Blog Posts by Allure Daily Beauty Reporter

by Catherine Devine


Getty ImagesI know I'm a little late to the game, but I finally started using a facial cleansing brush a few weeks ago. I'd heard my coworkers and friends rave about them for years, about how glow-y their skin looked and how smooth it felt, so I couldn't wait to use one. I thought my skin would look Jennifer Aniston flawless after using it once. What I got, though, was the total opposite: My face broke out--badly.

Aside from a few zits every now and then (which I could probably attribute to my slight affection for chocolate), I've luckily never had a serious acne problem. But after a few days of using the brush with my everyday cleanser (Philosophy Purity Face Wash), my face was spackled in pimples. I freaked out big time. According to dermatologist Jason Emer, this is totally normal.

"At the beginning, your skin might flare, probably within the first two weeks," he said. "The dead skin cells that are being sloughed off plug up your pores. But as your skin gets used to it,

by Jenna Rosenstein


CN Digital Studio It seems to be my lot in life to fall in love with products that face imminent discontinuation (TaB Energy, anyone?). In 2007, I was introduced to my signature scent: Diesel Fuel for Life. I spritzed it recklessly until the day in 2010 when I was told that it, too, was facing extinction.

Since then, I have never gone more than a month or two without somehow acquiring a new bottle (warning: A trip overseas may be in order!). Here are my tips for pushing the inevitable day when you need to find a new signature scent as far down the road as possible:

See more: The 12 Best Eye Creams

Act fast. The moment you learn that your perfume is exiting brick-and-mortar retailers, hop online to build yourself a back stock. Amazon and other online retailers may still carry the scent for months, even years after it disappears from stores. Cosmetic chemist Jim Hammer suggests storing your stockpile in the refrigerator or another cold, dark place to protect the integrity of the

by Patrick Rogers


courtesy of Scope




















Oscar Wilde once wrote that true progress is to know more, to be more, and to do more. I am so sorry he's not around to see the opportunities afforded by modern science: Scope Mouthwash has announced a new flavor--bacon. Bacon! And not simply bacon: The smoked pork flavor of this supposed oral rinse lasts only as long as you swish it around in your mouth, then morphs into a minty freshness once you spit it out. Sound too good (or gross) to be true? Spoiler alert: The timing is fishy on this one, folks. Take a look at your calendar--April Fool's Day is just around the corner.

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by Grace Clarke


CN Digital Studio The alternate title for this blog could have been "Kim Kardashian Goes to the Spa; the Twitterverse Freaks Out." Last week alone, the pregnant half of KimYe tweeted pictures of herself mid-vampire facial (so. much. blood.), covered in needles during acupuncture, and getting a spray tan with Kardashian Glow sunless tanner mist. "Sprayed tonight after watching KKTM! My legs are soooo dark!" she captioned the last picture. She received more than 2,000 comments, many of them questioning whether it's safe for a pregnant woman to coat herself in chemicals for the sake of a sunny glow. I asked Ashley Roman, an ob-gyn at NYU's Langone Medical Center who specializes in high-risk and special-needs pregnancies, about the risks of sun-free tanning when you're expecting.

See more: The 12 Best Eye Creams

It seems like everything is forbidden when you're pregnant--are sunless tanning lotions harmful, too? "There haven't been any studies that evaluate the safety of using sunless

If you wear nothing else, at least cover your nails with one of this season's sexy shades.

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by Lexi Novak


WWD/Kyle EricksenAfter years of denial and multiple attempts with a flatiron--thankfully there was no Facebook to publically immortalize my "awkward phase"--I finally came to grips with a fact: I have very curly hair. But now that I've embraced my ringlets, I've run into yet another dilemma, which is that wearing the same spirals every day can get boring. Since I don't want to just scald my hair straight, I asked celebrity hairstylist Diane Bailey, whose clients include Beyoncé and Lauren Hill, for some tips on how to reinvent curly hair.

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Voluminous Curls
For a "more is more" look, try allover volume with tight, springy curls. Start by almost completely drying freshly washed hair with a diffuser "to reduce frizz and preserve the natural curl pattern," says Bailey. Apply a curl styling mousse for added hold (such as Herbal Essences Totally Twisted Curl Boosting Mousse). Then, working in half-inch sections, wrap hair around rubber curling rods. "Hold them

by Alexandra Tunell


Conde Nast Archive Think you had a rough Monday morning? Let me tell you how my week got started: scalding hot tea, a thermos with a faulty lid, and a train conductor with a penchant for slamming on the breaks. You can probably guess what happened next. By the time my commute was over, an unfortunate-looking blister had formed underneath my bottom lip, and the swelling made me look like a Real Housewife of Beverly Hills. I walked into the office embarrassed, with an ice pack on my mouth, and called dermatologist David Bank. Should you ever find yourself with an unfortunate (and very painful) lip burn, here are his tips for easing the ouch:

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1. Keep your head elevated higher than your heart, so the fluid and blood flow doesn't all rush forward. (This may sound obvious, but believe me, if it weren't for work today, I'd be flat on my bed right now.)

2. Apply a cold compress for ten minutes at a time. Ice in a plastic bag works.

by Sophia Panych


Getty Images The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. But when it comes to admitting that it's time for a haircut, some of us balk. If you're like me, you want to keep your hair growing until it reaches Real Housewife length (minus the extensions), and don't want anything to interrupt the process. The good news is, you can keep haircuts to a minimum. "I am a big fan of growing hair out and totally understand people who get haircuts two times a year," says hairstylist Teddi Cranford of the Sally Hershberger Downtown salon in New York City. "You can keep your hair long, but you have to find the right hairdresser who knows how to dust off your ends and can give you shape without losing any length." So, until you find the hairdresser of your long-haired dreams, here's exactly how to know when it's time for a cut.

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It has a triangle shape. My hair is thin and mostly straight, so I don't ever have this happen