When was the last time you looked at your skin – really looked to determine what condition your skin condition is in ~ and how your skin is aging?

I have created a fast and easy “Beauty Skinventory” to know exactly where your skin stands – or sags!

All you need is some adhesive tape and a clean, dry, unmoisturized face to see your skin up close and personal.

Begin the test by placing six small strips of adhesive tape one at a time on the following areas of the face:

~  Begin with a strip of tape applied vertically on the center of the forehead from the scalp line down to the bridge of the nose (in between the brows).

~  Place another piece of tape on the outside corner of each eye (where the crow’s feet would be).

~  The fourth and fifth tape strips are applied across the apple part of each cheek.

~  Finally, put a tape strip above the upper lip (like a moustache).

Gently press the tape strips onto the skin.

Remove the tape one strip at a time, as you review your personal ‘caught on tape’ results below:

~  Crinkly areas resembling thin lines, such as roads on a map, indicate dehydrated skin – which is a skin lacking in surface moisture. Also these crinkles are a warning that this area will wrinkle first – if left as is. Keeping a hydrating moisturizer on your skin as well as misting the skin with a mineral water mist a couple of times a day helps ease the crinkles and keeps the winkles at bay.  

~  Flakes on the tape show dry, dead skin cells. This condition is caused from not properly removing cleansing and/or makeup products, as well as not exfoliating the skin on a regular basis. Using an exfoliating product and a mask once or twice a week (depending on your skin type) will aid in reducing skin’s flakiness. Also using a clean, warm, moist washcloth along with your cleanser will help with daily flake buildup. 

~  Lines indicate a reduction of Collagen and Elastin in the skin cells. Collagen and Elastin are responsible for keeping the skin plump and firm. As we age, the skin produces less of these important skin firmers, so the skin begins to sag and lose elasticity. To encourage younger looking skin, add a high-performance product or two to your daily regime. Look for the terms ‘anti-aging’ or ‘skin firming’ in the product description.  

~  Vertical lip lines are caused from sun damage, smoking, and/or pursing the lips. To reduce the appearance of the lip lines, add an application of your eye cream over the top of the lip area as part of your twice a day regime. And when you catch yourself pursing your lips – stop it! 

Without a doubt, most of the skin conditions we have are a direct result of how we treat our skin. Exposure to the sun, sleeping in makeup, smoking, not drinking enough water and/or drinking excessive caffeine or alcohol, poor easting habits, and insufficient vitamins are all contributors to how we age.  

While we cannot go back in time, we can certainly go forward with a good simple skincare plan that merely takes 2 minutes in the AM and 2 minutes in the PM. Surely you can find 4 minutes a day to be even more beautiful!  

Surround yourself with beauty!

Susie Galvez

Susie@SusieGalvez.com

www.susiegalvez.com

www.girlfriendwegottatalk.com

Welcome to the very first issue of my Beauty Blog! I am so excited to begin sharing my favorite tips, and the very latest in beauty with all of my girlfriends!

So I figured it was only fitting to share my first blog posting with my absolute, would not be without ~ ever, beauty must-have: Lipstick!

If you are like most gals, lipstick is the first beauty product that you owned. I still remember my very first tube. The shade was called Ballerina Pink. It came in a most glamorous looking gold-tone tube. When you opened the tube, you had to push up the tiny, little, metal tab on the side with your thumb to move the lipstick up to apply. It looked heavenly and smelled absolutely wonderful. And to top it off – it even matched my seventh grade graduation pink dress perfectly.

My 7^th grade graduation was full of firsts for me ~ first time I was allowed to wear lipstick; first time to wear heels – pink, of course – and only ¼ inch ‘kitten’ height – but I figure that still counts; and also first for pantyhose ~ after shaving my legs for, of course, the first time, but that is another story – I don’t think that the nude bandages showed through the ‘suntan’ hosiery too much.

That warm summer grammar school graduation evening, way back then – date totally forgotten – began my lifelong love affair with lipstick. And I am not the only one. Beauty industry statistics show that over 85% of all American women wear lipstick. I can’t answer for the other 15% who are totally missing out on this wonderful beauty pick me up, but I can share with you some other interesting statistics about the beauty industry’s number one selling product ~ out selling all other cosmetic products four times over!

Women reported that they would rather forget their wallet than their lipstick.

The average per purse total lipstick count is three, with at least five, ten, or more at home. For me you need to add a least an extra zero or two, and maybe even a comma, for my total count. I might need to go to lipstick rehab.

2009 Lipstick celebrates its 126 year anniversary. While coloring the lips dates back to 3500 BC, the lipstick ‘stick’ was introduced in 1883 at the Amsterdam World Fair by two Frenchmen.

In the 1920’s when film stars began pouting bee-stung ruby lips on the big screen, lipstick ice was broken and women everywhere clamored for this enticing bit of glamour.

Every person’s lip print, like fingerprints, is unique. The study of lip prints is actually known as Cheiloscopy, and was introduced in 1930 by a top French Criminologist whose discovery help catch a Peeping Tom via his lip print left on an outside window pane.

No other cosmetic has enjoyed the limelight like lipstick. Personally I attribute a woman’s attraction to lipstick because of its stories, promises, and unlimited possibilities.

Whatever your reason for wearing it ~ enjoy it and your individual beauty!

I look forward to your comments, beauty tips and beauty questions, if you have them. Always remember to surround yourself with beauty!

XOXO

Susie Galvez

www.SusieGalvez.com

susie@susiegalvez.com