Words From The Wise: Benefit Sheds Light On How To Cover Dark Circles

Spoiled Pretty reader Amy wrote me, hoping that I could shed some light on disguising her dark circles:

"I am fairly young (32) and get a fair amount of sleep every night and yet every morning I have dark circles under my eyes. I feel like I have tried many different concealers but those dark circles are always there! Is there a secret to applying concealer - or a product that will rock my world? Help me Spoiled Pretty!"

To assist Amy, I turned to Ann Ford Danielson, Makeup Trend Artist for Benefit Cosmetics - who provided some illuminating advice.

"Have no fear, Erase Paste is here!!!! This product is a concentrated creamy concealer that will camouflage your dark circles instantly. A little goes a long way with this product, so you get a good bang for your buck. It will not only conceal your dark circles but it also brightens the eye area, leaving you looking rested and ready to go!! Erase paste doesn’t dry out the under eye nor does it start to crease as the day goes on. All in all, it is an under eye miracle worker!!! I love to brush on a little Powderflage right on top to help set and smooth over the erase paste. The two products together are killer. Say goodbye to your dark circles for good!!"

Amy, get ready to give your dark circles the one-two punch, because you will soon be receiving Erase Paste and Powderflage, courtesy of Benefit.

Thanks to Ann Ford Danielson and Benefit Cosmetics for participating in this installment of Words From The Wise!

Baffled by beauty? Overwhelmed by the number of products on the market? Desperately in search of answers to your hair, skincare and makeup dilemmas? Email me your query to fotohotcewekquestions@gmail.com - and if your question is answered on the blog, you will receive expert advice, plus a Spoiled Pretty-approved product that addresses your specific beauty issue! Be sure to include your full name and mailing address in your email.

Words From The Wise: Three Custom Color Clarifier Is An Eye Opener

Spoiled Pretty reader, Jaime, wrote me with the following plea for help:

"What product can I use to line the waterline on my lower eye? I like the look of liner on the lower waterline, but I can't seem to find a product that works! When I use eye shadow with an eyeliner brush, it looks great, but the shadow seems to irritate my eyes when it inevitably gets in them a little bit. I'm looking for a product that is white - to make my eyes appear larger, and make me look well rested - but I just can't find anything! Help! What do you use?"

I tend to stay up very late, writing stories to keep y'all entertained...so I know a thing or two about faking 8-hours of beauty sleep. When I need to look bright eyed and bushy tailed, I turn to Three Custom Color Specialists.

Trae Bodge, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Three Custom Color Specialists, shares a product suggestion to make eyes look brighter, whiter and more beautiful.

Dear Jamie,

Great question! Using a light shade on the inner rim of the eyes does make the eyes look wider, brighter and less glassy by concealing the pink that naturally occurs there (and that can be more pronounced the more tired we are). Pencil is your best bet, as eye shadow can tend to flake off into the eye.

White has been the standby for years, but as of late makeup artists and beauty junkies have been using a flesh-colored pencil as it achieves the same goal but doesn't look stark like white pencil can. We recommend our makeup artist staple, Three Custom Color Specialist's Clarifier Pencil, available in Light and Dark $16.50. Easy to apply, water resistant, and great for use as a spot concealer, brow definer and highlighter anywhere on the face!

Jaime, Trae will be sending you the Clarifier Pencil...and she promises it will be an eye-opening experience! Many thanks to Trae and Three Custom Color Specialists for participating in this installment of Words From The Wise.

Jealous of Jaime? Get a Clarifier of your very own...at 20% off! Three Custom Color is having a site-wide sale and all purchases before March 15th are 20% off. Enter coupon code MARCH at checkout to snag the Clarifier for $13.20 (plus shipping).

Baffled by beauty? Overwhelmed by the number of products on the market? Desperately in search of answers to your hair, skincare and makeup dilemmas? Email me your query to fotohotcewekquestions@gmail.com - and if your question is answered on the blog, you will receive expert advice, plus a Spoiled Pretty-approved product that addresses your specific beauty issue! Be sure to include your full name and mailing address in your email.

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Words From The Wise: DERMAdoctor Has The Prescription for Reader’s Milia

Linda, a Spoiled Pretty reader, wrote me with the following skincare dilemma:

“I have a skincare question for you. A few years ago, I began to notice that I was developing these little white bumps on the tops of my cheeks just above my cheekbones. Thinking they were pimples, I tried to squeeze them to see if that would make them go away. They are hard little bumps, and my home extraction did nothing. I tried increasing my exfoliation, but this didn't reduce the number of bumps either. I have ignored it for the last few months as they didn't really bother me until recently. I looked in the mirror the other day and noticed that more of the bumps have appeared! I am starting to get worried, but I am not sure what product I should get as I have sensitive combination skin and am scared to try anything that might be too harsh and make the problem worse! Any help would be greatly appreciated! Love your blog!”

