Zoe’s beauty blogs from 2006 – now | Zotheysay

Zoe’s beauty blogs from 2006 – now

How to properly treat and prevent hyperpigmentation.

Posted by zoe foster blake / Beauty, Skin

I love my skin, we get on well. We hang out every single day, so tight is our bond.

The hyperpigmentation that is perched on it, however, NO. We are not friends. We are enemies, and it is my chief focus in terms of corrective skin care. I wish it a grisly death many times over.

Hyperpigmentation, also known as sun spots, age spots, dark spots, brown marks and ‘the mask of pregnancy’, is so common among Australian women that my statistic calculator broke when I asked it for some numbers. We all have it, and while all skin tones suffer from pigmentation, those with darker Asian, Mediterranean and African skin tones are particularly prone. Especially if they have a lot of sun exposure.

IT’S REAL EASY TO GET.

Just ask any doll who’s spent a week on a beachy holiday only to return with brown smatterings across their nose, upper cheeks, upper lip and forehead and they will tell you just how easy.

Standard hyperpigmentation… Look familiar?

This is because hyperpigmentation is (most often) caused by UV exposure. Ysee, UV stimulates the pigment cells (melanocytes) in our epidermis to start making melanin. This is what causes suntans (sooo ’80s) but also hyperpigmentation. Another terrific reason to not to hang out in the sun.

Sadly, most of the hyperpigmentation you’ve got now, you actually probably actually earned 20 years ago. (It takes an average of 10 years for sun damage to translate into brown spots.) It’s just being encouraged and worsened by current UV exposure. Cute!

Other causes:

Heat: Environmental heat can trigger your hyperpigmentation. This is so incredibly shit because even if you are FBI vigilant about your skin care and physical sun protection and hat and sunnies, you can still cop discolouration, because thermal heat encourages those naughty melanocytes to produce melanin.

Hormones: Hormonal hyperpigmentation looks the same as UV hyperpigmentation, but has a bitchier attitude and eats more Tim Tams. It’s generally caused by the pill or pregnancy and is further exacerbated by that big hot witch in the sky.

Injury: Know how when you pick at a pimple, you get that red-browny scar that won’t piss off, no matter how much Vitamin E oil you use on it? That’s because it’s not a scar, it’s post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which comes about after trauma or injury to the skin. It can also happen after needles, injections, burns or any kind of inflammation.

WHY SHOULD I CARE SO MUCH ABOUT MY PIGMENTATION?

Because, to be blunt, it’s making you look older than you actually are. You see, hyperpigmentation creates uneven skin tone, which I believe is far more ageing than lines and wrinkles.

I’m not alone in my thinking of this. In the last five years or so, you would have seen a whole bunch of new products pop up that are skin discolouration targeted. They have names like ‘Dark Spot Corrector’ or ‘whitening’ or ‘brightening’ and work to fade that excess melanin to the point where your skin is brighter and in the case of Caucasian and Asian markets, whiter. They are not bleaching products. Most of the time they simply exfoliate the skin to remove the layer of skin cells with the brown spots and therefore give an overall more luminous complexion, and/or they incorporate ingredients and technology to specifically target the site of the melanin production, and put up some stop signs.

If you have hyperpigmentation, you should be using these products.

Trust me on this one. If you focus on removing (or seriously fading) those dark spots, and making your skin look as bright and luminous as possible, you won’t care about any lines and wrinkles you have. I promise! I promise. Such is the power of even skin tone. Think about women in countries that see very little sun: they may have many wrinkles, many creases, but since their skin tone is free of sun spots, they still maintain a look of youth and glow. Compare this to a woman who has spent a lot of her life in the sun, and has a face covered in dark splodges: the skin looks uneven, weathered, aged, uncared for.

This woman has had a series of intense laser treatments for her discolouration. (I think it was worth it.)
See how even though she has the same lines and creases in both pictures, she looks far younger in the right?

A study in 2010 brought this to light using photos of middle-aged women that were Photoshopped into two sets: one version with extremely uneven skin tone (“hyperpigmentation”), and one version with an abundance of deep wrinkles. Both sets of pictures were showed to a group of people who had to rate the attractiveness and youthfulness of the women’s faces. Almost unanimously the women with uneven skin tone were voted less attractive (reeeowr!) and much older than their wrinkled compatriots. Clearly we shouldn’t be judging any woman on her ageing process, digitally manipulated or otherwise, any dingus knows that, but what we can take away from this is that our brown spots age us more than our wrinkles.

THE RULES OF FIGHTING PIGMENTATION.

The first rule in Pigmentation Club is that about pigmentation is patience. It took you a while to get that sun damage, it’s going to take you a while to get rid of it. Most products will take at least four weeks until results can be seen.

The second rule is diligence. There is zero point buying and using a mountain of fancy new products and having expensive professional treatments if you then neglect to wear a physical sunscreen every single day, and cover your face thoroughly from the sun when outdoors. Your pigmentation is always, always lingering just under the surface, like a creep, waiting for a chance to come back. Don’t let it.

