Skin

Girls' Life, April-May, 2003

Give your skin a good night's rest.

Sleep on 100-percent cotton pillowcases. They're just better for your skin.

Quick pimple fix #1.

Make a paste with baking soda and water, and dot on pimples. Leave on overnight, and rinse off in the morning.

Quick pimple fix #2.

Make a paste with one package of dry yeast and a teaspoon of water. Dot on pimples, leave on overnight, and rinse off in the morning.

Cool and degrease oily skin.

Fill a clean, empty spray bottle with witch hazel, and store it in the fridge. To refresh, close your eyes and mist face.

Deflake your lips.

Use a dry, soft little kid's toothbrush to gently buff lips, then top with a rich emollient (Vaseline'll do).

Make your own body lotion.

Buy unscented lotion, and add some of your favorite perfume or cologne. Cheaper than store versions!

Zap zits faster.

To heal blemishes as quickly as possible, apply on-the-spot treatments up to five times a day. You want that stuff to reach down to the pore.

Stay sun-smart.

If you're using a salicylic acid product, be extra sure to use SPF at all times, not just when sunbathing. Skin treated with salicylic acid is super-sensitive to the sun.

Pore perfect.

OK, now hear this. You can't shrink your pores. You can, however, make them appear smaller by keeping them clean. Pores free of dirt, bacteria and hardened oil are less noticeable. Or try this trick: Rub your face with an ice cube for an instant effect.

Be shine-free.

Dab a cotton ball with Phillips' Milk of Magnesia, wipe over your face, and let it dry. Rub off any extra with your hands, and then apply oil-free foundation.

Mask oily skin.

Get oil under control by using a clay mask once a week.

Banish back breakouts.

Look great in this spring's best sundresses! Shower daily with a salicylic acid body wash, like Neutrogena Body Clear Body Wash, and then moisturize with Neutrogena Body Clear Body Lotion. Twice a week, use Neutrogena Body Clear Body Scrub before dotting Neutrogena On-the-Spot Acne Treatment on any and all back blemishes.

Be shine-free, part two.

Powder can look cakey and fake, especially when you have to keep reapplying. To sop up oil during the day, try Bloom Face Blotting Tissues ($8, www.sephora.com).

No sweat, less mess.

It's sleeveless season again, and that means changing back to "invisible" antiperspirants. The problem is that no deodorant is truly clear--they all leave white residue under your arms once they are activated. To combat that, try the kind that goes on like a solid but absorbs like a lotion. Try Secret Platinum Protection.

Step into the Pure Zone.

The problem with most salicylic acid products? They might leave skin clearer, but they also can make it red and raw. Enter L'Oreal Pure Zone, a line for young normal-to-oily skin that combines the effectiveness of salicylic acid (attacks oil and breakouts) with an exclusive Dermo-Calm complex, a marine extract that soothes skin. We loved Skin Clearing Foaming Cleanser, Pore Tightening Astringent and Skin Relief Oil-free Moisturizer ($8 each, at drugstores).

Beat the bath blahs.

What could be more fun than a watermelon bath fizzer? We just don't know...(What Fun! Watermelon Bath Candy, $2.25, www.whatfun.com)

Switch up your scent.

Give your regular perfume a break, and try a scented body mist. Not only are the scents lighter (you're less likely to overdo it) but cheaper! Try Magical Mist by Lucky Chick, $14, www.luckychick.com

Makeup

Lighten up your eyes.

When you really want to flatter your eyes, go for sheer, neutral shadow colors like beige or pale banana-yellow. That keeps the focus on you, not on your eyeshadow.

Pluck to play down your big nose. Don't let your eyebrows come too close together. Start plucking in line with the inner corner of your eyes.

Conceal anything!

Concealer that's the exact shade of your skin helps blemishes look less like an angry, red volcano (picking a lighter shade highlights the problem). Cover imperfections by using a palette of shades. Sonia Kaschuk Hidden Agenda Concealer Kit, $10, works on everyone.

Blush beautifully.

Light pink blush looks great on almost everyone. We love L'Oreal Blush Delice in Strawberry Tart ($9 at drugstores). How to put it on? Smile. The apple of your cheek is where the blush goes.

If you have combination skin, get a foundation made for you!

Kick up your own lip color a notch.

Your foundation slips off your nose and forehead, only to get cakey on your cheeks? That's what happens with combination skin. But no more. L'Oreal Ideal Balance has "microsponges" to sop up oil while still containing emollients to keep the rest of your face soft.

See what you really look like.

Apply a sheer blue lip gloss--it enhances your lip's own natural pinkish color (really!).

Relief from allergy eyes.

To see yourself in the most realistic light, screw in a bare, unfrosted 100-watt bulb where you apply your makeup. It most closely imitates natural light.

Lengthen your lashes.

Spring means allergies for a lot of girls, and that itchy redness can really hurt. Store your allergy eye-drops in the fridge, soak two cottonballs with a bit of the drops, and place over your eyes. Aaaahh...