“Hands Off!”
Your face that is…

Why are we so prone to touching our faces? Rubbing our chin with interest, scratching our forehead in confusion, hands on cheeks with surprise and fist on cheek with boredom.  Well, you need to break out of it or you will break out because of it.

Did you know one of the leading causes of breakouts is from bacteria that is transferred to your face from your hands, cell phone, land line phones, dirty makeup sponges, pads and brushes that come in contact with your face?  Ewe sick! Makes you want to cringe, huh?

Follow our tips for keeping your hands free of the bacteria and off of your face:

• Be conscience of where your hands have been and wash them often.
• Use an anti-bacterial agent to clean your cell phone, laptop keyboard, doorknobs and  steering wheel regularly
• Avoid resting your chin in your hands or touching your face unless you are washing it or applying makeup
• When touching up your makeup use tissues to blot sweat and surface oil
• After you have blotted your face, apply powder with a Colour Basis Cotton Tail Brush to minimize the amount of contact from your hands to your face
• Clean your brushes a MINIMUM of once every ten days with Brush Off Brush Cleaner, preferably once a week.

You will find that when you keep your “Hands Off” your face, it will be a much happier place. Then you can applaud with your hands when your face stays clear!

For the Men… Oh Baby!

Many of you guys are expecting out there and need to prepare for upcoming challenges of new fatherhood.  There will be sleepless nights, disrupted schedules and the stress felt not only in mom’s body but yours as well.  Stress manifests itself in many different ways from loss of focus to irritability, anger, change in posture and dark under eye circles.  All of these things show up if you don’t take care of yourself.  Brandnewdad.com recommends “you talk about these feelings with a trusted friend, try to exercise while including your baby such as a stroller walk and take time to relax.”  Colourbasis.com recommends drinking lots of water, Cetaphil moisturizer (found in drug stores) to help with dehydration and Colour Basis Blue Corrector on dark circles (apply before concealer to dark under eye circles with Hide It brush).  Congratulations to all of you new dad’s and dad’s-to-be in 2008!  Keep us posted and keep the pictures coming in, we love hearing from you!

Ladies, Fuzzy-Wuzzy was a bear, not an anchor…

Peach fuzz used to be a way to keep heavy makeup on!  Now it needs to go.  HD is here for some and on it’s way for most so now is the time to de-fuzz as it shows up like never before.  The normal problem areas are on the jaw bone and in front of ears as well as the upper lip.  Even if your hair is not dark, makeup sticks to the follicles and will appear heavier in those areas and read darker on air. 

There are several ways to de-fuzz:

• Waxing - This is my personal least favorite as so many people experience breakouts post waxing and it can give a  slight surface burn that remains red for days.  It also changes the texture of the skin and makes it almost slick so makeup application can be odd for the first few days
• Threading - A great alternative to waxing as it does not affect the skin and only removes the hairs.  You can google “threading in (your city and state)” to find a salon that offers this service
• Razoring - My preferred method of facial fuzz removal using Japonesque Touch-Up Razors, which we carry as they are hard to find.  They are designed specifically for this and for cleaning up around the eyebrow area.  It is a MYTH that your hair will grow back thicker and darker if you razor it.  It is impossible to change your hair follicle size growing out of your face.  I have done it for years and LOVE it as it is very gentle on your skin, quick, inexpensive and you can do it at home!
• Bleaching - Does not work as hair removal is the goal, it is the hair follicle grabbing extra makeup as much as it is colour of hair being the issue.

Obviously this is not an issue with everyone.  You may have just upper lip issues and none on jaws or cheeks, lucky girl OR you might not have any, luckiest girl!  For those of you who have it, you will be amazed at how much is actually there once you remove it.  All of you who I have personally de-fuzzed on set know exactly what I am talking about!