How To Get The Best For Your Skin In Hope In A Jar

Ever wonder why so many women are in love with this little, plain jar made by the folks at philosophy?

First, just look at the title: hope in a jar

What a wonderful name and philosophy: "where there is hope there can be truth, where there is faith miracles can occur."

We admire the honesty this giant skin care, makeup, and fragrance company is all about.

Hope in a jar has it legions of loyal customers. Women stock up on jars and jars of this moisturizer...the one with the souffle texture.

It's a world-famous beauty treatment. And famous plastic surgeons like it, along with the Hollywood A-listers, and top dermatologists. The formula is said to be chock full of anti-oxidants.

And as the philosophy website says:

Originally created for the medical market to help reduce the appearance of wrinkles, skin discoloration, rough texture and dehydration. hope in a jar dramatically improves skin radiance and gently exfoliates, revealing smoother, healthier looking skin and texture.

We thought we'd open up hope in a jar, and look inside.

The price is reasonable---1 ounce= $28. 2 ounces= $38. 4 ounces= $60. 8 ounces=$105.

The product features 2 important reasons for 'hope' in a complexion:

rosy glow: with beta gluton. a stimulator that gives skin that healthy glow and protects it from all the bad stuff in the environment.

mini-face peel: with lactic acid, which is a member of the alpha hydroxy acid family. for gentle exfoliation. won't strip face of natural oils. gives back soft, smooth skin.

Remember this ladies: It is essential that we all find skin care treatments that offer some sort of exfoliation. And the family of AHAs or alpha hydroxy acids, certainly provide this important skin care element.

The beauty of hope in a jar, is its universal appeal for all skin types.

Sephora has awarded hope in a jar as one of its 2008 best of Sephora winners.

10 Second Beauty Tip For Great Brow Bone Structure

Jennifer Lopez does it. And so does Hillary Duff (hint: look at the eye and cheekbone area).

And so do many Hollywood celebrities and models.

And if you're short on time, all you really need is about 10 seconds--apply, blend in, and go!!

If you want to draw attention to your eyes and bone structure, buy this one, small beauty product----Billion Dollar Brows Duo Highlighter ($14.95, www.billiondollarbrows.com.)

It's a very simple beauty tip, and it works!! What you are doing, is applying a soft, champagne shade right along the lower edge of your eyebrows. Light is drawn up to your brows and cheekbones, giving you defined and warm bone structure.

The steps are easy, and the Billion Dollar Brow website explains them:

1. Glide the highlighter end of the pencil over your brow bone -- directly under your eyebrow.

2.Using your fingertip, gently blend into the skin to frame and define your eyebrows.

There. You're done. And trust us........this little highlighter pencil does make a difference.


What we like about the Billion Dollar Brow Duo Highlighter is its universal appeal. The pencil looks perfect on any skin tone.

Now, you might ask us----what's on the other end of this duo highlighter?

A universal undereye concealer, for those on-the-go touchups.

This little pencil would make a wonderful holiday stocking stuffer!

Makeup Legend Sandy Linter Shares Tips for 20s + 30s

We have had the pleasure of interviewing legendary makeup artist Sandy Linter a few times now (check our beautytiptoday.com archives). She is an extremely talented artist who has 'painted on' some of the most beautiful faces in the world.

And what we really adore about Sandy Linter is her accessibility. She never has any airs about her, and she loves to share her gazillion beauty tips.

Sandy Linter has been very busy these days as Lancome's Beauty at Every Age Ambassador, criss-crossing around, making personal appearances at Lancome boutiques and counters. She shares her makeup tips, consults on Lancome beauty products, and trains their makeup artists. In addition, she is a much sought-after makeup pro, creating the gorgeous faces of Eva Longoria, Elizabeth Hurley, and many more.

Sandy owes us a few more articles. We haven't been able to connect as of late, but we recently caught up with her in the pages of People Magazine's Dec. 2008 Special "Sexy Forever--How To Look & Feel Great At Any Age!"

Sandy Linter has some great makeup tips for women in their 20's and 30's.

In your 20's:
1. Do experiment with color
"Crazy yellow eyeshadow? You can pull it off!" at this age, Sandy told People mag. "Break all the rules."

2. Play up your lips
Sandy advises to go with the dark lipstick and super shiny glosses now, because when you get older, lips lose volume, and a deeper tone can be aging.

3. Don't skip foundation
"Even beautiful skin can benefit from it," Sandy say. "It's corrective."

In your 30's
1. Do commit to a color palette
"You should be certain about what shades flatter you at this point," Sandy explains. "You'll know whether or not purple eyeshadow works!"

2. Brighten your lipstick
Again, you can still lay on a red mouth, but stick to the sheerer shades, because the too strong color "can be aging."

3. Don't over-tweeze your eyebrows
"As you age, the hair gets thinner and finer," Sandy says. "If you over-tweeze or wax it all the time, it will never grow back."

Always, sensible and smart advice from one of makeup's very best in the biz.

Thank you, Sandy Linter.

Country Singer Taylor Swift's New Beauty Secret

Country's hot, young superstar Taylor Swift is proud of her #1 hit Love Story. In the refrain, Taylor keeps talking about "just say yes to romance."

So what does this all have to do with beauty secrets and makeup???

Someone recently asked the teen-aged singing star what she has "just said yes to recently."

And it had something to do with her lips.

"I bought red lipstick the other day," she recalls. "I'm the kind of person who's really modest with lip color. I think people are gonna throw something at me if I wear red lipstick! But I bought this red lipstick and started wearing it out, and it changed my life, I swear ... I wore it out of the store and felt like I was making this daring change!"

