Category — Tips

Feeling the need to scrub your face?

Try a gentle, natural, and let’s face it, much cheaper method. Simply mix a little baking soda into a small dollop of your normal cream face wash and massage onto your face. The baking soda is not rough on sensitive skin, rinses clean, and helps purify your pores. And you probably already have it your kitchen cupboard.

Before hitting the sun, surf, or pool this summer don’t just apply SPF to your skin, be attentive to your hair’s special needs as well. Summer humidity, pool chemicals, ocean breezes and salt can take a major toll on your locks.

Here’s a list of my hints for summer haircare:

1. Slather on conditioner or a hair serum before entering the pool or ocean. By filling your hair’s cuticle with conditioner, less chemicals will seep in. This is particularly important for blondes. Serum will act as a barrier and assist your hair in sloughing off all the baddies. (Bionic’s recommendations: BioInfusion Hydrating Conditioning Balm, International Orange’s hair cream, or Herbaria’s Jojoba Healthy Hair).
2. Use a UV protectant spray prior to and during sun exposure. It’ll help prevent color fade- making your hair color, natural color and highlights stay bright and true. Pack your UV spray in your beach/pool bag and reapply whenever you add more sunblock to your body. (I recommend: pHormulate’s 3a Leave-in Treatment).
3. Leave-in Conditioners work exceptionally well to prevent wind tangles (when applied before) and help you gently comb out knots (when applied after). I don’t leave home without it. (Recommendation: Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Moisture Mist - it even works *great* on your skin!)
4. Embrace surf styled hair and texture. Summer should be laid back. Don’t worry so much about fly-aways and bends. Use a hair paste or wax to gently twist your hair into “ropes” (run your fingers through after 10 minutes to loosen the waves) or gather hair loosely into a pony tail or headband. Which brings us to number…
5. When using elastic bands to tie back your hair, avoid the ones with the metal clasps. The metal can catch and break fragile hair, and can even react with pool chemicals!
6. Save yourself pain later and apply sunblock to your hair part and ears. Trust me.
7. When all else fails, or for an impromptu outing, grab your ball cap and rock it. Guys love it.

What’s your pre-sun ritual for hair care?

With the sun and hence swimsuit season upon us, let’s share tips on sunless tanners. Below are my fail safe tricks to get a natural looking glow sans streaks, blotches or skin nightmares.

• Exfoliate during your shower. This is so very important to getting an even application with sunless tanners. I use a bath pouf or a loofah with my body wash and wash my entire body. Then, I very lightly wash with a non-moisturizing exfoliant or microdermabrasion body wash (like Lancome’s Microdermabrasion for body). Your goal is to get an even layer of fresh skin. Without exfoliating, your skin has an uneven “shed” of skin cells causing the skin to absorb the tanner at different rates.
• Before applying your tanner, slather your favorite cream, lotion or barrier cream on your hands (focusing on cuticles and in between fingers). Rub the excess lightly over your knees and elbows. This step helps prevent the dreaded orange hands and allows the tanner to wash off your hands much easier!
• If you are inexperienced, do not choose a foam tanner. These are more difficult to apply and get on your body evenly. Stick with a gel or cream that has some color to it. The color will allow you to see where you’ve already applied the tanner.
• Wash those hands! After application, use your bath pouf or microdermabrasion to lightly scrub your hands clean. Apply another layer of lotion or cream over top (helps to dilute any remaining tanner on your hands).
• Plan some projects! If you are not using a quick-dry formula (and even if you are, you should wait at least 10 minutes before dressing), plan some things to do while the tanner sinks into your skin and dries. Fold laundry, apply a face mask, refresh your toenail polish. And don’t wear white shorts or pants immediately after applying your tanner- you will just be asking for trouble!

What are your secret tips for a successful sunless tan?

Home Spa Goddess has found a very believable duplicate for MAC’s ultra-hot (and ultra-high-priced-on-eBay) eyeshadow, Parrot. And it’s none other than L’Oreal HiP eyeshadow duo in Showy #224. Visit her post to view the tutorial on a beautiful look with this shadow. I think she’s inspired me to try some color… even if I just wear it around the house!

When applying cream blush, put it directly over top your foundation, then powder lightly over top of the blush. Otherwise, if you apply cream blushes on top of powder, they will mix into a clumpy mess.

Remember ladies, this holiday season don’t go overboard on the glitter. If you sparkle on your eyes, don’t top your lips with glimmer too. Play up just one feature (cheeks, lips, eyes, skin) with shimmer and you will be festive but not “that girl”.

Typically I will break out a little extra sparkle by applying a shimmery shadow on my browbone and then *lightly* sweeping same color across the bridge of the nose and one strip across your cheeks. It just adds a subtle shine, not even noticeable. Another alternative, if you are showing shoulder is to use body lotion with shimmer (such as those by Jergens or Revlon) and apply across your shoulders. You’re skin will have a healthy glow under lighting, but you will not appear faux tanned.

Also, take into account what you plan to wear. A charcoal gray or little black dress with rhinestones demands sophisticated makeup. Stick with a glammed up version of the natural look.

Just a friendly Bionic reminder. Share your holiday makeup tips below!

I’ve received a few reader Q’s regarding what my typical nightly skin routine is, I’m posting up to share. I believe it’s a natural female instinct to wonder what everyone else is using, what their secret may be, and comparing it to your own. Like our own little Consumer Reports survey.

When I am not testing new products on my skin, here are my standard go-to’s:

1. Facewash: Noxema for normal skin, and twice a week I load some up onto a washcloth for extra scrubbing. I find I need to moisturize less with this face wash, it keeps my skin tone even, and doesn’t peel, redden or scuff up my skin.
2. Toner: Dickinson’s Witch Hazel.
3. If needed, spot treat any blemishes with Tea Tree Oil.
4. Treatment: Boots UK Restore and Renew serum. I can’t say enough great things about this star of a product!
5. Moisturizer: Neutrogena Visibly Even Daily SPF 15 Moisturizer (when needed and every night in the winter).

That’s it. I really try to keep it simple since I abhor product overload, and with my sensitive skin I have to watch for certain ingredients that might cause redness or breakouts.

So chicas, what is your secret nightly regimen?