Having the fabulous outfit to wear, plus the right shoes means you must complete the look with a flawless face. The principles for the flawless face (evening makeup) are not to pile on the makeup, but to switch to more dramatic tones to enhance the face. There is nothing worse than a gorgeous dress and really bad makeup or no makeup at all. If this little tutorial becomes too technical for the makeup novice (you can be 16 or 80), please don’t hesitate to come by the spa for your free makeup application and lesson.

Evening makeup allows you to experiment and have fun. Not only are your features more defined, but the color can be more expressive and darker. Remember the following tutorial is not your everyday makeup application, it is evening makeup for special parties, weddings, or that romantic dinner.

No matter what your age (our oldest makeup student is 85), remember to take care of your skin first. Makeup application to clean, exfoliated skin makes a world of difference. If you see a women with makeup that looks clumpy, it’s not her makeup, it it’s her skin care regimen. So start with exfoliated and moisturized skin and your makeup will look fabulous. Let’s begin.

Eye shadow primer is to keep the eye shadow from creasing and to help the eye makeup last longer. Apply over the entire eye area from the base of the lashes up to the brow.
Smooth concealer to mask imperfections: blemishes, dark circles, red capillaries, etc. Dark hides and light draws attention. Opposite colors cover. For example, green covers red.
Apply foundation with a sponge using outward, sweeping strokes, carefully blending along jaw line and hairline. Always match the color by testing on the jaw line.
Powder sets the foundation, absorbs excess oil and gives the skin a flawless finish. Use a loose mineral powder to set makeup by applying over face using light downward strokes with a large brush in the direction of the facial hair.
Apply a medium to dark shade of powder blush under cheek bone. Apply a lighter shade over the darker shade on the ball of the cheek. If you dare gold dust or silver dust creates a playful evening look on the cheeks.
Pencil in brows with 1/2 to 1 shade darker than natural color. Apply with small short strokes to naturally shape and define brows or use a brow powder. Apply brow gel to set the brows in place.
Eyes. Apply light shade of eye color from lash line to brow. Apply a darker shade of eye color in a thin line in the crease of the eye. This will make the eyelid look larger and the brow bone stronger. Apply a medium shade of eye color over the darker shade in the crease. Blend into brow bone. This will make the structure of the eye appear stronger. Apply black eyeliner to upper lashes. Start at the inner corner of the eye with a thin line, creating a thicker line along the iris. Extend line diagonally upward past outer corner of the eye. Line lower lashes with eye liner. Blend. Do not close line at the outer corner since this will make the eye appear smaller. Apply two coats of mascara on upper and lower lashes.
Lips. Use short, feather-like strokes to line toward each corner. Line center of lower lip and then apply from corners of the lip toward the center to connect the lines. Stroke color from center to corners of upper lip and from corner to corner of lower lip. Use a lip brush to blend with lip liner pencil. Apply a very light color to the center of the bottom lip and then apply gloss.

Beautiful!

As one to always try our spas for new ideas, I decided to try the newest spa in the Bahamas on a recent mini-vacation. The massage sounded nice and they had seven different kinds….ranging from Swedish, to Shiatsu, to Sports to Aromatherapy. In addition they had all kinds of body wraps from a mud wrap to seaweed to salt glows. I was really looking forward to the experience not only to relax, but the holiday was crazy and I really needed a massage. I decided to have a Swedish massage and a seaweed wrap. My friend had never had a massage and opted for the Swedish massage and the mud wrap. I just wanted a nice, relaxing massage, you know the warm, fuzzy kind of massage Little did I know, that we were in for 2 hours of torture.

The massage therapist was a rather large and took me into a very relaxing room, but it was cold. She asked me to get under a skinny towel….it was really cold. She came back in and asked how would I like the pressure….I said deep (before I knew how strong she was). After the first touch, I knew that I was in for a deep massage, but not pain. I told her that the pressure was a little too deep, but I don’t think she understood. The elbow into the shoulder blade should have been my first clue, but I was in total denial.

The agony continued with the slapping of the legs (also know as a percussion stroke in a normal massage and usually reserved for the feet), it felt like she was beating me. The strokes of a massage can include tapotaments, one of which is a tapping stroke, but in this case it felt more like a hammer. The ending was like the grand finale. While lying prone, she asked me to put my arms over my head and clutch my hands around her waist. She said to hold tight while she was going to stretch me. I kindly said, hey I don’t think my arms were meant to stretch this way….she said no problem. Little did I know, she thought otherwise.

Because the massage was so rough, I asked how many years she had trained….the reply was three years. And then I thought maybe it was because she was new….so I asked her how long she had been working….she replied two years at spas throughout the Bahamas. (So as least she spreads her torture around!)

