Part II - Ten Of The Worst Things You Can Do To Damage Your Skin

We were loving this topic so much that it has come to you in two parts, so we can give you all the information you need to make sure you care for your skin as well as you should. Part I of this article featured a picture of Cate Blanchett who is notorious for her glorious skin, and here is another celebrity who, although she is slightly younger, looks like she will be glowing with faultless skin for years to come. When her face was studied by an expert dermatologist, he also confirmed that Liv had taken great care in the sun which has left her with a faultless complexion.

Here are the remaining five major causes of premature aging which you need to know about: 

6. Emotional Stress

Stress can stimulate sebaceous glands and cause them to produce excess oil, which can clog up pores and produce bacteria and inflammation, with blackheads and spots forming as a result. If you are going through a period of emotional stress, you may need to seek help, but try and give yourself time to relax, try aromatherapy, yoga, or just chilling out with a book - your skin as well as you will benefit

7.Environmental Stress

If you live in any kind of built up area then you are likely to be subject to a certain level of environmental stress caused by pollution, which causes our bodies to be susceptible to the attack of free radicals. Free radicals are the "bad" atoms and molecules which cause premature aging and damage to skin and collagen, and death to our skin cells. As we have mentioned, antioxidants which are found in fruit and vegetables (particularly the colourful ones) provide your skin with added protection against these modern day dangers to your skin.

8. Yo-yo Dieting

Allowing your weight to go up and down dramatically will cause it to stretch and then become loose as you lose weight. Your skin may be able to cope with this when you are very young, but as you get older it won't and you will develop sagging skin aroundyour neck and cheeks - known as jowls - even the word sounds horrible doesn't it? The answer is not to remain overweight as this allows fat to build up in rolls around your neck and face, not attractive (or healthy), but to keep your weight stable at your ideal weight.

9. Living A Sedentary Life

Exercise is the key to a youthful look for lots of reasons. When you exercise, your skin begins to produce more of its natural oils that help skin look supple and healthy. Exercise also gets the blood flowing which carries more oxygen to the skin. The boost in blood flow and oxygen to the skin cells also carries nutrients that improve skin health. Exercise can, particularly with a short, intense burst of exercise, encourage the body to produce more Human Growth Hormone, which keeps our skinner thicker (as it thins over time) and younger looking, amongst other benefits.

10. Eating Processed Foods

Processed food has been robbed of all its vital nutrients and enzymes. If your digestive system is healthy, this shows in your skin. If your diet consists of a high percentage of processed foods, such as white bread, sugary drinks and cereals, chocolate bars, crisps and pizzas then you are unlikely to have a healthy digestive system or skin. Eating unprocessed food encourages your digestive system to speed up, making you feel and look more lively and less tired and your skin brighter.

Companies which process food are not concerned about keeping you healthy, and as long as their ingredients are within the law, they are just concerned about selling their product and making it appealing to our taste buds, i.e. filling the product up with saturated fat, sugar and salt along with other chemicals which will keep the food fresh for longer, and change its colour and texture. Everyone enjoys some "junk food" occasionally, but eating it regularly means these added chemicals build up within the body and skin and slowly poison the body's cells, again causing dull skin and premature aging, along with other skin allergies. So eat fresh when you can.

We hope you have enjoyed these tips, but we would love to learn more, so if you have any tips and hints for our readers let us know. 

Ten Of The Worst Things You Can Do To Damage Your Skin

Admittedly, some of us are luckier than others when it comes to our genes and the skin we inherit, but even those who are not so lucky can keep their skin in tip-top condition and looking beautiful if they avoid some of the behaviour and activities which are the most damaging and aging to their skin.

Cate Blanchett, pictured here, is notorious for her flawless and amazingly smooth skin, to which she partially credits her use of the exclusive brand of skin care products SK-II. On reading an interview with her though, she also mentions that although she grew up in Australia, she has always been careful to avoid the sun because she burns very easily and we think that may have a little more to do with her flawless complexion.

Read on for more tips on what to avoid if you want to keep your skin looking its best, not just for now, but for the years to come when it will be more difficult to undo any skin damage - prevention is always better than cure. We have split this article into two parts - Part II to be published soon - as it is such an interesting topic, we just wanted to give you all the information we could!

1. Staying Too Long In The Sun

Yes, you've heard it a million times. But sunlight is the main cause of skin aging. It's slightly depressing I agree, that sunlight causes us to age, but it is a fact. Even in the UK, if you are out and about, especially anytime from April to October you should think about wearing sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 15. The UV rays in sunlight lead to sunburn, skin cancer, wrinkles, freckles and discolouration, premature aging and other skin problems. It's not all bad, if you wear appropriate sun protection for your skin, you can still get a golden tan, just take it easy and don't burn.

