5 Essential Beauty Products For Winter

The barometer has finally dropped here in Phoenix, and our endless days of temperatures in the 80's have disappeared for a while leaaving us with bone chilling highs in the 60's.

You may laugh but I'm sitting in my house freezing, with thick socks, sweats and a fleece on!

The change in temperature means skin, hair and scalp need extra lovin, so I've been clicking away on Amazon.com (how did we ever survive without it???), re-ordering my winter staples.

5 Essential Beauty Products For Winter

Nioxin hair Dermabrasion Treatment 75 ml / 2.5 oz ANTI-AGING TREATMENT 

Just as the skin on your face needs exfoliating, so does the skin on your scalp. I've written about this magic product several times before - I use it at the beginning of each season. When you clear your scalp your hair grows in thicker and shinier. I always see a big difference in mine, it gets glossier, fuller and bouncier. And there's no time quite like the holidays to get bouncy hair!

Malin and Goetz Recovery Treatment Oil

Winter skin needs a booster product, and nothing beats a good facial oil. The Malin and Goetz Recovery Treatment Oil instantly makes skin look and feel smoother, softer, more supple and its proprietary blend of 9 natural oils and powerful antioxidants help combat signs of aging while making your complexion radiant.
You can buy it online at Space NK

Weleda Skin Food, 2.5 Ounce

I learned about this one a few years back when my friend Nico moved back from Milan. When your skin is dry, when it has to battle cold weather, when it's just feeling tired out, lacking luster, looking dull, Weleda Skin Food is the most amazing balm like moisturizer that is the best rescue product ever!
Find it at Target or at Amazon

Ouai Treatment Mask

cold weather, wind, central heating and hats all rough your hair up and dry it out. These deep treatment masks (there are 8 in the box)
repair hair and leave it smooth and shiny after just one treatment.
Fabulous.
Available online at Space NK

Dr Lipp Original Nipple Balm For Lips

It's no secret that one of the most effective products for cracked, chapped or dry lips is good old nipple cream. Anyone who has breast fed a baby will know all about nipple creams, and how healing and soothing they are both to sore nipples and to lips in need!
You can also use this to groom brows, add shine to cheeks, and even as a cuticle cream.
Find it online at Space NK.com

Black Friday / Cyber Monday Deals, Juice Beauty

If you would like to feel like Gwyneth Paltrow for a minute you can step into her organic, healthy world with Juice Beauty products.



Juice Beauty has both skin care products and makeup products.



Gwyneth is the Creative Director of the makeup line.
And she swears by the skin care products.





Juice Beauty have some fabulous gift sets for the holidays.

They also have some great deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Check the links below:

Black Friday Special: Up to 30% off Juice Beauty (Top 17) Skincare and Makeup Bestsellers | Valid until 11:59pm PT 11/25/2016

Use promo code: Cyber16 for Juice Beauty's Cyber Monday Special: 20% off  Site Wide (Skincare and Makeup) Valid until 11:59pm PT 11/28/2016

Beginner's Guide To Skin Care

I have been traveling around the country speaking at Pinner's Conferences, teaching my Beauty 101 course. After each class I do a Q and A session, and I am finding that no matter where I am speaking there are loads of ladies and girls who find the whole skin care equation completely confusing, and are frequently using the wrong products or no products at all.

When they read my posts about Korean skin care and the way  Korean girls layer their skin care products it just confuses them more, so today lets look at the basics of skin care.

The first thing you need to do is figure out your skin type. Are you oily, normal, dry, or combination? 
Most of us get a shiny T-Zone, but that doesn't mean we are oily. It may just mean we are combination skin. Truly oily skin has an almost wet sheen to the cheeks as well as the T-Zone.
Normal skin looks basically perfect, dry skin can look anything from pulled under the surface to flaky.

Next look at what your objective is. Is your skin congested/acne prone, battling black heads? Is it aging too quickly, or dry or irritated or sensitive? You need to know what you are trying to achieve before you invest in products.

Once you have these two items figured out you can choose a simple system to meet your needs, using the basics of cleanse, tone and moisturize.

If you have oily skin look for a foaming or gel cleanser like Kiehls Ultra Facial Oil free Cleanser which will give you a good cleanse but also will also reduce excess sebum on the surface of your skin, without stripping it dry. 

