The BEST Health and BEAUTY SECRETS I’ve learned over the years!

I am not a beauty guru but I try my best to take care of myself, over the years I have tried and tested beauty routines that worked and failed for me, today let me share my best kept BEAUTY SECRETS that worked for me. Some are just simple tips you can follow but will make a huge difference in your whole beauty routine: 

1. This is a simple but often neglected step in skin care.. Wash your hands thoroughly before washing your face! Imagine having dirty hands and then washing your face, then you’d be rubbing the dirt from your hands all over your face. This would be defeating the purpose of you wanting to clean your face.

I use any basic soap for hand washing but I've been accustomed to the classic antibacterial Safeguard soap so I stick to that, the white one seems to be the best :)

2. The FIRST step to cleansing your face is… to brush your teeth FIRST!! This should be done first so as to avoid toothpaste or mouth wash from settling down your chin or mixing with your serum and moisturizer. This trick I learned the hard way as there was a time I wondered why I got pimples on my chin and not on my face!! After I made sure to brush my teeth first all my chin pimples went away!!

My teeth cleaning essentials: I've been using this ALL NATURAL  powder toothpaste from ILOG MARIA that a friend of mine gave me and its the best! Its minty, refreshing and I've noticed my teeth are whiter than before! Will do a separate blog post on this soon :)

3. Don’t over pluck your eyebrows! This major beauty advice I learned from my mom, she made sure my sisters and I never overplucked our eyebrows growing up. She would say think and look at Bella Flores…even in cartoons the bad witch always had the super thin brows while the Princesses had full bushy youthful brows! When in doubt, leave the plucking to a professional.

I got this picture off the internet.. you can really see how Keira Knightley looks so much youthful when she has bushy eyebrows than when she has super thin brows :) 

Case in point.. the picture on the left is me eleven years ago and I haven't touched my eyebrows in a major way since then.. I just pluck out the "misplaced" ones and so far I still look "fairly" the same I think :)

4. If you are lazy to slather lotion at least use a moisturizing bar to provide enough moisture to your skin. What I do is use Olay Moisturizing bar right before I step out of the shower I semi-rinse it off and then immediately step out, avoiding over washing so I can still feel it work as I towel dry.

Lately I've been loving Olay's Luscious Embrace bar with the massage rounded spikes which doesn't actually do a thing but it smells and feels great! I also love Olay's Age defying Moisturizing bar it makes my skin feel moisturized and soft. Make sure to use a soap dish to extend the life of your soap bars since moisturizing bars melt so easily. :)

5. EXFOLIATE!! EXFOLIATE!! EXFOLIATE!! Not just your face but also your body! For the face my all time best exfoliant would be St.Ives Apricot Scrub I’ve been using this for about 20 years! Go easy on the scrubbing motion though you don’t want to over strip your skin of its natural oils. For the in between days I use my Konjac Sponge its so soft and gentle on the skin and after I use it I always feel my skin can breath and it feels so much cleaner! For the body I’ve been trying DRY BODY BRUSHING for a few months I've read its best for exfoliating and helping speed up skin renewal. It works for me.. look it up on the web! Will write a blog post on this soon too! :)

 

6. Don’t sleep with a trace of make-up on. We’ve heard this so many times we know it by heart! But oftentimes when we think we’ve removed all traces of make-up there is definitely still some left on our face. So make sure to use a good make-up remover, I personally love the classic Shu Uemura Skin Purifier, it cleanses as well as moisturizes my skin perfectly! It is a bit pricey but you only need a little amount for it to work. The medium bottle can last around 3 to 4 months of daily use.

The best Skin Cleanser and Make-up remover there is!! Shu Uemura's Skin Purifier Cleansing oil! I love the Classic Balancing oil but if you want to try something new I've also tried the White Recovery Skin Purifer Oil and it truly brightens my skin :) ( sorry for the stock pics I am now at the workshop and I forgot to take pics of the actual items.. will post soon! )

7. This next tip is HIGHLY debatable but I saw this work for my Mom who is now 72 years old and still has the legs of a 45-year-old woman! No joke I’d take pictures if I can but I don’t want my Mom’s legs all over the internet so you’d have to take my word for it :) --Her secret is to not take a bath IMMEDIATELY at the end of a long day. If you know your legs are tired or you’ve been standing, driving or walking for quite awhile to avoid varicose veins. If you feel the need to bathe then at least rest for an hour or two.. that’s what I do.

Nobody wants legs that's riddled with colored veins and inflamed veins! REST or elevate your legs and feet for a few minutes before you bathe! :)

8. ALWAYS Match your foundation with the color of your face AND neck--When choosing a foundation test a product on the skin near your jawline. The best shade should disappear and blend with your actual skin color. To be sure to do it in natural light and try as many brands of foundation that you can till you find the perfect match. This will ensure the foundation tone you choose for your face isn't too different from the natural shade of your neck.

Even the biggest stars make mistakes!! Make sure the color of your neck and face match to achieve a natural look :)

9. When applying eye cream always make sure to use your ring finger, its the weakest finger thus making sure your skin isn’t pulled or tugged unnecessarily which in the long run can cause more wrinkles than if you didn’t touch your face at all.

Always use your ring finger to apply eye cream!

10. When using your moisturizer and serum there is no need to go over board and slather them on like there is no tomorrow. My dermatologist said that using just a little amount of product and patting it on patiently is much more effective as well as economical. A thin layer of moisturizer or serum works just as well as a thick layer applied on the face, also this way your expensive jar of moisturizer will last months and months! 

When it comes to face cream and serums applying LESS is always the best way to go! Make that expensive bottle last  and last while achieving the same great results. Also always remember to apply with patting motion and avoid unnecessarily tugging on your skin :)

11. If you have the budget, get an underarm IPL hair removal treatment done. I had my underarm hair

permanently removed when I was 23 years old. This saved me so much time and effort and truly

made my under arm skin whiter since I don’t touch it anymore. I can truly say that laser hair removal 

is the BEST BEAUTY INVESTMENT I’ve gotten so far. 

Please make sure to get the professional treatment as I’ve heard a lot of horror stories where patients were burned and scarred because they tried to get treatments from shady clinics. Do your research before you decide to get the treatments.

 

IPL or intense pulsed light hair removal worked for me and made my life so much easier! ( This is obviously not me.. but this is the closest I can remember of my own experience many many years ago!  :) )

There you go  all  the simple tips and tricks I've learned over the years that helped me make the most of my Beauty products and routine :)