Trends Archives - About Face Aesthetics

4 Unexpected Filler-Trends

About Face Aesthetics — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 16:10:33 +0000

For most people, when it comes to any kind of aesthetic treatment, the word “natural” is key.

You want to look and feel better afterwards, but results should be indiscernible to other peoples’ eyes. You should look great, but in a way that no one can pinpoint.

While it’s currently places like the forehead, cheeks, and lips that get all the injection-spotlight, there are several other places that high-profile injectors and clients are turning to for the most flattering, NATURAL looking results.

Philadelphia’s About Face Skin Care injectors Nicole Ciasullo, RN, Lauren Adamski, RN, and Beth Hayward, NP, share a few of the best, but unexpected areas, to fill.

1. The Chin

“One of the first things people tend to get filled is their lips. A lot of times, the chin and jaw are the root-cause of why a person is unhappy with their lips and facial symmetry,” says Nicole Ciasullo. “I can inject filler into a concave, weak chin, and it magically makes the lips immediately appear fuller, and helps beautifully with making the face appear more symmetrical and balanced.”

For patients who don’t love their profile, perhaps because of their nose, Ciasullo suggests filling the chin to make the profile more proportionate.

When patients grind their teeth at night (also wearing down tooth-enamel and causing gum / headache issues), this repetitive motion can cause the chin to prematurely flatten. Filling this area with dermal-filler can immediately counteract this effect.

Photo from phiclinic.com

2. The Ears

Injecting dermal-filler into the earlobes helps undo sagging that occurs from age / gravity / longtime love of heavy earrings. To plump the lobes back to life, Lauren Adamski injects one of the finer fillers (such as Volbella or Silk) into the needed areas. These results last for approximately a year, and helps contribute to an overall rejuvenated appearance. (Additionally, this will help all of your earrings look better by keeping them in a perkier position, versus dragging down your lobe.) There is no downtime with this treatment, however you should wait a few days before attempting to wear any of your favorite, over-sized ear-baubles.

Photo from CastleKnockCosmetics.ie

3. The Neck

“There are no oil-glands on your neck, and that poor skin is subject to all of the same abuse as your face; sun, environmental damage, pollution, etc. while usually not receiving anywhere near the same amount of TLC as your face. All of these issues combine to accelerate the aging process, and make your neck appear more weathered and aged,” says Nicole Ciasullo.

Neck skin has an inherent tendency toward laxity, and in addition — sleeping on your side can give you crepey-looking skin or neck lines. According to Beth Hayward, dermal-fillers can help rejuvenate the neck area, making the recipient look younger and more radiant. (One sign of natural looking results is that your skin appears congruent; the skin on your face should match the skin on your neck, decolletage, hands, etc. Otherwise, it is a clear sign that something has happened.)

The treatment-cost for neck injections varies depending on how much product is required, and which type is used.

4. The Hands

“Your body stops producing new collagen at age 25. Everywhere. Not just your face!” says Ciasullo. “You tend to lose fat in places like your hands first, resulting in a hollowed-out, aged appearance that can be plumped with filler.” Nicole uses Radiesse to fill-out and plump the hands, which helps make the veins less noticeable and helps smooth out the skin.

The post 4 Unexpected Filler-Trends appeared first on About Face Aesthetics.

Emphasis on Kid’s Beauty – How Young is Too Young?

About Face Aesthetics — Wed, 23 May 2018 00:45:09 +0000

Korea is currently the hot-bed for all the newest, most innovative beauty trends and treatments.

Sheet-masks. Micro-tox. Fabled skincare routines that consist of 50+ steps.

The latest and greatest developments in the beauty world all are stemming from Korea, which is an obvious indication of the culture’s insatiable interest for aesthetics.

For roughly the past decade, Korea has been fixated on a beauty ideal that resembles a child-like countenance.

Popular models feature a similar look with child-like proportions; full cheeks, clear, unblemished skin, big eyes, and a tapered chin. These beautiful girls are ambigious age-wise, they could be 13 years old, or they could be 30.

The desire for a child-look appearance has gone so far as to begin a behavioural shift, women and girls are actually encouraged to behave in cute and childlike ways. There is a designated word for this, K-pop, K-dramas and Korean variety shows highlight people doing their best “aegyo” (baby) acts.