And I think the third rule is something about not talking about Pigmentation Club.

THE PRODUCTS YOU NEED

Sunscreen.

Less of an option, more of a command. Use it every single day, on top of your pigment blocker, and underneath your makeup. This is so crucial, not only to protect your skin from UVA and UVB damage, but also because as we all know, whenever you use AHAs or BHAs, you MUST wear sunscreen every day, to protect the lovely fresh skin you’ve just exfoliated.

It’s also a smart move to ensure there are lots of antioxidants in your skin care when dealing your dark spots. Vitamin C, for example, is a stupendously good skin-brightener. Go hard on it.

A pigment blocker.

There are various types of blockers or inhibitors, each working in their own way to prevent pigmentation triggering in the first place, which means less time spent treating it. There are tyrosinanse inhibitors, (a group which includes famous pigmentation fighters like the controversial hydroquinone and kojic acid, as well as the non-controversial mulberry extract) which work to block the enzyme tyrosinase that’s needed to make melanin. There are also PAR-2 inhibitors, like soy and niacinamide, which can result in reduced melanosomal transfer and distribution, leading to a lightening of skin pigmentation.

Ideally you would use a pigment blocker morning and night on clean skin. I use Aspect’s Pigment Punch (hydroquinone-free) as my serum, and it is exceptional. Lady Dame Brooke Walker at Me Skin and Body in South Yarra put me onto it. Terribly knowledgable lass that one. (She’s been helping me in my efforts of pigmentation obliteration.) Other options include Plunkett’s SuperFade, or for one without hydroquinone try Skin Medica’s Lytera Skin Brightening Complex.

An exfoliant.

But not your daggy old apricot scrub. You need chemical exfoliants, in the form of gentle AHAs or BHAs, which will rid the skin of cells with pigment, or the “expression” stage of pigmentation. Look for ingredients like glycolic acid, lactic acid, citric acid and salicylic acid, and retinol if your skin is up to it. Your exfoliation can be in the form of a cleanser, toner, face cream, a serum, or a dedicated exfoliant, and it’s best to get some professional advice on how often you should exfoliate (especially if you are having professional peels as well) although a good guide for most of us is 2-3 times a week. Let me stare at you for a good minute here and remind you that this is not a case of more is better: milder products used every few days will serve you much better than really aggressive actives used too often… that will lead to inflammation which leads to hyperpigmentation. Oh, what fun.

There are SO many great products out there in this category, and hopefully a bunch of you babes will offer you best and most loved in comments. I am a fan of Alpha-H’s Liquid Gold, Ultraceuticals Even Skintone Serum and Dermalogica’s Tri-active Cleanse.

SHOULDN’T I BE GETTING LASER TREATMENTS OR IPL OR SOME SUCH THING?

Maybe. If you have lighter skin, you will get good results, but the overwhelming feedback from those who’ve had laser to correct their hyperpigmentation is that it came back, or it was a lot of work to maintain. I had Fraxel a few years ago for my pigmentation and I would not recommend it. I tried it in my role as a beauty writer who should try things she writes about so she can authentically recommend them, and dearly wish I didn’t. I long for my pre-Fraxel skin tone. Whether it brought out old hyperpigmentation that was laying dormant, or allowed new hyperpigmentation to settle in, it has definitely made my skin worse. I appreciate that you often have to have a few treatments to get the full and best results, but my keenness was hovering somewhere around minus 74893% after the trauma my skin went through.

Laser toning is one treatment that does get good reviews, (even for darker skin tones) but remember: you have to be willing to basically live as a vampire if you go down the laser route. Because one day in the sun, even a few hours, can mess your skin back up.

IPL is a good, non-invasive solution that over a course of treatments will definitely give you great results, but I can’t go past a good in-salon lactic peel myself. It’s the most gentle of the AHAs and doesn’t irritate, but it does give great, glowing, bright results. I’m on a program of a peel every 2-3 weeks at the moment, combined with my at home stuff and my crazy vigilance with sun protection, hats and sunglasses.

Okay. This is a very long post, and I for one, need a crumpet.

What do you use for your hyperpigmentation?

Responses to this drivel: 190 Comments

03
Oct

How to properly and completely conceal a cold sore with makeup.

Posted by zoe foster blake / Beauty, Skin

Don’t worry, I don’t really want to look at pictures of me with a cold sore either.

But! If it helps women who are fed up with having their face hijacked by these vile offenders to look and feel better, then it’s obviously worth it. Now please excuse me while I adjust my halo.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN:

Ensure you have destroyed your cold sore thoroughly, using the artillery and techniques listed here.

Obviously the best case scenario is that you avoid events and outings until your cold sore has hit the dry, flaky healed stage (and remember: you must wear those Compeed patches until then, if you stop using them too early, it will scab and then every dingus and his dog will notice your big, red cold sore. The patches stop the scab from occurring, that is their magic), but this isn’t always viable because often we have jobs and a life and need to buy groceries or attend birthday parties or pan flute class.

