| Beauty |
The Fabulous Skin you’re IN
Our Special Skin Issue |
| Skin. Smooth, flawless, glowing skin. An outward projection of health
and vitality. It’s what every woman wants. With today’s
advances in skincare, it has never been easier to obtain, no matter
your age. |
This is our roundup of the best skincare products we have tried
and what they can do for you. If a product is mentioned here, we have
tried it and found it be the real deal - effective as well as good
value for the money.
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It’s Never Too Early or Too
Late to Look Fabulous |
| Genetics plays a role in aging, but so does intervention. It’s
never too early or too late to start looking after your skin. Dermatologists
and plastic surgeons have reported that younger women have an increased
interest in preventing skin damage. They hope that by starting anti-aging
measures early, they can delay or avoid more intrusive procedures
later. Smart girls. |
| But at any age, proper care with products, and careful use of sunblock,
can make your skin look smooth, glowing, and fabulous in weeks. |
| Using good products really does get results! |
| We have interviewed many international experts, including doctors,
cosmetic manufactures, and estheticians. Several key timeless principles
have emerged: You don’t need to spend a lot of time or money
to have great skin; sun block is essential; and most women exfoliate
too little and moisturize too much. |
Using products that contain some type of scrubbing grain or an exfoliating
ingredient - such as retinol, glycolic acid, latic acid, or even milder
glucoismine or Vitamin C - is vital for maintaining a smooth, healthy
complexion. Exfoliation renews skin and leaves it fresh. It also helps
to stimulate collagen, which keeps skin firm
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Start Taking Care of Your
Skin in Your 20s and Reap the Benefits at 40 or 50!
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| Older skin usually responds quickly to regular, gentle exfoliation.
Aging slows down cell turnover and skin can look dull. Regular, gentle
exfoliation removes this dull look. |
| Look for a product - no matter the price - that leaves your skin
feeling soft and clean, but never red or raw. Disregard anything a
salesperson might say about removing toxins or shrinking pores; it’s
nonsense! |
| Here are some ideas for effective exfoliating cleansers at great
prices. Olay Daily Facials cleanses, tones,
and exfoliates in one step. It’s great for normal skin, and
helps keep it clear and problem-free. For more mature skin, try Olay
Definity Illuminating Cleanser. It removes eye makeup,
too. Laura Mercier Face Polish smells divine
and is a perfect weekly pick-me-up. |
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| Never Too Early or Too Late to Look After Your Skin
Bathing Suits From Studio Shan |
Photo by: Karin Pacione
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Solve Simple Skin Problems
With the Right Products |
If you have acne, which can start at any age between 13 and 35,
exfoliation can help. Don’t use anything too harsh, which can
aggravate breakouts. Products like Proactiv are often effective. They
contains glycolic acid as well other ingredients to kill bacteria
and help unplug pores.
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Botox Alternative |
| Argiline is known as the “topical
Botox” or “Botox alternative,” although I am not
sure I’d describe it that way. Botox is definitely more dramatic.
But creams that contain the argiline and other “peptides”
in sufficient quality and quantity can make skin look smoother, firmer,
and plumper. |
| The most impressive thing about the new “miracle” peptides
is their almost “instant” effect. While they don’t
pack the all-out smoothing punch of a shot of Botox, skin treated
with the products we tried did look instantly smoother and plumper.
Some of the best line-erasers we have found are Avotone www.avotone.com
and Olay Regenerist Serum. It doesn’t
contain argiline, but it does have another peptide complex along with
their own patented B3 complex and diamethacone. Results are impressive.
|
| Olay’s Definity line with glucosamine
really does even out complexions and fade discolorations - a particular
problem for many women over 30. Clear, even toned skin takes years
off your face. |
Environ, a line out of South Africa, is
available from doctors. (For instance, check out www.menopausehealthclinic.com.)
It has high levels of retinol and vitamins, and is very effective
in reducing and preventing fine lines. Obagi’s Professional
C, also available from doctors, can help reduce fine
lines and fade age spots. Vichy’s Reti C
is a combination of retinol and Vitamin C that works wonders on lines
and spots, but can irritate sensitive skin.
