Guest Looks & Reviews

A Temptalia Halloween

Made possible by all of you who submitted your Halloween looks this year! (You can view the full size of the graphic here.)  You can check out all the looks in our Challenge: Halloween tag, in case you missed one!   Thanks for making this year’s Halloween challenge such a smashing success!

Halloween Looks: Jessica, Rebecca, Katie, Stacy

Jessica gets inspired by Cruella de Vil, Rebecca’s daughter goes as the Mad Hatter, Katie tries out a doll-inspired look, and Stacy gets gruesome!

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Halloween Looks:  Mad Hatter, Paula, Paula, Soo

Monika’s husband gets dressed up as the Mad Hatter, Paula as a FIERCE! rainbow, Paula goes goth, and Soo goes as a goddess of the night.

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Skincare Tips from Renée Rouleau: Undereye Bags

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.

What are under eye bags?

The term “bags” refers to loose, sagging skin under the eyes that has lost its firmness.

Why do bags appear?

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.

What can I do to help reduce bags?

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.

What can I do to prevent bags?

• To prevent bags, you must prevent puffiness and keep the skin from losing tone:
• Get your thyroid checked. Under eye bags may be related to a thyroid function. Hypothyroidism (an under active thyroid) causes myxedema which makes changes to the connective tissues, which causes a loss of tone in the under eye area. Consult with your doctor.
• Get plenty of sleep. Being tired at night results in yawning and yawning makes the eyes tear. The excess fluids around the eyes will cause puffiness which weakens elasticity under the eyes accelerating under eye bags.
• Control your allergies. One of the biggest contributors to under eye puffiness (and eventually bags) is from allergies.
• Avoid smoking. Smoking inhibits circulation and is the major cause of oxidative stress in the body resulting in a weakening of collagen and elastin fibers.
• Use eye care products containing skin-firming peptides. Peptides renew skin’s firming mechanisms to return skin to a more youthful-looking appearance. Use Renée Rouleau Firming Eye Therapy—a new and improved formula!

How do I reduce puffiness?

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.

Halloween Looks: Ellie, Patty, Vanessa, Heather

Next up, we have Ellie as Juli from Street Fighter, Patty as a devil, Vanessa with a mask inspired by Sylvia Ji’s painting, and Heather with rainbow eyes!

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Halloween Looks: Tara, Suziee, Guinevere, Lucy

Today, we have Tara as a pink fairy, Suziee as Kat Von D, Guinevere taking inspiration from bats, and Lucy with a lace mask!

Check out their looks! Keep Reading!