So, here’s what to do in the meantime, here is a tried and tested, friends-have-done-it-too-and-swear-by-it way to completely conceal your cold sore, which I sincerely hope works for you.

NOTE: Some people prefer to just apply a paw paw cream to the cold sore and a lot of shiny nude lip gloss when they go out, and look, in the past I have recommend playing up the eyes and leaving the lips nude so as not to draw attention to them/that area/the sore, but over the past few years I have much favoured the technique below, which is a dark long-last lipstick with bronzer and fresh, wide-awake eyes. I feel more confident, and I feel like the cold sore is far less visible. To the point of invisible, in fact. Try it out anyway, and see if it suits you.

Remove your patch and allow the sore to dry off. Apply some nail polish remover to some tissue and press on the sore for 10-20 seconds. Yes, really. This will further dry it out, which is what you want before applying this kind of concealing sorcery (and going without your patches for several hours.)

Apply a pure lip balm to your lips to hydrate them – crucial when you wear a long-last lipstick as they’re generally pretty drying. Apply foundation all over the face.

Grab some creamy concealer – I used Maybelline NY Fit Me concealer- and apply a small amount to your index finger.

Gently press the concealer onto the cold sore. Do a few layers if required.

Once it’s completely covered, go on and press concealer over the lips.

IF you prefer to play up your eyes, or are not one for bright lipstick, you could realistically stop here. Keep in mind though that the lips will crack and flake soon, (they will likely already be dry and cracked because lips that harbour cold sores are always fucking dry and cracked for some reason) and will need more balm and concealer.

The magic product! Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Liquid Lipstick in Top Tomato. Is a lovely warm red lipstick that DOES NOT MOVE FOR HOURS AND HOURS and is fantastic as a stand alone product, but since it has saved my arse many times in cold sore situations (I never travel without it for just this reason) I have come to fondly think of it as my Cold Sore Wizard.
Revlon must be so proud.

Apply using a cotton tip, a disposable lip brush or the applicator if you are CONVINCED the cold sore is dead/you need a new tube and this will be its last use as in my case. We all know about cold sores and spreading them via lip products, toothbrushes, etc…

Be sure to take the colour right into the corners and do the entire outline of the lips. This is acting as camouflage, remember: it needs to be thorough. Spend time ensuring you cover any portion of the cold sore on the lips properly and neatly, and work fast cos it sets quick. I do two layers.

Now take a waxy, long-last hard concealer – I use Revlon’s PhotoReady Concealer – and apply a small amount to your index finger.

Gently press the concealer over the site of cold sore with your finger to set it, and ensure it is thoroughly concealed. Do this around the entire mouth so it is uniform, ensuring you still have a fetching sharp red lipstick line. if you like, you can set with a touch of loose powder too, although I find powder can sometimes exacerbate any of the flakes/bumps.

What cold sore? NO cold sore. Well done, you clever bastard. You have completely concealed that thing.

As perfect as it looks now, and as steadfast as that lipstick and concealer is, it will need maintenance and for you to keep your eye on things. So, after eating, drinking (not a problem if you use a straw) or just a couple of hours,
I would lightly conceal and lipstick again.

…. And there you have it! How to make your own baked ricotta cheesecake using only your microwave and a pair of dice.

Responses to this drivel: 47 Comments

30
Sep

How to kill a cold sore, fast.

Posted by zoe foster blake / Beauty, Category defying

When it comes to sexy blog topics, there are few that can hope to reach the glimmering heights of cold sores. There’s just something so… alluring about them, and the way they completely mess up your face and confidence for up to two weeks, wouldn’t you agree?

I think you might agree, because the cold sore post I did on this very blog five years ago is still one of the highest trafficked on the site, and after writing about them in Amazing Face, I am “proud” to say I have had many women email me over the years telling me how they now feel in charge of their cold sores, not the other way around. I wear the crown of Cold Sore Queen with pride! And a little bit of embarrassment. But mostly pride.

But it’s time to update. Reveal some new tricks and treatments so that we cold sore sufferers can win the battle faster and with less hands-covering-our-lips when we go into public. And hey, so many of us get them. Even CELEBRITIES, as the images below point out. (I did that gallery not be mean to those women, but to assure everyone just how indiscriminate they are.)

Obviously I am suffering from one currently, or I wouldn’t be writing about them. I’ve been smashed with flu and chest infection, which is probably why, because I always get them when my immune is shot, and also the reason this gorgeous blog has sat dormant for the past couple of weeks.

So, here’s how to stop your cold sore in its filthy little tracks. Here’s how to make sure it doesn’t even get to festering blistering stage and ensure it won’t scab. Basically, here’s how to manage and destroy a cold sore so that you can still get on with your life, and not feel like a social leper, and cut the whole process down by at least half the time if not more.

