SIMPLE STEPS FOR A FLAWLESS FACE

Whether you're the occasional-breakout type or always fighting a blemish, some of the simplest ways to achieve clear skin are right under your nose! To the non-skincare-diva my tips may seem a little neurotic. And maybe they are...but it has kept my skin clear for years-- so there's gotta be some truth to them, right? They're not difficult either. They just require some reminding until they become routine for you. I promise you though, once you do make them routine, you'll find that these fast fixes can have a BIG impact on the clarity of your face. 

HERE'S WHAT TO PAY ATTENTION TO: 

YOUR PILLOWCASES: (!!!!) I'm putting all the exclamation points next to this because it's the simplest (and yet, most overlooked) way to clear your skin. How often should you change them? Well.....I might be a nutjob....BUT, I'm also an aesthetician! And I will tell you honestly that I change mine every 2 days. Yes. Every 2 days! No joke. I sleep on one side, flip it over the next night, and then take it off. That may seem like a crazy amount of laundry to do, but the truth is, I stock up on pillowcases from Target. You can buy sets of 2 for under $10. So I have no problem with our house having a surplus of plain white pillowcases. 

The reason for my compulsive case-changing?? It's simple. I use products in my hair. I wear Bio-Oil on my body. I wear serums and moisturizers on my face at night. And we all sweat to some degree in our sleep (whether we like to admit it or not..) Each night, we spend 8 hours with our faces smashed into our pillows.....I'd prefer for mine to be squeaky clean...so that I can keep my skin that way too! 

YOUR WORKOUTS: When we sweat it's best to have clean skin. (Of course you want to wash the sweat off post-workout as well. But I'm pretty sure that most of us like to shower after our workouts anyway.) Since a lot of us go to our workouts straight from the office or school, I understand that you may already be wearing makeup. That's okay. The most convenient way around that is to carry cleansing cloths with you on those days. I personally love the Purifying Makeup Remover Cleansing Cloths by Skin Laundry ($15). Even if you work out 7 days a week you'd be covered with a package of these. Plus, they don't leave behind a filmy residue which almost every other brand I've tried does. 

YOUR PHONE SCREEN: We forget that between texting and talking that our phone screens are coming into contact with a lot of dirt and oil. (Especially from texting! Our hands are touching everything. That's a lot of bacteria being transferred!) By using a paper towel or tissue soaked in rubbing alcohol and thoroughly wiping down the surface of your screen, you'll notice a lot less breakouts along the jawline, cheeks, and temples. (Side note: I've had so many clients tell me that this trick cleared up unexplained pimples they were getting in those areas!)

KISSING YOUR SWEETHEART: I love kissing my man as much as the next girl does, but sometimes if I'm wearing gloss, lipstick, or even chapstick, it can get transferred from my lips to the skin surrounding it. It's definitely not the end of the world but I don't like having blackheads anywhere....including near the mouth. So I try to keep my lips sans anything when I know that we could be cozying up. I know what you're thinking..... nothing says "boner-killer" faster than "hey honey, hold on a moment while I remove my lipstick." But it takes 5 seconds. Literally. If that's not possible, no worries. Just make sure to cleanse the area whenever you can. 

CLEANSE AFTER 'CUZE: I say jacuzzi only because I don't know who in their right mind would be taking a dip in the pool in this cold weather. But this technically applies to both. (I'm not the only one who loves soaking in the jacuzzi after a long day of work, am I??) Chlorine has a drying effect on the skin, so it's really easy to think that your skin feels "clean" after soaking in the hot tub. The truth is, however, that chlorine in and of itself can cause acne. Plus there have been multiple bodies in that water...chances are that the chlorine killed off any bacteria from their bodies, but still....

Some of these may seem like superfluous steps but I guarantee that if you start implementing them now, you'll start to see a difference in your skin! It's all in the details! And I didn't mention it in this list, because I've already said it--but make sure you're cleaning your makeup brushes once a week! You can read all about how to do that here. 

Cheers to crystal clear skin guys! Hope you've had a wonderful Monday! 

♥︎, B.  

  

BEAUTY SPOTLIGHT || TRACY ANDERSON

Today I wanted to do a spotlight post on one of my favorite fitness experts ever: Tracy Anderson. I know that it's freezing outside right now (by California standards at least) but bikini-season or not, we can always benefit from good self-care. And let's face it— we are coming up to 2 months of complete indulgences with the holidays merely weeks away. (I personally plan to eat my weight in pumpkin pie so I depend on a backup plan to keep me fitting into my jeans.)

 Tracy Anderson provides just that— a perfect plan!…

For those of you who aren't familiar with Miss Anderson, she just-so-happens to be the personal trainer to some faaiirly fit individuals like: Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Ritchie….Madonna. 

It's not just her celebrity clientele that makes her worthy of a mention though— no, in fact, it's her ability to relate to normal everyday women that really makes Tracy special to me. A former dancer myself, I LOVE the long, lean lines that her Method creates. I love that she seems to voice exactly what I've always felt... that women don't want to do the same workouts as men, because women are built differently than men! 

We are affected by different things. We have different metabolisms. And we crave a different kind of "fit". 

The key to the T.A. Method lays in what she refers to as our "accessory muscles": the muscles in and around our primary muscles— and it is precisely how she avoids adding bulk to a feminine frame. By building and toning these accessory muscles, she helps to draw everything inward, closer to the bone. The best way to think of it is like tying your shoelaces— as if pulling these little "strings" of muscle back toward the foot. You'll repeatedly hear her using words like "knitting" and "bolting"— & once you've begun the Method (and have seen the results) will you begin to understand why. 

Beyond tightening every inch of your body up through toning— her Cardio Compliment, which is an array of various high-intensity movements— burns fat at an astonishing rate. By tapping into these unused accessory muscles you begin awakening parts of your body that have been longing to be active— doing exactly what your frame needs in order to not plateau… by keeping it GUESSING! As most of us have all experienced— whether it's skin, hair, muscles, etc.— our bodies quickly grow accustomed to whatever it is that we provide it; making it become "lazy". But by utilizing ALL of your muscles (at different variables and intensities) your body is constantly "tuning in"— which in a nutshell means that it's constantly burning energy. 

While T.A. has several different workout plans geared to give every woman the svelte body of her dreams, her 30-day Kick-Start is where it's at if you need a complete lifestyle overhaul. (Which is exactly where I was at fitness-wise when I was introduced to her Method 2 years ago.) Her book includes detailed instructions of movements, a month-long menu to rev up your metabolism, and a Cardio-DVD to follow along. (I also suggest YouTubing her videos or visiting her weekly liveCam to spice up routines) 

The thing that I like the most about her workouts are that they're geared toward everyone. I wish that she'd been around during my pregnancy cuz I could've seriously done without the whole puffy-limb, chipmunk vibe I had going on…

All-in-all, I can't say enough GREAT things about The Tracy Anderson Method and I have a feeling that if you've tried other diets and exercise to no avail— or if you're having some trouble losing those "last few pounds"— that investing the $30 in her book could be the best decision you've ever made. I know it was for me. The 30-day Method may just be a jumpstart…but her outlook on fitness has become a way of life for me. And no joke—  I'm in better shape at 30 than I was at 19! That's reason enough for me to want to spread the word ;)

Visit her website HERE to learn more about how you can ring in 2016 loving your body and achieving what you never thought was possible. 

{And while you're at it…don't pass up her athletic collection! Chick's got some seriously cute workout duds}

{❤︎, b.}