Follow up with Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil Free Toner to remove any residue, help combat excess oil, and prepare your skin to receive moisturizer. I can hear you freaking out that you don't want to use a moisturizer if you have oily skin, but it is essential. You just need something formulated for oily skins. Try Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil Free Lotion to help balance your skin's surface oil equation, giving you a dryer appearance while nourishing it and keeping it in good condition.
You can find Kiehl's products online at Nordstrom.com

If you have normal skin look for a cleanser that is gentle, removes makeup, cleanses but doesn't strip the skin. 

Try an all natural product such as REN Rosa Centifolia Purity Cleansing Balm. When you mix it with water it turns into a luxurious milk texture and leaves your skin super soft and silky.
REN's Evercalm Global Protection Day Cream was designed for the most sensitive of skins, but is also lovely for normal skin. It protects your skin against environmental pollutants and keeps it feeling soothed and smoothed throughout the day.
REN's V-Cense Revitalizing Night Cream revitalizes the skin, works on preventing fine lines and wrinkles and makes it beautifully radiant.
Find REN products online at Nordstrom

Dry complexions need extra TLC. I am a huge fan of cleansing oils for all skin types, but especially for dry skins (like my own).

Tatcha is world famous for it's amazing One Step Camellia Cleansing Oil. It dissolves makeup and gives you a beautiful cleanse, leaving your dry or sensitive skin feeling soothed and gorgeous. Tatcha's Dewy Skin Mist is a lightweight powerhouse moisture mist that you can use at any time of the day. It makes for a lovely step between cleansing and moisturizing, and also is a fabulous rescue product when skin feels tight or irritated.
Tatcha's Enriching Renewal Cream is dry skin's best friend. It deeply moisturizes and nourishes the skin, and also soothes it - dry skin tends to get quite sensitive, and this is the magic potion it craves.
Tatcha products are available online at Tatcha.com

When you buy skin care products try to get them all from one line. If you shop within a single brand you will be using products designed to work together synergistically.
You don't need to spend a fortune on skin care - shop within your budget, but start with cleanse, tone and mositurize.

Winter Lipstick Rules

Lipstick gets really fun in the fall and winter.

Kylie Jenner image via GetWorldMedia.com

We replace the soft, sheer, shimmery lip glosses of summer with big, full bodied lipsticks in bold reds and deep dark berries, burgundies and wine tones. Lips become a central focus in the colder months creating a look that is moody, sexy and frankly flat out fabulous!

There is however some maintenance required in order to pull this look off. Underneath these big lip colors your lips have to be smooth and super hydrated. Crusty, dry, flaky lips ruin your look at the best of times but a deep, or bold lipstick shade amplifies a dried out lip and just looks plain awful.

To keep your lips looking healthy and kissable when the barometer drops, gently exfoliate them with warm water and a wash cloth, being super careful not to rough them up or tear off lose skin. The stress here is on being gentle. Follow up with a really good lip balm. The lip balm part of this equation is super important as you need to not only keep your lips hydrated all the time, but also to give them a protective barrier against the cold weather.

I love this passion fruit lip balm 

I keep EOS lip balms everywhere - my nightstand, my handbags, my car, and apply them throughout the day and before bed at night, helping me to keep my lips supple year round, and preventing them from getting dry or chapped in the winter. EOS lip balms are paraben and petrolatum free and are packed with antioxidant Vitamin E, shea butter and jojoba oil. I buy these little spheres in all the different colors and different flavors because at $3 each, why not try them all? (You can find them at places like Target)

I also keep them in my pro makeup kit. When a model/actor/client gets in my chair the first thing I do regardless of the time of year is apply lip balm so that it can be soaking in and hydrate their lips throughout the makeup process, prepping their pouts for lipstick. Everyone loves EOS lip balm spheres and at only $3 they love that they can throw them in their handbag when we're done!

image by Kelly Capelli

  
We just shot a new winter lip tutorial for the upcoming issue of Luca Magazine . (you will love it!) My model had EOS lip balm soaking on her lips during makeup, getting them prepped and perfect for the story. 
The new issue of Luca hits newsstands December 1st.

image by Kelly Capelli

Take care of your lips, buy a killer dark lip color for fall and pucker up that pout!

The Modern Girl's Guide To Korean Skin Care

I talk about Korean skin care all the time.
I just taught another Beauty 101 class, and all the ladies were asking me about K-Beauty and which products I used and what all these things men, so in their honor, here is a blogpost dedicated to breaking down the parts of Korean Skin Care.

Korean women are considered to have the best skin in the world, and obsess over which products they use.
Making the change to Korean products has been the best thing I have ever done for my skin and it has never looked better.

South Korea is not only the mecca of skin care it is actually the world leader in research and development of skin care products. Korean skin care utilizes technologies we don't have yet in America, so these products are really high performance and give you absolutely amazing results.

