beauty pearls march 2016
Okay beauty skincare lovers, I’ve been quiet way too long. It’s time to give you the 411 on skincare 2016. When I’m wanting to get my skincare fix I go into my skincare wardrobe and choose from a bevy of products~ what’s right for this moment in time. Just like my collection of boots, jackets, sunglasses, tees and jeans, I have an entire Nanskin wardrobe. The products I use daily and the second line of defense~ the ones in back stock that are waiting for a specific situation or the ones I’m slightly tired of at the moment. It’s time to go into your bathroom cupboards and line up your skincare products and assess the situation and see where your home beauty wardrobe needs revamping.
We are on a cycle with our own natural rhythms connected to the moon, the stars, the tides, the heavens…in a constant change and flow of energy. Each day can be a different phase in this cycle. So why treat your skin the same each day? Get results wherever you are in your own ebb and flow in life. Get in touch with your own inner knowing and chart your natural cycles and rhythms to enhance your beauty.
Some days it’s easy to look in the mirror and see my own shiny radiance and natural beauty and other times it’s daunting and all about wrinkles, sagging, inflammation, dehydration, or some rashy skin explosion. I’m always ready to pull out all the beauty stops and go for the more. The quest is for looking soft, fresh, dewy and radiantly young. I am a seeker of ageless, timeless beauty.
I like to have skin remedies to enhance my naturalness, cycles and rhythms. This is why I created the Nanskin line~ skincare that works. Science, beauty, fun with the right texture, weight, and delicious natural fragrances all wrapped up in products with healthy, sustainable ingredients that are affordable and that you can’t live without. When you apply them, your skin says yes ma’am! Whether you’re on a 4, 6, 8 week or seasonal cycle for facials at Nanskin, here’s your update on a few of my latest “secret hot girl info” tips on products to inspire you to new heights in enhancing your home beauty skincare regime.
First of all, take it from Lana Turner: “Every girl deserves the perfect turban!” Wrap up your hair in a turban and only cleanse your face with cleansers at night. In the morning splash with warm, then cool water and refresh with an ice cold Beauty Globe. Cleansing both day and night is too much cleansing and can strip your own precious essential oils away. Rinsing well and finishing with cool water, then your Beauty Globe, enables your pores to receive the benefits of your products on a much deeper level of healing.
I love to layer 2 cleansers at the same time. My fav combo at the moment is to apply the Geranium Oil Cleanser and top it off with the Honey Polish. Or the Lavender Chamomile Milk Cleanser with the Green Tea Scrub. When I’ve got an acne break it’s the Mint Julep Wash and the Pumice Scrub. Going lighter, it’s the Lavender Chamomile Milk with the Cucumber Wash or the Orange Souffle and the Coconut Wash. Double your fun and double your pleasure. Key importance is that you get your cleansers on and work them in circular movement for 3 minutes or longer. The longer you massage the cleansers in, the more dead skin layer is removed and the fresher and dewier your skin will be. You cannot get clean fresh skin from wiping it with a cleansing pad. Have fun layering 2 of your fav cleansers and discover your own healing touch.
The most important product to have in your skincare wardrobe is a serum. Find one that you love the most and a second to switch off to or double layer them. A serum contains a smaller molecular structure and can penetrate deeper and faster than a cream, and comes in a gel-like consistency with more potent ingredients. Apply one pump of serum to your fresh clean face including delicate eye area, neck and chest. If you’ve got too much on your fingertips slather it on the rest of your bod. Hyaluronic is the star of the skincare world and is a water binder, a plumper and the key ingredient in Juvederm, the coveted injectable. So while you’re contemplating injectables, plump it up with this serum. MSM is a skin strengthener and quick repair for delicate, fragile and reactive skin and perfect post-peel healing. Bee serum, rich is Propolis, Bee Pollen and Bee Jelly, is moisture bomb luxuriousness for dry skin. My newest addition is the Acne Serum-a must have for anyone trying to tackle serious acne or chronic flareups. Apply before Rosacea Lotion and Bee Beautiful or go light and use it solo on acne when the greasy feel of a cream just won’t do. Post Sun goes in your beach, ski travel bag and say goodbye to brown spots with the Renew Fade(careful around the eyes!). Double layer serums and watch your skin smooth, soften and glow.
