Tag: beauty benefits

FACE YOGA: AKA FREE FACELIFT

Published on by Lee3 Comments

Have you heard? Face yoga is all the rage. That’s right. I’m serious. Face. Yoga. You know, like yoga for your face.

In this post you’re going to learn 5 face yoga exercises that you can do at home. I did not invent these. These are all from the face yoga expert, Danielle Collins who developed face yoga to tighten the skin & defy gravity.

She created The Danielle Collins Face Yoga Method after a couple years of teaching yoga. “Clients were enjoying the health benefits of yoga for their bodies & minds. I was getting more & more requests for a similar natural way for the face to look & feel healthier too. As well as my drawing on my training [in Pilates & yoga], I spent many years researching & trialing face techniques from ancient Eastern medicine, the latest studies on facial composition & renowned wellbeing strategies, & created The Danielle Collins Face Yoga Method which is now enjoyed by millions of people worldwide.” { via }

Basically, face yoga is a completely natural alternative to antiaging remedies. Face yoga consists primarily of two kinds of facial exercises. Its concept of “waking up” sleeping muscles is believed to rejuvenate and strengthen the muscles in the face if practiced regularly.

The idea behind face yoga is that muscles in the face need and benefit from regular exercise as much as any other part of the body. The exercises are broken down into two categories: moves that wake up underused muscles in the face and moves that relax muscles that get overused or stressed. Muscles that some believe need to be awakened are in areas like the cheeks and under the eyes. On the other hand, relaxing moves are practiced in places like the forehead, around the mouth, and between the eyebrows, areas that typically get overworked.

Teachers of the practice explain that by using the same muscles day in and day out, those facial areas are prone to accelerated signs of aging. At the same time, certain facial muscles get no attention at all, causing them to lose elasticity and strength. By doing face exercises regularly, practitioners believe that these muscles are able to relax and strengthen simultaneously.

Let me tell you, it works. I’ve been trying it. Anyway, here are 5 face exercises you can do at home.

5 Face Yoga Exercises To Tighten & Tone:

♡ THE V

instructions how to do the eye firmer

Good for: drooping eyelids, crow’s feet, eye bags & puffiness.

Alternative to: Botox & eye surgery.

How to:

+ Press both middle fingers together at the inner corner of the eyebrows, then with the index fingers, apply pressure to the outer corners of the eyebrows.

+ Look to the ceiling, & raise the lower eyelids upwards to make a strong squint & then relax.

+ Repeat 6 more times & finish by squeezing eyes shut tightly for 10 seconds.

♡ THE SMILE SMOOTHER

instructions on how to do the face yoga cheek plumper

Good for: cheek lines & sagging skin.

Alternative to: lower face lift & fillers

How to:

+ hide the teeth with the lips to make an ‘O’ shape with the mouth.

+ smile widely while keeping the teeth hidden & repeat 6 times.

+ hold the smile shape while placing one index finger on the chin. Then start to move the jaw up & down as the head tilts gently back. Relax & repeat twice more.

♡ SMOOTH THE BROW

instructions on how to do the forehead smoother

Good for: horizontal forehead lines.

Alternative to: Botox.

How to:

+ place both hands on the forehead facing inwards & spread all the fingers out between the eyebrows & hairline.

+ gently sweep the fingers outwards across the forehead, applying light pressure to tighten the skin.

+ relax & repeat 10 times.

♡ THE FLIRTY EYES

instructions for doing the temple lift

Good for: deep eye hollows & dropping eye brows.

Alternative to: eyebrow lift.

How to:

+ place an index finger under each eye, pointing towards the nose.

+ hide the teeth & tease the top lip & bottom lip away from each other at the mouth.

+ flutter the upper eyelids while gazing at the ceiling for 30 seconds.

♡ THE GIRAFFE

instructions on how to do face yoga jaw stretch
instructions how to do the giraffe neck

Good for: lines & loose skin on the neck.

Alternative to: neck lift & jowl lift.

How to:

+ looking straight ahead, place the finger tips at the bottom of the neck & lightly stroke the skin downwards with the head tilted back.

+ bring the head back down to the chest & repeat twice more.

+ finally, jut the lower lip out as far as possible to pull the corners of the mouth down & place finger tips on the collarbone with the chin pointed upwards ( hold for 4 deep breaths ).

Benefits of Face Yoga:

♡ non-invasive alternative to Botox & surgery.

♡ increases blood circulation.

♡ allows more oxygen & nourishment to reach the cells of the skin.

