Warm Weather Moisturizing

Your facial is finished, your nails are perfect, and your dress is gorgeous. You step outside and within an hour your face has a shine that only another oil slick would love. Sound familiar?

One of the most daunting tasks is switching from a cool weather moisturizer to one light enough for warm, even hot, weather. As you reevaluate your make up shades, refresh your supply of oil free moisturizers and sunscreens. It is easier than you think, but you have to read labels!

• Compare ingredients...

Your fall and winter moisturizers probably show several oils in the first few ingredients. Since skin tends to be oilier during warmer months, it is wise to look for products showing oils further down the ingredients list.

My favorite maneuver is to use a moisturizer that has hyaluronic acid. It doesn't create shine the way many moisturizers do. It seals in moisture against the skin and draws moisture from the environment. In fact, I buy hyaluronic acid alone and use it as the main moisturizing ingredient in personal, warm weather blends. My skin has improved dramatically.

This isn't to say that all oils are undesirable during the warmer months. Jojoba oil is very light and has less shine than a safflower or avocado oil. The key is to spread the oil as thin as possible. Place one or two drops in the palm of your hand, rub your palms together, them pat or lightly stroke the oil on a clean, damp face. This might be all that you need before applying your foundation.

• Do serious moisturizing at night...

Some ladies, and gentlemen for that matter, use night creams as their main moisturizer. You don't have to worry about how it looks with make up, there are no worries about sun exposure, and you look a little better when you wake up! You can also use a heavier moisturizer as part of your home spa regimen. The only warning here is to keep tabs on your skin's behavior during the day as it may become oilier. If this happens, decrease the frequency with which you apply your night cream.

• Do a test drive...

Before a special event, try wearing your moisturizer with the make up you intend to wear, for a few hours. Look in the mirror after 2 or 3 hours to see how much oil or shine is present. This will let you know if you need to make a few adjustments. Use less moisturizer or add a little water.

Don't add water directly to your container of moisturizer, though! This can encourage the growth of bacteria. Spread your moisturizer on your dampened face or add a couple of drops to moisturizer in the palm of your hand, rub your hands together to mix, then apply the mixture to your face.

• Avoid the sun...

A hat, a shady spot, or a colorful parasol will serve you well during outdoor events that start during the afternoon hours. Here, perspiration can add to the break down of your make up and moisturizer. Keep your compact handy! Light dusting of loose mineral veil helps control the shine.

A note about "slip".....

Slip is that smooth glide we seek when applying make up. It is easier to create even coverage for foundation and colors are easier to work with when the skin's surface primed and smoothed. Often, some of that slip is lost when we got to a lighter moisturizer. To preserve slip, look for products that have plant silicones as one of the ingredients. Cyclomethicone is lighter than dimethicone, but both will help your make up glide on while adding a moisture preserving barrier.

I start experimenting with lighter blends during the first weeks of spring, but that time investment isn't for everyone. I just love the creative process, and the results! Read your ingredients, think about problems you have had in the past, and think about your warm weather beauty regimen. There is a product or process, that can solve problems and improve your sense of well being!

New Spring Colors: Lips, Cheeks, and Eyes

The end of winter is in sight. I hope you are as happy about this as I am!

Nothing lifts the spirits like planning a new cosmetic color palette, highlighting the perfectly prepped skin I have worked on all winter. All of those days spent experimenting with facials, peels, and creams have paid off and it is almost time to show off!

I start building my spring make up "to do" list mid February, which means I start trying mineral make up samples almost daily. Using compatible shades means I can save buying separate colors for each zone of my face.

New eyeliner colors

I have been known to stick with blacks and browns in my eyeliner drawer but found a wonderful deep green that enhances the eyes while bringing out those lower lashes where mascara runs amok. Since my eyelashes are black, the green allows them to show up without creating a ghastly pale line beneath.

Try pairing pencil colors to define, creating depth with subtle highlights.