When it comes to acne there’s only one thing that comes to mind and it’s Clay! French women have know this secret for centuries. For an instant fix for a pimple or rash, dot it with Clay Mineral Mask and sleep with it on overnight. Beware: applying a spot pimple product that contain Benzoyl Peroxide is too harsh for most acne skins and can leave a red ring or dry, chapped areas around the pimples you’re trying to fix and can bleach out your bedding, towels, and fabu lingerie. Clay is gentle, soothing and drying without tearing up your entire face. You can also layer a local raw honey over the clay and leave on for 20 minutes or longer. Honey is the miracle cure for all skin repairs and especially beneficial with clay.
When you assess your skin wardrobe and find too many creams you’re not using, take note: if you’re not loving everything about the cream “lower it!”. In other words, slather it on your boobs, butt and feet. No need to throw it out, just use it on another part of your bod. Key importance about choosing creams: a cream must be the right consistency and you must love the smell. If you don’t love the smell do not put it on your face. It will not work for you, regardless of ingredients. I also believe that that old concept of using one cream, or a day and night cream, just isn’t enough in these days of stress, travel, pollution, too much wine, sugar and white food debauchery. Try layering products for optimum repair fabulousness with these “tried and true to the moment” Nanskin recipes:
Acne: Acne & MSM Serum, Rosacea Lotion, Bee Beautiful
Rosacea: MSM & Acne Serum, Rosacea Lotion, Bee Beautiful, Bee Magic Salve
Combination: Hyaluronic & MSM Serum, Passionflower & Chamomile Cream, Bee Magic Salve, Ultimate Eye
Dry: Hyaluronic & Bee Serum, Turbo Wrinkle & Chamomile Cream, Ultra Beauty Balm, Ultimate Eye
Aging: Hyaluronic & Bee Serum, Stop the Clock & Kukui Cream, Ultra Beauty Balm, Ultimate Eye
So there you have it beauty skincare lovers~ a confirmation that you’ve got the new “secret hot girl info” to enhance your own natural beauty and redefine your home ritual~ a taste of beauty pearls from your fav skin spirit maven. If this all seems over the top, know that the old “cleanse, tone, and moisturize” is a dinosaur you need to say bye, bye to. Bump up your home beauty skincare wardrobe. Beautiful, ageless, timeless skin is awaiting you. And come get your pamper on at the hidden gem Nanskin, in the enchanted SF courtyard you love.
beauty~ the search for the holy grail april 2014
Beauty is the ultimate goal. It’s always been this luminous cloud floating out in the ethers of nirvana…how do you ever get there and find it? Why do I look at some people and think they have it all? What is this energy exchange attraction that makes them so beautiful? I just want to be in their juicy presence. My life has been a constant search for this thing we call beauty. My biggest passion is a combination of beauty, healing, and design. Searching for it passionately in all that I do, making a new products, perfecting a yoga bind, running up a hill, foraging through a pile of vintageware at the flea to find that perfect treasure. My first visions of beauty were when I was a child finding solace down a path by the creek, hearing the leaves crunching every step, jumping off a birch tree into a freezing cold lake, walking and running a trail, feeling the exhilaration of my connection to the earth, seeing the light play on raindrops, chasing fireflies. So where did my vision of beauty take this turn and become influenced by media driven beauty, the latest tv series to get addicted to, the 250+ friends on facebook, clutching my iphone and reassuring myself I’m not the one texting while walking or driving….the constant comparison with everyone else leaving me feeling slighted, too fat, wearing dorky clothes, and never enough? We all have teachers, avatars, and guides who we seek out to help better ourselves. In my late 20’s, I learned the art of makeup, dress and design from men- my gay mentors. How did they know more about being women than women themselves? My mother never wore any makeup other that lipstick and powder. Did I become a makeup artist out of my disappointment around her vision of what I thought was a lack of beauty? Now that I’ve lived a half century, I feel that I’ve come full circle and that she actually knew the true secret of beauty…..to be beautiful- less is more. And beauty isn’t something you purchase. It’s not in a cream or