The Korean skin care system is based on layering products and targeting very specific skin concerns. I added each category of product in one at a time so that I could see if they made a difference, and if layering them was worth it. It was.

The following post is a break down of each of the main components that make up the Korean skin care regimen. You can use them all, or if that is too overwhelming just pick and choose the parts that work for you.

You can find Korean skin care in various stores (such as Sephora), or you can order them online. I buy online from Memebox, the largest purveyor of Korean skin care products. They are based in the San Francisco area so everything ships out quickly and arrives in 3 - 5 days. 

I write about Korean skin care and Memebox often, and normally post about my orders when they arrive. If you go to the search bar and type in either Memebox or Korean skin care you will get a list of them all. 

West Face East, How To Layer Your Skin Care Korean-Style

Korean Skin Care - Where Do You Begin??

Disclaimer: Memebox does not sponsor this blog and does not give me free product. I buy every product I talk about, show you, or use. 
I do have affiliate marketing with Memebox through a third party. This means that if you order from any of the links in this post my blog may earn a few cents.

One of my recent Memebox orders. All these amazing products for around $100!

1. The Cleanse

The Korean skin cleanse is actually a two step process. One cleanse to dissolve makeup, the second to clean the skin.
Personally I just do a single step cleanse, using a cleansing oil. I use I'm Cleansing Oil from Memebox. It dissolves makeup (even waterproof mascara!) and leaves my skin feeling super soft and supple.
You should cleanse your skin with a product designed for your skin type. If you have oily skin or get breakouts you need cleansing products designed to lift away excess sebum and help deep cleanse the complexion.
If you have dry, irritated or sensitive skin you need very gentle cleansing products.
Find Korean cleaning products here.

2. The Exfoliation

The next step in the Korean skin care system is the exfoliation.
From scrubs to enzyme masks to peels, the pathway to smooth, glowing skin is exfoliation. Be careful not to exfoliate too frequently or too aggressively, and choose the formulation you need to meet your skin type. 
Sensitive and irritated skins need to be especially careful because aggressive or abrasive exfoliators can make skin even more sensitive and irritated. Exfoliating every couple of weeks is ideal for most skins.
Explore Korean exfoliators here

3. The Refresher

After cleansing your skin the next daily step is a refresher. That can be a facial mist (my favorite) or a softening toner. The refresher softens and prepares the skin for the treatment and moisturizing products that follow.
See Korean refreshers here

4. The Essence

Korean women consider this to be the most important step in their skin care regime. Essences combine multiple intensive ingredients into a super concentrated form (you really only need one drop) and then transports them deep into the skin. They are lightweight in texture, so the surface of your skin doesn't feel slimy or oily, and they are skin concern specific, so you target the issues that you want to work on. Aging/dehydration/acne/excess oil/lightening and brightening - you name it there's an essence for it. You can also layer essences and tackle multiple skin issues at the same time.
Find essences here

5. The Ampoule

An ampoule is a super-charged, highly concentrated serum that again you only need a tiny amount of and that go super deep into the skin (much deeper than the average serum or moisturizer). 
Again this product is skin concern specific. You look at what you want to fix about your skin, whether its smoothing the texture, brightening, super hydrating, anti aging - you name it there's an ampoule for it.
The results are sensational and your skin will love you for adding ampoule into daily routine! If you are using both an essence and an ampoule the essence goes on first.

6. The Emulsion

So far if you are doing all the steps in the Korean system you have been targeting skin concerns and deep treating them. Now it's time to start moisturizing the skin. Emulsions are lightweight moisturizers. You can use them alone, or as the next step after your ampoule. They give you all the moisturizing that you need without being really heavy on the skin.
During the day you would follow this with an SPF product and then put on your makeup. (but when your skin gets all glowy and healthy from using this skin system you will find that you both want and need much less makeup than you currently wear!)

7. The Sleeping Pack

Korean women really understand the importance of super moisturizing the skin to keep it soft, supple, glowing and healthy, so at night after all these steps they apply a sleeping pack, which seals all the prior products in for the night. A sleeping pack has a similar texture to a night cream, but is slightly more gel-like. It doesn't leave a film on your skin, doesn't mess up your pillow case, it just absorbs in and makes the magic happen!
Find Sleeping Packs here.

