Blog Posts by Allure Daily Beauty Reporter

by Stephanie Saltzman


David Stesner No addiction comes without its downsides: I cannot give in to my compulsive devotion to nail polish without the aid of nail polish remover. Or can I? When a slew of soy-based nail polish removers crossed my desk recently, I wondered if these could truly replace the smelly, ultra-drying--but always thorough--acetone formulas I depend on. I played around with RGB Nail Color Remove Pads, Priti NYC Soy Nail Polish Remover Wipes, and Crabtree & Evelyn Nail Polish Remover Wipes, and then I peppered Joseph Cincotta, a cosmetic chemist and an Allure Product Finder expert, and Gina Carney, the founder of RGB Cosmetics, with questions. Here's what I discovered:

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How do soy-based removers work? "Typical nail polish removers use acetone as the main solvent. It's powerful and effective at dissolving and removing nail polish quickly, yet it has a strong chemical odor, and is very harsh toward skin and nails," says Cincotta. "These non-toxic

by Grace Clarke


CN Digital Studio My bathroom isn't exactly a tranquil, spalike environment--unless your favorite spa is jammed with so many gadgets that there are extension cords snaked across the floor. The SoniCare toothbrush, Tria hair-removing laser, Clarisonic face brush: The gang's all here. But I could--and probably should--dial it back to simpler times, says dermatologist Lisa Ginn. At least when it comes to exfoliating facial cleansers, there definitely can be too much of a good thing.

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Getting patients to put down the whirring brushes isn't easy, says Ginn, who runs her own dermatologic practice in Chevy Chase, Maryland. "The goal with a face brush is to slough off bacteria and dead skin from the top layer, but they can actually cause breakouts." Not only will the bacteria you remove sit in the brushhead's bristles (which you put right back on your face the next time you scrub up), but all that aggressive exfoliation actually stimulates oil glands.

by Alexandra Owens


Condé Nast Archive I just got back from a ten-day romp through Vienna, Salzburg, and Paris, and of course, I packed carry-on friendly versions of my favorite makeup (Benefit They're Real Mascara, Almay Makeup Eraser Sticks). But more importantly, I didn't forget to prepare my skin, remembering that the Alps are a lot closer to the sun than my skin is used to. Ellen Marmur, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, told Allure that in the mountains, "The most important thing you can do is protect yourself while you're outside. The sun is intense at that altitude and causes hyperpigmentation in a short amount of time."

So I brought along plenty of hydrating facial moisturizer (my trusty Cetaphil), Josie Maran Argan Infinity Cream Oil to help soothe any chapped skin or nails, and even though I never normally wear foundation, I tried Clinique BB Cream with SPF 30 and antioxidants to protect myself from extra-close rays. By the time I

by Jenna Rosenstein


CN Digital Studio I am now officially normal. A government study has determined that the number of unwed American women living under the same roof with a romantic partner is now close to 50 percent, up from only 34 percent in 1995. And while these statistics may be a shock to the old-fashioned fathers of America, what's truly unsettling to me is trying to get ready for work in the morning at the same time as your new roomie--a.k.a. the boyfriend.

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I recently moved in with my mate of five years, and while it's hard enough to get out the door in the morning on my own, when you mix a man into that situation, suddenly "cohabitation" becomes a new term for "why are you bumping into me?", "that's my toothbrush!" and "no, you may not use my moisturizer for shaving." Here are three tips for surviving the morning rush--together. Get up earlier. If you wake up before your significant other, you'll be surprised at how much primping can be done before

by Alexandra Owens


Conde Nast Archive For the people out there who worry that our country is heading in the wrong direction, to a place of loose morals and toddlers dressed like Kim Kardashian, I offer you hope in the form of a recent survey by CouponCodes4u.com: The website polled 2,129 cohabiting men and women to find that an overwhelming 62 percent wear pajamas to bed (only 11 percent sleep in the nude, and 27 percent snooze in underwear). And we're not talking scandalous nighties, either. Forty-three percent of women strongly prefer "flannel pajama sets" (really?) to lingerie, which only got 11 percent of the vote.

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Maybe it's my Florida upbringing (even the idea of flannel there makes me claustrophobic), or maybe it's the fact that I live in the twenty-first century, but I find the old-school sleepwear trend really surprising-especially when you look at the reason why women are going for the Victorian look. Thirty-one percent chose pajamas because they

by Elizabeth Siegel


CN Digital Studio Trying to reduce stress can be…stressful. Considering all we have on our plates, who has time for meditation, yoga classes, anti-inflammatory smoothies, and a full eight hours? Luckily, there is one really easy way to unwind, and you can actually do it in your sleep (or, um, while you lie in bed making to-do lists while you try to sleep). And maybe the best news of all (depending on where de-stressing and preventing wrinkles fall on your list of priorities) is that you could also get an anti-aging benefit. "Lavender really is aromatherapeutic, and putting a few drops on your pillow will help you de-stress," says Francesca Fusco, a dermatologist in New York City. The really cool part? You could scrunch your face less while you sleep, which means you'll wind up with fewer wrinkles. OK, fine, you can see where wrinkles fall on my list of priorities.


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by Elizabeth Siegel


David Gubert Please don't make your own sunscreen. If even the thought of doing that sounds crazy to you (and it should), then you'll be as surprised as we were to hear about a rumor that home-brewed "sunscreens" (a major misnomer) actually work.

Just look at Pinterest and you'll find recipes that call for ingredients like coconut oil, shea butter, zinc, and titanium dioxide. But even if you can find zinc and titanium dioxide (your guess is as good as ours where you'd do that), you 100 percent cannot make an effective sunscreen at home. For one thing, you have no clue what level of SPF you're getting--if any.

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"I have to use a high-pressure machine called a homogenizer to break up zinc and titanium dioxode particles and distribute them evenly through a formula," says cosmetic chemist Ni'Kita Wilson. "There's no way mixing with a spoon or a blender can come even close to do doing that, so you're going to have entire areas of skin that