Yay for Chic Week! For those who don’t know, the Sephora Chic Week is actually 9 full days where V.I.B.s can get 15% off everything they buy during those 9 days – no matter how many times you stop in or shop online – all you need is your V.I.B. email or mailed invitation.
Also, today (March 29th) only included: an exclusive preview day with drinks and snacks, limited edition Sephora umbrella with any purchase, extra-day for you and a friend (meaning you could take along a friend to benefit from the discounts), as well as consultations with brand beauty experts and a gift bag of samples!
For those unaware of what a V.I.B. is, it stands for Very Important Beauty Insider. To become a Sephora V.I.B. you must first be a registered Beauty Insider. V.I.B. status is for those registered Beauty Insider members who spend a minimum of $350 at Sephora (including on Sephora.com and Sephora inside JCPenney) during one calendar year. V.I.B. status is good for the calendar year in which the BI member qualifies and the following calendar year; annual requalification is required.
And by guys I am referring to men in particular. While ladies should most definitely take care of their skin as well, as many do, this post is geared towards the men. Though ladies, you can read up or pass this on to a guy in your life that could benefit from the info.
Come on guys, you spend money on food, your toys, your car and your clothes, and maybe your significant other, but what happened to taking care of your face? So many men forget that skin care matters even for men!
Invest in your skin, it is usually the first thing people see and it is a reflection of what you are putting in and on your body. It is also a good indicator of your stress level, for most people anyways.
So most importantly, drink water – your body is made up of approximately 70% water and it helps every part of your body and especially your skin.
You shouldn’t be washing your face with shampoo nor body soap and stop touching your face! Shampoos, hand soaps, body washes are NOT formulated for your face and the skin on your face is completely different than the rest of your body. Using products not meant for the face can (and quite possibly will) cause irritation, allergic reactions and acne breakouts, clog your pores and dry out your skin.
Touching your face, usually due to boredom, stress or sleepiness, is a bad habit. Your fingers have bacteria and oils that can cause (more) skin issues. Also, pulling, scratching and rubbing your facial skin is unhealthy, especially around the delicate eye area. The skin around your eyes is much thinner and more sensitive than the rest of your skin, as should be treated as such. Use eye cream – unless you don’t care about looking 45 when your 35!
Exfoliating and properly cleansing your skin is important, especially prior to shaving or grooming of any facial hair. This helps in softening facial hair, eliminating dry skin flakes and bumps reducing the risk of nicks, as well as opening your pores and giving you a closer shave. Also, ensure you use a shave cream, shave lotion or shave gel, which are formulated to aid you in shaving and skin hydration – unlike soap.
So important!! Use an SPF face lotion, even if you are going to be inside most of the time! UVA and UVB rays from the sun are damaging to your skin. The rays damage skin cells, in the upper and lower skin layers, aiding in the acceleration of aging skin and wrinkles, as well as increasing the risk of skin cancer.
Remember your skin needs to be hydrated day and night, as air indoors can be quite drying. Also your skin cells renew faster overnight. Anti-aging products work best at night, since they are not being affected by UV rays nor having to compete with your SPF day protection.
As I am sure your attention span is waning… It really is pretty simply guys:
Drink plenty of WATER – this helps to flush out toxins and hydrate you from the inside out
Properly CLEANSE your skin, with facial cleansers formulated for men (or at least man-friendly) in the morning and evening
EXFOLIATE your skin, but gently – just because your a man and you can, doesn’t mean you should be rubbing your skin off
Use PROPER SHAVING PRODUCTS meant for your facial skin
Use EYE CREAM day and night, to prevent puffy eyes and wrinkles
Use an SPF FACIAL CREAM/LOTION even if you don’t plan on walking outside
Use a man-friendly NIGHT CREAM (most often an anti-aging cream)
Some extra tips:
If you want to wash your face in the shower, do so AFTER you wash your hair – as product residue from your hair styling products and cleansers can affect your skin
Do NOT use the same towel to dry your face that you use to dry your body, body cleansers and soaps, as well as oils are not good for your face
Try a HOT TOWEL treatment: Take a clean wash cloth and run it under hot water, wring out all the water and lay the towel on your face, pressing very lightly – allowing the steam from the towel to open your pores. Remove when the towel begins to cool. You can repeat this 3-5 times to remove your facial cleanser, post-cleansing and/or prior to shaving. FYI: Hot water drys out your skin, this is about the steam from the hot towel not the hot water.