8. Sheet Masks

Every week you should do a mask, whether it's for hydration, brightening, clearing blackheads, cleaning your skin, or whichever issue you want extra help with.
Sheet masks are great because they get a completely even coating of product and seal it into the skin. Also they're not messy, which I love.
If you are not a sheet mask girl Korean skin care is full of regular mask options too.
See Korean skin care masks here

Find Korean skin care products for oily skin and breakouts
Find Korean skin care products for normal and dry skins

5 Things Women With Perfect Skin Always Do

image by Eric Cassee

5 Things Women With Perfect Skin Always Do

We all know them – women with perfect, gorgeous, flawless skin.

They all live in different places and use different skin care products, so the answer isn’t a magic serum or lotion or potion. (Although I swear by all the lotions and potions that I use, and won’t trade in a single one of them!)

There are 5 things that women with perfect skin all do, and that no matter which skin care products you are using, if you’re not doing these 5 things you won’t make it to skin care perfection.

They Exercise

They all do some form of exercise regularly. (Not necessarily running marathons – you have to be super careful as an outdoor runner to keep your skin and yourself hydrated and to be saturated in facial SPF) Be it yoga or spin class or hiking or going to the gym, girls with perfect skin all move their bodies one way or another.

They Drink Lots Of Water

You can’t have perfect skin and be dehydrated. It’s a simple equation – great skin needs tons of water. Just for basic good health your body needs 8 glasses of water each day, great skin likes a little more.

Girls with perfect skin tend to shy away from high sugar drinks, avoid sodas, limit coffee and tea and only drink alcohol sparingly.

They Make Sleep A Priority

Image via davelackie.com

Without enough sleep you will never have perfect skin.

JLo, who is famous for her spectacular skin says she gets 10 hours sleep per night. I cannot even imagine what it must feel like to have the kind of support with home and children that enables you to just rack out each night for 10 hours! For those of us that fall into the mere mortal category 8 hours each night is the ideal for good health and for great skin.

They Eat Clean 

What you put into your body will be reflected on your skin.

Women with perfect skin tend to eat a pretty clean diet, most of the time. The occasional slice of pizza or drive through meal probably doesn’t hurt, but in general these women avoid those foods like the plague, opting instead for diets rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, quality fats (like avocado).

They Use The Right Cleanser

I can’t stress how important this is! Sensitive skin, dry skin, irritated skin so often are caused and exacerbated by using the wrong formula of cleanser. The wrong cleansers can strip the good oils from the skin, sometimes making the skin desperately make more oil, other times leaving it roughed up and dry. Women with perfect skin use cleansers that dissolve and remove makeup and cleanse away impurities and balance their skin.

My favorite cleanser is Memebox I'm Cleansing Oil, available online at Memebox.com

Your Perfect Travel Skin Care Products Just Went On Sale!

I'm getting ready to head out in a few weeks on what (I think!) is the final Glam Italia Tour for 2016. 
That means restocking and repacking all my travel products.

If you read my post on 3 Reasons To Avoid London Heathrow Airport you will know that as well as risking contracting phlegm and saliva spread viruses (seriously - read the post. I am still grossed out by it!), there is the whole confiscation of beauty products issue, as in they confiscated mine.
I had a 12 hour overnight layover at Heathrow, and my suitcase was checked through from Rome to Los Angeles, so while I stayed at the Yotel at Heathrow, which was totally fantastic, I had to have everything I needed for an overnight in my carry on luggage. 

Read about the Yotel at Heathrow here

This was no big deal as I travel round and round the world with the exact same travel sized beauty products in the exact same see through travel beauty bags in my carry on luggage, and have done for years. If you've been reading this blog for a while then you already know that!

Disclaimer: Tatcha does not sponsor this blog, but I do have affiliate marketing with them. I have been using Tatcha skin care and traveling with their products for years, as evidenced on all my social media and in many posts on this blog


But Heathrow has different rules from every other country I have flown out of in the last 10+ years. At their version of TSA they hand out sandwich sized ziplock bags, and what ever liquids and creams (including concealer, lipstick, eye shadow paint pots, mascara, toothpaste) don't fit into the sandwich bag get confiscated.
Amongst other things they confiscated my much loved Tatcha skin care products. It was super annoying.

But, I just went on Tatcha.com to order new travel sized skin care products and found they are on sale!!
For years now I have been buying Tatcha's trial size discovery kits to travel with. They meet the travel size requirements, and are an affordable way to try out various Tatcha products.

When you travel your skin gets stressed. Flying dehydrates and stresses your skin. Being in a different climate, cleansing your skin with different water, just being away from home and all the things your skin is used to stresses your skin. So your skin needs extra special love and attention with extra special products when you travel. For years now I have traveled with Tatcha skin care products. (If you've been reading this blog for a while you will already know this!)
I always travel with Tatcha's Luminous Dewy Skin Mist. 

