*** Beauty Match in Paris ***

You don’t have to have the celebrity status of a JLO (Jennifer Lopez, aka Mrs. Marc Antony), Katie Holmes-Cruise, Mariah Carey or a Madonna to create your own “Glam Squad”. You simply need to find a few key experts you can run to when it comes to ensuring that you age as well as you possibly can.

Guerlain’s Institute offers a number of anti-aging treatments that will surely make you want to add this address to your “beauty rescue” list. As we know, proper skin care, hair care and age-appropriate makeup are crucially important as we age.

Guerlain’s Firming Anti-Aging Treatment is not only one of the most amazing facials I’ve ever experienced, it was also one of the most relaxing. If you are looking to maintaining the firmness and the youthful glow that comes effortlessly in your 20s while you age, this facial is a must-try. It’s been specifically designed for skin that is over 35.

Jurlique is an Australian line created by Dr. Jurgen Klein, a chemist, and his wife, Ulrike, a horticulturist. This transplanted European duo was determined to create a holistic and therapeutic skincare line that combined aromatherapy and homeopathy…and that’s how Jurlique skincare was created in South Australia in 1983.

I’ve been using Jurlique products for many years because it was the answer I was looking for to help me deal with a highly sensitive and acne prone skin.

I started using their Sun Lotion with SPF 30 a few years after being introduced to the line.

The average in spa microdermabrasion treatments will cost you at least $150 per session. If you’re looking for some of the same benefits of microdermabrasion at a more affordable price point, you might want to consider the duFage Microdermabrasion Home Kit created by Toronto aesthetician Helen Duffey.

This home kit is a skin polishing at-home treatment designed to help repair the appearance of fine lines and the texture of your skin.

Consistency: The microdermabrasion crystals come out of the tube in a cream-like consistency.

Sensation: The sensation is very different from a microdermabrasion treatment at a spa, which seems rougher on the skin. This home kit is made of very fine crystals that are far gentler than the spa treatments.

I’ll put it out there for the world to know: I absolutely LOVE (I mean L-O-V-E) the entire Jurlique line of cosmetic products. I started using Jurlique in 1999 because I was having a hard time of it when it came to finding a moisturizer that didn’t cause any irritations, allergies or breakouts. Meredith was my consultant at my local natural health shop and she was always on the look-out for new products that I could use. One day, I walked in and she declared that she had found the ideal line for my skin. Was she ever right!

Jurlique is produced and manufactured in Australia and uses natural antioxidants, natural vitamins and herbal ingredients.

Vitamin-C products in the form of L-ascorbic acid are a great way to protect your skin against the harmful side effects of sun exposure and the ravages of the free radical damage. As a general rule of thumb, the potency and penetration of a serum will always trump that of any other form of other skin care product. That said, if you have sensitive skin, a serum might be too strong and you might need a gentler formulation of vitamin C. A gel is an excellent alternative that will gently protect your skin (as long as the gel does not contain AHAs or BHAs — alpha or beta hydroxy acids). Young Pharmaceuticals uses a formulation process that enables the vitamin C L-ascorbic acid to be more tolerated by more sensitive skin types.

I had originally started using the C-Mollient Antioxidant Serum from Young Pharmaceuticals, but I felt my skin needed more moisture. The switch to the C-Mollient Antioxidant Gel offered me the protection I was looking for without the associated dryness.

I first discovered SK-II in 2005. I read “Memoirs of a Geisha” that year and fell completely in love with the story. While flipping through a magazine while in the midst of reading the book, I saw the picture of this Japanese actress who was cast in the film for an SK-II ad. I had never heard of Kaori Momoi before (I had not seen the movie at that time), but the fact that the ad mentioned “Memoirs of a Geisha”, it kept me reading. What really caught my eye was her age (which was published in the ad) and the fact that she looked 34…not 52 (at the time). I decided I need find this SK-II product. A quick search revealed that the product was only sold in the United States at the time. Then last year in the summer (2006), Holt Renfrew sent me an email letting me know they were introducing SK-II in Canada. I read the email, grabbed my purse and headed straight to the store.

Alpha Hydroxy Acids (aka hydroxy Acids) are marketed as exfoliants that can improve the look of deeper lines and wrinkles while increasing skin hydration. In reality, these acids stimulate collagen production. Collagen production = a younger, plumper looking skin. In fact, alpha hydroxy acids are so effective they’ve been used for centuries for skin rejuvenation. As a home treatment, you can only purchase alpha hydroxy acids with lower concentrations. Higher concentrations (20 per cent to 30 per cent) can only be used by trained cosmetologists or medical nurses.

After reading about the cosmetic benefits of silica in 1997, I wanted to ensure that I included silica capsules to my diet. In 2000, I started buying a German-produced silica base gel because I read an article that explained why a gel or liquid option to any supplement would be more easily absorbed by my body and the results would be that much better.

In 2002 I was flipping through the pages of a natural health magazine when I saw an ad for the silica gel I has been using for two years. The company had featured a long time user of their product. This woman was 65 and she had been using Hübner’s Silicea gel (colloidal silica gel) for 25 years. She was beaming about the fact that she was in her mid-sixties and she didn’t have one single wrinkle on her face.

How often do you use your facial scrub? It’s right there looking at you in your shower tray, but how often do you forget to use it? I’ll admit to not being the best at using my facial scrub to exfoliate my skin on a consistent basis. That said, when I did use it, the results were pretty amazing. I would be rewarded by a glowing complexion. At a recent anti-aging industry conference, I was proudly revealing how I was making progress in using my scrub more regularly to an aesthetician when she cut me in the middle of my sentence and said: if you have adult acne (my scars are a dead giveaway), you really should not use a scrub because you’re just spreading the bacteria and will end up with more acne. She suggested I start looking for another way to exfoliate.