I immediately recognized Linda’s issue as milia. So I contacted DERMAdoctor's Dr. Kunin for some advice - and a prescription for this reader’s skin affliction.

Dr. Kunin’s response:

It sounds like you are trying to describe a condition called milia; these are essentially very deep seated white heads that have sealed themselves off from the surface of the skin. While these can form just because they can, frequently the use of skincare or cosmetic products that are too heavy for one’s particular skin type can lead to these. Read the labels of your products carefully and make certain they say they are non-comedogenic.

Next, exfoliation will help keep pores open and reduce your chances of forming more milia in the future. Try products such as DERMAdoctor Physical Chemistry once or twice weekly to obtain a simultaneous physical and chemical exfoliation. Use DERMAdoctor Poetry In Lotion every other night to keep those pores open and your complexion vibrant.

Milia often need to be extracted which is not to easy to perform upon yourself. Your facialist or dermatologist can easily pop them open and extract them.

Thanks for the wonderful advice, Dr. Kunin!

Oh...and Linda, Dr. Kunin will be sending you DERMAdoctor Physical Chemistry and Poetry In Lotion. Help is on the way!

Baffled by beauty? Overwhelmed by the number of products on the market? Desperately in search of answers to your hair, skincare and makeup dilemmas? Email me your query to fotohotcewekquestions@gmail.com - and if your question is answered on the blog, you will receive expert advice, plus a Spoiled Pretty-approved product that addresses your specific beauty issue! Be sure to include your full name and mailing address in your email.

Words From The Wise: Ouidad Shares The Secret to Controlled Curls

Spoiled Pretty reader, Kristi, writes:

"I have very temperamental curly hair. It can be anything from looking like I just got a spiral perm (usually in the summer or in a humid environment) to looking sort of randomly curly and floofy in weird places (when it's dry in the winter). I don't like to blow dry my hair or use many chemicals on it because it needs all the moisture it can get. I generally just air dry and I shower at night. I finally have a stylist who knows curly hair and cuts it well, now comes the styling! "I'm wondering if there's a hair product or a technique (other than blow drying) that I can use to get my hair to have less curl but still be awesome when I air dry. A good example is Brooke Shields in Lipstick Jungle. I covet her hair, but usually the only days I can get it are random if the humidity is just so or if I haven't washed my hair in a while. I'm growing it out long and dream of Brooke's controlled curls! Any suggestions?"

To help Kristi control her curls, I contacted Ouidad. Ouidad was the very first stylist and salon owner in the country to specialize in curly hair. Today, editors at national fashion and beauty magazines consult Ouidad regularly and consider her to be the "Queen of Curl." She combined scientific knowledge with an understanding of curly hair's special needs. She takes an active part in formulating and creating her line of protein and vitamin enriched hair products that work with antioxidants to make curls defined, soft, shiny and manageable.

For all of you curly girls, Ouidad recommends that you stop fighting Mother Nature and learn to work with your waves…and you'll learn to love your curly hair. For Kristi’s curl quandary, she shares the following tips:

"Begin with a water based shampoo and conditioner, such as Ouidad Clear & Gentle Shampoo and Ouidad Balancing Rinse Conditioner. Use Ouidad Deep Treatment, a vital step in restoring and maintaining hair's health, to rejuvenate internal layer of the hair adding more pulse and movement to the hair. Use rake and shake styling method with Ouidad Tress FX Styling Gel to define curls by taking small sections of hair between fingers and rake through with gel. Tress FX light styling will keep position and style. Diffuse hair at the middle to add bounce and at the ends, do not dry naturally. And finish with Ouidad Styling Mist to set curl and add shine without holding hair stiff."

Ouidad has generously offered to send Kristi Clear & Gentle Shampoo, Balancing Rinse Conditioner, Ouidad Deep Treatment and Styling Mist so that Kristi can copy the Brook Shields curls she covets.

Many thanks to Ouidad for the sound advice and for spoiling Kristi pretty!!!

Baffled by beauty? Overwhelmed by the number of products on the market? Desperately in search of answers to your hair, skincare and makeup dilemmas? Email me your query to fotohotcewekquestions@gmail.com - and if your question is answered on the blog, you will receive expert advice, plus a Spoiled Pretty-approved product that addresses your specific beauty issue! Be sure to include your full name and mailing address in your email.

Words From The Wise: Clinique Offers Help For Hyperpigmentation

Spoiled Pretty reader, Aditi, writes:

"Unfortunately, my teenage years left me with terrible dark, acne scars! I have tried a few things and so far, nothing seems to work. Any thoughts?"