A representation of the current Koren beauty ideal. (image from http://beautytsalon.blogspot.com/2013/10/natural-look-make-up-using-korean.html)

But children have always had a fascination with what their parents are doing. Whether it’s something as mundane as mowing the lawn or playing dress-up, copy-cat / role-playing behaviour in children is normal and helps them develop their sense of identity and personality. At these tender stages, parental guidance is vital to help maintain perspective about what is truly important and special about a child. Surely no one wants a generation of babies growing up thinking that the only thing that matters about them is how they look?

The facts remain though, interest in children and teens’ skincare make-up and skincare is on the rise.

In South Korea, brands like The Face Shop saw cosmetics sales among teenagers aged 13 to 19 double in 2014. A Korean consumer rights group reported in 2016 that 42.7% of elementary-school girls surveyed had used cosmetics before, according to news site Quartz.

Despite what statistics show, individual Korean mothers describe a different story.

Yoon Kyung-won, a Seoul-based mother with two children aged nine and six, says that while she began using make-up in high school, she draws the line at younger than middle school.

“Until middle school, I don’t want my kids wearing make-up, but if all their friends are doing it, it might be tough to avoid … When I was a high school student, [cosmetics brand] Etude House had just launched and it was the first brand for high schoolers and teens. Me and my friends bought their powder to ‘brighten’ up our faces.”

In Korea, while girls generally enjoy experimenting with make-up, a lot of parents and schools frown upon it, Yoon says.

“These days, lots of high school students do their eye make-up and eyebrows … My daughter’s cousin is 14 and she’s doing her eye make-up, lip colour and hair … She spends a lot of time trying to make herself prettier … but lots of mothers don’t like when their children do this because they worry that once they care about appearance, they won’t do their homework.”

Yoon adds that children in South Korea also internalize the images they see on social media, and assume the perfect, photoshopped models are the physical-standards against which everyone is measure. “When I was in high school, some of my friends got plastic surgery as young as age 16. They got their eyes and nose done! At the time, [I felt jealous] and wanted to become prettier too … after surgery my friends seemed more happy and confident.”

Alexa Bui, a Hong Kong-based make-up artist and mother of two, says she was allowed to experiment with cosmetics from a young age. “I was allowed to [apply] lipstick and paint my toes as a child but I was never allowed to leave the home with them on until I was in high school, and I feel like that’s a fair house rule for us,” she says.

Bui says children can experiment with self-expression via make-up, though this should be limited to certain items only. “For middle school children, I think it’s fun to play around with lipgloss and nail polish. [But] I personally draw the line at foundation because at that age their skin is still baby soft and perfect, so why would you cover it?”

Ultimately, Bui says, parents should be free to decide what is best for their children, as long as it doesn’t have any long-term negative effects.

“I got my first perm at the age of six, so maybe that’s why [I think that]!” Bui says. “That being said, my kids won’t be getting their hair permed or permanently coloured until they reach double digits, but a little bit of hair chalk that washes out never hurt anyone if it’s during the school holidays. To me, their appearance is not the be-all and end-all, but simply another part of them.”

How do you combat group-think of “pretty” = success + happiness?

Reflecting the country’s position as one of the world’s top beauty and plastic-surgery hubs, South Korean society is accustomed to the immense cultural pressure to be physically attractive. It is a country where beauty is viewed as proof of one’s financial success, and thought to be part of the requisite formula for achieving happiness.

Similar trends also exist in China, where HALF of the cosmetic-surgery market is made up of patients still in junior high school or college, according to a 2017 report published by Global Times.

In Korea, Yoon says these standards are imposed from an early age. “Even though my daughter is only in the second grade, some of her friends will turn to her and say, ‘You’re so pretty, I wish I had a thinner face [like you].’”

In the end, every child is fascinated by how their parents behave.

It makes total sense that children who see their parents obsessing over appearance, will also obsess over appearance. This is a vicious cycle that shows no sign of stopping. Although a wonderful thing for plastic surgeons and cosmetic companies, this seems inescapably damaging to the current crop of Korean humans. On the one hand, if little changes here and there make someone feel better about themselves, great! But appearance should never be so important that a person bases their entire self-worth on how they look.

