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Friday, February 4th, 2011
While working with Laura Vandervoot during the SAG Awards, talented makeup artist Brett Freedman filmed this fab video on how to add a little more definition and depth to brows.
Sunday, January 16th, 2011
The very talented makeup artist, Brett Freedman, has a video for Temptalia readers featuring Laura Vandervoort all about liquid eyeliner and how to make it work for you!
Saturday, January 8th, 2011
Long-time readers will remember Ask Temptalia sessions, and they’ll also note that there haven’t been any in recent memory. I’ve created a Formspring account, which is essentially a place where you can ask someone (aka me) a question, and then I see your question and can answer it. I want to give this a try for now to see if can help me give you an opportunity to ask questions and me a way to answer them gradually and over time rather than attempt to answer 300-500 in one go. We are also hoping to build a very robust FAQ/support section through some of the questions asked.
You can ask me a question here! 
Do NOT ask questions on this post!
Thursday, December 30th, 2010
Savvy, smart, and always knowledgeable, Renée Rouleau is my go-to for all that is skincare. She’s a celebrity esthetician with her own line (I love her AHA/BHA Cleansing Gel!), and she also regularly updates her blog with skin care tips and tricks.
Make this the year for healthy, beautiful and glowing skin with these 10 New Years’ Skin Resolutions from skin care expert, Renée Rouleau.
Research indicates that the skin repairs itself most effectively at night, so you want to put your skin in the best possible condition for its repair. For those who are too tired to wash off their makeup at night, try this! Your nighttime routine doesn’t have to be done minutes before you hit the bed. Wash your face when you get home from work, or even after dinner. Do it earlier rather than later! Washing off the day’s dirt and grime and nourishing your skin with good moisture and nutrients will give your skin a chance to renew while you sleep. And remember, quality moisturizers (without clogging ingredients) will not suffocate your skin.
Studies indicate that 78% of the sun exposure we get in a lifetime is incidental exposure. You may say, “I’m not out at all during the day.” Just working in your home or office near windows, walking to your car, and even driving in your car will subject you to unnecessary UV damage. Windshields do nothing to protect you from UV rays. Daylight exposure is the #1 cause of premature skin aging so a minimum of SPF #15 should be used 365 days a year, rain or shine, inside or out.
Friday, November 26th, 2010
Savvy, smart, and always knowledgeable, Renée Rouleau is my go-to for all that is skincare. She’s a celebrity esthetician with her own line (I love her AHA/BHA Cleansing Gel!), and she also regularly updates her blog with skin care tips and tricks.
The skin under the eyes is extremely thin and fragile and can have under eye bags, puffiness, lines and wrinkles. Of all the areas of the face the eye area can be the most problematic.
The term “bags” refers to loose, sagging skin under the eyes that has lost its firmness.
Bags start out in the early years as under eye puffiness and over time, the connective tissues that attach the skin to the orbital bone deteriorates resulting in loose, sagging skin. Bags start to show around the age of 50, when the skin naturally starts to lose its tone. For many individuals, bags are hereditary and for others it can be from years of allergies that caused them chronic puffiness around the eyes.
Since bags are loose skin, it’s impossible to restore that loss of elasticity once the bag is formed. Cosmetic surgery will give you the most noticeable improvement.
Place a bag of frozen peas over the eyes. Cold temperatures constrict blood vessels, preventing the flow of fluid into tissues and diminishing puffiness in the process.
So if you are someone who has many, many skin care products that leave you without any real results, it’s simply it’s very difficult to entirely reverse bags using topical products. So prevention is key.
Friday, October 22nd, 2010
Savvy, smart, and always knowledgeable, Renée Rouleau is my go-to for all that is skincare. She’s a celebrity esthetician with her own line (I love her AHA/BHA Cleansing Gel!), and she also regularly updates her blog with skin care tips and tricks.
Of all the skin questions that I get asked, “How do I get rid of my blackheads?” has to rank near the top of the list. Blackheads are a fact of life; almost all of us have them and we all hate them.
What is a blackhead? Blackheads are large, open pores containing oil that has oxidized from the air causing it to turn black. Contrary to what most people believe, it’s not “dirt”, it’s simply oxidized oil. You can remove the blackhead but once the oil fills back up in the pore, the air will cause the oil to oxidize again and now the blackhead is back.
Here’s my three-step plan for removing blackheads and keeping them away:
Whether you remove them yourself (gently, of course) or have a professional facial, they must be manually extracted.
In a professional facial, your esthetician will raise the temperature of the skin by applying warm steam to the skin and performing a facial massage to “melt” the hardened oil within the pores to make for easier extractions. When the skin is properly prepared, extractions shouldn’t leave the skin with significant red marks. A cooling mask post-extraction will help to calm the skin and reduce any visible redness.
For do-it-yourself extractions, it’s best to remove blackheads after a shower since the skin temperature has been raised. After showering, apply a thin coat of the heaviest moisturizer you have to the skin. By using a rich moisturizer, it will create a temporary occlusive seal to keep the heat trapped in the skin, which for extractions purposes is necessary. Next, cover the area with cellophane/plastic wrap and apply warm, damp towels for five minutes. Remove the plastic and wrap tissue over each forefinger and gently squeeze to remove blackheads. To avoid creating squeeze marks, be sure to relocate the position of your fingers. For example, position fingers at 3:00 and 9:00 and then 5:00 and 10:00. You can then apply a cooling gel mask to reduce any redness.
Once the pores are clean, it’s important to incorporate products into your routine that use acids, such as AHA’s and BHA’s to keep them cleaned out and prevent the oil from filling back up so quickly. Skin care products with acids might include cleansers (such as Renée Rouleau AHA/BHA Cleansing Gel), serums and peels (like Renée Rouleau Triple Berry Smoothing Peel). Be sure the products are gentle and do not contain SD Alcohol 40 or Denatured Alcohol. Note: Do not use any acid-based products for at least 24 hours after manual extractions.
This part is key in lessening the appearance of blackheads. As I mentioned, a blackhead is oil that has oxidized and turned black, so if you can prevent the oil from oxidizing, the oil will not turn black (or at least as quickly).
Antioxidants used in skin care products have many benefits such as encouraging collagen production, lightening discoloration (brown spots) and slowing down the production of skin-damaging free radicals, but one surprising benefit is their ability to prevent oil from oxidizing, hence the name antioxidants meaning ‘anti oxidation’. When choosing antioxidant products, look for formulas containing Vitamin C, however be sure it’s stable, doesn’t sting or irritate the skin or change color (such as brown) in the bottle over the course of time. Renée Rouleau Vitamin C & E Complex uses three forms of stable, no-sting Vitamin C which makes this product not only suitable for preventing blackheads, but for sensitive skin too.
So there you have it – my professional plan for removing blackheads and keeping them from being so noticeable and re-appearing so quickly.
Note: Blackheads will slowly re-appear over time, so it’s important to get regular monthly facials to get the pores manually cleaned