♡ stimulates elastin & collagen production.

♡ creates a beautiful glow.

♡ tightens & smooths the skin.

♡ you can do them at home for free.

♡ Meghan Markle is a big fan (she’s also a fan of buccal massage)

Face yoga is something that I’m playing with & I can’t wait to do more posts on it, but I just wanted to update you guys that it is a thing, it is a trend, it does work, & it’s happening.

It goes hand-in-hand with facial massage which we talk about all the time. If you haven’t gotten on the facial massage train, you gotta.

Facial massage is life-changing. There is just no better way to depuff, debloat & look contoured like a Kardashian.

There are a few ways to go about facial massage. 1.) You can do it for free! 2.) You can get a little handheld machine. I love mine! Sure, I have a facial brush but this is different guys. This is like a vibrator for your face. In fact, it sounds like a vibrator, kind of looks like one, maybe you could even…oh, we’re getting off track here. But it’s very efficient. 3.) Lastly you can also do what I always do: the second I get back home, I haul my ass to the closest spa & get a lymphatic drainage massage. This works like a REAL charm. You go from swollen, Sloth from The Goonies to beauty pageant status.

Other ways to keep your face young for longer

There are a number of important ways to maintain healthy skin. All should be part of an overall daily self-care routine. 

  • Smile more. Smiling is a way to work the muscles in your face throughout the day. It is also a quick mood booster, and according to research, creates more feel-good brain chemicals than eating a bar of chocolate. 
  • Clean up your diet. The old adage “Beauty comes from within” is true. What you eat (and drink) plays a significant role in your skin’s appearance. Antioxidants like red berries and vegetables, green leafy veggies, healthy fats (like avocado and olive oil), and seafood can all go a long way to keeping your skin looking young. Deciding which foods to leave out (such as processed products, fried foods, and inflammatory fats such as canola or sunflower oils) is just as important as choosing which foods to put into your body.
  • Use sunscreen every day. Research has shown that the sun damages skin. Apply sunscreen every day, especially to your face, neck, and chest, and stay out of the direct heat of the sun during peak hours of the day.

So what are your thoughts on facial yoga. Are you getting into downward dog with your face or what?

Let us know by tweeting us at at @beautyleebar

x, lee

+ check out everything you should know about brow lamination.

+ check out everything you should know about sweat belt.

+ check out everything you should know about melanin is amazing but I need sunscreen.

BEAUTY Glow Recipe Has Juicy News

Published on by Lee2 Comments

THE BRAND IS RELEASING THE PERFECT PRODUCT JUST IN TIME FOR VALENTINE’S DAY.

Popular clean skincare brand, Glow Recipe has just dropped their newest watermelon-inspired beauty product: Watermelon Glow Lip Pop. The new lip product is a hybrid 3-in-1 lip balm, scrub, and tint; that is intended to smooth and hydrate the lips, with a versatile pink tint. The product is half makeup, half skincare, and everything your current lip balm isn’t.

Fruit is the muse for this fun brand, but not in a juvenile Lip Smacker sort of way. Glow Recipe is proving to the beauty industry that fruity flavors and colors can indeed be chic by focusing on the produce’s many skin-benefitting properties. Its moisturizers, masks, and mists are inspired by power ingredients like blueberry, banana, pineapple, and avocado.

The balm is designed to help with uneven texture and dryness on the lips. It is formulated with watermelon seed oil, watermelon extract, coconut oil, coconut flower sugar (hence the exfoliation) , and AHA extracts derived from hibiscus, wild pansy, and hawthorn. The formulation of the lip product has an exfoliating sugar texture, that melts upon application. The balm is also designed to react with the pH of the lips, and give off a customized pink lip tint. The lip balm is infused with Coconut oil and jojoba esters that deliver long-lasting moisture (because unlike the rest of the skin on your face, your lips don’t have oil glands, which makes them extra-prone to chapping).

The scrub-slash-balm leaves you with a glossy, light-pink pout. It can be used on its own or as a primer for richer lip color. The Watermelon Glow Lip Pop is Glow Recipe’s first-ever lip product. It’s joined in the fruit basket by a watermelon sleep mask, a moisturizer, and a mist. The lip balm is vegan, cruelty-free, and ‘Clean at Sephora’ (formulated without blacklist of 50 harmful ingredients). The balm is also free of parabens, mineral oil, sulfates, phthalates, and drying alcohol. Who knew that a summer melon could be so useful for curing winter chapped lips?