THINGS YOU WILL NEED AND SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE ON HAND:

* Famvir or similar (a 3x pill oral famciclovir cold sore treatment you buy from the chemist)
* Lysine (an essential amino acid that fights the virus internally. Take one daily if you’re prone to breakouts, and two 2x a day during a breakout.)
* Acetone nail polish remover and cotton pads/tips (buy the pre-made pads for travel)
* A sterilised pin/needle
* Compeed cold sore patches (keep a few in your wallet in case of sudden attacks and never travel without a full box)

THINGS NOT TO DO:

* Drink coffee or caffeinated drinks
* Eat seeds, chocolate or tomatoes
* Stress – it makes the little bastard worse

WHEN YOU FEEL THE AREA GO HOT AND ITCH, MOVE FAST, BITCH

I do apologise for the name-calling, but I cannot stress how important speed is at this point. Actually, I can: A LOT. VERY MUCH. It can come down to minutes between a cold sore that lasts three days and one that lasts 10.

If you can get a Compeed patch onto the site at the tingle stage, you’re basically a hero. Take your Famvir, which will greatly lessen the time the cold sore hangs around, but only if you take it on the first day of the sore manifesting, and some Lysine now and you’re a godamn national hero.

If you haven’t acted quite fast enough and there are bumps popping up, wash your hands and then take some acetone nail polish remover on a cotton pad or some tissue and press it on the site for a good, painful 20 seconds. Do not let any get into your mouth obviously, because it’s toxic. And wash hands straight after. What it does is dries the skin out so that the virus doesn’t have that lovely moist, bubbling warm environment it needs to keep growing. It’s a very well-known and effective home remedy, up there with using rubbing alcohol, hand sanitiser, or peroxide. The NPR will buy you time to get to the nearest chemist and buy some patches (and Famvir if you haven’t already got some on hand, which you should, because you are a cold sore sufferer, and like boy scouts, our motto is Be Prepared.) Obviously if you have a Compeed patch nearby, and you will if you know what’s good for you, then jam it on now. I often cut mine with nail scissors to shape, because the Compeed circle is definitely not a one-shape fits all, and especially if your cold sore is only half the size of a patch, and you have this obvious crinkled plastic sticker on your face or lips.

And now for something completely different: My Chinese herbalist tells me when she feels the tingle she uses pins to break the skin and “bleed the cold sore out”. I don’t really know what this means, but she says you need to do it before there are any blisters present and then the cold sore never appears because you have released the virus in the blood. Hmmm.

WHEN YOU SEE BLISTERS APPEAR, SORT THEM OUT

My advice is to pop them. Controversial, but if you let the blisters keep growing and multiplying, well, I reckon you’re a dingus. I recommend doing it very carefully and hygienically by first washing your hands, then taking a sterilised needle or pin, break open each blister/bubble, then very quickly blot the area with a small square of tissue to stop the serum weeping and spreading. Blot once only then use new tissue and toss all of the blotters straight in the loo. Next, once the area is dry, ‘sanitise’ the area by applying nail polish remover on a cotton pad. Hold for up to 30 seconds. Of course, now place a patch on straight away to get to work on healing and to reduce the heat, pain and discomfort. Wash hands.

DO NOT REMOVE THE PATCH UNLESS YOU ARE CHANGING TO A NEW ONE.

Cold sores do not need to breathe. They need to suffocate and die at the hands of nail polish remover and under the nurturing plastic shield of a hydrocolloid patch. Try to keep liquids (drink through a straw etc) away from the patch which will mess it up. At night or in the morning before work, wear your old one in the shower – because you should not let the sore get wet! – and then remove once you’re out. Before applying a new patch, hold some more nail polish remover on a cotton pad on the sore for 30 seconds to teach it who’s boss. Then, brush your teeth and place a new patch on before you go to sleep and dream sweet dreams of a cold sore-free life.

STAY VIGILANT

By doing all of the above, I usually only suffer for 3-4 days now. (Bad breakouts in my teens and twenties used to run well over two weeks, so this is a fucking miracle, in all honesty.) But! Just because you think it looks healed,doesn’t mean it is. And we all know how easily cold sores can rise again if not completely killed. So, keep on with the NPR/Compeed Patches for as long as it takes. If you’re lucky, the scab won’t even arrive, and you will gain a free pass straight to the dry, flaking skin stage. If you do get a scab however, well, the good news is that it’s healing. Keep up with the patches, and learn the art of Cold Sore Concealing Makeup, which, at the risk of enormous public humiliation, I will demonstrate in my next post, complete with step-by-step photos and the products that work.

My latest hope in the ongoing fight against cold sores comes in the shape of the Virulite Cold Sore Machine, which I am trying to buy online but keep hitting cool roadblocks. These little electronic zappers are kind of the new wave in cold sore treatment and I for one, have unrealistically high expectations.

Do you have any amazing tips or tricks that you use to annihilate your cold sores? Share them, for God’s sake!

alexa chung celebrities with cold cores cold sore relief cold sores compeed cold sore patches famciclovir famvir jessica biel kim kardashian lysine rihanna victoria beckham

Responses to this drivel: 224 Comments

09
Sep

This is the best week of the year to buy a new lipstick.

