Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester, Halle Berry, Sandra Oh -- who doesn't want to smile up at a camera with their amazing, glowy skin? While I ponder the fantasy of having the caramel loveliness of Eva Mendes one day and the scrubby-clean fair skin of Reese Witherspoon the next, perhaps it's time to get working on making my own face a little more camera-ready.
We've all read the tips for making our skin look great a thousand
times. And we've all had countless conversations with our
girlfriends, mothers, the make-up counter clerk, the nice lady at
Starbucks about how to finally get our faces in beautiful shape.
What could we possible learn by hearing it all again?
Maybe nothing. But maybe this will be the one time we take
some steps to make our skin feel healthier and look phenomenal.
With that hope and with some inspirational photos of the women in
Hollywood with the most gorgeous skin, here are some no-duh tips
that we've never quite gotten around to implementing but still,
just make good sense:
1. Sleep on it. You know how your face feels
sucked dry after one of those too fun, late-late nights? Or how
ragged you felt the first year after you were up every hour with
your new baby? You're not just feeling the effects of a lack of
sleep, they are also showing up on your skin. There's really no
other way around making this kind of investment in your skin's
health other than
setting a bedtime and sticking to it. You
might not see the results in the morning, but wait until that 20th
high school reunion, friend. It will all be revealed then.
2. Hydrate it. Yeah yeah yeah, there's
always going to be some debate about how much water you should be
drinking. No matter where you side on the four glasses vs. eight
glasses debate, just drink up! You will feel more alert, which
means you will look more alert. Don't be afraid to serve up your
skin a nice cocktail of moisturizer, too. If you're really feeling
radical (or parched, either way), take a day off of make-up
altogether and go on a little water-drinking, moisturizer bender.
Think how perked up and pretty your skin will look after all that
self-care.
3. Feed it. If you're going to eat for
energy, longevity and to keep up with your busy days, why not also
eat for fabulous skin? Making small adjustments --
like adding a cup of green tea to your nightly ritual or using
sunflower oil in your stirfry-- might do as much or more for your
skin's glow as
all the products on your bathroom counter.
4. Protect it. I admit that as the seasons change,
I have a bad and unconscious habit of stowing the sunscreen away as
soon as I pack up my sandals. The reality is that we can still get
loads of exposure to harmful UVA and UVB rays when it is cloudy and
we do
need the protection of sunscreen all year round. The
two seconds it takes to slather on a bit of block means you will be
guarding your skin from sunburns today and from cancer, wrinkles
and sunspots in the years to come. And hello! Have you seen Nicole
Kidman's porcelain skin? It's gorgeous, even under that giant hat
and what has to be a pint of sunscreen.
5. Gently address the sins of your skin
past. Acne scars, sun damage and other skin ickiness is a
reality for most of our faces. Sure, I'd love to have the
baby-soft, wrinkle-free skin of my 20s, but no product, nap or
gallon of water is going to make that happen magically. Rather than
worry too much about the little flaws (the worrying, by the way,
causes me to make one of those scrunched up faces that cannot
exactly be erasing the little lines, can it?), be kind to the body
you have now. See a dermatologist (who doesn't yell -- sometimes a
trick to find), try some gentle products that will fade scars,
clear up dark circles and
banish the blemishes making an appearance now.
Healing will happen and in the meantime, use a bit of concealer
until it's all sorted out.
That glow: Celebrities with the healthiest, most gorgeous skin
editor