Feel and Look Your Best This Valentines Day
Maximize Your Lashes
1. Start by curling your lashes. Gently pinch lashes at the roots and then move along the length, making pulse-like squeezes as you go.
2. Apply mascara by wiggling the wand back and forth at the roots to deposit as much of it as possible before pulling the wand straight up.
3. To make lashes look long and separated, apply three coats of mascara—but comb through the mascara while it’s still wet with a clean, dry spooley brush.
Get Smooth Lips
3. Add color: Try a tinted balm like Fresh Sugar Rosé Tinted Lip Treatment SPF 15, Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer, or Benefit Benetint Lip Balm SPF 15.
Refresh Your Complexion
For oily or combination skin: Use Image Skincare’s Total Resurfacing Masque with alpha hydroxyl acids that will help to resurface and rejuvenate your skin.
For sensitive skin: Use a gentle masque to help balance your complexion. Try Image Skincare’s Balancing Gel Masque. It’s an ultra gentle, organic masque to help soothe skin.
Apply Fragrance Like a Pro
Spritz fragrance on your pulse points, which give off heat and release the scent: your wrists, inner elbows, temples, neck hollow, behind the ears, and behind the knees. Apply no more than two drops of perfume, three sprays of eau de parfum, and four hits of eau de toilette. And since, over time, you become desensitized to the smell of a fragrance, resist the urge to pile it on, and stick to the amount you used when you first wore the fragrance.
Give Yourself a Flush
Don’t underestimate how good blush can make you look. A cream formula looks the most natural, goes on sheer, and is easy to blend. To find your best shade, gently pinch your cheeks and match the blush to the color you get.
Try a Scented Body Oil
For smooth, glowing skin all over, switch from your normal lotion and apply a lightly fragranced body oil. Some great choices are: Nars Monoï Body Glow II, which is scented with the Tahitian tiare flower, a type of gardenia; the clean-smelling Neutrogena Light Sesame Oil; and Lisa Hoffman Spa Shower Body Oil, with bergamot and ginger
Get a Great Wax
There is nothing romantic about getting a bikini wax. But here’s how to make the best of it
Book it: Your hair has to be long enough—about a quarter-inch—for wax to work. Book your appointment accordingly, about every two to four weeks.
Prep your skin: For the closest wax, exfoliate with a body wash containing salicylic acid before your appointment, but don’t apply any lotion.
Manage the pain: Ask the waxer to tackle small areas at a time. And if you get red bumps afterward, apply aloe lotion or hydrocortisone cream. DO NOT take any pain medication as it could make you bleed more.