To answer Aditi’s question, I called upon Dr. Tom Mammone, Executive Director of Clinique Research and Development. He writes:

"There are many different dark spots that can appear on the skin. Melanin is responsible for the color that we see on our skin, including pigmentation spots, but different dark spots have different triggers. One of the most common causes of pigmentation spots includes acne scarring. That is the key to acne induced scarring and pigmentation. Our approach in treating this concern is to work with skin's own natural processes to minimize the appearance of dark spots and help prevent them from forming in the first place. Based on this philosophy, exfoliation plays a very important role in our pigmentation approach. In fact, we work on 3 levels when it comes to thwarting pigmentation. First, we inhibit the formation of the dark spots with antioxidants, second we utilize ingredients to break up the appearance of existing dark spots into "dust" and third, we use exfoliation to speed the departure of the cells that have been effected to encourage a more even skin tone.

"I would recommend a product such as Even Better Skin Tone Corrector which works like an eraser-breaking down the appearance of large dark clusters caused by hyperpigmentation into less visible "dust" with ingredients such as our Trametes Versicolor Extract (Advanced Brightening Yeast Blend). Then exfoliating ingredients such as Glucosamine and Salicylic Acid whisk away these clusters. In addition, the formula includes powerful antioxidants such as Curcuma Longa Turmeric Root Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Extract and Tocopheryl (Vitamin E) Acetate to prevent new dark spots from forming. In addition, scars and hyperpigmentation are due to inflammation and Even Better Skin Tone Corrector has strong anti-inflammatories to help reduce the inflammation. I would also stress the importance of sun protection. Clinique always recommends wearing a daily sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher."

Aditi, thanks for writing in with your question. Clinique has generously offered to send you Even Better Skin Tone Corrector and a daily sunscreen. Many thanks to Clinique and Tom Mammone for the excellent advice!

Baffled by beauty? Overwhelmed by the number of products on the market? Desperately in search of answers to your hair, skincare and makeup dilemmas? Email me your query to fotohotcewekquestions@gmail.com - and if your question is answered on the blog, you will receive expert advice, plus a Spoiled Pretty-approved product that addresses your specific beauty issue! Be sure to include your full name and mailing address in your email.

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Words From The Wise: David Babaii’s Tips For Taming Unruly Bangs

Welcome to Words From The Wise, Spoiled Pretty’s new weekly advice column!

Many of you have some serious issues…beauty issues, that is. And as much as I want to help, I am no expert. I’m just a gal with a dream of someday being (accidentally) locked in Sephora overnight. So to solve your beauty dilemmas, I’ve called in reinforcements.

Spoiled Pretty is consulting with some of the biggest names in the biz - to answer your burning beauty questions. So get out your steno pad and sharpen your #2 pencil. The pros are about to drop some knowledge. Prepare to get schooled.

Spoiled Pretty reader, Amanda, writes:

"My hair question has to do with my unruly bangs. What products do you recommend I use in the morning to get them nice and side-swept, just like I came out of the salon? I just can't seem to get it right."

David Babaii, celebrity hair stylist (his client list includes Kate Hudson, Angelina Jolie, Jessica Alba, Scarlett Johansson, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Gwyneth Paltrow) and co-founder of David Babaii for WildAid, shares these tips for controlling bothersome bangs:

“To tame those wild bangs, wet your bangs only and spray a small amount of David Babaii for WildAid Bohemian Beach Spray at the roots and on the hair shaft. With a round brush and your David Babaii for WildAid Blow Dryer on medium heat, blow dry the roots first to add volume brushing hair in the opposite direction of your natural part to create movement. When hair is mostly dry, hold the brush vertically and wrap your bangs around it towards the side where you want your hair to be parted. Point the blow dryer down and aim a blast of hot air on the brush to smooth the hair cuticle and set the slight wave in your hair. Continue to blow dry and pull hair to the side until you're satisfied. Finish with a small amount of David Babaii for WildAid Hair Polish on the ends to separate and add definition.”

David isn’t just generous with advice…he’s also gifting Amanda with David Babaii for WildAid Bohemian Beach Spray, Hair Dryer and Hair Polish - so that she can achieve salon results at home!

Many thanks to David Babaii for his invaluable beauty tips and for spoiling Amanda pretty!

Baffled by beauty? Overwhelmed by the number of products on the market? Desperately in search of answers to your hair, skincare and makeup dilemmas? Email me your query to fotohotcewekquestions@gmail.com - and if your question is answered on the blog, you will receive expert advice, plus a Spoiled Pretty-approved product that addresses your specific beauty issue! Be sure to include your full name and mailing address in your email.

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