Problem with Dry Skin in the Winter....

Problem with Dry Skin in the Winter....

There's nothing worse than dry, itchy skin. Dry skin can happen any time during the year, but is most prevalent in winter (hence the term, "winter itch"). Find out why your skin tends to be dry in winter and how to solve dry hands, feet, body, face and lips year-round.

In winter, low temperatures, low humidity and strong, harsh winds deplete skin of its natural lipid layer, which keeps the skin from drying out. The dry air from furnaces and other heating sources also suck the moisture out of skin.

Dry Skin Tip: Keep Water Lukewarm, Not Hot
Hot water robs skin of moisture causing dry skin, so it's best to shower in lukewarm water. If you can't bear this rule -- I can't -- try to keep your showers short and try showering only once per day. This also means skipping hot tubs (another rule I simply cannot bear). The hot, hot temperature, combined with drying chemicals, is torture on dry skin.
The same rule applies to hand-washing: Wash hands in lukewarm, never hot, water (this is a rule I firmly abide by). If your skin turns red, the water is simply too hot.


Dry Skin Tip: Moisturize After Showers or Hand Washing

Moisturizer is the key to soft, supple skin. Apply product when skin is slightly damp. For best effect, pat skin dry instead of rubbing with your towel before application.
The skin on my legs can drive me crazy with itchiness all year round. I find I prefer oils to lotions on for the body. Renowned makeup artist Pati Lubroff got me hooked on organic extra virgin coconut oil, which you can buy in health food stores or online. Simply massage the coconut oil all over the body. Trust me, this will get rid of dry, itchy skin and the oil isn't sticky like lotion tends to be.

Antibacterial soap in public places can be harsh on hands, so I keep hand salve in my purse (my hands-down favorite is Kiehls). To keep cuticles soft, massage in olive oil.

Extra tip: I love keeping facial moisturizer and Evian spray on my desk at work. I spritz Evian Mineral Spray (buy it online), and then dab on moisturizer. The water locks in moisture and leaves my skin refreshed even in harsh office heat.

Dry Skin Tip: Exfoliate on a Weekly or Semi-Weekly Basis

Moisturizer is much more effective on properly exfoliated skin. Use a salt or sugar scrub in the shower and exfoliate your face with a mild scrub made for the face.
It's best to scrub skin when it's dry, according to Marcia Kilgore, the founder of Bliss Spa in New York, in InStyle Magazine. Apply scrub to dry skin before you turn on the water (mix with lotion if it's not moist enough). Massage the scrub into skin for a few minutes for best results.

Extra tip: Dry brush skin before a shower with a body brush to remove flaky skin (it's more effective than brushing wet skin).

How to Apply Lipstick

A beauty tip I've always sworn by is to pick your best feature and play it up. If you are complimented often on your lips, consider yourself lucky; it's time to accentuate them. Here are 16 tips on how to apply lipstick.

1. Women who wear heavy eye makeup and dark lipstick can look clownish. If you want to wear red lipstick, keep the rest of your makeup light. If you are playing up the eyes, keep your mouth light with a gloss or light lip color that doesn't stand out.

2. For "plump" lips, apply liner just outside your natural lip line. Dab a bit of gloss in the middle of your bottom lip.

3. I don't believe in rules to applying lipstick. Some women use special lipstick brushes (pictured here). I own one and never, ever use it. Others use their middle finger (I once said this was a beauty faux pas and got reamed by a reader, I have since changed my mind). Most women apply right from the tube. Choose what's right for you, as long as the color gets on the lips, you're good.

4. Use liner on your lips as a base. Lipstick will last longer if you fill in your lips with the liner first. If you're using light lipstick, try a nude liner. Then slick your lipstick on top.

Lip Gloss is infamous for wearing off fast, but if you fill in lips first with the liner, the gloss has something to stick to.

5. You can line before or after you apply lipstick or gloss. Some women prefer to apply liner first, arguing that you won't be able to see the natural line of your lips if you apply lipstick first. But I find lips look more natural when I line lips after I apply lipstick.

6. Never use a dark liner with light lipstick. Defined lips are great, but make sure the liner matches the lipstick or gloss. Dark liner and light lips is tacky.

7. Don't test lipstick on your lips. It's just plain unhygienic unless you wipe off the lipstick with a big swipe of a tissue. Even better, test lipstick on your fingertips. It's a closer fit to your lips than the back of your hand.

8. Don't throw out a bad color lipstick. Beauty editors know you can create a great lip color by blending lipsticks you don't like. You can also color in lips with a darker liner before applying a lipstick that's too bright.

9. Keep lipstick off glass. Discreetly lick your lips before taking a sip from a glass. It works!

10. Keep lipstick off your teeth with this trick. After applying lipstick, take your index finger and pop it in your mouth, then pull it out. The excess lipstick will come off on your finger rather than your teeth.

11. Lipstick can act as a blush. But never use blush as a lipstick.

12. The older you are, the "creamier" your lips should look. As we age, our lips thin out. Therefore, you should avoid matte and gloss and stick with a creamy lipstick. Also, watch out for dark lipsticks.

13. Not all lipstick shades look good on everyone.Your skin color will determine what shades are right on you. You may like a lipstick on your friend, but it may not look good on you. Orange or brown shades, including corals, look good on few people. These shades tend to make teeth appear yellow.

14. Camouflage yellowed teeth. To downplay a yellow cast to teeth, try lipsticks with a bluish undertone. Shades that work include plums, pinks, wines and violets, according to Lazarus, a NYC makeup artist, in O magazine.

15. Heal -- don't throw out -- a broken lipstick. If your lipstick breaks off, simply take off the broken portion with a tissue, then slowly wave a lit match under the broken piece of lipstick. When it's melted a bit, put it back on the base, swivel it down and put it in the fridge -- uncovered -- for 30 minutes.

16. Lipstick done? You might notice there's still a bit of lipstick down in the tube. Scrape out the last bits with a cotton swap or orange stick and mix it with Vaseline or lip gloss in a lipstick palette. Use a lip brush to apply.