Tips to Looking Younger - Model Beauty over 40

Click HERE to Watch the Video of 5 Easy Ways to Look Younger

Shelley GoodStein - Ford Models

BB & CC Cream - Asia's Hottest Beauty Product for Flawless Skin Invades America

What is a BB cream and why is it so popular in Asia? 

The BB stands for Blemish Balm, an all in one beauty treatment! It brightens the skin, acts as a concealer to cover blemishes, hydrates like a moisturizer, evens out the skin like foundation, contains a high SPF to protect, and delivers serums to soothe, fight acne and aging. My model friend turned makeup artist, Colleen, just returned from Asia and shared this little pearl of wisdom with me, so I wanted to pass it on to you too!

This product was originally developed in Germany as an ointment for patients after they had undergone skin peels to protect, soothe and cover redness. From what I understand, a Korean actress used it after laser surgery as a daily cover up for her recovery and went on to publicize her experience and because of her testimony it became a highly hyped and sought after product launching in Korea around 2005. Spreading to Japan, then SouthEast Asia, and now to Europe and North America, these BB creams may be the next hybrid potion to really deliver!


Besides giving your face a natural flawless look while protecting your skin from the sun, prolonged use of these products are said to fade scars and improve the overall quality of your skin tone.
Before and after pictures using BB Cream:

Some of the most popular brands of BB Cream include Missha, Dr Jart+ (both available at Sephora), SkinFood and Liole. 
Many of the BB creams in Asia come in a variety of different tints but the ones  available today in the American market come only in one or two shades. Boscia's BB Cream has a light neutral beige which works perfectly with my skin and my girlfriend's whose skin is a different hue than mine. The girls at Sephora told me that it works on most everyone unless you are very dark or tan, because it seeps into your skin and self adjusts the color so that it looks invisible, giving you a flawless finish. In the US and UK, MAC, Dior, Smashbox, Clinique and Estee Lauder have all launched their own BB Creams. These 5 in 1 multitaskers are similar to a tinted moisturizer used alone or under makeup, but add a radiance with skincare benefits. I see this easily becoming my weekend go-to product!

Even though you may be just now learning about a BB Cream, there is already a new and improved ... CC cream, on the market. The CC (Color Control) Creams promise to provide better coverage with more skin nourishing ingredients than their older BB predecessors. I have been a fan of the BB creams because of the high SPF and tinted skincare benefits, but my complaint is that they are a little too heavy to wear especially on hot humid days. Well, someone else must have thought so too because the new CC Creams include the high UVA/UVB SPF protection with a lighter and less oily formulation that expertly covers uneven skin tone. Plus most include Vitamin C and a skin brightening primer.

Chanel, whose iconic double C's seem especially made for this Cream, launched their own CC Cream in Asia. They have not yet announced the US release of this product but you can be sure beauty bloggers are already looking for an Asian connection to get their hands on it. Interestingly enough, it looks like drugstore brand and long trusted skincare line Olay, might be first up to bat in the U.S. with their anticipated launch of Total Effects CC Tone Correcting UV Moisturizer in October - available in 3 shades for $22. 



But if you're like me and gotta have it now ... well, where there is a will there is a way! The only CC Cream seemingly available in the states is Rachel K's best selling and highly hyped balm, founded by Miss Singapore Rachel Kum. Available for sale on the ever popular shopping site Ebay. This in demand product is sold in 2 colors - one for yellow undertones (the pink bottle "neutral" color) and one for pink undertones (the black bottle "original" color). Of course this begs the next question ... How do I know what undertone I am?

Undertone is the natural skin coloring that we were born with, notwithstanding the surface color of your skin from weather or skin conditions like acne or rosacea. It's possible to change the color appearance of your skin with makeup or skin products but the idea of finding your undertone is based on the skin you were born with. I think the easiest, fastest way to check is by holding your thumb firmly against your inner forearm for 10 seconds. When you release your thumb, the blood should rush back into the covered area and reveal your true undertone - yellow or pink.

If you have a warm or yellow undertone your skin usually tans and does not burn. And if you look at the underside of your arm, your veins may have a slight greenish tint if you can see them at all.

If your skin has a cool or pink undertone you probably burn first before you achieve a tan and if you look at your veins on the underside of your arm, they will appear blue.

I think whichever  BB or CC Cream you pick will quickly work it's way into your everyday staple because using it corrects uneven face color instantly - tricking people into thinking you have naturally flawless skin without having to worry about the precision of foundation, powder, concealer, primer, brighteners ... All in one! Plus it's good for your skin because of the vitamins, anti aging ingredients and SPF . Remember the big difference between the two is that the CC Creams have a lighter texture.

