skin care basics

Your skin is quite possibly the most important organ you have, it protects your insides, keeps you safe and dry and away from the sun's damaging rays.  So its only right that skin care be a high priority when it comes to daily life.  I know that we all normally don't have the time or the patience to do all the steps recommended and necessary to keep our skin healthy and away from harm but we can take certain precautions to minimize the damage done and to prevent it from happening in the first place.  I'm not trying to sound like a doctor or a dermatologist and for the best skin care plan for you, definitely consult a dermatologist or a skin care professional.  I'm just here to provide some helpful tips :)

1. Clean skin is happy skin--->you dont need to OD here, your skin doesn't have to be polished to perfection but cleaning it daily is important.  At the very least make sure you use a cleanser formulated for your skin type once a day, preferably once at night and in the morning when you wake up.  Gentle daily cleansing will keep your skin clean and prevent future break outs, keeping us all happier.
2. If your more involved in your skin care routine than you know the basics: cleanse, tone, exfoliate, moisturize.  Get quality skin care products, its actually smarter to splurge here than any where else. The better your skin, the less makeup you'll end up using.
3. Moisturize, after you wash your face and do that whole routine, its important to moisturize, no matter what skin type you have you are always going to need some form of moisturizer.  There are plenty out there, so take the time to find the one that works best for you.
4.  Sun Protection.  It seems more important in the summer but honestly guys all year round is necessary.   Exposure to the sun can cause premature wrinkles and age spots, why let your skin show your age when you have too ;)  An spf of 30 is the minimum for the summer months and AT LEAST 15 in the winter time, although having it be 30 all year round would be ideal.  And also sun screen has to be reapplied every two to three hours so if your going to be outside for a long period of time, keep that in mind and dont forget to re apply.  Protect and Prevent guys :)
5.  Drink water.  Skin care secret of the stars, water will rejuvenate your skin and give you that JLO glow, in all seriousness its the fountain of youth, go for it.  At the very least 8 tall glasses a day will keep your skin hydrated and flawless.

Those are just some basic tips, I'm planning on doing a more lengthy skin care post in the future.  I hope it helps a little! The key to flawless makeup is great skin, even if you dont have the best skin working to make it better will help you out in the long run.  Just remember, whatever works best for you is the way to go :)

photocredit to whomever took this picture!

love,

bella

p.s. the CHANEL summer 2010 make up collection has some of the sexiest colors i've seen in months.

photocredit: chanel