The post Emphasis on Kid’s Beauty – How Young is Too Young? appeared first on About Face Aesthetics.

Slugging: The latest at-home beauty hack?

About Face Aesthetics — Fri, 30 Mar 2018 02:04:06 +0000

For those not in the know (we didn’t have a clue either), slugging refers to turning yourself into a slug.

Just kidding!

Kind of.

The idea is that you make your face as slick, oily and shiny as if you were a slug sliming outdoors. “Slugging” is achieved by smothering your face (and hands, if desired) in Vaseline before you go to sleep.

Fans of slugging say it leaves your skin softened, plumped, and clear. There’s no special skill needed to complete the process – you simply do your normal skincare routine, and then you slather on as much petroleum jelly as your face can handle.

Since we deal with a patient population that struggles with acne on a daily basis — this notion is horrifying to us. Covering your skin with something that thick and occlusive is begging for breakouts and skin sorrows.

However, some skin experts actually vouch for this questionable beauty habit. Dermatologist Dr Adam Friedmann recommends slugging as a great way to moisturize skin at night. “Vaseline at night-time is great for soft skin in the morning,” he tells Metro.co.uk. “The skin absorbs the Vaseline and becomes softer and less wrinkled.”

Slugging supporters claim that applying Vaseline in this manner helps the skin look softer and plumper, while reducing the appearance of wrinkles, and helps the skin look younger. “I tend to favor greasy, heavy moisturizers like Vaseline before bed and lighter moisturizers in the morning,” Friedmann reveals.

However, before you go crazy with the slugging, please consider both sides of the story. Not every skin expert agrees that slugging is a wise technique…

Remember how we mentioned Vaseline sits on the skin and blocks up pores?

Vaseline is occlusive. If your face is covered in a layer of Vaseline, nothing can get in to your pores, and nothing can get out. Your poor pores are essentially sealed up, meaning that no bacteria, sweat, or oil can make its way out of your skin.

“Slugging is the worst skin trend I have ever heard of” vents Naomi Fenlin, Philadelphia skincare specialist. “Anything you put on your skin that is completely occlusive is a bad thing! It traps dirt, bacteria, and oil on the surface on your skin, and anything lurking inside your pores is trapped in there. We NEVER recommend petroleum based products to our patients.”

Raelle Levicke, lead-aesthetician at Philadelphia’s About Face Skin Care, agrees with Fenlin. “This is something really old-fashioned that my grandmother used to do… before we knew better. Before we had more sophisticated, elegant product options.”

Additionally, Naomi adds that the purported benefits of slugging are a lark. “There is nothing in Vaseline that can plump the skin, nor moisturize it. Vaseline is great for some very specific wound-care, but in the beauty / skincare world — Vaseline is at the very bottom of the list for efficient, everyday skincare products.”

“If someone with acne tried slugging with Vaseline, chances are really high that they would very broken-out by the next day. Please don’t try this one at home!” she concludes.

If you have specific skin concerns such as brown-spots, blemishes, or dryness, you would be much better off using a product with active ingredients to tackle your issues rather than sealing off your skin with bland Vaseline.

But…

What if you wanted to apply the concept of “slugging” to a product you KNOW works for your skin?

Fenlin frowns on this idea too. “The skin can only absorb so much product. It would be a waste to load up on a product for the sake of “slugging” when the majority of the product is going to be total excess.”

The other huge downside to Vaseline slugging? The cleanup. There’s the very real issue of pillow stains the next morning, plus having the fight to remove all of the goo off your face.

Our advice: Only try slugging if you have perfectly normal skin. It won’t do you much harm, and if you find it makes you feel like a super-soft baby, than great.

But if you have specific skin concerns, it’s always going to be better to use products designed to tackle those issues. They’ll be much more effective, and less likely to wreck your bedsheets.

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Is “Skin Postivity” The 2018 Beauty Buzzword?

About Face Aesthetics — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Consider: Over the last few years, mass media has changed drastically. If you open up a magazine or scroll through Instagram, there are more shapes, sizes and colors (and ages!) represented than ever before. Happily, the world is changing and the word “beautiful” can be applied to an audience bigger than the cookie-cutter attributes desired from decades past.