I met my friend in the waiting room and asked her how her massage was….she said, “I feel like someone beat the dickens out of me”. I said, “me too”. They must have both trained in the, “beat the client massage school”. The bruises I had the next day was all the proof I needed to know I had a terrible massage, but what really puzzled me was why I did not stop her from torturing me.

Now for the lesson learned–we are in the spa business and I still did not pipe up and say anything. When you have a massage, yes it can be therapeutic, but it should not be painful. Why is it that when you are on the massage table, you feel powerless to say anything? We feel like the massage therapist is the expert and she should certainly know what she is doing.

If you are having a massage there should be great communication between you and your therapist. They should have communicated clearly the pressure, the touch, and the type of massage you are going to receive. Also, they should clearly know what muscle problems you might have. Massage, if not done correctly, can injure the soft tissue.
Massage is suppose to remove the pain and stiffness from the soft tissue, toning muscles, and relaxing muscle spasms. Skillfully applied, massage directly and indirectly influences the structures and functions of the body. The immediate effects are first noticed on the skin with the secondary results including more active circulation and detoxification. So the next time you have a massage, don’t forget to let them know how you are feeling….if they were fixing your car, wouldn’t you speak up?

Q. What is the best way to cover acne breakouts and acne scars?

A. When you are covering and camouflaging, remember that the color that you are trying to cover is the key to great coverage. Acne scars are sometimes purple, while acne breakouts are reddish. If what you want to cover up is red, use concealer with a yellow undertone to cancel out the red. We love the Circle 1 from Jane Iredale. Gently dab the concealer on the area. Tap the area to blend. Cover with a thin layer of foundation and brush on a little powder. Step back from the mirror and see how it looks. If you still need more coverage, repeat the process again. The thinner the layers the better, because it looks more natural. Also, remember, that people do not look at you from 6 inches away…..a more normal distance is 2 –3 feet…so stand back from the mirror to judge your makeup.

You train, you train, and you train.  You have staff and employees for years, and yet, just when you think everything is going well, your very best therapist decides to share her recent medical maladies.  You wish you could take it back, but the damage is done.

I was so looking forward to my 85 minute Indian Body Wrap and Massage, and was on the table in seconds.  The therapist held up the Indian peace pipe and explained that the ritual would include ancient Indian peace rituals—I can not get enough of this.  She then gave two little coughs. I expressed concern and she replied, “oh it’s nothing but my gall bladder”.

Alarmed, I said-”your gall bladder”—she replied, “it’s been acting up lately and it makes me cough”.   She then started the massage, but the Indian magic was over.  As she continued the massage, she kept up the little cough and kept leaving the table to get sips of water.

Finally, after 30 minutes, I gave in to “this massage is over,  Thank you.”  Putting on my robe, and leaving the treatment room, I was met at the door by the spa director.  “What is the problem?  What happened?”  I explained what happened.  She said that this therapist had been with her for over 10 years and she was very good and never had a complaint.  Great,  I thought, for ten years, this woman has been telling everyone her ailments and inflicting her bad mojo energy on guests. 

What part of zip your lip did this therapist not get?  Even after I ended the massage, I still don’t think she fully understood why I was ending the massage.  It’s no fun to listen to other people complain, especially when you are paying for it.

Three little rules for all therapists: 

1. If they ask a question, answer with one word. 
2. Keep the chatter to a minimum.
3. Unless you are having heart failure (or something similar), don’t ever let the guest see you sweat.

The days of using just soap and water on your skin are over for most people, especially if you want to have a great complexion and look younger. Few people realize that the skin is the largest organ of the body and it acts as the first defense against the environment, therefore we need to constantly take care of our skin and make it feel beautiful. But more important, great skin is now like a symbol of youth, no matter how old you are, if you have great skin, you will be very self-confidant and sure of yourself.

So what does it take to have great skin and what is great skin? We like to define great skin, as smooth feeling, glowing, and unblemished. It has nothing to do with wrinkles, age spots, pregnancy mask, skin tags, or any of the other numerous (and quite lovely) skin problems. Great skin is radiant and again, it has nothing to do with age.

Early intervention and taking care of your skin in your 20’s will give you fabulous skin when you are eighty. From lifestyle to technology, skincare is having a revolution in the aging process. We want to minimize the aging process by fighting increasing dryness, loss of elasticity, fine lines and wrinkles, rough texture, dehydration, hyperpigmentation . . . just to name a few of the aging signals. From exfoliation to skin lighteners to sun protection, advanced skin care is for those who want to go the extra mile. Your daily home care regimen and how you take care of your skin at home is the key to great skin.