It is important to note that men’s skin is different than women’s and we experience skin issues differently. You should look for product’s that are designed for men. My suggestion is to always look at brands and companies that have a dedicated line of skin care products for men.
Here are some lines that are definitely worth a look, in my opinion:
Payday Sushi Date! Every payday, my friend Ashley and I, hit up our new favorite place: Piranha Killer Sushi!
The atmosphere is nice, decor clean and food pretty awesome. The restaurant is fairly new and clearly loved, and you should make a reservation for Friday/Saturday dinner; though they do take walk-ins during those times you might have a wait for an open spot. Note: Now I can only testify to the awesomeness of the San Antonio location.
So I thought I’d share some photos from our bi-monthly sushi dates:
Yes, it looks quite strange and you can call it the MAC version of the cult loved “BeautyBlender” cosmetics sponge, but I’m really loving this thing.
No, I haven’t actually tried out the BeautyBlender, for a 2 main reasons:
It’s pricey, $10 more than the MAC Pro Performance Sponge
Available online only, meaning I couldn’t get my hands on prior to buying
So what most others say about the MAC Pro Performance Sponge versus the BeautyBlender (BB)
The MAC Pro Performance Sponge is more firm/dense than the BB
The MAC Pro Performance Sponge does not expand when wet/damp – but the large rounded end of the MAC Pro Performance Sponge is equal/slightly larger than a damp BB
The MAC Pro Performance Sponge can be a little more difficult to hold onto (though I have no problems with it)
The shape, the MAC Pro Performance Sponge has a large rounded base, edge and tapered point – in comparison to the BB
The MAC Pro Performance Sponge is not quite as bouncy against your face as the BB
Overall, the MAC Pro Performance Sponge performs just as well as the BB
So my favorite things about the MAC Pro Performance Sponge
It gives a perfect finish on the skin
Can be used with liquids, creams and powders
Has the large rounded end, an edge (like common cosmetic wedges) and tapers to a small point – perfect for applying to all areas of the face
It doesn’t suck up products, so I don’t have to use “extra” foundation – like most other cosmetic sponges
So I am a makeup brush fiend – seriously, I own A LOT of brushes, but I cannot use a brush for foundation after using this sponge! I didn’t have time to wash the sponge this morning and grabbed a brush instead, I was met with disappointment – the sponge has spoiled me!
I always spritz the sponge with some Fix+ (or distilled water if I have run out), as the sponge works best when damp. This is great because if I forget to wash it the night before, I can do so in the morning and squeeze out all the water with a clean paper towel, leaving the sponge perfectly damp for foundation application.
I am loving this so much that I am probably going to go get another one tomorrow, to use with other products like blush, bronzer, as well as contouring. Currently, I already use the same one for foundation, then concealer, cream contour and cream blushes – in that order.
Cleaning the sponge is also fairly easy. My process:
Take the sponge
Do NOT wet the sponge
Grab some oil (yeah – I did just said oil, grape seed or olive, or even baby oil)
Pour the oil on the more stained areas and work the oil into the sponge – the oil breaks down the cosmetic ingredients and separates the makeup from the sponge
Squeeze the dirty out!
Repeat until the stains are gone
Grab some of your gentle facial cleanser or some antibacterial hand soap and wash out the oil
Squeeze all the water out using a clean paper towel and check for any oil residue (if yes, wash once more)
So far the sponge is holding up like new each time I wash and reuse it – we’ll see how many months I get out of it.
P.S. HAPPY HUNGER GAMES – may the odds be ever in your favor!
ArtsyArchitette 