Posted by zoe foster blake / Beauty, Makeup

Because it’s Dream Week, which means that $1 from any lipstick you buy at Myer or David Jones this week goes to Look Good… Feel Better*, and you can feel good about buying one or even a couple.

Here are my three picks for lipstick as we shimmy into Spring…

A poppy red lipstick. Prada did it, so we should all do it. Another reason is because it’s wonderfully flattering on many many skin tones, and can look cute-as through the day, but devilishly sexy at night. Try Clarins Jolie Rouge in Poppy Red, $38.

Alexa Chung, obviously.

A nude lipstick. Try a Bobbi Brown one, $44, because she is the queen of nude. Choose one that is low on shimmer, creamy not matte and enjoy a sophisticated, non-boring nude lip to complement any of the blues or greens you might be sassing on your eyes. I like Nude Beige for a hint of dusky pink and Peachy which is a bit better with a tan. Best to try them out to get the best match for your skin tone.

Ashley Madekwe. You know, from Revenge.

A coral or orange. You need to stop resisting. These shades are fabulous, not Nanna. They are fresh, They brighten the face. They look glorious with bronzer and slick hair and drop earrings. Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Vernis à Lèvres Glossy Stain in #21 Orange Fusion, $50 is a glossy balm-stain, so you can start off light, then layer until you get the depth of orange your prefer. (Read: Great for wusses.)

Bert Newton.

Obviously you should expose what a wonderful Samaritan and cool bird you are by slipping a pic of you wearing your juicy new lipstick onto Twitter and Instagram and tag it with @LGFBAustralia and #dreamweek13. Obviously.

But!!

Another excellent thing you can do to support Look Good… Feel Better (and please do!) is not wear makeup on Thursday.Hashtag your pics #gonakedday, if you do, please so you can all feel part of the nude party.

This is because the Priceline Sisterhood (a real thing, not just the colloquial name for all of us Priceline fans) are hosting Go Naked Day in order to raise funds. When you’re done showing off your natural beauty, pop into Priceline nationally or the huge (very pink) event being held at Martin Place in Sydney, donate a gold coin, and grab yourself a mini-makeover and some goodies.

Alternatively, and I love this one, because it just makes so much dang sense, you can donate some cash straight up to $7 for 7 Days of Hope.

Your donation goes towards LGFB At Home Confidence Kits, so that those who can’t get to a LGFB workshop because they live in the bush, or health reasons, can still enjoy all of the lovely skin care and cosmetics they would receive in a workshop (all donated lovingly by the beauty industry – everything from Rimmel to Chanel), plus a step by step DVD.

… Imagine if you did one of or even ALL THREE of these things, how amazing you would feel. You would probably start to see some kind of beautiful halo glow above your head. That’s what I heard happens anyway.

*Look Good… Feel Better is a a terrific charity, and one that I am proud ambassador for. I work with them a lot in my role as ambassador for Pantene Beautiful Lengths, (where we ask you to lop off your ponytail to donate, and help make real hair wigs for cancer patients) and also help to gain awareness for the beauty workshops which they hold at hospitals and cancer treatment centres for women undergoing cancer treatment. At these workshops, women (and men!) learn how to apply skin care, makeup, wigs and turbans and scarves in the spirit of “if you look good, you will feel better”, and I can four billion percent say that this is true, because the transformation these women undergo (physically) but most crucially in confidence and self-esteem after their two hour session is phenomenal. They then are given all of the products to take home. Read more about LGFB – or insist a friend attends – here.

alexa chung dream week look good feel better orange lipstick poppy red lips

Responses to this drivel: 15 Comments

06
Sep

Sometimes beauty products just sell themselves.

Posted by zoe foster blake / Beauty

I mean, WHO EVEN NEEDS TO KNOW WHAT THIS IS?!

She’s loving it.

I’ll take five.

Responses to this drivel: 9 Comments

23
Aug

Are you overusing your anti-ageing skincare?

Posted by zoe foster blake / Beauty, Skin

You might be. I definitely have some friends who are thrashing their AHAs and retinol products, and need to pump the brakes. Otherwise they risk over-exfoliating their skin and ending up with thin, shiny texture, not to mention potential redness, flaking and long-term sensitivity. No good. These ingredients are Power Ingredients, and should be used with care and treated with reverence, not slapped on like your antioxidants and hyaluronic acids.

For instance, if you use a glycolic acid cleanser, then a full-strength brightening serum with lactic acid, and then a retinol based night cream before bed, you’re doing the equivalent of a mini-chemical peel every night. And don’t even get me started on people who don’t use a dedicated broad spectrum sunscreen each and every day when they’re on the Power Ingredients.

Ideally, you should have these ingredients – especially the cosmeceutical type – prescribed by a skin professional, so you know exactly how much to use, and when.

Anyway, watch this informative little piece I did for A Current Affair last night for the full story.