A unique series of events has empowered this movement.

It started as a revolution to accept bodies of all shapes and sizes. and implications of female-specific biology, namely periods, a conversation that gained traction a few years ago when we finally started talking about it openly.

At the same time, body positivity activists attracted attention from clothing brands, mainstream media outlets, and other influencers interested in championing body diversity, diverting from the media’s idea of “perfect” in favor of real women facing real women problems, not model problems. Darling magazine was the first national publication to ban airbrushing from its pages. Aerie, a lingerie brand, followed suit, paving the way for several other commercial brands and media companies to make a statement.

The 2017 presidential election was the event that seemed to neatly dovetail these progressive tendrils of activism, which resulted in the inaugural women’s march. A year later, now more than ever, the dynamism of women to be at once loud, proud, and less afraid to speak our truths, and simultaneously soft, healing, and nurturing is taking shape and changing the way we think about ourselves and the perception of women at large.

It’s high time to rethink “flaws.”

When writers at Manrepeller asked What if acne wasn’t a flaw?,lengthy responses full of praise and gratitude were posted in the comment section by women who had, at one point or another, experienced acne. If acne wasn’t a flaw, then the presence of any “flaw”—wrinkles, age spots, fine lines, freckles, you name it—comes into question.

As early as last year, a community of Reddit users—always ahead of the curve, those Redditors—started a discussion about acne positivity after a model walked the Dolce & Gabbana runway with a noticeable breakout. It continued picking up steam when Instagram stars and models with millions of followers started posting their bare facessans filter with captions expressing self-acceptance despite the acne. A cursory look at the #skinpositivity hashtag on Instagram opens up a new world: Women who reveal and share their acne on social media with the hope of empowering others to feel comfortable in their own skin.

On mindbodygreen, Cocokind skin care founder Priscilla Tsai shared her journey with acne, which led to embracing it, whether she’s experiencing a flare-up or it’s under control. In the same vein, Kendall Jenner’s acne didn’t keep her from attending the Golden Globes this year. In fact, when one of her fans mentioned how empowering it was to see her on the red carpet with a few zits, Jenner replied, “Never let that sh*t [sic] stop you!”

2018: The year of skin positivity.

Let 2018 be the year you embrace your skin.

Makeup is fun, and feeling good about yourself Being skin positive goes far beyond acne acceptance. Aging is a perceived flaw that deserves re-imagining, for example. So do under eye circles. Why is (almost) every article about aging, or under eye circles for that matter, involve a step by step to erase, plump, or undo? This kind of language and positioning robs us of expressing differently, of a chance to embrace the self, and to come as we are. Developing a new way of speaking about women’s beauty that’s not judgmental, or implication, would benefit us all.

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Buzziest Beauty Ingredient: Is It Worth It?

About Face Aesthetics — Wed, 30 Aug 2017 01:15:19 +0000

A closer look at one of the most buzzworthy antiaging skin care products.

New products that promise to “unlock a more youthful appearance,” “turn back the hands of time,” and “reset the aging process” bombard consumers and skincare professionals on a seemingly daily basis.

While we already know that good skincare is vital to skin health, the question is, are these new products worth the hype?

The chemists consulted for Med Aesthetics Magazine admitted that “the jury is still out on a lot of these new actives,” but data is showing that one product in particular is helping to truly rejuvenate the skin.

Heparan sulfate—an essential glycosaminoglycan in skin health—has been studied for decades.

“Understanding heparan-sulfate’s effect on the dermis function has been a long-term research interest in my laboratory,” says Richard L. Gallo, MD, PhD, head of the Gallo Lab at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. “We believe that because heparan-sulfate is a co-factor for many other enzymes and growth factors in the skin, it essentially serves as good fertilizer that helps everything in the dermis work better.”

“Heparan sulfate has been called the ‘master molecule,’ because it helps every part of our skin,” says Dr. Michael Gold, founder of Gold Skin Care in Nashville. “But the heparan-sulfate molecule is too large to penetrate the stratum-corneum, so we were not able to create a product [incorporating it].”

This changed when a skincare startup Sente developed a heparan-sulfate analog that could deliver the active into the dermis.

