10 Winter Skin Care Tips

10 Winter Skin Care Tips

The weather outside may be unsightly, but your skin doesn't have to be. How to banish dry skin and give your winter skin care regimen a boost.

By Khanzaib Ayub

For many people, the cold clear days of winter bring more than just a rosy glow to the cheeks. They also bring uncomfortable dryness to the skin of the face, hands, and feet. For some people, the problem is worse than just a general tight, dry feeling: They get skin so dry it results in flaking, cracking, even eczema (in which the skin becomes inflamed).

"As soon as you turn the heat on indoors, the skin starts to dry out," Bonnie LaPlante, an esthetician with the Canyon Ranch resort in Lenox, Mass., tells WebMD. "It doesn't matter if you heat your home using oil, wood, or electricity. The skin gets dry."

Sound familiar? Read on to get WebMD's top 10 tips for boosting your winter skin care regimen, so that your skin stays moist and healthy through the winter months.

1. Seek a Specialist

If you go to your local drugstore, you'll be hard put to find a salesperson who can give you good advice. That's why going to an esthetician or dermatologist even once is a good investment. Such a specialist can analyze your skin type, troubleshoot your current skin care regimen, and give you advice on the skin care products you should be using.

But that doesn't mean you'll be stuck buying high-end products. "Inexpensive products work just as well as high-end ones," says David Voron, MD, a dermatologist in Arcadia, Calif. "In fact, the extra price you pay for the expensive stuff is often just for packaging and marketing. What's most important is how your skin responds to the product -- and how you like its feel, not how much money you paid for it."

2. Moisturize More

You may have found a moisturizer that works just fine in spring and summer.  But as weather conditions change, so, too, should your skin care routine.  Find an "ointment" moisturizer that's oil-based, rather than water-based, as the oil will create a protective layer on the skin that retains more moisture than a cream or lotion. (Hint: Many lotions labeled as "night creams" are oil-based.)

But choose your oils with care because not all oils are appropriate for the face. Instead, look for "nonclogging" oils, like avocado oil, mineral oil, primrose oil, or almond oil. Shea oil -- or butter -- is controversial, because it can clog facial pores. And vegetable shortening, LaPlante says, is a really bad idea. "It would just sit on the skin," she says. "And it would be really greasy."

You can also look for lotions containing "humectants," a class of substances (including glycerine, sorbitol, and alpha-hydroxy acids) that attract moisture to your skin.

3. Slather on the Sunscreen

No, sunscreen isn't just for summertime. Winter sun -- combined with snow glare -- can still damage your skin. Try applying a broad-spectrum sunscreen to your face and your hands (if they're exposed) about 30 minutes before going outside. Reapply frequently if you stay outside a long time.

What to Do When You Burn Yourself With Your Curling Iron (Because You Know It'll Happen Again)

Posted by : Khanzaib Ayub

What to Do When You Burn Yourself With Your Curling Iron (Because You Know It'll Happen Again)

Styling your hair can be a seriously dangerous activity. I've gotten much better at not burning myself every time I pick up a curling iron (thanks in part to some heat-protective gloves). But, man, have I gotten some bad burns in my day and seen some awful ones on my friends. Thus, I wanted to pass along a tip that celebrity hairstylist Marcus Francis shared on Twitter last night about what to do right after a hair styling burn (because he just had it happen to himself—major occupational hazard). His quick and easy strategy: Soak the area in milk for 15 minutes, which in his experience takes the heat out and helps the skin heal faster.

Celebrity aestheticism Renee Rouleau has also addressed this topic, posting a great, super-detailed blog post about how to heal a curling-iron burn and fade any resulting scar. Her advice: The less you mess with it, the quicker it'll heal. "The less you do it to the better, but keeping it moist and protected with an antibacterial ointment such as Neosporin followed by a Band-Aid or sterile, lint-free gauze can aid in the healing process."

Meanwhile: Here's a brilliant way to ensure you never forget to turn off your curling iron again.

How many times have you gotten burned by a curling iron? How long does it take the mark to fade away—or have you ended up with a scar?

OP: THE DEMONS IN OUR DREAMS

Posted by : Khanzaib Ayub

Promised you yesterday that today we'll talk a bit  about demons, why demons you may wonder. Mostly because, we all have them, like we all have dreams and often, on subconscious level our demons appear when we dream. Mine certainly are, sneaky little bastards. 

