Bye bye winter! Spring is in full swing! Beauty tips for men and women to tidy up for the season. My allergies are telling me it’s spring. It’s time to get out there and start living life again. Curse the pasty pallor of my skin, I want to breath fresh air again! AAAchoo! Can’t win ’em all…. But I can look good while I sneeze. Since spring is here lets uncover and take inventory of some things to spruce up while we transition through the season. While uncovering your parts from their winter coats there’s a few maintenance tasks that need attending to and are important not to neglect. Here’s a short list to help with the transition: For the Gals:

• Shape up the eyebrow.
• If you want to be tan, fake it.
• Make sure you have moisturizer and sunscreen. It’s your best anti-aging friend.
• Exfoliate your body with a store bought or homemade scrub and then moisturizer liberally.
• Get yourself a new lip stick- Poppy red seems to keep popping up but there’s a shade of red out there for all of us! And the pinks are super bold and bright. Ask a makeup artist at your local department store to help you match a color with your skin tone. You may pay a couple bucks extra for a brand name but it is so worth it! Or ask for a sample and match it to one at a drug store.
• Pay attention to your feet. Spruce them up yourself or get a professional pedicure. Nail color trend- InStyle magazine suggests nude fingers and neon toes.

For the Boys:

• Get a hair cut.
• Make sure you have a creamy or hydrating, non-drying moisturizer and sunscreen.
• Consider some manscaping. Tidy up those hairy spots.
• Male sensitive skin issues generally happen around the beard and shaving areas. If your having trouble with the beard area make sure you have the right tools and products for your skin type.
• Trim your nails or get a manicure.

Now you’re fresh. Get on with your bad self.]]>

Tips for a DIY home spa day to get your feet ready for their debut. You’ve heard the expression “Agony of da feet?” Ok, I made that up, but we torture our poor feet everyday by cramming them into pointy shoes, letting them crack from pure neglect or just plain ignoring them. Give them the day off and take ’em to a spa day…at home. Here’s what you’ll need to get flip flop ready:

• 3 Tablespoons of Epsom salts per gallon of water.
• Warm water about as hot as your skin will stand.
• Pumice stone and an emery board. Vitamin E oil or an intense balm.
• Add Epsom salts to warm water and soak until water cools or rough skin starts to soften 20-30 minutes.

Other items you can add to your foot soak:

• Tea bags (black or green)
• honey
• olive oil
• coffee
• lemon juice

Now the details:

• After soaking, scrub the bottom of your feet with pumice until all dead skin is gone.
• Dry feet thoroughly and then shape and file toe nails with emery board.
• Slather with an intense balm, vitamin E oil or vaseline.
• Immediately slip into some socks and wear them all night.
• To maintain your makeover be sure to moisturize your feet several times a week.

The worst thing we can do to our feet is ignore them. We have more nerve endings and sweat glands in our feet than anywhere else in our bodies. Be kind to them and they will service you well.]]>

See, you can have it all! Pumpkin isn’t just for pies anymore.

Pumpkin is a dynamic and effective ingredient to use in your next DIY facial. Since you’re already cracking a can of pumpkin for your holiday fare, and you’re a multi-tasking dynamo, this is a amazing face mask to put on while you’re cooking, baking or preparing for guests. Pumpkin benefits for skin: Naturally high in Vitamin A and C, pumpkin will reduce the effects of environmental toxins and regenerate skin cells and collagen. In the skin business, vitamin C is used to help the skin readily absorb more vitamins and nutrients. Also, natural pumpkin enzymes lightly exfoliate dead skin cells leaving your skin hydrated and rejuvenated. Use cool or cold puréed pulp of pumpkin. If it’s canned, make sure pumpkin is the only ingredient. I used Trader Joe’s organic canned pumpkin. You should get great results regardless if you choose canned or plan to roast your own.

DIY Pumpkin Honey Face Mask Recipe Eyeball it: 2 T. cooled & puréed pumpkin pulp 1 tsp. honey

And if you just can’t stop there, you can try loads of different ingredients. Add one or all from the list if you desire, or just stick with the basic recipe above: For dry skin add:

• Yogurt
• Egg yolk
• Milk
• Avocado
• Banana

For sensitive skin add:

• Yogurt
• Oats
• Aloe vera
• Cucumber

For oily skin add:

• Yogurt
• Egg whites
• Lemon or lime juice

Mix chosen ingredients in a bowl. Make sure it’s not too thin so it won’t drip off your face. Add more pumpkin to thicken. Apply on skin and leave for 5-15 minutes. Rinse, tone and moisturize. * Apply patch test first if you have sensitive skin. * Mask may tingle but should never burn. ]]>

Curse the oily body scrubs!

Nothing puts a bee in my bonnet faster than tossing old, unused products in the garbage. Buying products that don’t work is bad for the budget. One of my product pet peeves as well as a clutter offender is those super-trendy sugar or salt body scrubs packed with loads of oil. I’m not saying they don’t do the trick but who wants to clean up a bathtub or shower that’s completely covered in grease? It’s a safety hazard and a pain-in-the-ass. So there’s another product that will sit in my cabinet unused. Lesson learned and now my blood pressure is up. A girlfriend of mine had a simple solution for my scrub dilemma. She spent some years in Japan and claimed the Japanese women use a mixture of honey and salt to scrub their bodies. The salt exfoliated and the honey left their skin soft and supple. This is an easy and economical beauty regimen with ingredients from you have on hand in your cupboard. And, it works!:

Salt and Honey Exfoliating Scrub:

Start with 1/2 cup of salt or sugar and get yourself a honey bear for the shower. The nozzle on the honey bear will help keep the honey under control. Microwave it first for 10-15 seconds to get it to flow nicely but don’t make it too hot or it will burn your skin! Or let it warm up in the shower stream to get it flowing. Put the honey in your hand with a handful of salt and start scrubbing. Repeat this until you have scrubbed all your parts. This is for the body only, never use this on your face. Once you are pretty and pink, rinse off. Always moisturize after any type of body treatment. My 3-in-1 Antioxidant Lotion with lavender and white tea is a great choice, if I do say so myself. Voila! No mess to clean up, no bees in the bonnet. Birdy loves bees, just not in her hat.]]>