By Suzanne Patterson,
Foreverwed Resident Beauty Expert

April is the visible emergence of spring as the colors of the season begin to blossom with new life.   Soon, the summer bridal season will also be in full bloom with wedding festivities to celebrate the beginnings of lives joined together in marriage, and with the hope of much joy and happiness in their future!

April is also the birth of a new feature for Foreverwed.com……Welcome to Bridal Beauty Counsel, where your beauty questions about skin care and makeup are answered each week. I am committed to helping you to look and feel your very best for the most important day of your life, and thereafter. So, take a moment to read through some of the questions submitted by our readers.

You might find answers that will help you with a particular need you are also experiencing.

Dear Suzanne~ 

I have skin that is on the dry side, but sensitive and reactive to just about anything I put on it.     I struggle with chronic redness and breakouts quite often, and I need to get this somewhat under control before my wedding soon.   Help! 

                                                                                    Cara, Tempe, AZ

Dear Cara~

Quite often problems that aggravate skin are due to one or a combination of 3 things:  A clinical systemic condition of the skin, environment, and wrong product usage.  I would first recommend that you see a dermatologist as soon as possible to rule out any pathological condition that might be causing your chronic redness condition, such as rosacea, contact dermatitis, etc.  Your doctor may want to put you on a course of treatment to help clear up any diagnosed conditions.     He/she might prefer that you use a certain prescribed skin care routine in tandem with the treatment.

Another possibility is environment, and skin irritated by certain pollutants or allergens.  I would suggest that you resort to a very minimal gentle skin care routine, eliminating all but the most necessary ingredients to cleanse the skin.     Use tepid water and a very mild soap-free cleanser.  Rinse thoroughly, and pat dry.  Avoid using a wash cloth as this will produce more redness by increased blood circulation.  Skip the toners/fresheners for a while, and use a very light oil-free moisturizer, preferably with sunscreen if your skin can tolerate it.  Avoid AHA's and other treatments (scrubs, masks) until your skin calms down and improves. Once you get your skin in a more positive response mode, you may try adding more to your skin care routine.  Learn about product ingredients and see if there is one or several that consistently aggravates your skin.  Above all, make sure your makeup application is done with scrupulously clean brushes,  disposable sponges and applicators (used once only and discarded) to prevent any bacteria infections.

 Dear Suzanne~

 What is the difference between loose and pressed powder?  Which one is best to use for my wedding day makeup, does it make a difference?

                                                                         Bess, Dallas, TX

Dear Bess~

Pressed and loose powder are essentially the same milled ingredients but processed differently.   All face powders consist of a powder base (usually talc and some extra ingredients) a coloring agent (pigment) and a slight fragrance. 

Loose powder is a sifted, very fine and soft textured kind of powder. It is packaged in shaker style containers for easy dispensing, and can be applied with a powder brush or a large, velour style puff.  Pressed powder has a 3 percent ingredient of tragacanth mucilage that binds the ingredients together to make a compact form. This can be applied with a small, thin compact puff, a sponge, or a brush.

Both styles of powder can provide sheer to full coverage, depending upon how it is applied. Both will also give a matte finish to foundation.  Brush applications are more suited to applying a sheer application while puff applications do a more thorough job of pressing the powder into the foundation to "set" it.  In either case, powder is essential and it helps other powder type products blend on easier, and reduces absorption of cream products.

Most makeup artists use loose powder, whereas most women prefer to use pressed.  For your wedding day makeup, I would suggest that you set your foundation first with loose powder for a more professional and natural matte finish, and use pressed for easy and quick touchups throughout the day.  Above all, make sure powder matches your foundation!  Avoid the translucent and no color powders as they can oxidize your foundation color and produce a very slight ash or a grayish tinge on faces in the wedding photos.

Dear Suzanne~

I am only 25 years old and I am seeing "crows feet" and fine lines under my eyes.   I also have dark circles under my eyes that I don't seem to be able to get rid of, and I also have some puffiness in the mornings.      Is there anything I can do to get rid of the circles and fine lines before my wedding in a few months?

                                                                               Nancy, Burke, VA

Dear Nancy~

Fine lines and "crows feet" are one of the first signs skin age.  Simply put, wrinkling or lining of the skin is an interior deterioration or collapse of a collagen fiber in that area.  Factors such as stress, fatigue, environment (sun damage), and poor skin care can excaberate the condition on the surface.  Puffiness of the eye area is a different cause altogether, a swelling of the tissues surrounding the orbital bone (eye socket.) 

There are things you can do to help minimize the surface look of lines, short of eliminating them with collagen injections (a costly and temporary fix).  First, make a decision to reduce or eliminate any environmental factors that contribute to photo aging skin .  This means protection from the sun, and it needs to be a year-round part of your regular daily skin care routine.  Make sure whatever product you use in the under eye area contains an SPF of 15, and is broad spectrum.     The most effective ingredient in sunscreen is Parsol 1789, (or avobenzone) as it filters out UVA, UVB and UVC rays.    Sunscreen is not only good skin care for your eye area, it is vital protection for all skin exposed to sunlight!

For treatment products to use in this area to further smooth out and exfoliate the skin, you need to look towards the alpha and beta hydroxy acids, retinol creams, or vitamin C creams.  A dermatologist can also recommend use of prescription strength creams such a Retin-A, Renova, or Kinerase for a more aggressive treatment of wrinkles in the eye area as well as the entire face.  I would suggest that you also use humectant type eye creams that can trap moisture to the skin surface and give a "plumped up" appearance.

Puffiness in the eye area is a swelling of the tissues with excess fluid.  This can be greatly reduced with simple remedies such as cool compresses applied to the eye area.  Chamomile tea bags (brewed and cooled), cucumber slices, even refrigerated gel-type eye masks work wonderfully.  One of the best tricks is to use spoons that have been refrigerated for several minutes and applied with the back of the spoon against a closed eye lid!

As for dark circles, this is more often an inherited condition.  It can be caused by blood vessels laying close to the surface, or a discoloration (a disproportion of melanin) in the skin.  No amount of sleep, eye creams or treatments, or proper nutrition will really make a difference.  Cosmetically, there are a couple things you can do to visually reduce the problem.  Try the neutralizer method by applying a yellow based product in the under eye area (to counteract the bluish purple appearance) before you apply foundation, or you can apply a concealer type product (one and a half steps lighter than your foundation) on top of your foundation.

Do you have a beauty, makeup or skin care question, or just want to share an opinion or comment?  I'd love to hear from you!  Email me at:     Suzanne@foreverwed.com

 *Suzanne Patterson is an award winning makeup artist and hair stylist with over 23 years international experience working in film, television, video and print.   She also heads her own consulting firm, Creative Artistry & FX, that features  "On Location" makeup services and "In-Studio" Consultation/Makeovers, and Corrective/Camouflage Makeup.  Suzanne is also sought after for her unique Bridal Makeup services and expertise