a pair of perfect tight jeans or designer sandals, mink eyelashes or all the exclusive makeup you can pile on your face; the injectables that gives you that questionable look……does she or doesn’t she? You’ve notice what true beauty is…..it’s breathtaking. It’s an energy that someone runs when they are so totally connected to their own power and living in this presence, this moment….and willing to take the risk to bubble over and share it all. It’s when someone is so beautifully flawed in their own magnificence of being totally present to oneself and willing to play with it, and run it, and enjoy this moment called bliss and share it with the world. This vision is what our culture tries to replicate through media sales sprinkled with heavy sensual overtones. It’s promised in every cream. This authentic nature cannot be sold. So how do you get this beauty energy vision? You first get real about it….. you align yourself with your own authentic you. You prioritize and make time by spending time in nature, developing a spiritual practice, meditating and going inward. Take your own inventory and do a “gratitude list” about yourself. What are your top 5 best features? How do you play with them and bring them out? Are you willing to let your own natural beauty simply unfold? Do you have beauty spirit mentors to help you find this place within yourself and guide you to have fun and play with it all in a safe, nurturing and luscious way? Back at Nanskin I’m deeply appreciative to give beauty advice…..how to heal a volcano on the chin, why is a radish the best veggie for the skin, why charge your water with ginger, mint and pineapple, why soak in a hydrogen peroxide and baking soda bath, and what is this mystery called menopause and what is the secret hot info about hot flashing, night sweats, supplements to take when you feel like your face is at the affect of gravity? I get back to the basics. Make time to be in nature. And yes, it’s always the same….it’s an inside job. Once you get clear with yourself that each moment, each breath is your moment of power. Can you seize this moment and go deep inside to your own inner knowing? Can you see yourself as beautiful and powerful now? This moment is all you’ve got…..revel in your own natural beauty now.
Hyaluronic acid is naturally found in the extracellular matrix of human tissue. When applied topically, hyaluronic acid forms an air permeable layer and penetrates into the dermis, thus boosting the elasticity and hydration of the skin. The protective breathable barrier on the skin locks in moisture which gives the skin a youthful appearance. The cuticle layer of the skin normally contains 10-20% water, however as we age it can drop to below 10%. Hyaluronic acid comes to the rescue with its unique ability to hold more than 1000 times its weight in water, which is a key factor in allowing the skin to retain more water. Amazingly, hyaluronic acid adjusts its moisture absorption based on the relative humidity in the air. It is the ideal ingredient in skin care products as it adjusts to the skins need for a moisturizing effect depending on the relative humidity of seasons and climate of an area. Hyaluronic acid also protects the epidermis by scavenging reactive oxygen species generated by ultra violet light which would normally cause sunspots. In order to remain in alignment with my mission and vision to be in service to a healthy, thriving and cruelty free planet Nanskin is now working exclusively with a hyaluronic acid that is purely plant based. It is extremely difficult to guarantee that most hyaluronic acid products are not animal derived. Horses and roosters and other animals are standardly utilized as the source for hyaluronic acid ingredients. For this reason, Nanskin is committed to a pure botanical hyaluronic acid ingredient that is derived solely from polysaccharides extracted from the seed of an Indian plant. This plant is known as Cassia Angustifolia. It forms a protective film on the skin that strongly binds water and fills in fine lines. It provides intense moisturization, while plumping up the skin. This further helps to reduce fine lines and wrinkles and to smooth the skins surface. As a result of the smoother surface, light reflection is also improved, leading to increased skin radiance. Nanskin is thrilled to provide you with one more reason to feel ecstatic about working with a one owner operator salon beautifying the world one conscious ingredient at a time. Love your Nanskin!