Sente approached Dr. Gallo for testing. “The molecule has a very unique shape—it’s linear, almost like a needle—and it does in fact penetrate the epidermis, dermis and basement membrane,” says Dr. Gallo. “We believe its penetration capacity has more do with its shape than with its size.”

An eight-week study of Sente Dermal Repair Cream cream involving 15 patients, published in the July 2015 Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, showed improvement in skin hydration, firmness, elasticity, barrier function, and global fine lines and wrinkles.

“I was quite amazed at how beneficial a topical application of heparan-sulfate can be in skin damage repair and remodeling,” says Dr. Gallo.

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Jennifer Aniston’s Top 5 Tips for Making FRIENDS With Your Skin

About Face Aesthetics — Thu, 04 May 2017 04:19:04 +0000

Always a trend-setter, Jennifer Aniston is basically a professional taste-maker.*

Aniston is one of those rare individuals that always looks so effortlessly put-together and chic. Possessed with the uncanny ability to captures the moment’s style zeitgeist, she sets the stage for what everyone else wants to look like before they know they want it.

The funny thing is: SO MUCH WORK goes into looking so effortless.

At almost 50-years old, Aniston sets the bar extremely high for looking amazing, and natural.

Genetics?

Maybe. Her Greek background definitely sets her up to age more gracefully than her paler, (literally) thinner-skinned peers.

But, after having seen numerous tabloid pictures of Aniston sun-bathing (the horror!) and smoking cigarettes (can you even?), it is very probable that Aniston looks as good as she does due to the excellent skincare regimen she adheres to.

Interested in getting the 2017 skincare version of the “Rachel”?

Read on for a sneak-peek of the actress’s favorite skin maintenance treatments^.

Tip #1: Focus more on texture than wrinkles

“I love Clear and Brilliant laser treatments,” says the actress, who believes restoring a youthful glow to your skin is more important than obliterating all signs of expression. The 30-minute, non-invasive resurfacing treatment (which costs roughly $300 a pop) “is a great refresher and there’s very little downtime.” Best of all, “it won’t make you look like a peeled tomato.” Aniston is also a big fan of Thermage (about $2,500), a non-invasive treatment that uses radiofrequency waves to stimulate collagen, resulting in smoother and tightened skin after just 1-hour session.

Tip #2: Wear less makeup

Coco Chanel once famously said, “Before leaving the house, a lady should look in the mirror and remove one accessory” and the same rule could be applied to makeup, according to Aniston. “Less is more,” says the star, who learned the value of “peeling away those layers” soon after moving to Hollywood. “I had a boyfriend who always said I looked better without makeup. It took me a while to feel comfortable enough to remove that armor, but I eventually realized he was right.” Aniston—who drinks three to four 23 ounce bottles water a day— cites “water, sleep and sunscreen” as her “top three anti-aging tips”.

**Tip #3: Make Friends with sunscreen**

“When I was younger, I would slather myself in baby oil and do everything in my power to get a burn. I was just completely uneducated,” says the former tanning addict. Nowadays, “with all the steps we’ve taken to get our skin healthy, it really doesn’t make sense to tan.” Though she still loves to occasionally lie out in the sun—“there’s nothing like that vitamin D boost!”—she always wears SPF-50.

AOL.com

Tip #4: Eat well, but don’t obsess

“Everything in moderation,” says Aniston, when asked about her food philosophy. Her diet is rich in organic veggies and lean protein. “Breakfast is usually avocado on Ezekiel toast or a smoothie,” she says. Though she tries to limit dairy and gluten, she isn’t always successful (and doesn’t lose any sleep over the occasional indulgence). “I can’t say the ‘no dairy’ thing lasted very long for me,” she admits with a laugh. “Trying to part me and cheese is a difficult task.” She also allows herself the occasional plate of pasta or Mexican food. “It’s not like I have celiac disease,” she says with refreshing honesty. “For me, not eating gluten is more of a vanity thing. A diet heavy in carbs is not that great in terms of weight.”

Tip #5: Shift your focus

When you are lying on your deathbed, are you really going to care about having perfectly taut cheeks or a forehead that’s as smooth as a baby’s tush? Aniston thinks not. Part of growing older and wiser is learning to find value in something altogether different. “When I think about real beauty looks like, I think about women like Gloria Steinem,” she says. “She just turned 82 and she is gorgeous. But her beauty has nothing to do with what she looks like.”