A little secret about applying the creams ... for areas around the nose or other pigmented areas that need a little more concealing, pat instead of rub to create a layer to cover the redness and even out skin color.

And I couldn't end this post without wondering if a DD Miracle Cream to enhance "you know what"  is on the horizon? Let's hope so!

Shelley GoodStein is a 47 year old FORD model who speaks to women through television, national articles and public forums about a model's secrets to looking good from the inside out and the beauty of aging! She is the author of Face This: Advice From Real Models, Photographers and Make Up Artists on How to Become Picture Perfect!

Stress can make you look OLD

Are you starting to show your age or worse … look older than you actually are? Avoiding anxiety is one of the easiest ways to “cheat your biological clock” according to research published by Bahman Guyuron in the medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Female identical twins were studied to see what factors made one look older than the other.  Women that underwent the stress of a divorce were perceived to look almost 2 years older than their sister who was married, single or widowed.  Take home message girls: You are better off staying single than ending up in a bad relationship.

They also found that extra weight over forty helped to soften wrinkles in the face but the added pounds under forty caused skin to sag and obscure youthful features like a smooth jawline. It’s often been said that as a woman ages she must choose between her body and her face. According to Dr Guyuron, being thin is what ages us the most, "Excessive loss of weight can be detrimental to youthfulness and attractiveness after the age of 40"... leaving older women looking gaunt. However, thanks to injectible dermal fillers that can help restore lost facial volume, you no longer have to choose between having a big butt or a beautiful face.

Unfortunately, taking anti-depressants was shown to effect appearance negatively, finding that women who used them looked  “significantly older” than a twin that had no history of anti-depressant use. Guyuron speculates that these drugs tend to weaken eye muscles, causing the area to look droopy and relaxing the facial muscles to cause sagging or jowls.

Healthy living choices definitely made a difference in keeping a youthful face. Sun worshippers and those women that smoked or drank more alcohol, looked older than their sibling.

Sooner or later, the choices you make in your life and anything that contributes to a person’s stress will show up “written on your face.” Genetics obviously pays a factor in contributing to how we age, but this study, holding genetics identically constant, reinforces that how we react and the choices we make in our lifestyle (booze, smoking, sun) can impact that youthful glow above just DNA alone.

Beyond a SHADOW of doubt ... the perfect color for your eyes!

School started this week in Arizona for my kids and while I was there to register my 8^th grade son, I was reminded of a couple things from my own school days ...  experimenting with eye shadow as a teenager and art class. The good news for curious girls is that when you are young your face can handle all those glittery, wild tints but as we age it is important to focus on enhancing with color. After all, our eyes capture the attention for our entire face! So time to brush up on what hues are best for your eye color. 

The colors directly opposite of your eye color on the color wheel are called complimentary colors and that’s exactly what they do - compliment your eyes! They will pop your eye and give you your most dramatic look. Your shoes can match your outfit, but your eye color should match your complexion. You can also break that old school rule, that says you shouldn't wear eyeshadow the same color as your eye, by paying attention to the shade you are choosing.

For blue eyes complimentary colors are orange, pink and golds.

Avoid aqua shades because they will compete with your blue eye color.

Lavender will give your eyes a gray blue tone.

Rusty oranges will make your blue electric.

Smoky eyes done with gold, bronzes will be killer with a light blue eye.

If you use blues try silvery, gray or navy.

Green or hazel eye's complementary colors are pink, purples, and orange.

Mustards and peaches will give brightness.

Gold is great to highlight.

Light green and khaki are colors to try in the green family. Also brown with a red undertone (think sienna or pimento) can be nice.

Many women with green eyes have fair skin and freckles, so try to avoid eye shadows that are too shimmery or deep in color. Olive skin green eyed girls should avoid silvery blue shadows.

Sometime black eyeliner is too harsh for your eyes so consider making you eyes stand out by lining with violet or dark brown.

If you have brown eyes you hit the jackpot because almost any color works for you.

Brown eyes have no complementary color because brown is actually a combination of other colors. 

Try jewel tones. For a dramatic effect use midnight blue. Just watch out when using brown colors so that your eyes don’t start to look muddy.

Look inside your brown peepers for just a hint of a green, gold or blue fleck and borrow from those color palettes to pop your unique color. The intensity of the eyeshadow you choose should depend on your skin tone – the lighter your skin tone, the less intense color you should use.

Deep brown almost appearing black eyes can use darker colors but be careful they don’t look too harsh. Try highlighting with the lighter flecks of color in your eyes.

Medium and light brown eyes are the easiest to work with. Consider purples and mauves, copper, golds, bronzes, greens  - use the darker colors in your crease and be careful not to overpower the color of your eye.

Back to school for EVERYONE!