searching for beauty april 2011
There was a time when I molded, sculpted, and armored myself to fit in, belong and conform to what others, our culture, and the media expected my life and my beauty to look like. In my quest for what true beauty means, I found that beauty means so many different things and yet it all comes down to one sure thing…..all that is beautiful is a reflection of mother earth -nature. When you’re in nature, you become natural. When you’re natural, you’re in your own personal state of rhythm, balance, abundance and joy. You are unique and beautiful. When you are present with yourself and true to your own authentic way, you move through life strong and passionate in who you are. You are beautiful. In the sea of skincare products, quick fixes, makeup redoes, laser, collagen and botox, there is no relief found to replace true beauty waiting for you naturally. So ladies, get your asics gels going and take a walk, hike, or run and get real, get natural, and get beautiful now. To rejuvenate from the hustle and bustle of the city life I love so much, my heart is free and I’m shining in my own beauty when I’m camping out in the wild, watching the deer, hawks, wild turkeys, or a coyote go by. Feeling the sunshine, walking on mother earth, loving the silence, and being in deep connection with all that really matters makes my heart sing. Back at Nanskin, I devote my days to solving skin issue- acne with dry, patchy skin, the first flare of rosacea, the reoccurring blackhead syndrome with enlarged pores, lines that are now becoming permanent, or that one tormenting volcanic cyst with battle scars that cannot be covered up. I’m here with results that work and the skincare to back up my claims for immediate skin successes. How do I do it? My secret to success is my devotion to what’s real. I step out in nature, ground in my own personal truths, and bring it all back home. So if you’re not willing to get natural and get real in nature, I invite you to come hang out at Nanskin. Luxuriate in a soothing facial, pick up your fav skin treats, and in my presence capture a taste of my essence as I share with you my latest sweat lodge adventure or camping trip escapade and let me inspire you to see that when you look deeply in the mirror at all your imperfections and uniqueness, your reflection is your personal gift of beauty to be loved, nurtured, adorned and shared. Shine on!
bee beautiful may 2010
When I think of beauty I think bees. Anything a bee makes is regenerative for your skin and body and makes you beautiful. I start each day with a luscious concoction of green tea, almond milk infused with “Really Raw” honey. What I love about this honey is the pollen, propolis, honeycomb and live enzymes that are an inch thick topping you dig through to get to the creamy rich honey below. I then juice up a green drink of organic greens in my “Green Power” twin gear juicer. Into my concoction I add 2 Tablespoons of Bee Pollen I buy in the bulk section at Rainbow Grocery. Into that I add a formulation of Royal Jelly and Propolis from YS Organic Bee Farms. I used to be extremely allergic to bees and have to carry an EpiPen where ever I travel. I eat so much bee product daily that bees now buzz by me and say hi and fly away. When I get a small cut I put honey on it for quick healing. I slather honey on my face in the shower or bath and leave on for a few minutes to bump up the hydration and get that dewy fresh look daily. I attribute my radiant health, beauty glow and well being to all the diligent work these bees have done to create the ultimate beauty nectars- honey and bee pollen. Each day at Nanskin I finish my facials combining equal parts mask to honey to recondition the skin. Lip balms are mixed with honey for a delicious quick fix for dry chapped lips. At home you can apply your favorite raw local honey to your face and freeze with the Beauty Globe for the freshest dewy glow- day, night or anytime in between. Dry skins love Orange, Blackberry, Lavender and Wildflower honey. Oily Acne skins love more astringent ingredients- Eucalyptus, Thistle, and Sage honey. When I mention I’m a raw foodist the first question I’m asked is “Where do you get your protein?” Did you know that bee pollen is the most complete and perfect whole superfood available containing over 185 nutritive substances? Pollen is 35% protein. Bees put the collected grain of flower pollen into a single small pellet. Each pellet contains 2 million flower pollen grains and a teaspoon contains 2.5 billion grains of flower pollen! Bee pollen contains every amino acid. It contains most every vitamin including A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, C, D, E, folic acid, rutin, inositol, and biotin plus all the necessary minerals and trace minerals, calcium, phosphorus, iron, selenium, iodine, chlorine, boron, zinc and molybdenum. Also included are over 5,000 enzymes and co-enzymes. All of these substances are in a totally predigested absorbable golden yellow beauty nugget with a yummy taste. Bee pollen’s benefits are amazing. Besides being the perfect beauty skin healer, it’s the latest greatest cure for allergies, weight loss, depression, migraines, and PMS. Mix honey with equal parts cinnamon and you create the ultimate cure for colds, arthritis, upset stomach, toothaches, fatigue, heart disease, hair loss, and bladder infections. Both honey and bee pollen increase energy, enhances mental stamina, activates the thymus gland, cleanses the blood, are a great source of anti-oxidants and are anti-viral, and increase longevity. When you’re reviewing the endless array of skin products on the market and all their promises of eternal youthful beauty, know that nature’s tried and true beauty secret is all about the bees. Eat bee pollen daily and slather yourself inside and out with honey and taste the essence of ageless timeless beauty. Bee powerful and beautiful now!
