Anew Clean Affordable and Effective Cleansing Brush

Introducing Anew Clean!

The new Anew Clean line of cleansing products offers an affordable cleansing routine to make sure your skin is fresh and free of impurities every single day.

I've been using the cleansing brush every day for a few weeks now, and I can say that it really does make a huge difference. I used to wash my face with just my hands (I never did like using washcloths), and I love using the cleansing brush because its so much easier, and I really know it is cleaning my skin thoroughly. (5x better than hands alone!)

There are three cleanser options to use along with the cleansing brush: cream cleanser and mask, rich cleansing foam and gel cleanser. Choose a cleanser to match your skin type.

Additional cleanser options, such as the incredible micellar water, give even more options for specific cleansing needs.

Check out my YouTube video about the Anew Clean line!

Fierce Foundations: Primer, Liquid, Cream, Cream to Powder, Powder

Foundation is an important piece of our beauty routines because it creates a smooth appearance, where color and accentuation can be added. Foundation helps to protect our skin, especially if it contains SPF, and it can act as a base for contouring and blush color. The type of foundation you choose is based on a few factors: preferred look and feel, coverage, and makeup goals (for example, natural look versus full glam).

Primer

Why do we even use primer? Well, primer does a few very important things: it fills in lines and creates a clean surface to begin the makeup artistry, it smooths your skin and allows foundation to blend, tinted primers and color correctors can help reduce discoloration, and primer helps to lock in moisture.

MagiX Face Perfector is a colorless primer that smooths your foundation application, and offers SPF 20. Follow up with your favorite foundation.

Liquid

Ideal Flawless Invisible Coverage gives complete coverage while still feeling lightweight and natural. Contains SPF 15, and comfortable to wear all day. This foundation smooths skin texture, and helps skin feel moisturized. 21 shades and Invisiblend Technology make skin matching easy!

Anew Age-Transforming is a full coverage liquid foundation with the added benefits of Anew skincare technology. Using this foundation helps to minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, pores and age spots. 14 shades.

BB Beauty Balm Cream is lightweight liquid foundation, almost like a moisturizer. The BB cream is hydrating, with lightweight coverage and SPF 15 protection. 5 shades.

CC Color Corrector Cream is perfect for pigment issues, including uneven skin tone, redness, or dark spots on your skin. The CC also has powerful sun protection with SPF 50. 5 shades.

Cream 

The Anew Age-Transforming 2-in-1 Compact has delicious creamy foundation, with added aging ingredients in a delightful swirl. Easy to apply, with medium coverage, this foundation is infused with Anew Serum anti-aging technology for younger looking skin. I do recommend a translucent powder to set for a matte finish. 8 shades.

Cream to Powder

Extra Lasting Cream To Powder Foundation is an amazing time saver. It is so quick and easy to apply this creamy compact which turns to a soft powdery matte finish. SPF 15, comfortable and lightweight. 21 shades.

Ideal Flawless Cream To Powder offers Invisiblend Technology like it's liquid counterpart, to help you find your perfect match. Medium to full coverage, that is easy to apply with the compact that goes on creamy and and finishes powdery. 21 shades.

Powder

Loose or Pressed, Ideal Flawless Powder is the perfect finish. Matte coverage to set your liquid or cream foundation, or use directly over your moisturizer. 10 shades.

Smooth Minerals is the best choice for an easy natural look. Use your daily moisturizer (with SPF, of course) and set with this lightweight, medium coverage powder foundation. Pure mineral pigments provide amazing color coverage, or choose translucent to set a liquid foundation. 12 shades.

Retinol is the #1 Wrinkle Fighting Ingredient Recommended by Dermatologists

Retinol is an animal form of vitamin A. Retinoids are used in topical cosmetics and medications. Retinol can help skin cells act younger, work as an antioxidant to combat wrinkles and can increase collagen production. Yes, all that. That’s why retinol is one of the anti-aging skincare industries biggest workhorse.

Tip! When using a retinol skincare product, apply it before a layer of your SPF product to protect you and the anti-aging ingredients from sunlight and UV damage.

The Anew Clinical line has two new products with retinol.

Anew Clinical Line Eraser With Retinol Treatment uses retinol in an amino acid complex to fight wrinkles, and give the skin a youthful appearance. (Remember how I said that retinol makes skin act younger at the cellular level?)

Anew Clinical Line Eraser With Retinol Targeted Treatment focuses a targeted formula of Vitamins C, E and the A retinol to combat deep lines, especially in problem areas like the forehead and around your mouth.

You have heard this works, you may have even seen it works. But how? How does this work??

Well, retinol sort of has a conversation with your skin. I imagine it going something like this:
“Hey skin, nice to see you! How are ya?”
“Hi retinol, I’m feeling a little down.”
“Right then, let’s get to work clearing out the damage and we can perk you right up!”
“How’s that going to happen, retinol?”
“You can start by breaking me down with your enzymes, and I’ll take part in your molecular functions!”
“Will it hurt?”
“Maybe a little, but then you can get back to creating collagen and you’ll feel so much younger!”

I can’t believe I just wrote a conversation between skin and retinol.* But that’s basically how it goes. The retinol and the skin have a little conversation about how they will work together, and in the end, the skin cells feel refreshed and start making collagen.

