Posts Tagged ‘eye cream’

Wake up your Skin with a Yonka Mini Facial

It doesn’t get much better than skin care with the amazing aroma and power of natural essential oils! Yonka is a pioneer in phytoaromatic skin care and has been researching and developing amazing products since the 1950s. At the heart of Yonka’s skin care range is their exclusive blend of 5 essential oils which includes lavender, cypress, rosemary, thyme, and geranium. Yonka also uses plant, fruit, and marine extracts which act to balance, soothe, revive, and regenerate the skin.

One of the (many) things we love about this line is the immediate result you get from using these products. Many of our clients complain about lack of vitality, dullness, and de-hydration around this time of year. Our answer? A mini at-home Yonkaa facial to get your skin ready for holiday celebrations! Here’s how:

1. Cleanse with Lait Nettoyant if you have normal-dry skin
This milky cleanser will remove makeup and impurities, smooth, and soften the skin.

1. Cleanse with Gel Nettoyant if you have normal-oily skin
This foamy gel will remove makeup and impurities, refreshes, and purifies the skin

2. Tone with Yonka Lotion (either normal to dry & sensitive or normal to oily)
An alcohol-free mist with natural, invigorating aromas

3. Exfoliate with Gommage 305 if you have normal-dry skin and Gommage 303 if you have normal-oily skin
These non-abrasive, gel exfoliators reveal smooth, supple, radiant skin by gently removing dead skin cells.

4. Tone with appropriate Yonka Lotion

5. Mask with Hydratant 60
This is a refreshing gel mask which deeply hydrates, softens, firms, and helps to reduce fine lines and wrinkles.

6. Tone with appropriate Yonka Lotion

7. Apply either Dermol 1 (normal-oily skin), Dermol 2 (dry skin), or Dermol 3 (sensitive skin)
These highly concentrated formulations hydrate, smooth, and brighten skin while providing an excellent make-up base.

8. Moisturize with Pamplemousse (normal-dry or normal-oily skin)
This lightweight cream energizes, brightens, and alleviates skin dullness with grapefruit extract and essential oils.

9. Apply Phyto-Contour to eye contour
This eye treatment cream reduces dark circles and puffiness, firms, refreshes and relaxes the eye area.

Now that your skin has been made-over with this beautiful skin care line all that you have to worry about is your hair (and that’s another blog post altogether!). And please, use pure mineral makeup so that you don’t clog your newly de-toxified skin with a gross, mystery ingredient-filled, conventional makeup. As always, our favorite mineral makeup lines are Jane Iredale Mineral Makeup and Youngblood Mineral Makeup.

As always, just for being a follower of our blog, enter coupon code BLOG10 for 10% off your next purchase! Also, remember to follow us @spaboutique on Twitter, like our Facebook  page, and check out our boards on Pinterest! You could be the lucky winner of one of our many contests!

Options for Dark Circles Under the Eyes

I’ve written before about under eye puffiness but for some inexplicable reason I have not touched on under eye circles. They seem to go hand in hand for most people.

Dark circles can be really tough, there isn’t really a guaranteed solution. There are several possible causes for them, so it’s necessary to pinpoint your cause and work from there.

There is no single solution unfortunately.

Most lines have started to move away from specific products to combat them, it was just to easy to disappoint people. “Helps with dark circles” will be tacked onto the list of benefits, but the focus is mainly puffiness, hydration and anti-aging.

On the upside it’s always nice to see cosmetics be honest about the results they can actually provide.

Here are some possible common causes for dark circles:

Thin Skin:  muscles and blood vessels are visible and when seen through the skin they appear blue. This most commonly occurs with age as skin thins out and dehydration becomes the norm. There’s very little cosmetic products can do in this case and a good concealer is probably the best option. Creams and such will give minimal results if this is the culprit.

Shadows: These are created by the shape of the face itself. Bumps and dips all effect how the lights hits you. Going for de-puffing products can help if that’s the major cause, as well as making lifestyle changes to reduce fluid retention; less salt! Under-eye hollowing cannot really be affected by cosmetics as it’s the lack of underlying muscles and fat structure that causes it. This is where surgical fillers come in handy, but that is too far outside of my knowledge to comment any further than that.

Blood Vessels: Weak or dilated blood vessels can cause blood to collect in the area making it darker or bruised looking. Eye Products that can help to strengthen blood vessels are useful. Once again a good concealer is usually the best/quickest remedy. Strengthening them takes time and consistent application of the product for cumulative results which will often be minimal.

Skin Pigmentation: For people who struggle with constant and dramatic dark circles and have their whole life, this is often the reason. It can also happen as a result of allergies, medication, sun exposure and pregnancy. The skin itself has more pigment and is darker. Products with mild skin lightening properties can help over time. But it’s best to try and identify the cause of the hyper-pigmentation and try and eliminate it. If it is a life long hereditary issue, then lightening ingredients are the way to go.  This being said the effects will be subtle and take awhile. Those ingredients can only be safely used in very small percentages around the eye.

Once the cause(s) of dark circles have been identified, then a proper treatment program can start.

It will take patience and consistency to see results, but they are possible in certain cases.

Some great ingredients to look for, not the only options, but easy ones to look for:

Horse Chestnut or Ivy: Decongesting and draining, these will reduce puffiness which will smooth out the overall look of the eye area

Caffeine: There is no real science behind this providing drainage benefits, but it is an anti-oxidant so it will help protect the skin. So it’s worth looking for.