I took Pencil Me In - Natural Eyeliner for a test drive and am thoroughly impressed with the staying power. Be sure to look at all of the colors...there's no reason to think this pencil can't be used for other special effects. Picture yourself on a warm, late spring evening grabbing the attention of an admirer with those Marilyn Monroe like eye lids. A little pink above the darker line right at the edge of the lid will cast that perfect glamour. No worries about the ingredients as they are all natural. It even has its own sharpener attached!


Versatile loose mineral powders.

Give me a jar of the right mica or oxide and I can make it work almost anywhere on my body, but right now I need to focus on the lips and cheeks. Not the hollows of the cheeks, but the cheekbones themselves. I want a hint of highlight there, very sheer, that works as the echo to of the deeper, almost opaque lip color. A smoldering kiss that glows at the cheek. Blended with a matte powder, it will carry an etheric but sultry glow just under the brow.

I found Paradise Sand Mica works for cheeks and lips!

A violet shadow might be the perfect highlight for afternoon gatherings, dusted with something that sparkles, for evening. I happen to love Rose Sparks Shadow and Hi Light Violet Shadow. They are light enough to stay in place and to layer without creating that caked on look, with Rose Sparks bearing flecks of glittery minerals guaranteed to catch moonlight.

This is Rose Sparks!

Simplicity = Perfection

I have a feeling that beauty and fashion gurus are cooking up "new" looks that are striking but simple. Using the same colors for lips and cheeks, while adjusting their depth, will make eyes stand out.

Have your new look ready to go when spring settles in....start here!

Happy Holidays!

The greatest gift is the time we spend with those we love. I will be spending time with my wonderful husband and my cohorts in cosmetic experimentation!

Happy Solstice!

There's Nothing Better Than Free Stuff.....

Discoveries always make me smile and this is no exception. I found a wonderful little ebook with simple recipes for home made bath and body products that I will give away as a little gift to those who subscribe to Beauty Market Buzz or Black Market Beauty news letters and/or feeds.

As the months roll on I hope to widen the collection to include recipes for more complex skin care items, but will always include recipe blends that can be created with items form the health food store, including vitamin C serums, specialty facial masks, exfoliating cleansers....well, you get the idea!

All you have to do is join and the freebie will be emailed. Don't worry, I have no intention of flooding your email like many sites do with daily fluff. Just what I find that will help everyone recover stretch their beauty and skin care dollars!

What are you waiting for?

Hyaluronic Acid: The key to Moisture

I get tons of questions from people who, while cruising through Black Market Beauty, need help with subjects more akin to skin care aspect of beauty. It's kind of tough to figure out what to put on before you use your mineral make up. Since most questions address issues common to mature skin we usually end up talking about moisturizers. The beauty market's buzz is all about holding more moisture in place to create a more youthful appearance, and delivering what has been lost from the skin through time and weather.

Moisturizers have always been the backbone of most skin care products that address aging or sun damaged skin. Where some are very obvious and have been used since ancient times, like olive oil, coconut oil, lanolin, or avocado oil, others are not. One of the items we see often see now is Hyaluronic Acid. It sounds pretty fierce, but then anything with the word “acid” attached makes our minds wander to drain cleaners and glass etching. It also makes those who want to keep anything that might be a “chemical” out of their beauty basics, cringe. Have no fear, all is not lost.

Hyaluronic Acid occurs in nature and can be extracted from ground cockscombs..poor little roosters, but often is produced through bacterial fermentation, which is a process that most people find much less objectionable. It has super moisture retention potential and is found in human skin along with the two other, crucial components, collagen and elastin. It forms a gel when exposed to water, and is used in those lip plumping injections that are all the rage.

A “cocktail" of vitamin C, Hyaluronic acid, Co-enzyme Q-10, and hydrolyzed elastin results in an anti aging cream that holds moisture in place, plumping up wrinkles to create a smooth surface for make up application. Companies like Nivea, Avon, and Prescriptives all rely on Hyaluronic acid to create their most effective anti aging products. You can also blend this with lipsticks to create plumper lips without injections. Add a little DMAE for an added boost, but do so gradually.