Mini glossary

AHAs: Alpha Hydroxy Acids, natural acids used in the bulk of anti-ageing/acne skin care. I fondly refer to them as the “ics”… Glycolic, citric, lactic acid. They dissolve the dead skin cells on the surface of your skin, giving your a fresher, more glowing complexion, they moisturise, they tighten pores, they even out skin tone and reduce pigmentation, they reduce fine lines, the help fade acne scars… they are magnificent. BUT. Using them a couple of times a week, (or for a program, and then a break) is generally enough for the skin to get the benefits. Lactic is the more gentle of the bunch, start with him.

Olay Regenerist’s Renewal Elixir with glycolic acid is a bloody good, bloody well-priced bedtime serum.

Retinol: The lower strength version of prescription only retinoids (best saved until after you’ve had all your babies), both are Vitamin A derivatives, and are seen as the holy grail of youthful skin by all beauty experts. Because retinol works. It’s wildly effective at cell-turnover, unclogging pores, reducing fine lines, evening out skin tone, smoothing and softening the skin, and making you look rather fantastic, and very young (in as little as four weeks.)

SkinMedica’s Tri-Retinol Complex is (STRONG!) and said to give results as good as OTC retinoids.

Uh oh. Miss the bit where I told you to watch the video? Here’s that link again.

acne AHAs anti-ageing Olay retinoids retinol SkinMedica

Responses to this drivel: 20 Comments

20
Aug

Three fantastic long-last glowy foundations.

Posted by zoe foster blake / Beauty, Makeup

Remember the days when I used to talk about silk pillowcases? Seems like an eternity ago. Anyway, on that pillowcase post there was an interesting query by a fruit named Amy, who said:

“I was hoping you might have some product suggestions for foundations that suit long day wear, wedding occasions. I was hoping to go for the glowy look!”

To which I obviously in my head yelped, OF COURSE I DO YOU GORGEOUS DUNCE! Here are three long lasting liquid foundations, right here, right now, as Jesus Jones once famously sang.

The radiant, nourishing one: Lancome’s Teint Visionnaire, $65

This is a liquid foundation with skincare benefits that was created for a “mature” skin, which means it will be a bit richer, a bit thicker, and real good at smoothing out your lines and reducing the look of pores and uneven skin tone. And, it gives a radiant, non-matte finish. I don’t think at 33 I quite qualify for mature skin, but I will tell you that this is my foundation of choice because I have thirsty, dry, dehydrated skin, and it can take the richness of the formula, and I very much enjoy the full coverage and the glowy – but not shiny – finish, which lasts beautifully. It comes with concealer in the lid, which is undoubtably handy, but I find it too sheer for my undereye circles. It’s better for around the schnoz, lips and on the eyelids. I find a touch of powder down the T-zone sets it perfectly. Tip: Use primer underneath and a touch of powder on the T-zone to set. Don’t eat for breakfast.

The natural-looking one: NARS Sheer Glow Foundation $68

Possibly a better choice for those who prefer a lighter, more ‘skin-like’ finish, this makeup artist’s fave gives a more natural-medium coverage finish, but since it’s easily buildable, you can layer for more coverage that still looks and feels light and glowing. No powder is required to set this stay-put foundation, in my opinion, but I’m not a shiny dolly, so it may differ for others. Lack of pump can be a bit annoying/messy – but you can buy them internationally online. Tip: Use primer underneath for the best results. Don’t apply to elbows.

The all-in-one with a matte finish: Cover Girl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 Foundation, $19.95

Definitely the pick for those with oily or combination skin, this primer, foundation and concealer in one (translation: it stays put, and is high coverage, therefore able to act as a concealer on uneven skin tone/pigmentation/redness, dark cricles etc) is remarkable in its lightweight texture/high pay off. In other words, you don’t feel like you’re slapping on a layer of stage paint, but get excellent all-over coverage that doesn’t move for many hours. The finish is definitely on the matte side, so avoid if you have dry or lined skin, as they may be exacerbated, and you will look older than you are, which seems unfair. Tip: No primer or powder required. Finish off with a luminous highlighter for glow. Don’t use as deodorant.

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Responses to this drivel: 56 Comments

16
Aug

Probably the best anti-ageing beauty “product” a dame can use.

Posted by zoe foster blake / Beauty, Hair, Skin

What a headline! What a hook. So intriguing and exciting. Aren’t you excited? Can you even believe what you’re about to read?? God, I can’t, and I’m the one who wrote it.

Disclaimer: If you have been so generous and popular and attractive to buy or read my beauty book, Amazing Face, this will not be news to you. But, back then when I wrote the tip, I didn’t have an actual product to recommend, just a genre, so there’s still something in this post for you beyond the obvious hilarity.

Disclaimer #2: I had chia seeds in my porridge this morning, sorry if there are some between my teeth.

Okay, are you ready? The product is A SILK PILLOWCASE.