The 3-in-1 lip hybrid comes in a twist-up stick form package. It is priced at $22.

You can now view and shop the new Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Lip Pop at GlowRecipe.com and Sephora.com.

Watermelon Glow Lip Pop

$22 |GLOW RECIPE

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Boscia Chia Seed Moisture Cream

Published on by Lee3 Comments

Th season of gel texture moisturizers, quick-absorbing serums, and refreshing facial mists is gradually coming to an end, and you’ll soon need to swap in richer, more heavy-duty hydrators as temperatures start to dip and the air dries up. Kick off the skin care shelf transition with Boscia’s new Chia Seed Moisture Cream, which provides intense, long-lasting moisture to dehydrated skin — and uses one of your favorite superfoods to do it.

According to Dr. Kolansky, your skin is drier in the winter because the cold weather causes your blood vessels to constrict, resulting in less blood flow to your skin’s surface. And the changes in temperature between your warm home or office and the bitter outdoors causes an additional loss of moisture. When the weather outside is frightful, I bulk up my regimen with more hydrating ingredients like:

  • Ceramides
  • Fatty acids
  • Hyaluronic acid or sodium hyaluronate
  • Selected skincare oils
  • Shea butter

With the cold weather, comes skincare companies releasing more hydrating products and thicker creams. One such product is the Chia Seed Moisture Cream from Boscia. According to the company’s website, “since 2002, plants have been the secret to our skincare success. We use ingredients rooted in nature—plant-to-bottle formulas that show results with fun formulas. Good skin comes naturally because, in our world, beauty really does grow on trees.” And the Clean Beauty Chia Seed Moisture Cream is “a super-rich cream that provides an instant restoration of deep hydration to dry skin while nurturing and locking in moisture for soft and supple skin.”

Is it worth adding to your winter routine? Let’s take a look:

What Can Chia Seeds Do For Your Skin?

Chia seeds are a superfood for the body, but do those superpowers benefit your skin at all? Kind of… Chia seeds are a natural source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are anti-inflammatory fatty acids naturally found within the skin. Omega-3 fatty acids are documented to be substantially lower in those with dry/very dry skin types than those with normal to oily skin types, though omega-3 supplementation (whether oral or topical) can help this, returning skin to a more youthful, supple state. The topical chia seed oil has also been documented in the journal Annals of Dermatology to relieve severe symptoms of pruritus or skin itching.

The itty bitty seed in pressed oil form is clinically proven to increase skin hydration by reducing moisture loss, aka it locks in all of those skin-plumping omega fatty acids for healthy, glowy skin that lasts. Mineral-dense Swiss Glacier Water joins in to help moisture soak in deeply, protect skin, and improve smoothness, while elderberry extract brings a major dose of vitamins A, B6, C, and E to promote brightness and defend your complexion against stress and environmental pollutants. Long story short, it’s the naturally effective moisturizing cocktail your complexion never knew it needed.

So is chia seed oil going to remove your fine lines and wrinkles? Fix hyperpigmentation? Encourage collagen production? Probably not. However, if you suffer from dry to very dry skin, the chia seed oil is likely to temporarily plump up your skin, reducing the appearance of fine lines somewhat.

So the Chia Seed Moisture Cream can be great for temporary hydration (perhaps under makeup in the morning) but the long term benefits aren’t quite there.

Glacier Water; Marketing Gimmick or Effective Ingredients?

One of the ingredients that popped out at me when I first saw this product on Sephora’s website was “Glacier Water.” What does that mean, and does it have any benefit at all or is it simply a gimmicky marketing thing?

After doing some digging, I found that companies use “glacier water” as a hydrator in their products. Glacier water starts as rainfall, snow, and ice residing on, you guessed it, a glacier! As it trickles down it is filtered through the mountains’ porous, volcanic rock, also known as “tuff,” and collects trace minerals before running underground to pick up volcanic minerals from lava rock. And after all of that, it then emerges via ancient lava fields and thermal baths.

According to Tom Vichorski, a chemist who works with Skyn Iceland, this process results in water that is purified naturally. “Think of your standard carbon water filter,” he says, “now think of that filter extending miles beneath the Earth’s surface — that’s why the water is so pure.” So, I’m just going to be honest here… trace amounts of minerals in purified water are not going to do anything life-changing to your skin. There is no peer-reviewed published research that says “glacier water” will result in better skin. But it does make for fun and fancy marketing.

