5 Cool Beauty Tips

What with all of the beauty editors at Allure, we meet a lot of experts—either at events or when they stop by our offices to update us on their news. So on top of the info we get from interviewing the pro’s for specific stories, we wind up accumulating the most amazing tips. To give you a sense of what it’s like, here’s an average week’s worth of fun stuff we learn.

Fight ingrowns. At an event for Upper Canada Soap’s two newest product lines, All About Hands and All About Feet, I talked to aesthetician Oksana Fhufhakova. She said that exfoliating your skin with a sea-salt scrub (like Upper Canada’s Naturally Wild Mint Lime Course Salt Scrub) two days following a wax helps prevent dead skin build-up and blocked pores, which can cause ingrown hairs to develop.

Perfect eyeliner. Beauty editor Victoria Kirby attended a recent breakfast with Carol Shaw, where she unveiled her fall 2009 launches. Tory talked to the makeup artist about how to make applying eyeliner so much easier:Use short, quick strokes instead of trying to draw one long line. It’s much easier to control, and it also makes it easier to get the pencil right into the lash line, so you’re less likely to end up with gaps.

Prevent stained nails. Dabbing lotion (of any kind) on your nail beds before removing a dark shade of polish stops the color from spreading onto your skin, I learned in a meeting with Pattie Yankee, who’s a manicurist for Dashing Diva.

Avoid bacteria. When applying lip balm that’s in a pot, use cotton swabs instead of your fingers to avoid bacteria and germs. Beauty news editor Alyssa Hertzig heard why from Jillian Wright, owner of Glow Skin Spa in New York City, during a meeting with St. Ives: dipping and re-dipping your fingers in the jar makes it a bacteria haven. Instead, cut the swabs in half (you only need one side), and store them in your makeup bag. Use them to apply the balm throughout the day and then chuck them.

Reduce oiliness. Make a point to massage your scalp with your fingertips when shampooing. Raphael Portet, a stylist I met from Serge Normant at John Frieda Salon, explained that this breaks the oil down and keeps your hair from looking greasy.