I spritz my skin with it during long flights, use it to soothe skin that has had too much sun, wind, feels dehydrated or just needs extra loving. It is one of my all time favorite skin care products.

Shop Now for the Dewy Skin Face Mist at Tatcha!

Another must have travel skin care product is Tatcha's Camellia Beauty Oil. 

This is a dry finish oil that seals moisture into your skin and leaves your skin ready for makeup. The gold flecks in the product give your skin a soft glow while the camellia oil soothes.
This one is the perfect travel companion because it doubles up as a body oil that doesn't get on your clothes, and is a hair oil. Three products in one!

While I was online re-ordering these products I saw that Tatcha has their Ritual Discovery Kit (a.k.a. my standard travel skin care kit!!) on sale!

This is the perfect set to try out Tatcha products - you won't even believe the difference in your skin. It is also the perfect skin care travel set. 
You get their cleansing oil to dissolve makeup and clean away the day without stripping your skin, the enzyme powder which gently exfoliates your skin keeping it polished, smooth and luminous, the nourishing brightening serum - one of the greatest serums ever made. Your skin will love you for it! And their anti-aging moisturizer, tailored to your skin type.

This kit is normally $99 - do you see why I was so upset that Heathrow airport took mine?? But right now it is on sale for $59.
This is an absolutely smoking deal! I'm ordering an extra couple of kits while the price is down.

Shop Now for the Ritual Discovery Kit at Tatcha!

If you have already tried Tatcha products you need to know about this other special on their website at the moment. The Toumei Duo, which is a full size Polished Enzyme Powder ($65) and a full size Radiant Deep Brightening Serum ($185) on sale for $195

Limited Edition Toumei Brightening Duo only $195 at Tatcha.com! (Value of $250) Includes Brightening Serum and Enzyme Powder based on skin type. (Valid until September 29th)

Another bonus right now is free shipping anywhere in the USA.
Win, win, win! The deals are only available for a short time, so you do need to take advantage of them now.
Make sure you either leave me a comment or tag me on your social media (@Corinnamakeup) to let me know how much you are loving these products!

Get FREE shipping on all U.S. orders at Tatcha!

Beach Beauty ~ What To Pack In Your Beach Bag

How's your summer going?
As for me, well I could do with more beach days, as in every day.
I was asked recently what I put in my beach bag (apart from towel, book, hair ties). I actually keep it pretty simple.
If you have some beach days coming up, here are 5 essential pieces to pack in your beach bag.

Caslon straw beach bag, on sale at Nordstrom

Broad Spectrum Facial Sun Protection

I can't stress enough how important a really good facial sunscreen is. You should wear it every day of your life, not only to protect you from getting melanomas on your face (have you ever seen someone with half their nose cut off from skin cancer?) but also sun damage is the fastest way to age your skin, so therefore preventing sun damage is the best way to stay youthful.
You just cannot get more sun protection than Neutrogena Dry Touch Broad Spectrum SPF 100

Sun Protection For Your Body

This summer I'm into Juice Beauty's Organic Moisturizing SPF 30 Sport Sunscreen. 

I love the whole organic side to it, but also like that it's a sport formula (I'm not sporty) because sport sunscreens tend to stay on better and longer. If they're going to protect you nicely while you're out running, chances are they'll take care of me nicely while I'm lazing in the sunshine.

Lip Balm 

You need to give your kisser some extra loving when you're at the beach, both keeping it hydrated and using some sun protection.
Try Juice Beauty's Organic SPF 8 Lip Moisturizer. 

These are ridiculously affordable, so  not only can you keep re-applying all day but it's not a big deal if it gets sand in it or gets melty in the heat. Win win win!

A Bright Lipstick

 Electric Poppy

If you are going to wear any makeup to the beach, such as your brows and some waterproof mascara you will be putting them on at home before you leave, so the only makeup you need to throw in your beach bag is a nice, bright, vibrant lipstick or lipgloss to offset your beachy glow.
Try Charlotte Tilbury's new Hot Lips in Electric Poppy or in Hot Emily

Hot Emily

After Sun Hydration

After a day at the beach your skin is normally a little more dehydrated and maybe got some excess sun, so it needs some extra loving. I prefer to spritz on something refreshing rather than try to work a cream or lotion into my skin, and if you've been reading this blog for the past three years you already know that my go-to product is Tatcha's Luminous Dewy Skin Mist