2. Eating A Poor Diet

You are what you eat, and your skin will always reflect what you are putting into your body. I'm not being nasty, but Google "Amy Winehouse skin" and you will see some images which will put you off a party diet of alcohol and cigarettes. It's easy to improve your skin - eat plenty of fruit and vegetables and you will see a change, plus fruit and veg contain lots of antioxidants to fight off free radicals which will also look after the future of your skin.

3. Not Drinking Enough

Unfortunately, this does not mean anything alcoholic! If you don't have enough fluid in your body, then your skin will show it, and you will get fine lines leading to wrinkles. Hydrating yourself means that your skin's tissues are plumped up and the collagen in your skin will work better holding your skin cells together.

4. Smoking

Note this does not say "smoking too much" - just smoking. Smoking is your skin's worst enemy - it's like Superman and Kryptonite - in the end it will kill him. Smoking deprives the skin of oxygen giving the smoker a grey complexion, and lines around the eyes and mouth, both from cell damage and the fact that a smoker puckers up their face around their cigarette and squints their eyes against the smoke. Apart from the damage to your skin, your health as a whole will suffer.

5. Too Much Alcohol

We can be a little kinder here, some alcohol is good for us (red wine has a fair few antioxidants) - and it's fun to have a few drinks with our friends which is also good for us as it helps us relax and de-stress. But too much alcohol gives us dehydrated skin (see above), burst blood vessels around the face, and also wipes out some of the vitamins in our bodies. Be honest, have you ever woken up after a few too many the night before and looked in the mirror and admired your glowing complexion?

This has been Part I of the "Ten Things To Avoid If You Want Beautiful Skin", we hope you have heeded the "warnings", and the remaining five will be delivered to you soon!

Make sure you sign up to receive the Fashion-Tips updates by email then you don't miss out on anything new!

How To Create The Makeup For Lady Gaga's Poker Face

Whether you admire Lady Gaga (or Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta) for her style and creation of fashion or for her music, both stand out from the crowd. With regards to her music, Lady Gaga is quoted to have said that she doesn't want to sound presumptuous, but she has made it her goal to "revolutionise pop music". She states that "the last revolution was launched by Madonna 25 years ago." Apparently, Madonna is pretty pleased with this statement and says that she sees some of her early self in Lady Gaga. With regards to fashion, Lady Gaga has stated that she is "very into fashion" and that it is "everything" to her. She considers Donatella Versace her muse. Lady Gaga has her own creative production team called the Haus of Gaga, which she handles personally and which creates many of her stage props, clothes and hair styles.

Poker Face

Probably one of Lady Gaga's best known and most viewed pop videos is Poker Face, and the look she created for that song is now almost iconic, with the strong blonde fringe and silver eye shadow. Creating the look is pretty straightforward to try for yourself. You will need the following items:

• Medium to full cover foundation and loose translucent powder
• Concealer
• A shimmering light blue or silver eye shadow
• Black false eyelashes
• Black eye liner
• Rose pink blusher
• Natural lip gloss and nude lip liner
• Silver or gold makeup pen and stick on diamantes (optional)
• Depending on your own hair - a blonde wig with full fringe

How To Create Lady Gaga's Poker Face

• Step One - apply moisturiser and then foundation to create a perfect base. Use your concealer as needed under the eyes or to cover any blemishes. Using the translucent powder and a powder brush dust to set your foundation lightly.
• Step Two - Using the silver or shimmering eye shadow and an eyeshadow brush apply the shadow accurately, blending from the inner upper eyelid to the crease-line and beyond and to the outer corner of your eyelid.
• Step Three - Apply your fake eyelashes to your upper eyelids following the directions on the pack. Once these are firmly in place and applied as close to your natural lashes as possible, apply black eyeliner to the top and bottom lash lines. Lady Gaga does apply black liner to the inner lower lid as well with this look.
• Step Four - Use black mascara and apply to both top and bottom lashes, applying three coats to your upper lashes and using the mascara to blend together your natural and false lashes.
• Step Five - Apply the rose powder blusher lightly along your cheekbones, Lady Gaga doesn't sport a full blush look, but using it to high-light your cheekbones brings the look alive.
• Step Six - Line your lips with the nude lip liner and apply the natural gloss. You need perfect, smooth lips for this look.
• Step Seven - If you are going for the full Lady Gaga look you can use the silver/gold makeup pen to draw on the lightning bolt on the left side of your face and then use the stick on diamantes for extra glamour.
• Step Eight - If you are going to wear a wig, wrap up your hair with a hair net and put on the wig. This is probably only going to work if you are going for the full Lady Gaga look, but it will totally finish the look off.

If you have any tips or comments for celebrity makeup styles or about the Lady Gaga look we have created leave your comments.