Spring clean your beauty regimen

Piper Weiss
(Think Stock Photos)
(Think Stock Photos)

Those heavy foundations and dark makeup shades may have worked for winter, but warmer weather calls for a whole new beauty routine. Spring 2011's best trends all involve an array of bright, fresh colors and smarter methods of skincare. We caught up with some of the country's top beauty bloggers who revealed their favorite tricks for updating your beauty regimen starting today.

1.Toss the old: Before your bring in the new, you've got to clean out the old. Last spring's sunscreen is so last spring. "Toss anything with an SPF that's more than a year old, especially if it's separated or a weird consistency because it can lose its efficacy," suggests beauty blogger Karla Sugar. You can also trash any dried-out skincare products with crusty caps and foundations that don't look the way they used to. "You can tell when makeup has gone bad when it changes consistency, color, or smell," advised Sugar. "But powders, for instance, almost never go bad."

2.Build a better toolbox: Visibility is the key to a new and improved beauty regimen. "The same principles you use to organize your closet are true for your makeup: you won't use what you can't see," says Sugar. For organization, she believes in the power of home goods stores. "Buy a small toolbox," says Sugar. "They tend to have shallow drawers which are perfect for storing makeup." She also recommends small vases for storing make-up brushes, brush side up. "

3. Hold the oil: You know that layer of cream you lathered on your face in winter? Dead weight. "The thick, emollient creams that work well in winter are often too heavy come spring," warns Annie Tomlin of Bella Sugar. "I think many people think that one cream will serve their needs all year, but our skin responds to the seasons, so it needs to change with time, too." For spring, try an oil-free product with glycerin, a light-weight ingredient that moisturizes without clogging pores.

4. SPF better: A new breed of sun-protecting products have emerged in recent months. Instead of the standard lotions, now sunscreen comes as a mousse for a lighter all-over covering, sprays for SPF touch-ups without smearing your makeup, and serums to block the sun without leaving a chalky residue. Extra strength SPF is also doing double-time in make-up primers, self-tanners, concealers and even lipsticks. "But skip the heavy, pore-clogging foundations and powders," advises Fashionista beauty editor Cheryl Wischhover. "Instead try a lighter, tinted moisturizer with SPF."

5. Go green: Natural beauty isn't just a passing fad anymore. "I see more women giving eco-friendly, sustainable skin care another try," .Tomlin says. "Today's formulas are infinitely better than those of even five years ago." Look for the words "paraben-free" on lotions and lipsticks, and "mineral-based" on loose powder bases. Both are free of preservatives found in standard skincare and cosmetics that have been linked to certain hormone-based health conditions.

6. Add neon: Lips are getting electrified this season. On the runways of Jill Sander, Fendi and Diane Von Furstenburg, bold, lightening-bright pouts were the hottest accessory adorning spring lines. "Invest in an orange lipstick or gloss this season," says Wischhover, "whether it's pinky-coral or full-on orange." But traffic-light lips require sharp definition, so use a lip primer and matching liner around your lip line to keep the shape and prevent the color from spreading.

6. Perfect your tone: Skin tone correctors are big this spring, according to Wischover. These spot-erasing serums and ointments are designed to combat hyper-pigmentation, scarring and age spots to enhance the overall look of your skin. They're usually spot applied to clean skin before moisturizers to reduce the signs of sun damage for a brighter, more even tone in a matter of weeks.

7. Start your lab: The latest crop of anti-aging products sound more like chemistry kits than beauty products, but that's not a bad thing. Peptides, which produce collagen and elastin to tighten the skin, and antioxidants, which fight free-radicals responsible for fine lines, are becoming popular ingredients in anti-wrinkle creams and serums. But the biggest buzz in beauty? "Plant stem cells are the hot new thing," says Wischhover. "That one's been coming slowly over the past few years, but it's about to be much more common." A small number of pricy products on the market, contain non-embryonic stem cells derived from plant extracts that promise to increase the skin's ability to regenerate and reverse the signs of aging. But if you can't afford to drop $100 on your skin just yet, buy some time and lather on the SPF mousse.

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