For lifestyle, you have to evaluate your skin and obvious hereditary factors, exposure to the elements and lifestyle (smoking, alcohol) will contribute to the physical changes in your skin as you age. Nutrition, especially heavy dieting and vitamin defiencies can contribute to skin changes and aging, including hyperpigmentation. It is well known that proper skincare, long-term preventative techniques contribute to a total wellness approach to great skin. The tops in lifestyle for having great skin are to drink more water, decrease sun exposure, exfoliate more rapidly, use more moisturizers, get more sleep, and eat right. Your skin can tell you how well you are taking care of yourself.

As technology and science starts to evaluate the skin, we will continue to have advances in skin care and skin care treatments. For starters, you have to know what kind of skin you have—is it oily, normal or dry, and then there are a myriad of new treatments available from microdermabrasion to oxygen peels to the old standby, glycolic acid. Your skin can look the best ever as technology gives us the ability to exfoliate dead skin cells, increase cellular turnover, encourage collage and elastin to reconnect, or through DNA cell therapy have the new skin cells rebuild. It all sounds a little like a science project, but the technology is available to have smooth, glowing and radiant skin.

It seems like there is never enough time in the day to get everything done. Take the time, no matter your age, to get a sense of how your skin is doing. Dedication to good skin care will help you look and feel younger….even radiant.

Acne is the most common skin disease. It is only controllable not curable. It is, in short, no simple matter. Teen acne, as opposed to adult acne, is characterized by:
    

• peak oil production
• can tolerate stronger oil solvents
• lots of blackheads
• cell proliferation rate 28-30 days
• damaged cells replaced quickly
• easy to re-hydrate skin
• breakouts are constant
• main cause is hormonal
• high oil production

Adult acne is characterized by:

• oil production tapering off
• can NOT tolerate strong oil solvents
  fewer and fewer blackheads
• cell proliferation rate 35-45 days
  takes longer to replace damaged cells
• cellular buildup makes skin harder to re-hydrate
  breakouts can be cyclic, constant or sporadic
• main cause is hormonalAcne Aggravators

  Acne is a chronic skin disorder. Even when the skin looks clear, it will still have acne impactions and constant tension in the follicles. If you could see inside these weakened follicles, you would see constant breaking, leaking and healing activity. When the acne skin is clear, a delicate balance has been struck with the disorder. Some known acne aggravators are as follows:

• Stress: Stress effects us physically at our weakest point and in acne prone individuals that can mean the follicle.
• Humidity / Climate: The swelling or hyper hydration of the skin due to hot & humid climates breaks down the fragile follicle due to the pressure.
• Pressure / Friction: The constant rubbing and touching of the skin is an acne aggravator. Once again, the increased pressure on the follicle sets off the inflammation.
• Picking:If the skin is not properly prepared when pressure is applied to expel the follicular debris, there is not an adequate opening for the debris to move to the surface. This forces the follicle to break down & imbeds the matter deeper into the skin tissue.
• Industrial Chemicals: Various chemicals are potent, & when they come into contact with the skin, aggravate acne. Coal tars used by roofers, grease from auto mechanics or frying foods from a chef are examples of acne aggravators.
• Iodide:Once iodide (iodine) enters the body and mixes into the bloodstream, the excess is excreted through the oil glands. As it is excreted, it irritates the follicle causing acne flare ups. Large amounts can induce acne in anyone. Seafood is a common carrier of iodide.
• Cosmetics: Comedones (blackheads) caused by cosmetics will protrude instead of being imbedded in the skin, and the skin around these comedones will be free of redness. Cosmetic acne is localized and based on the tendency of the skin’s follicles to clog when exposed to a certain cosmetic ingredient.
• Menstrual Cycle: The outbreak occurs in most women 10-14 days before they begin to menstruate. This is due to the hormone activity which triggers the increase in sebum production.
• Drugs: Certain drugs go beyond aggravating acne, but actually cause acne in skins which otherwise would not be vulnerable. Examples: Birth Control, Lithium, Dilantin, Steroids, or High doses of B12
• Pregnancy: During the first 3 months, acne prone women usually have an outbreak due to hormonal changes, but in the last six months the body is flooded with extra estrogen which reduces sebum (oil) flow.
  Treating acne requires a program tailored to your needs. A combination of different products and treatments will provide faster improvement. For example, Alpha Hydroxy Acid (Exfogel) speeds up the removal of cellular debris and waste. The anti-bacterial drug (Benzoyl Peroxide) can penetrate into the follicles to kill bacteria and interrupt the impaction forming process.  There are many treatments available and sometimes it is a matter of testing to see which products work for your acne.