* MAJOR kudos to her glam-squad!

^ Full disclosure: Unfortunately these are not secrets that Jen revealed to us personally, and instead in a game of magazine “telephone” (of sorts), these are all skin care tid-bits she recently shared with InStyle Magazine.

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Kardashian time-lapse video that almost broke our internet

About Face Aesthetics — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 23:40:35 +0000

Sharing this because:

1. It was our most popular Instagram post, EVER.

I posted it over the summer, and every-time I looked at Instagram for days afterwards — I was flabbergasted at how many likes and comments there were. Since there was so much interest on the ‘gram, I thought the good people of our blog might therefore enjoy it too.

2. How amazing are these transformations?!

Even though this video-clip is just 15-seconds long, there is SO much to look at! It’s incredible the changes that come with time, injections, lasers, and plastic surgery.

#TBT to that time this Kardashian time-lapse video from @sainthoax almost broke our internet! (How do the Kardashians have so much freakin’ power that “breaking the internet” is even a thing?!) ????? Repost by @aboutfacephilly It is UH-MAZING what a difference hair, makeup, and injections, lasers, skincare, etc. can make. This might only be a 15-second video loop, but I easily spent 15-minutes studying each Kardashian’s transformation. ????? #kardashianbeauty #kardashiangame #kardashiankids #kardashian #phillyskincare #phillybeauty #phillymedspa #aboutfaceskincare #phillybotox #phillyinjections #juvedermvoluma #Juvederm #restylane #dysport #Fraxel #thermage #kybella

A video posted by About Face Skin Care (@aboutfacephilly) on Feb 9, 2017 at 10:22am PST

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2017 Top 5 Red-Carpet Trends

About Face Aesthetics — Fri, 20 Jan 2017 04:01:11 +0000

The recent slew of Awards Shows proves that:

Every celeb has employed a glam squad, because no one can look that good (head to toe) on their own!

To work the red carpet amidst all the A-listers in Tinseltown, when you know the paparazzi are going to be in full attendance to capture everything, you obviously want to look and feel your BEST. At the most recent award shows, the majority of celebrities slayed.

In order to have your outfit, hair, brows, face, makeup, accessories, body, nails and skin COLLECTIVELY on point, takes a lot of time, strategy, and teamwork! #ItTakesAVillage

The good news?

The Red Carpet crowd looked better than ever. Since the human-eye is naturally drawn to things of beauty, going through picture collections of celebrity-perfection makes for highly enjoyable eye-candy.

The bad news?

As much as the eye is drawn to beauty, the human ego loves to see pictures of celebs looking a mess. (Remember these days?)

If everyone has a glam squad working on their behalf, the outrageous missteps are few and far between.

The Top 5 Red Carpet Trends for 2017

In the height of award season, after perusing the troves of red carpet pictures, there are some clear trends emerging.

The most notable trends (in our opinion) are listed below, but for the majority of the featured images — a number of these trends are being portrayed in each look.

(Enjoy a comprehensive slide-show of more trend photographic-evidence at the very end of this post!)

1. EXTREME Natural Perfection

* This trend is universally featured throughout the photo gallery, but per usual is flawlessy executed by J.Lo.*

It seems like an oxy-moron: everyone appears to have had work — in an attempt to look natural.

There was nothing but flawless skin, with nary a line, wrinkle, nay — freckle, to be found on anyone, regardless of age. Whether it was Tom Hanks (in his 50s?), Jennifer Lopez (in her 40s?) or Peyton List (never even heard of her, let alone have an idea of her age), everyone looked PERFECT and carefully NOT OVER-DONE.

As opposed to previous years, there were no obvious lip enhancements, zero orangey spray-tans, and no waxy looking faces. Skin was glowing, evenly toned, plump and smooth. Every square inch of skin and follicle of hair was groomed to perfection in an attempt to look natural. (Isn’t it funny how much work goes into looking effortless?)

Photo from Celebmafia.com

2. Deep Necklines + Perfect Necks / Decolletage

There were lots and lots of low-cut, revealing necklines on the red carpet this year. But that’s definitely not note-worthy.What is?