Here’s the caveat: irritation might happen. Because of the nature of retinol, and how it’s really digging into the skin at the cellular level, irritation is a natural skin response. You will want to start your retinol treatment slowly, and build up over time. Eventually, you may even want to try a prescription strength retinol.

In 1986, Avon became the first to use stabilized retinol, an anti-aging ingredient, in its patented BioAdvance Beauty Recovery System.

Start with Anew Clinical Line Eraser with Retinol Treatment. Apply it all over the face, or to areas of your skin with signs of aging or sun damage.

* See the technical version of this convo, here.

Summer Skincare Workshop

This is information archived from my Summer Skincare Workshop Facebook event on June 28th. 

My Skin Story

For a long time, I never did anything for my skin. Like, I would clean my face of course, but I never wore moisturizer or makeup. Then I realized that my skin was getting damaged.

Everyone was always yelling at me to wear sunscreen in the summer (which I did!) but it didn't matter. I would burn to a bright lobster red anyway... it didn't matter how much sunscreen, what SPF or how frequently I reapplied it... Red. And after the burn and the red... peeling. Not fun.

My face wasn't much better. That was also red all the time. I would flush (it sort of looks like blushing) but it was more than just embarrassment; my face would flush red in reaction to almost anything: cold, heat, changes in temperature, alcohol, and, yes, adrenalin. So I started wearing makeup to cover the red. I actually would shop for a concealer with a green tone and slather that on my cheeks and neck to cover the red. (Color theory: green and red are opposite on the color wheel and green neutralizes the red.) After I realized that product (!) could actually help my appearance and confidence, I started paying more attention to my skin.

7 Things That Damage Skin

Skin Type Tissue Test

SPF and Photoaging

SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor.  For basic protection, SPF 15 is ideal. Higher SPFs only offer a small percentage more of protection. And here's a dirty secret: SPF only protects against UVB. UVA also causes sun damage and skin cancer.

Ultraviolet light from the sun is categorized based on wavelength. UVA is long wave, UVB is short wave, and UVC doesn't penetrate the ozone.

In order to be protected from UVA rays, you have to see one of these phrases on your sunscreen product: multi spectrum, broad spectrum or UVA/UVB protection. These products will contain either a chemical UVA protective ingredient (like a somethingbenzone - there are several - or Ecamsule) or a physical UVA protective ingredient, like titanium dioxide or zinc oxide.

Photoaging is the lifetime accumulation of skin damage as a direct result of sun exposure (or tanning UV rays). There is actually a really fascinating anecdotal evidence of a truck driver who has photoaging effects clearly visible on the left side of his face. So, his face is significantly damaged and wrinkled, dry, and rough as a direct result of being exposed to sun on the left side of his vehicle because he spent so much time in the driver's seat! Crazy, right? Google "Bill McElligott".

UVB rays can penetrate the epidermis, is what causes sunburns, initiates the skin to produce melanin and can contribute to skin cancer.

UVA rays can penetrate deeper, into the dermis. Here, the skin's collagen and elastin can be damaged, and over time the dermis thins, causing the epidermis layer to droop and sag.

Sunburns are the initial clue that the sun has damaged the skin. However, signs of early photoaging can also include melanin production in spots (think freckles), the new presence of spider veins, and wrinkles that form around the eyes and mouth. Long term photoaging effects are seen more visibly as deep wrinkles, spider veins around the nose, rough skin texture, and most frightening, the presence of skin abnormalities that could signal skin cancer.

Sun is a significant contributor to skin aging: wrinkles, dry skin and age spots (increased melanin). Most skin damage from the sun happens during the summer. A single, simple way to prevent sun damage is sunscreen. SPF of 15 or higher, apply a lot, reapply frequently especially if you are sweating or swimming, choose one with broad spectrum protections (which has chemical or physical ingredients to protect from UVA as well as UVB). Use lip balm with an SPF. Wear hats, sunglasses and UV reflecting clothing. Make sure ears, neck, elbows and knees are covered. Men, women AND children/ white, ruddy, brown AND black skin all need sun protection (while darker skin have more melanin which acts as an SPF, and dark skin tans more than burns, sun damage is still occurring and skin cancer still is a risk!).

Skincare Solutions

How do you find solutions to your skincare problems? Well, you can:

1. Try your local drugstore, 
2. Look in Ulta, 
3. Browse high end department stores, 
4. See a dermatologist (especially important if you think you have something that might be skin cancer), 
5. Ask a friend about skincare products she recommends!

A is for Avon (ABCs of Beauty)

Rejuvenate Skin During Sleep

Hydration can happen overnight while you slumber. This cutting edge sleep mask uses Hyaluronic Acid and shea butter to rehydrate skin. 

Hyaluronic Acid is naturally found in the skin, and makes the skin smooth and elastic. Rehydrating the skin with Hyaluronic Acid helps to counter the signs of aging like facial wrinkles.

Shea butter is seen in the micro-beads which add emollient moisturizing.

You don’t have to use an overnight mask every night. Sleep gel masks will transform your skin in a single night, and this soothing moisture can be done a few times a week to improve the effects of dehydration.