Don’t make that face. It’s not as big an indulgence as you think, in fact, you probably spend the same amount on that Shellac pedicure you get each month. ($60)

Why it’s worth it:

It’s simple: because silk looks after your skin while you sleep like some kind of angelic babysitter. It’s a breathable and natural fabric, and quite the anti-ageing device too. It’s extremely soft and gentle on the skin, unlike cotton or cotton/polyester blends or satin, which are harsh on your face, and will thieve the moisture from the skin. My favourite part is that silk prevents those gnarly sleep lines you wake up with all over your face when you use non-silk, which, over time, you better believe will have a long-term effect on the texture and appearance of your face. (Ditto the chest lines, which is why I always say your face stops at your boobs, in terms of sunscreen/moisturiser/masks etc.)

And! Silk pillowcases do good things for your hair too. It keeps your blow-dries longer, and prevents your painstakingly created hair styles from being a mess in the morning. If you have curls, they won’t tangle and knot. And if you prefer a bed head look, like I do, when you wash your hair at night then roughly blow dry it off, your hair is that lovely, soft, non-frizzy bed head, not the wild ratwoman one.

I have been using the same two silk pillowcases for years. When I was between the two cities, I had one in Melbourne and one in Sydney, and I always pack one when I travel overseas, such is my dedication to not having sleep-crease lines, and my addiction to the softness. I can’t even remember where they came from, except that they are no longer white, but a charming grey colour, and they have my initials on them, which makes me think they were part of a press kit from a cosmetics brand years back, or else I once dated a man in his 70s with a penchant for embroidery. Who can say.

I didn’t like the fact that my husband’s pillow case was one colour (a nice colour which matched the linen) and my pillowcase, while doing terrific things for my skin, looked sad and out of place and shabby. So I bought some more. Now obviously you can get silk pillowcases at bedding shops and Myer and David Jones, but I went with slip, an Aussie brand I have become quite fond of and not just because their pillowcases are terrific and their marketing is cheeky. Now I have SEVERAL pillowcases in the shades I like my bedding to be (dark chocolate, latte and grey – all terrific shades for masking fake tan marks, I find), which means my husband gets one too, because I shouldn’t be so greedy and hog all the non-wrinkling, and apparently men age too although Sylvester Stallone leads me to think otherwise, so fresh and youthful is his face.

Consider ditching the cotton and sassing some silk. You won’t regret it. The fact that you feel rich when you wake up on a silk pillow is merely a happy bonus. Oh, and also they make a wonderful gift, because strangely some women can’t justify spending some of their salary on fancy pillowcases. I KNOW, can you believe it??

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Responses to this drivel: 48 Comments

13
Aug

Nail art is dead! All hail nude nails. Here’s how, and which shade is right for you.

Posted by zoe foster blake / Beauty, Category defying

Nail art was never going to last, we all knew that.

Oh COME ON, how many pictures of scrunched up claw hands with ombre polish or newspaper prints or American flags or godamn Nintendo characters must we be reduced to on Instagram before we decide enough is enough? Yeah I’ve done it, shoosh. But I don’t do it anymore. It’s not special or exciting or unique if we’re all doing is doing it, is it? This is an industry of swift trends and what’s fun and enchanting this minute almost definitely won’t be in five minutes time. Just ask anyone who swore by at home micro-dermabrasion kits back in 2006. (“Me.”)

Stop! No more! Eat watermelons, don’t paint them on your nails.

Even if nail art hasn’t been officially called, then pass me my official calling skivvy and allow me to don my Calling It cap, for I am calling it. Let’s all cool it with the palm trees and pineapples and glitter tips for a bit.

I’m not entirely making this all up – a recent article in WWD compared nail polish’s meteoric rise back in the “recession” days of 2011, when sales went up 67% for high-end polish brands, and 35.7% for pharmacy brands, to what they are sitting at now, two years later, at 19% a piece. Which, yes, is still pretty good growth, but the boom-boom for polish has definitely gone.

Could be because there are so many brands on the (DIY nail art especially) nail polish bandwagon now, and competition is tough.

Could be a sign that the economy is back on its feet (nail polish, like lipstick sales always increase when there is an economic downturn).

Could be a sign that we are all just really into gel manicures and pedicures now, and traditional nail polish, with all that smudging and chipping, won’t cut it.

Could just be because like most trends, and therefore proving the very definition of the word, this trend is now over and a new one is about to rise.

IF I may be so bold, I would like to suggest that this new “trend” is for a complete and polar opposite to everything nail art is, which is to say, beautiful simple, nude, natural nails. I use “these” around the word “trend” because nude, natural nails are always in. Always.

Daaaamn. Eva Mendes knows how to give good nude nail.

Whether that’s just a lovely nude, natural shade of polish (more on those in a moment) or gel (I use OPI Bubble Bath or CND Romantique) or just healthy polish free nails that are beautifully buffed, neat and shiny, there is something clean and fresh, and refreshing about simple, chic plain nails after a few years of so much colour and movement.

I’m quite partial to a coat of clear and some white pencil under the tip of the nail, you know, like we used to all do back before reality TV shows made the French manicure so incredibly tacky.