raw beauty…..get back to nature and be beautiful now! january 2010
When you enter into the Nanskin sanctuary of pamper beauty, you’ve probably been drawn in by a jar of electric green veggie concoction radiating on the desk or the oversized glass jar with mysterious seedy looking green biscuits that you must find out more about. That’s the sign that Nan’s claim to fame is still being a “Raw Foodie” and still going strong and deeper into it since her raw immersion in 2004. On my search to find true beauty it was only natural that I found “Raw Foods”. Your skin shows everything you do to it, and everything you put in it detoxifies through the skin. Eating “Raw” is simply the best way to love up your body and shine radiantly. Not only will you feel more vibrant than you’ve ever felt before, you will look and feel younger each day, and dare might I say most likely you won’t be doing frequent trips to the doctor for meds anytime soon! My first introduction was simply getting a juicer and committing to juicing fresh greens each morning. It doesn’t matter what brand of juicer…. just get one and go for it! Juicing keeps the integrity of enzymes in food intact, gives you more energy than cooked food, cleanses your blood and all your internal organs, takes less time for your body to digest than dairy, wheat or flesh, and makes you look and feel beautiful and young. And yes, leafy greens contain more protein than steak or chicken! I start each day with a green juice consisting of some of my favs: kale, spinach, parsley, celery, cukes, fennel, mint and to sweeten it either oranges, apples, pears, pineapple, or watermelon. And yes you’ve got permission to combine fruit and veggies! After juicing for a few months daily, I then made the big switch from coffee and dairy to green tea with raw honey and freshly made almond milk. Coffee is hard on your kidney and liver, strips vitamins and minerals, and holds fat on your body. Green tea is healing for your immune system, flushes fat, and has a higher more feminine vibration than coffee. Energizing Green Tea Mate from Mate Factor is coveted by all those in search of the perfect green tea. Make the switch and feel the power! When Cafe Gratitude first opened in March 2004, I entered to find a book calling from the shelf- “The Sunfood Diet Success System” by David Wolfe. I could not put this book down! When I finished reading it, I proclaimed my new passion to be Raw Foods and the true quest for the connection between beauty and Raw began. “Eating for Beauty” by David Wolfe and “Spiritual Nutrition” by Gabriel Cousens are my “Raw Bibles”. I quickly purchased a Vitamix blender and a Excaliber 9 tray Dehydrator and immersed myself fully by making fresh almond milk, raw crackers, raw soups, and other wild-crafted luscious raw concoctions going heavy on the chocolate nibs. I studied with Elaina Love for a year taking all of her Raw classes. I lost 25 lbs. of unwanted puffy flubber and look 10 years younger. Could Raw be the newest cure for stress, depletion, migraines, depression, Menopause, and aging? Deeper into the Raw beauty life, I discovered juice fasting as an accelerated healing tool. I headed for the solace of Harbin hot springs where I camped out for long weekends juice fasting, luxuriating in the healing waters, and basking in the sun. That’s right, did you know that sun is actually healthy for your skin and entire life force? However, if you’re consuming artificial sweeteners and soft drinks, processed foods, radiated vegetables, taking medications especially Birth Control, or Antibiotics, or food that contains Antibiotics you will dark spot and grow barnacles (skin tags) from the sun!! Fasting was a huge piece in working with unhealthy eating patterns, portion control, eating to please others, and drinking alcohol as the main reason to connect socially. Fasting makes you lighter and brighter and releases your attachment to unhealthy food myths and rituals you set up for yourself that are totally outmoded. For instance, are you working with an outdated operating system like the four food groups you were taught in elementary school? Do you dare see the movie ” Food Inc.” and get back to me? Are we even going to discuss the benefits of hard alcohol? There are none! Take a really good look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself that most important question. What direction are you going in your personal health and aging process? Are you considering beauty treatments with light therapy, microdermabrasion, and lasers? Look closer at yourself and the way you truly love yourself. Maybe the answers are within your own true knowing…..of creating a new “Health is Wealth” paradigm for yourself by getting back to the basics….what nature has to offer. Maybe start by eating a simple salad instead of a pizza at 10PM , ordering a green tea rather than a late, or buying that stainless Breville rather than a grilling pan. Just when you think hippies on a budget are the only ones going green…guess again! If any of this” raw talk” has got your attention and your gander up, I’m always up for a one-on-one and would love to show you my newest raw creation when you step into nurturing hands at Nanskin -the newest raw treat “Nan Water”- pure water charged with bee pollen, royal jelly, propolis, ginseng, goji and inca berries and ginger root. Drinking water was never this fun!! So back to that question…how does your beauty look and feel right now? Get back to nature and be beautiful now……go Raw!
