January, 2014 | Cosmetic Plastic Surgery

Archive for January, 2014

“Make-Up For Lost Sleep

Tuesday, January 21st, 2014

“MAKE-UP” FOR LOST SLEEP

At a recent staff holiday dinner for Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Center, Dr. Castillo and the staff were discussing different articles about insomnia and the activities that can make it worse like using your computer or watch television just before you go to bed. On the way home that night I realized that what our conversation was missing was what to do the morning after.

Sometimes trying to get your “beauty rest” can just be ugly! For most, there is long list of things that often get in the way of a full eight hours of peaceful, uninterrupted sleep; late night work obligations, social events, an ill child, insomnia… For others it is the inability to turn off the brain the night before a big event, whether it is a holiday party you’ve been planning for months, an early morning flight to paradise or a high-intensity business meeting. Whatever the reason, missing your beauty sleep isn’t pretty! It results in tired, red, puffy eyes and dull, lifeless skin. You might as well hang a sign around your neck that says “approach with caution, functioning only on auto-pilot today.”

So what can you do help conceal the signs of a sleepless night? Start drinking water as soon as your feet hit the floor, sooner if you can get bedside service. The natural thing is to go right for the coffee, which isn’t a bad idea to jump-start the brain but remember that coffee is a natural diuretic so continue to push the water throughout the day. Hydration is key!

After you have cleansed your face, exfoliate to remove dead skin cells. This is a quick, effective way to help brighten your complexion. I recommend one of two exfoliation options;

Use a thin buff puff sponge in a circular motion during your cleansing process or
Dr. Castillo https://www.cosmeticplasticsurgery.com/ offers an at home Microdermabrasion scrub which is great for exfoliating while in the shower. It’s perfectly round spheres assure an effective exfoliation without damaging your skin cells.

Next apply a facial moisturizer followed by a broad-spectrum UVA/UVB sunblock. Once you have a soft, moisturizer, exfoliated and UV protected canvas to paint on, the real work begins…

Tired looking eyes are a dead give-away that you’re missing a few zzz’s so good eye camouflage is essential. The following tips can help conceal

your sleepy eyes:

If time allows, apply something cool to the eye area like refrigerated cucumber slices, a bag of peas or cold pack for a few minutes before you get started to with help with the puffiness.
Apply a VERY thin layer of under-eye concealer to the lower eye lids if dark circles are present.
Apply a VERY thin layer of eye lid primer to the upper eye lid. This generates a monochromatic skin tone and preps it for the steps that follow.
Apply Luxe Liquid foundation (available in Dr. Castillo’s skincare suite) to the entire face. Its diamond powder technology help refract the light to give you a soft glow and hide imperfections such as lines around the eyes.
Use a peach colored eye liner in the inner corner of the eyes and just under the lower lash line. This will help conceal redness. It can also be used at the outer corner of the lower lash line to create an instant eye lift.
To create an even more open, alert eye, use a near white or cream color eye shadow to the inner 1/3^rd of your upper eye lid.
Mascara – Think of it as your American Express for the day –“DON’T leave home without it!” This will help to frame and define the eyes further.

If that doesn’t quite do the trick, add a bold color to your lips, highlighted with gloss to divert their eyes away from yours. And remember to always wear a smile!

Yours Truly,