HOW TO BE GOOD AT NUDE NAILS

1. Make sure your nails are short, neat and naturally shaped. Naturally shaped, for the record, is usually the most flattering shape for your fingers, because it mirrors the way your cuticle sits at the bottom edge of the nail.

2. Choose the right nude/natural for your skin tone. Think of your nude polish as you would foundation, it has to match your skin tone. Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Lopez might both be wearing “nude” polish but oh MY, will the shades they wear differ.

Basically, do your hands look better or worse with that nude polish? If your nude polish makes your hands look dead or sick, or chalky and cold, or dirty, or yellow, or red and raw, or your cuticle is really standing out, then you have chosen the wrong shade. If your hands look lovely, clean and neat, well, you’ve nailed it. Oh, well done Fosters.

Also, there are sheer and opaque nudes, the more sheer you go, the more truly natural you will look, but if you get the perfect shade, opaque can look just as delightful. One coat of sheer with one coat of opaque can give a lovely finish – don’t be bound to one polish per mani.

FAIR /COOL SKIN TONES

Generally you should probably head towards soft, creamy, mauve-based ballet pinks. Try: L’Oreal Colour Riche Nail in How Romantic, Essie in Brooch The Subject or Allure, Deborah Lipmann in Tiny Dancer, Sally Hansen Complete Manicure in Shell We Dance.

WARM SKIN TONES / OLIVE

Something with a hint of peach or beige will be most flattering on us birds. Try: OPI Samoan Sand (my favourite), Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Royal Blush, Chanel Beige, Revlon Colorstay Longwear Enamel in Sandy Nude, Estee Lauder Pure Color Nail Lacquer in Nudite (It’s worth checking out the collection, French Nudes, this is from as there is a nude for every skin tone, ready-made, all done, bing bam zap.)

TAN TO DARK SKIN TONES

Try coffee-coloured hues of nude and tan. Try: OPI Tickle My Francey, Laura Mercier Lacquer in Bare Mocha, Essie Sand of a Beach, Chanel Inattendu, Dior Vernis in Nude Chic or Butter London in Tea and Toast.

3. Maintain with top coat every second day to keep up the shine and prolong the life of your mani. I love Sally Hansen’s Mega Shine. Oh, and definitely steer clear of matte finishes. A high-shine finish ensures your nail stands out and looks healthy, even if the colour is extremely subtle.

4. Consider the toes. I was always a bright orange pedicure bird until a few years ago when I went soft sheer pink while on holiday in Greece. Felt better with my slight tan and leather sandals for some reason. More chic. Cleaner. More elegant. Toes are ugly enough without adding harsh colour, I realised, and I never looked back. Try it and see. But make sure you get the right nude for your skin tone – like I said, toes are ugly enough, they don’t need much assistance to look even more unattractive. But the perfect nude shade to complement your skin, and a neat, short shape – splendid.

Did I forget your favourite nude?

Was it this guy?

Sorry, you know what I mean. Pop your most loved nude polish in comments below with your skin tone and share your wisdom!

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Responses to this drivel: 38 Comments

08
Aug

A few wild new products.

Posted by zoe foster blake / Beauty, Category defying, Makeup

I’ve just called this mascara in from Avon for one reason, which I think will become evident when you see this clip.

That’s right: because it makes me giggle.

No, no, I mean because I am curious regarding the design. I’m all for innovation, and that brush might just be the best thing any of us ever apply mascara with, so let us not judge until we have wonder painted, yeah? I’ll let you know how it goes.

Another product that intrigues me but which certainly sped past intrigue right into necessity for a lot of you, is Nanoblur, $30, which has been the number one selling product in Priceline since launch in January.

Nanoblur claims to make “people look 10 years younger in 40 seconds,” which I think would be fascinating to see on an 11-year old. Essentially it ‘blurs’ lines and wrinkles, you see, using, light reflective particles. A bit of soft-focus in a tube, if you will. It feels and looks like a primer, and as if proving it’s not skin care, but an optical illusion product (for those liable to be confused) you use it after your makeup, and dab it onto crow’s feet, marionette lines, the forehead, etc. To be crude, it’s cosmetic Spakfilla. There have been a few of these come out over the years, L’Oreal and Clarins both did similar products, but none have sold so phenomenally as this.

I’ve given it a few goes, but not enough to honestly say I’ve trialled it thoroughly. I softly dab it on to my smile lines with my middle finger, which I find always crease within about an hour of makeup being applied, especially if my skin is tired or thirsty, or just being, yknow, “old.”

The lines seem a little less obvious but the best part is that unlike the oils and balms I tend to use for this issue usually, Nanoblur won’t make your makeup move and slip. In that sense, you can pretty much use it in place of sheer finishing powder to take away shine, mattify, reduce imperfections, and make your makeup stay in place, which is important if you get shine or your skin eats your makeup like mine does….

It’s a kind of finishing primer, if you will. I am considering mixing a little in with my foundation next for an all-over blur. Why not! Why not indeed.

Have you tried Nanoblur? What did you think? Also, I love your hair like that.

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Responses to this drivel: 22 Comments