Retinol/Vitamin A: These increase cell turnover and healthier cells. Some of the most effective ingredients at reducing line and wrinkle depth which can give a brighter look to the eye.

AHA: Glycolic and Lactic can exfoliate and hydrate the area, again creating a smoother look to brighten the area. Glycolics can also lighten hyper-pigmentation. Do not get it too near the eye though. It causes irritation in mucous membranes

Peptides: Anti-inflammatory and healing, when formulated correctly can provide great anti-aging results in the skin.

Vitamin C: Reduces inflammation, promotes collagen, lessens hyper-pigmentation and can help to protect the skin. This is subject to several complicated formula issues though: percentage, which kind of Vitamin C and how it’s packaged to keep it from degrading.

Kojic Acid: Reduces hyper-pigmentation.

Vitamin K: Some research suggest that this can help with vascular problems such as blood pooling.

Licorice: Anti-inflammatory to reduce puffiness under the eye.

 

We would love to hear your thoughts on the topic of this blog! Feel free to leave your comments or questions below.  As always, just for being a follower of our blog, enter coupon code BLOG10 for 10% off your next purchase! Also, remember to follow us @spaboutique on Twitter, like our Facebook  page, and check out our boards on Pinterest! You could be the lucky winner of one of our many contests!

New Video: How To Use Eye Creams To Get Rid of Puffiness, Dark Circles and Wrinkles

We just posted a new video with tips for using eye creams. If you have any questions at all, let us know in the comment section, you can also give suggestions of your favorite eye care products!

If you’re a regular You Tube-r, make sure to subscribe to our channel for more tutorials for skin care and beauty.

We would love to hear your thoughts on the topic of this video!  Feel free to post your comments or questions below.  As always, just for being a follower of our blog, enter coupon code BLOG10 for 10% off your next purchase! Also, remember to follow us @spaboutique on Twitter, like our Facebook  page, and check out our boards on Pinterest! You could be the lucky winner of one of our many contests!

How to Correct Skin Flaws: Tips on What to Watch For in Products

How to make an at home facial kit for Mom

Bring the spa home for Mom. Mothers Day is one of the best times to let the mom in your life know how much she means to you. A unique gift idea for mom is to give her an at home facial kit so she can spend some quality down time pampering herself. Below are suggestions to bundle up her kit with goodies and label it “Just for Mom”!

Facials are the process of cleansing, exfoliating and hydrating the face to brighten the complexion and minimize lines and wrinkles.

Shopping List:

• Wash basin or deep bowl, newspaper or sheets of tissue paper, linens (robe , face cloth, hand towel , towel, head band – to keep Momss hair out of her face!), cotton pads, eye makeup remover, facial cleanser, exfoliator, toner, face mask, moisturizer, eye cream, magazines, tea/mug, list of facial instructions printed on pretty paper (instructions are below that you can copy and print for her).

Compiling your unique Mothers Day Gift:

1. Roll the face cloth, towel, hand towel and head band individually and secure with ribbons.
2. Line the bottom of the bowl or wash basin with crumpled pieces of tissue or news paper.
3. Place the rolled up linens and products strategically throughout the inside of the bowl or basin.
4. Biggest items in back, smallest in front.
5. Print out the facial at home directions and place in a pretty envelope inside bowl or basin.
6. Wrap entire package in cellophane and secure with a big beautiful ribbon and your Mothers Day card.
7. Give to Mom and watch her smile.

Facial Instructions (print out for mom on pretty paper!):

Step 1 - Cleanse the skin – Wet skin. Place a dime size amount of cleanser into hands and rub onto wet face in a circular motion. Rinse well.

Step 2 - Cleanse the eye area – Take a cotton pad. Saturate pad with eye cleanser. Gently remove all eye makeup.

Step 3 - Tone the skin – Saturate a cotton pad with toner and rub onto skin to remove any traces of cleanser and prepare skin for next product.

Step 4 - Exfoliate skin (Exfoliation is the process of removing dead skin cells off of the surface of the skin.) Using your fingers, rub exfoliator in a circular motion all over your face avoiding eye area. Concentrate on nose and forehead and any area that in prone to excess oil. Rinse face extremely well

Step 5 - Tone the skin again – As per above. (repeat Step 3)

Step 6 - Steam – Fill bowl or wash basin with warm, steamy water . Place bowl on a flat surface and sit directly in front of bowl. Place towel over the top of the bowl and carefully place head under towel approximately 8 inches above water. Sit comfortably for 3-5 minutes letting the steam permeate your pores and open them up.

Step 7 - Apply mask - Apply a layer of mask onto the face (avoiding eye area), according to directions on the p roduct. Allow mask to penetrate skin, leaving on for recommended time on the product. -Rinse completely with water and face cloth.

Step 8 - Tone the Skin again - As per above (repeat Step 3)

Step 9 - Apply Eye Mask - As per directions on the product. Leave on for recommended time then rinse completely.

Step 10 - Moisturize – Smooth on moisturizer and eye cream, make a cup of tea and enjoy magazine.

If you have an interesting ideas for at-home spa services for your friends or family, please feel free to share your comments below!

As special bonus just for reading, take 10% off your next purchase with discount code blog10! Also, remember to follow us @spaboutique on Twitter, like our Facebook  page, and check out our boards on Pinterest! You could be the lucky winner of one of our many contests!