Everyone sporting a cleavage-baring ensemble had beautiful skin on their necks and chests, so that there was a seamless transition between the face and body.

Historically, this is very unusual! In the past people would often concentrate all of their beauty-efforts on the face, resulting in a weird disconnect between a pale, smooth face, and a sun-damaged, older looking neck / chest / body.

For 2017, Glam Squads helped their celebs keep their skincare uniform for face and body — and the results were beautiful (and envy inducing!) to behold.

Photo from JustJared.com

3. Beautiful Men

Although the women were still more beautiful, it was refreshing to see that most of the men seemed to have spent considerable time on their appearance.

Hair and outfits showed personality (a nice departure from the generic black suit), and their skin looked well maintained and glowy.

Consider: Somehow, Tom Hanks looks younger now than he did 15-years ago? The amazing part is that even though this transformation was obviously not natural — he still looks just like himself, just refreshed and refined. Is this the results of Lasers? Injections? Makeup? All of the above? Probably. But, why shouldn’t men be able to enjoy these options?

This is great because:

Why shouldn’t men be able to gain the same confidence boost that women can through pampering themselves? There was always a stigma against being viewed as “vain” if men were overly interested in grooming, but especially when you live and work in Hollywood — that line of thinking seems out-dated and sexist.
With the immense pressure that women always feel to look a certain way, there is something inherently satisfying about men starting to take more pride in their appearance — and having beauty-standards that need to be met.
It’s like getting your engagement-ring cleaned. Something that’s beautiful to begin with is only more fun to look at it when it’s buffed, scrubbed, steamed and polished.
Photo courtesy of Coveteur.com

4. Bold Brows

Yes, an emphasis on brows has been around for a minute now. But the 2017 update seems to be a cross between thick brows, mixed with the Eighties. With eyebrows penciled-in and brushed-up, the end effect is natural brows that have obviously been enhanced.

Photo courtesy of Celebmafia.com

5. Full House in the House!

Yes, the Full House cast looks great — but aside from that, it seems like being part of this crew insures plenty of paparazzi photo-opps. (Perhaps another nod to the influence of the eighties / nineties?)

Photo from upi.com

In conclusion: All of these trends rotate around a similar premise, an appearance that could be natural, but is so perfect we know there’s been some [tasteful] help.

With an emphasis on a natural-looking, but perfect exterior, it begs the question. Is this look really a TREND (and next year will be the opposite with everyone wanting obvious work), or is it a sign that “work” has gotten more elegant, and current laser / injection / surgical options lend themselves to more organic looking results?

I guess we’ll have to wait until next year’s Red Carpet events to see…

Your comprehensive slide-show depicting these trends:

[metaslider id=4892]

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Is Eye Art the new Nail Art?

About Face Aesthetics — Thu, 27 Oct 2016 03:07:07 +0000

With Halloween right around the corner, costumey makeup has been top-of-mind.
If you do any kind of online search for the MOST spectacular makeup ideas, you can’t help but trip over the work of Israeli artist Tal Peleg.

Her skill, attention to detail, and imagination are unbelievable. Her artwork is so beautiful that it seems a pity her chosen medium is makeup; ultimately her masterpieces get washed away with cotton-balls and face-soap.

She believes however, that “makeup is an amazing form of art, and I use it in order to make my eye tell a story.” Adapting her visions to each idea she wants to bring to life, Peleg reveals that she doesn’t “just paint on the eye”, but instead tries “to use the shape of the eye and its natural curves as part of the illustration in a creative way.”

This is just a showcase a peek of her talent, please enjoy some of her Halloween inspired eye pieces. (She is so talented that it was hard to even curate this selection.)

You’ve got your pop-culture influenced eyes:
Apparently Tal and I have similar taste; Tim Burton, Stephen King, and Breaking Bad!

I love how she made the eyelashes an integral part of the piece. (Breaking Bad)

Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary“?

The scariest, most memorable scene from Stephen King’s “The Shining“: incredibly depicted on one eyelid!

So much sorrow and detail relayed in this scene from Tim Burton’s “Corpse Bride.”