pate your skin to beauty november 2009
We all know that it’s not so much what you have but how you use it. And in the world of Nanskin there’s a new buzz going around. It’s called “Pate-ing”. And it refers to a new concept Nan invented in 2009, applying skincare products to the face. It consists of taking three complimentary products- usually a cream, a serum, and a butter -taking a dab, a dot, or two drops of each product on your fingertips and applying them to your face together…creating the ultimate application- the “Pate”. Nan’s fav is the Hyaluronic Serum, the Vitamin Bliss Cream, and the Jojoba Butter. The feel and look is incredible- a combination of slick, dewy, and plump. What you get using three products together is more beauty and more bang for the buck! Going back in skincare history, in the early 1970’s and 80’s, the concept of “cleanse, tone, and moisturize” was the standard. Then in the early 90’s a new era of “base layer repair products” arrived on the scene (check out the video in my press section for fun! I’m one of the first to ride the edge of the new Glycolics). “Base layer repairs” meant you would cleanse with a cleanser, pat your face dry, apply a base layer repair product- -either a cream or serum of Glycolic Acid, Vitamin C, or Bleach and let it dry thoroughly and then apply a cream on top (which prevented dryness and flaking from the repair product). Savvy American skincare lines offering these products instantly became “repair lines” which were above and beyond the traditional European lines famous for heavy creams, toners, essential oils, and ampoules. In the early years of developing Nanskin this trend immediately launched Nan’s line into becoming a “repair line” known for unbuffered, dermatology-strength Glycolics, Vitamin C -Ciel Cream, and Licorice Kojic Bleach, and exotic fruit and food acid peels such as the Razzleberry, Cherry Turnover, or Blue Agave Peels used in her facials for deeper repair; thus setting her line above and beyond the humdrum typical esthetician buying into someone else’s dream. This repair concept has been tweeked recently with the onslaught of Serums – a liquid which contain the very essence of each repair product. Nanskin lover’s apply the D-Bold for firming, the Hyaluronic for water-binding, the Major C for oxygenating and strengthening capillaries, and the ultimate EGF Serum for instant tissue repair. Women are natural researchers and investigators when it comes to beauty treatments, skincare products, and beauty adventures. Ladies follow my lead and get your glow on with these fun pates:
Nan’s fav for Normal skin- the Water Binder: Vitamin Bliss Cream, Hyaluronic Serum, and Jojoba Butter.
For Rosacea- the Oxygenator: the EGF cream, Hyaluronic Serum, and the C Major Serum.
For Sensitive Oily skin- the Protector: the EGF Cream, EGF Serum, and the Hyaluronic Cream.
For Acne Oily- the Scar Reducer: the EGF Cream, EGF Serum, and the Glycolic10% Cream.
For Dry skin- the Vitamin Blast: Vitamin Bliss Cream, D-Bold Serum, and Jojoba Butter.
For Dry skin w/ broken capillaries-Serious C: Ciel Cream, C Major Serum, Carrot Cream.
For Driest skin- the Plumper: Rice Oil Cream, Hyaluronic Serum, and Jojoba Butter.
For Cracked Chapped skin- the Revitalizer: Carrot Cream, D-Bold Serum, and Jojoba Butter.
For redness and irritation- Instant Rash Repair: Crash Balm, EGF Serum, EGF Cream.
For brown spots- the Spot Blaster: Glycolic10%Cream, Skin lightening Gel, Kojic Bleach Cream.
For women who have it all- the Serum Blast: EGF Serum, D-Bold Serum, and Hyaluronic Serum.
For fearless repair junkies who’ve tried everything- the Master Blaster: Glycolic10% Cream, C Major Serum, and Skin lightening Gel.
Serious Nanskin lover’s invent your own Pate to beauty and get back to me with your truths and results. If you’re curious about these products especially if you’ve never heard of them remember Nan has a generous sampling program included with her facials for your beauteous pleasure. Enjoy….and remember to walk in your own natural beauty always!