any method," says Moran.
Bella Schneider, the eponymous owner of the well-known LaBelle Day
Spas of Palo Alto and San Francisco, lives and breathes beauty. When
she's not ministering to her loyal legions in the treatment rooms at one
of her luxe locations, she's cooking up the latest skin care science
into a new cream for her own line of products. Here's what she's been up
to lately.
- The Five-Carat Glow -- This 3-hour state-of-the-art facial
starts with exfoliation of the hands and feet, includes three
exfoliation stages for the face followed by LED light therapy and a
peptide serum and ends with a full body acupressure treatment for
lymphatic drainage.
- LaBelle EcoPeptides -- Schneider's latest product line
incorporates 6 peptides (the latest must-have ingredient) and 10
antioxidants. "It's high-powered, high-tech and high-end," she says.
- Kiss Me
Mascara -- "It is great," says Schneider. "It envelopes the eyelash with
a coat of shiny substance that lengthens, doesn't come off, but is easy
to remove."
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