Personal Use and Opinion

The product is housed in a bulky, matte pink jar. For a product that’s selling point is its use of antioxidants, jar packaging isn’t the best as these ingredients aren’t known for being very stable. It’s also not the most hygienic thing in the world to constantly be dipping your fingers into your product and exposing it to the bacteria in the air, however, Boscia includes a funky looking scooper with the product which helps to mitigate this somewhat.

The cream itself is very thick, and a little bit goes a long way. I think that for those with oily skin this would be too heavy, but if you are on the drier side this would be great! I used this nightly for a few weeks and didn’t notice any irritation or adverse effects. Overall it was a solid product, but not sure there are any real long-term benefits outside of hydration.

Bottom Line

While “glacier water” is pretty gimmicky, the Chia Seed Moisture Cream from Boscia is a solid night cream. It’s thick and hydrating and I would recommend it for those who have dry skin.

Disclaimer:

The purpose of this blog is for skin, makeup, and beauty care-related reviews and tips only. It is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice. Information posted should not be construed as personal medical advice. Posts are not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure disease.

Chia Seed Moisture Cream

$38 |BOSCIA

The super hero of this incredibly rich moisture cream, chia seed oil, instantly and deeply moisturizes for a healthy and revitalized complexion

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REN PERFECT CANVAS CLEAN PRIMER

Published on by Lee6 Comments

Were do I describe my interest in makeup primers, it would hover between mild to semi-interested. Traditional primers? Not so much since I limit my makeup use to an occasional tinted moisturizer application when I’m in a rush or as an emergency intervention. A good eye cream under my Tom Ford Highlighting Illuminating Pen is all I need to avoid the midday crease. 

REN Clean Skincare has recently made a new look at their Clean Makeup Primer. The product now comes in recyclable glass bottle that you can put in your recycling bin once you are done. I love when companies find ways of reducing waste and REN has really made it simple. The REN Skincare Clean Makeup Primer is made to minimize pores and help to keep makeup stay put all day long. Find out more about this below and if it worked out for me. 

Over the last few years, however, I’ve come to see that the recently launched formulas make for intriguing skincare hybrids. The Silk Canvas from TATCHA, for example, fills in my crater-like pores flawlessly and the compact jar lasts forever. So when REN announced the re-launch of Perfect Canvas, their pore minimizing claims got me. I know it isn’t possible to change the size of a pore but if I combine deep cleansing efforts with a formula that helps to refine their appearance, who am I to argue?

At first glance, the Perfect Canvas bottle with dropper dispenser looks just like any daily hydrating serum. The liquid solution has a slightly viscous texture but doesn’t feel sticky or slippery. Since the formula is silicone free, it doesn’t have the spackle-like slip that I forever associate with the original Smash box primer. It doesn’t feel oily and isn’t heavily fragranced. True to the name, it’s perfect in its simplicity.

SO WHAT DOES IT DO AND WHY DO I LIKE IT?

The REN Clean Skincare Perfect Canvas Clean Primer ($45) is Silicone-free, Pore-minimizing, and makeup-gripping.  A little bit of this product goes a long way so you only need about 2-3 drops. It works best when you pat it into the skin and then proceed with your makeup routine. It does have a matte finish making this the perfect primer for those with oily skin. Even though it’s matte, I still found the primer to work great on my skin which is on the dry/combination side. It helps to even out my skin and makes it smoother for my makeup to glide with ease. This is a primer that I can see working for everyone, but especially for those with oily skin. You will love this product because it locks makeup down for hours and you can recycle it when you’re done.

I use it as the last step in my skincare routine and it delivers a surprisingly tightening effect. Think super thin layer of latex hugging your skin but not in a creepy American Horror Story kind of way. It’s not quite Spanx for your face but it instantly firms and adds a real life filter effect. 

Whether I choose to wear makeup (and when I do, it’s Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Hydrating Primer) or not, Perfect Canvas serves as an impressive pore-refining and line-blurring veil. The glass-like smoothness results in a glow that makes me look like I do eat super-greens. In addition to its makeup extending benefits, the formula boasts alpha-glucans, agave, and probiotic extracts. It’s really a makeup primer with treatment serum benefits.

Do I use Perfect Canvas everyday? No. But I when I want to juice up and tighten my complexion before a tinted moisturizer prior to going out, it’s my go to application. It prolongs the longevity of the tint as well. If you’re not a fan of silicone-based makeup primers, the new and improved REN formula is the perfect choice. 

SHOP RENSKINCARE

You can find this product at Sephora stores and online!