Tim Burton’s “Nightmare Before Christmas”

Tim Burton’s “Edward Scissorhands”. Isn’t it clever how she made the eyelashes the greenery that Edward is pruning?

Tal is clearly very cultured, with influences from Edgar Allen Poe’s famous poem “The Raven”.

So cool to use the eyelashes to represent the dark-things taking root in the graveyard…

Some general Halloween-themed pieces:

Just, wow.

That feeling EVERY kid can relate to…

My favorites are when she works the lashes AND brows so perfectly into the picture.

A black-cat is basically the mascot of Halloween.

And then these are really cool — but tickle the back of my brain as potentially referencing movies, books, or art — I just can’t place them. (Can you?)

What better resting place for this creature?

Just, astoundingly creepy.

Possibly another Edgar Allen Poe tribute, from “The Cask of Amontillado” where the main character builds another man behind a wall, condemning him to death. Or, just a creepy idea.

I feel like is referencing a piece of art that I’m not cultured enough to know off-hand, but I’m including it in my Halloween round-up because of the swarm of ants rushing into the eyeball. EWWWW!

The EMO vibes are palpable.

Hope you enjoyed these, and don’t be surprised if more seasonal collections of Tal Peleg’s work pop-up here. (I love it!)

The post Is Eye Art the new Nail Art? appeared first on About Face Aesthetics.

Beauty DON’T: Leave it in the toilet + OFF your face!

About Face Aesthetics — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 22:15:41 +0000

Would You Put Urine On Your Face For Better Skin?

In the eternal search for DIY beauty options, there are always new trends popping up that make you want to step back, scratch your head, and grimace.

“People are seriously doing this to themselves?!”

Past trends include crushed-up Oreos as mascara, and bird-poop as face masks.

The latest trend — that’s actually one of the oldest…?

Go into your bathroom.

Pee on a bunch of cotton pads, and then rub that fresh urine all over your face.

New kind of bathroom humor?

Urine-therapy is surprisingly not a new-age, holistic practice that people like Gwyneth Paltrow and Oprah are touting. In fact, it’s actually an ancient Eastern tradition, believed to heal external ailments using the body’s natural antibodies released in our urine.

As expected, there are some guidelines to washing or treating your face with urine.

1-2-3’s of Putting #1 on Your Face

1. You should only use your own, um, brand.

2. You must use it immediately to avoid bacteria contamination — the fresher, the better!

3. If you are prone to UTI’s, have diabetes, or take oral medications which can react with the skin in unexpected ways, DO NOT TRY THIS. (Your urine may contain some things you don’t necessarily want all over your face.)

Not as disgusting as it sounds?

Urea is one of the main components of urine, and has been a common ingredient in skincare products for many years. Although the Urea used for commercial skincare products is obtained from animals and not humans, it has been used historically to hydrate the skin, exfoliate away dead cells, while giving skin a brighter appearance, smoother texture, and a healthy glow. Urine also has minerals, salts, hormones, antibodies, and enzymes, which can potentially benefit the skin.

Naomi Fenlin, owner of About Face Skin Care in Philadelphia notes that there haven’t been enough recent studies evaluating the use or Urea, so it’s hard to measure the true effects. “It’s probably not going to have any miraculous benefits, but it’s also unlikely to do much harm,” she says.

Until recently, Urea was a regular skincare ingredient, but as antiaging technology and science advances, it’s being used less and less.

“Medicated cleansers and anti-acne treatments are far superior to urine,” Fenlin adds. (Additionally, the smell of new cleansers and acne products are definitely going to be superior.)

If you’ve gotten this far and are still pee-curious, here are your instructions:

Go to the bathroom and collect the specimen in a cup or jar.
Saturate a cotton pad with the urine, and sweep it over your face like you would a toner.
Let it sit for 10 minutes, then rinse off with soap and water.
Apply moisturizer and sunscreen.

If you want beautiful skin so badly that you’d be willing to wipe pee all over your face, please know that while this likely won’t hurt you — your time and energy are better spent elsewhere. Applying urine to the face isn’t nearly as effective as today’s skin care treatments and products, but if you are going to try this, please for the love of god, wash your hands afterwards.

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The post Beauty DON’T: Leave it in the toilet + OFF your face! appeared first on About Face Aesthetics.