Taylor Swift didn't indicate what brand of red lipstick she wears, but she was eager to try something new in the makeup department, and we say, "Amen" to that.

By the way, red lipstick is not an easy shade to pull off, no matter what age you are. But there is a shade of red for almost all of us out there. So don't be shy, 'just say yes!'

Eyebrow Sealer Helps Keep Brows Neat And Pretty

Before we discuss eyebrow sealer and how it can maintain a perfect arch, let's first deal with these little 'frames' for our eyes.

Eyebrows. You either loves yours, or you don't. And there are several schools of thought on brows. Some makeup artists believe in the L.A. brow. That's the thin brow you see in the Los Angeles area. In other words, the Hollywood brow. Just look at today's actresses. Most are sporting highly arched and thin brows.

But some makeup legends like Sandy Linter, whose portfolio reads like a 'Who's Who' of famous and beautiful women, will always advise you, to keep your eyebrows natural. Sandy Linter says, that when you want to know what kind of brow to 'wear,' look at the photos of models in a magazine, for instance.

And Sandy Linter is on to something. Models are sporting thicker and more natural brows these days. She also warns women not to over-pluck, and not to have brows waxed. Instead, carefully remove the hairs you don't need, and don't fool around with trying to create a very high arch. Just trim the longer brow hairs with a scissor. Try to remove as little brow hair as necessary.

Sandy says, "Overly thin brows are aging on a woman."

Okay, we get the message, Sandy. Fuller brows are better.

Working with a little eyebrow makeup is okay, and some women who just don't have thick eyebrows, can work some colored eyebrow powder into their sparse hairs, to create a fuller and more natural brow.

Another neat little trick that gives fullness to the brows, is an eyebrow sealer. It's a little bottle of beauty magic that comes in a liquid or gel form that you brush on to your brows to 'set them.'

Eyebrow sealer accomplishes all this:

Holds natural brow and/or brow make up all day long
Will not dust, flake or shine
Easily removed with water and any cleanser

Here's a brand you can try that lots of women adore:

Model in a Bottle Long Lasting Eyebrow Sealer ($12, at beautyencounter.com).

And you could always try a little 'moustache wax' to keep those brow hairs in place. We had a girlfriend who used to steal her boyfriend's colorless moustache wax. It came with a little brush, and she would apply to her thick, gorgeous eyebrows, and they stayed in place all day.

Nah. He never found out she was stealing his wax.

Gossip Girls Dish About Their Favorite Makeup

Everyone loves television's Gossip Girls.

Their style. Their hair. Their makeup......

The girls always look so pretty and polished, especially blonde-haired beauty Taylor Momsen and raven-haired lovely Jessica Szohr.

Ever wish you could learn at least one makeup brand the Gossip Girls love to wear?

We did a little digging and came across 2 makeup items Taylor and Jessica can't live without. Thanks to In Touch magazine, we can now share them with you.

Any time you see Taylor Momsen, whether she's on the set, or rocking the red carpet, you will notice that she loves dark eyeliner, and isn't afraid to use it.

For that 70's rocker-chick look, Gossip Girl Taylor plays with smoky eye shadows. "I love MAC makeup for the eyes," she told In Touch.

We suggest trying: MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow in Word-of-Mouth ($18, maccosmetics.com).

For Gossip Girl's Jessica Szohr, it's all about smooth, even skin. Her complexion looks flawless, and she relies on this famous line of makeup. "I use Laura Mercier," Jessica explained to In Touch. "I have her foundation, and it's like OMG!!"

We suggest checking out: Laura Mercier Shimmer Bloc in Golden Mosaic ($38, sephora.com).

You Must Firm Up Your Bust With Avon Solutions

What can we say?!

We get several emails from time to time asking for a good cream to firm up the bust.

We are certainly no expert in this area, but we recently saw an ad for Avon, bragging about their wonderful contouring cream to lift a sagging bosom. We thought we'd take a closer look.

It's called, Bust Sculpt Contouring Cream by Avon Solutions ($17, 5 fl. oz.) And right now, buy one, and get the other for only $1.99. Now that's a great deal.

Does it really work, you ask, with a snarl in your tone?

According to the testimonials at the Avon website- http://shop.avon.com/shop/search.asp?find_spec=bust+sculpt+contouring+cream&department=search,

the bust-firming cream gets a 4.4 star rating out of a possible 5 stars. Or 91% of those who commented, would recommend this product to a friend.

Avon says their Bust Sculpt Contouring Cream is based on a unique formula they call--Virtual Bra Technology. This concept blends special ingredients that form a network of support around the bosom. And the longer you use the cream, the better the results.

Here's how Avon broke it down:

After one application, skin looks and feels softer, smoother and more supple.

• After one week, skin in the bust area feels tighter.

• After two weeks, breasts feel firmer.

• After four weeks, breasts look firmer

83% of women who tried it saw an overall improvement of the appearance in the bust area.

75% saw and felt their breasts were more toned.

77% felt tighter skin in the breast area75% saw a visible reduction in stretch marksHOW TO

USE: Use daily, applying to bust area in an upward motion.

This is the newest comment we saw at the Avon website about their Bust Sculpt Contouring Cream:

I've been made a believer!
Date: October 4, 2008
"This is a great product! My mom told me about this product, and after reading the reviews I had to try it. After losing a lot of weight plus breastfeeding my skin felt very loose and saggy. I've been using this for 2 months and I've gotten so firm it's unreal! I try to stock up when I see it on sale. Thank God for AVON!"

There you have it. For less than $20, you can try this bust-firming cream. And you can get 2 for under $20, one to give a friend. Okay, a close friend.