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One-Step Luxury |
| Chanel’s Sublimage provides a one-step
approach for the practical beauty. It firms, reduces fine lines, rehydrates,
and evens skin tones with an extract from a rare Madagascar plant.
Exquisite and simple. |
| For the ultimate in moisturizers, look for products that contain
hyaluronic acid. It helps bind moisture to your skin. Miracle
Eyes at www.buybeauty.com
keeps eyes looking soft and crease-free all day, due to its high concentration
of hyaluronic acid. We also had great results from Epionce
Renewal Eye Cream, a highly protective and
moisturizing product that also helps mask dark under-eye circles. |
Hormones can also affect skin, causing acne, blotching and other
signs of aging. A new line, kaplanMD, targets these problems with
plant-based estrogens as well as botanicals. www.kaplanMD.com.
It also helps reduce hyper-sensitivity.
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Beauty Always
Blocks! |
| Absolutely none of this darling will make you fabulous without a
good sunscreen. Use it all the time. Most products mentioned come
in versions for daytime use, with an SPF. UVA/UVB Block
from Epionce is marked at only 17 SPF, but
its ingredients make it a winner. Also worth a look is Neutrogena
Sunblock Sensitive Skin Lotion 30 with titanium dioxide. |
| And if you are a golden goddess who just has to bronze, please check
out Olay’s Touch of Sun in every possible
combination for face and body. Or try a Mist-on Tan
www.mist-on.com
for a harmless and instant burnish! |
| Well darlings, there you have it. Our basic low-down on what works.
We will also be running down the latest in in-office anti-aging treatments
from your doctor in a future edition. For now, get down to basics
and glory in the results beauty. You’ll be gorgeous. |
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today, and forward
to your friends. Because life should be sweet. |
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| Fashion |
Shady Lady |
If you are going to spend hours in the sun playing, touring, or
hiking, nothing beats the sun-blocking protection of a good hat. Get
one that really shades your face, neck, and décolletage - all
prime areas for age spots and skin cancer. Darlings, that’s
no fun. We love this lightweight, crushable, packable hat from Tilley
Endurables. It’s practical but still a little
sassy.
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| Entertaining, Life
and Style |
Stirred not Shaken |
Bombay Sapphire Gin is a sexy gin in the
brilliant blue bottle. It’s the perfect choice when you’re
looking for something different, but cool and elegant. DolceDolce’s
Anne Gravel recently attended their celebration of the winner of the
Bombay Sapphire Designer Glass Competition at the Jamie Kennedy Kitchen
in Toronto.
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Stir It-Up, the winning glass design. Anne Gravel
with winner Ronen Bauer. |
Photo by: Natalie Chiu
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| The winning glass, "Stir It Up",
was designed by Ronen Bauer. He’s
an award-winning architect from Toronto currently living in Boston.
Bauer said his design was inspired by the act of mixing. His glass
is built in three pieces. The glass ball used for stirring cannot
be removed from the glass. Karim Rashid,
a renowned industrial designer, also attended the event as a celebrity
judge. |
| A wining cocktail recipe from the evening’s Mixlogy Contest: |
| Mumbai Breeze by Robin Gray |
| 1 oz Bombay Sapphire gin |
| ¾ oz. lychee juice |
| 1 3-inch piece of lemon peel |
| 3 tbsp Pomegranate seeds (or ¾ oz. Pomegranate juice) |
| Muddle lemon peel |
| Add pomegranate and muddle again |
| Add the Bombay Sapphire gin and lychee juice |
| Shake vigorously, double strain and pour into a martini glass |
| Garnish with a lychee fruit on a pick |
Muddler – Bar implement used to bruise botanicals in drinks.
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| Report by Anne Gravel. |
| So there we are. Another week gone. We hope you liked our theme
issue on skincare. It’s a subject that we all think about, so
we hope this was helpful. We will be back to our regular mix next
week and look forward to bringing you some new ideas about fashion,
wine, food, and trends. Until then please sign-up
if you haven’t already, and forward
us to a friend. DolceDolce is free, but to grow we
need to have ever more subscribers. So darlings have a sweet week
and mix a cocktail for me. Because life should be sweet. |
| Gracey Hitchcock |
| Editor |
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