I'm not going to ask you if you dream, 'cause we all do, we dream in our sleep, we daydream or we simply have dreams. Whether we remember them or not, that's another story.

But have you wondered what your dreams and nightmares are all about? I'm a bit of a control freak with certain aspects of my life, so mine reflect chaos or situations that I can't influence. It's great to be able to know what and what not you can control or do, because you can easily let go.

In  Howard Gardner’s  Theory of Multiple Intelligences, he described this self awareness as intrapersonal intelligence. Simply  having an understanding of yourself,  knowing who you are, what you can do, what you want to do, how you react to things, which things to avoid, and which things to gravitate toward. We are drawn to people who have a good understanding of themselves. They tend to know what they can and can’t do, and to know where to go if they need help.

I'm wearing an exquisite dress by Kiki Dumitrescu from her artwear line, quite dreamy, no?  Kiki, is  a powerful woman who conquered her demons and followed her dreams! More about her soon...

EASY BREEZY SUMMER OUTFIT

Posted by : Khanzaib Ayub

Yes, I'm perfectly aware of the weather outside but I can't help to wish for summer days... Culottes, anyone?

Textured draped blouse

Black tailored culottes

Leather Sandals

Cork & leather shoulder bag

Utterly amazing hat

Blue it up, ladies!

Posted by : Khanzaib Ayub

Something we should all have in our wardrobe this season, is lots and lots of blue.

Temperatures are rising and the days are getting longer and warmer. Something we should all have in our wardrobe this season, is lots and lots of blue.

Blue is our colour of the week, it’s timeless and chic! Get these looks and be the hot fashionista, you deserve to be:

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2014.

How to perfectly apply nail colour

Looking to give those nails a colour boost, well then check out these expert tips with some help from Wikihow to ensure you get a top paint that lasts longer and looks professionally done:

Apply a coat of your desired nail colour. Don’t worry about it going over the edge of your nails, onto your cuticles or the surrounding skin. Once done with all nails wait for a couple of minutes for the nail polish to dry.

Once the first coat is completely dry, apply a second coat. Again, don’t worry about not being neat.

Once the second coat is dry, apply a final coat of clear nail polish and leave it for a couple of minutes for it to dry.

Sink your hands in hot soapy water and gently massage the skin around your nails, also grab a cloth or sponge and gently rub your fingers.

Next step is to rinse your hands with cold water, wash off the soapy water.

Dry your hands gently with a towel. Any nail polish that went off your nails during aplication will have been cleared away by the hot water.

Flaunt your pretty nails.

Neon the shade of spring

Posted by : Khanzaib Ayub

The range comprises of pure cotton stripped palazzos, kurtas, tunics and jumpsuits. PHOTO: FILE

LAHORE: 

Being the predominant shade of choice this spring, neon colours have taken over not only the runways but also retail outlets by a storm. Whether it is head to toe neon or just neon accents, these bright shades are all the rage.

Recently, Nickie n Nina launched its quirky, ready-to-wear casual range Neon. “It is a mother daughter concept collection,” says Nickie, “we wanted to create a range that is wearable by all age groups. Older women today want to wear trendy and fun clothes. Long gone are the days that middle aged women would opt for basic silhouettes.”

“The design house creates silhouettes and cuts that can be worn by all sorts of body types. All tunics come with optional drawstring belts. Skinnier girls can always belt the tunic to make it more flattering but the outfits are designed in such a manner that the average Pakistani woman can also find a flattering cut,” she continues.

The range comprises of pure cotton stripped palazzos, kurtas, tunics and jumpsuits. Even though jumpsuits have been overdone and have become quite boring, people in Pakistan are still trying hard to hang onto the trend. The range is infused with white to make the neon colours pop. The design house has kept the prints monochrome and allowed for the neon accents to shine and do the talking. The colour palette predominantly ranges from electric pink and atomic tangerine orange to parrot green and forget-me-not blue paired with monochrome prints.

The design house has kept the embellishments subtle, with light embroideries and shoulders with pearl and fringe details and pockets. The collection has wavering hemlines that can be paired with tailored pants or leggings.

“It is a capsule collection and we will be capping the production,” continues Nickie, “it is not for mass production and will be available in Karachi and Lahore at our retail outlets.”

The design house plans on coming out with two separate volumes for the summer with different aesthetics. “This is the first volume and we will come out with the second one later on in the summer.”