We who make our own skin care products also use this wonderful ingredient, saving money by blending it ourselves instead of paying for the advertising budgets of the bigger commercial skin care houses. Once you feel comfortable making less complex facial creams, consider venturing into those that include Hyaluronic acid. It will definitely elevate your facial creams to a new level of effectiveness, drop a note at Black Market Beauty to find out where to get it for your very own creations. You can find out what the beauty market's buzz has been about.

Too Much Tan?

Find 6%Bleaching Cream at Skincare RX

One thing I cannot stand is having to change my make up shade. Being African American with hefty sprinkles of Native American wreaks havoc with my beauty aspirations if I spend any time in the sun during the summer months. Those little seasonal factors are what drew me to mineral make up and blending my own shades, but that is for another entry. Buzz in the market tells me there are some products to help with unwanted tanning issue.

If you are in the same boat, not the heritage mix necessarily, but hate changing your make up shades for each season, think about giving your skin's shade little lift with Physician's Complex 6% Bleaching Cream. I found it while investigating what the beauty market had to offer.

Bleaching creams are extremely popular in Asia, especially Japan, where a pale, almost porcelain skin tone is prized by women. In the west, bleaching creams are used for spot problems and dark under eye circles. Regardless of where you are, there are some common factors that cause the skin to lighten.

Physician's Complex 6% Bleaching Cream has almost all the known bleaching ingredients that are safe for skin, primarily Kojic Acid, Hydroquinone, and Vitamin C in the form of pineapple and lemon extracts. The creators of this little wonder were also wise enough to include moisturizing ingredients to help soften the outer layers of skin and allow the nutritive value of grape extract to penetrate.

I haven't tried it yet but have my eye on it in case I don't feel like blending my late summer mineral foundation soon. The market buzz says it's fair, going by the 3 star rating, but in my mind that's better than many products I have seen that only had hydroquinone as the main bleaching ingredient.

If you manage to sample this product, let us know and your comment will be added to the beauty market buzz.

Throwing a Makeup Party?

Visit the new Coby's Clips Beauty tips! Coby Taylor has spent most of the last 12 years make up and hair design for photo shoots and weddings and realized that many women, and girls, are uncomfortable trying on make up at the counters of expensive stores, and feel that sales people are a bit too pushy. With this in mind, she has created DVD's, available at her site and through Amazon.com.

Her unique DVD's are inexpensive and cover subjects like throwing your own make up party, and tips on applying different cosmetics, perfect as inspiration for getting friends together to experiment with mineral make up or new skin product blends. An added benefit is her donating a portion of sales to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Rock of Africa.

Stop by, show your support, invite your friends over!

N.V. Perricone Advanced Face Firming Activator

I found this little gem, N.V. Perricone Advanced Face Firming Activator, a few months ago and gave it a try. You can bet that it was the sample size but I was inspired by the buzz it created among the same friends that talked me into selling mineral make up. I was impressed because it has ingredients that I am familiar with from my little mad scientist experiments in hand made toiletries and cosmetics.

One noticeable ingredient is Glycolic Acid which we all know exfoliates in concentrations that are high enough to be dangerous to those who are just too dense for words. This might be a concern because this product is for morning use! Don't take the directions lightly! You really do need to use a moisturizer and sunscreen afterward!

N.V. Perricone Advanced Face Firming Activator isn't for the faint of heart in the price area either, but you only need a couple of drips to smooth over your whole face. It lasts a long time if you are careful to use other products for daily, casual wear. Its something I would save for the week before a class reunion or another special event, just to make sure I am as stunning as I want to be!

Related Articles:

What is DMAE?

What's That on Your Face?

It's fun reading all the great reviews on skincare items. They talk about the price, how smoothly they go on, and other issues that don't really get to the heart of the matter; what's in that stuff and what is it supposed to do?

That's something I always want to know when choosing a skincare item or a cosmetic product. Since I take the time to carefully choose mineral make up for my face, I spend the same time selecting the proper skincare product. I have to know what is in it because price isn't a very good indicator of what is actually going to happen. Many times the ingredients are the same, regardless of price.

I am here to share what I find out about all the luscious creams and serums we use daily to hide signs of aging, treat fine lines and wrinkles, treat our dark under eye circles, and conceal our flaws. Stop by often to keep up on my discoveries.