Follow Lyndsey Harrison's beauty tips for flawless look

Posted by : Khanzaib Ayub

Harrison shares her beauty tips and products she uses to get radiant and glowing look reports Femalefirst. PHOTO: FILE

LONDON: Do you want to flaunt flawless look a la reality TV star-turned-designer Lydia Bright? Follow beauty tips by her make-up artist Lyndsey Harrison.

Harrison shares her beauty tips and the products she uses to get the radiant and glowing look, reports Femalefirst

Here are the tips and products that will help you recreate the look at home:

• Begin by contouring the skin using Studio Sculpt by Laura Mercier.

• Follow this by highlighting through the t-zone, all the way under the eyes and down the sides of the nose with MAC Prolongwear in NC15, a much lighter concealer.

• Buff the two shades in with a MAC 187 Duo Fibre Brush.

• Powder all over the skin using NARS Beach and a MAC 129 Powder Brush.

• Next, define and contour the cheekbones using NARS Laguna and a MAC 109 Contouring Brush. The brush is quite small in size which gives you great control.

• For the Eyes, use Kryolan HD Skinliner in 22 Brown and Girls with Attitude lashes in ‘Short and Sweet’ for a natural look but to add volume and a flick!

• Define the brows with a Bobbi Brown eyebrow pencil in Brunette. Use a very light technique to draw tiny fine hairs, then comb the brow through to give a more natural illusion.

This is one of Harrison’s favourite products.

Have eyes for white eyeliner

Posted by : Khanzaib Ayub

White eyeliner is back and we love it!

While black eyeliner has been our favourite make-up staple, we are all for jazzing up our look this spring. And what’s better than gaining affirmation from divas strutting down the Spring 2014 runways? White eyeliner is back and we love it!
This beauty item wasn’t largely considered till designers such as Badgley Mischka, Kate Spade and Tibi brought it to the forefront on the runway, according to stylebistro

Take our advice and go white-thereal with your look!

White makes your eyes appear bigger and brighter, especially when applied on the bottom waterline. It adds freshness to your look. From an exaggerated thin white line on the lower lid and/or upper lid to smudged out liner on both the lids, this cosmetic is bang-on trend.

You can combine white eyeliner with smoky eye shadow for a punchier look. Our favourite way of going white is wearing winged liner, which gives an uber cute, doe-eyed look. Combining black and white eyeliners is also an interesting way to go.

How to shape your eyebrows like a pro

Posted By : Khanzaib Ayub

There are three different kinds of eye sets: normal, close and wide set. Eye set is recognized by measuring your eye from the inner to outer corner. PHOTO: FILE

The shape of your eyebrows might be communicating a false message about what you’re feeling. In a study, researchers digitally altered a photo of a woman’s face to create different eyebrow shapes.

Even subtle variations in the brows had a significant effect on how the woman’s mood was perceived. Here is how you can pluck the perfect eye-brows:

Determine your eye set

There are three different kinds of eye sets: normal, close and wide set. Eye set is recognized by measuring your eye from the inner to outer corner.

If your eye measurement is the same as the distance between your eyes that means you have normal set eyes and your brows should start in the inner eye.

If distance is more, then you have wide set eyes and they should start from further in.

If the distance is less, then you have close set eyes and your brows should start a little past the inner eye.

Determine where your arch should peak

Angle the straight edge so that it lines up with the outermost edge of your nose and the outermost edge of your iris. You should look straight ahead — both your face and your eyes should be looking directly forward at the mirror. Wherever the line intersects your eyebrow is where the peak of your arch should begin.

Determine where your brow should end

Angle the straight edge further so that it touches the outermost edge of your nose and also passes along the outermost edge of your eye.

Determine your brow’s thickness

Use an eye pencil to draw a line along the bottom edge of your brow; it should be above any stray hairs and it should follow the natural shape of your brow’s top line, which may be angled, slightly curved, or even straight. Pluck the strays below the line. Your eyebrow should be between ¼ and ½ inches at their thickest.

Shape your arch

The arch should peak above the outer rim of your iris and lie right on your eyebrow bone: Mark the point with your eye pencil and then remove hair along the bottom, from your inner brow point to the peak point, says womens healt hmag. After the peak, shape the tail. Make it slightly thinner than the main part of your brow, tapering at the end.