Things You Should Know by Now

There are a few things that we learn growing up. Some of us find out early that mom didn't always know best.  We must constantly navigate the waters and make decisions based on what we think is correct, most often using common sense. Remember that rules, especially when it comes to aging, were meant to be broken sometimes ... trust your gut, it never lies.  And according to Dave Barry, 

"Never, under any circumstances take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night."

1. A stripe of color on your cheeks is not “blush” and making a fish face to apply it under your cheekbones is the wrong place for it. The best way to put on blush on? Reverse the way you were taught. Instead you should start near your temples and blend toward the apple of your cheek, where your skin naturally flushes.

2. Gray hair will make you look older. If your job has been eliminated or you’re looking for a promotion this could hurt you.

3. If your face and neck are different colors, you will look like a bobble head. Make sure all of you blends! Brush a darker powder or bronzer under your chin and jaw. This will do two things: eliminate a double chin and even out your skin tone because the neck is often a lighter color than our face.

4. Listening to your mom tell you not to remove your facial hair because it will grow back thicker like a man’s, is a myth and just plain bad advice. For more about this read Chapter 3 in my book Face This, about how to get flawless looking skin for your close up.

5. Makeup comes with an expiration date and putting your finger into a product can introduce bacteria into it. Be sure to be paying attention to both.

6. Spot reduction is an urban legend. If you like your booty but want better abs, you cannot lose weight in only one area. Even doing tons of tummy and core exercises won't help much if there is a layer of fat on top over the muscle. Sorry, but fat gets lost at the same rate over your entire body and only genes or hormones can dictate otherwise.

7. The mirror doesn’t lie ... check yourself twice before leaving the house. If you have to ask, chances are it doesn’t look so good.

8. Putting scotch tape on your nose is not the same as a Biore strip to clean out your pores.

9. Wear sunscreen even when it’s not sunny out. Many dermatologists say you should wear nothing less than 30 SPF. Although you will get less UVB exposure in the non-summer months, UVA rays are year round and will cause wrinkles and stubborn brown spots on your skin.

10. You should not go to bed with your makeup on, not only will it cause break outs but you will be missing out on giving your skin a chance to renew while you sleep.

What bad beauty advice have you been given? I am sure there are a few laughs out there to share. Feel free to comment below!

Lesson #1: Soft Lighting is a Girl's Best Friend!

Let's face it ... everyone looks better in the right light. The secret to looking Ahh-MAZING in your photographs is knowing and getting into the right lighting. One of the biggest challenges in learning how to take beautiful pictures is learning how to determine where to shoot your photo and from what direction.

Shooting in direct sunlight at 12 o'clock noon is the harshest lighting on any face, but especially as we age.  Bright, direct overhead sun is unforgiving as we get older casting defined shadows under eyes, illuminating fine lines in our skin and showing deep contrast in our faces. Remember too much sun is always too much sun for our skin, whether we are at the beach or taking a photograph directly underneath it.


Soft light has no direction to it and does not cast shadows. This is the kind of light you see in a cloudy day or in wide open shade. It is also the light we want to photograph ourselves in. How to tell if your light is hard or soft? One of the easiest techniques is to simply hold out a finger across your hand, slightly in front of you, to see if there is shadowing. If your shadow is dark then you have a hard lighting situation and should look for a softer shadow or no shadow at all to shoot in.


Here is a photo I took in my backyard this morning under cloudy skies. You can see that there is no shadowing under my finger and you cannot tell where the light is coming from. My lower hand is perfectly lit under the cloudy conditions which filters the sun naturally.

A few hours later when the sun came out I took the second photo in the same place. This time you can see how the sun overhead casts a dark shadow on my hand along with a shadow on my arm from the camera lens.

Soft light, moonlight, candlelight, sunlight, incandescent light, whatever your light, the quality and direction will make the difference between an OK photo and the one that you love. The characteristics of light are far reaching so get it right!

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within." ~Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.

"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." ~Edith Wharton

Tips to Looking Younger - Model Beauty over 40

Click HERE to Watch the Video of 5 Easy Ways to Look Younger

Shelley GoodStein - Ford Models

BB & CC Cream - Asia's Hottest Beauty Product for Flawless Skin Invades America

What is a BB cream and why is it so popular in Asia? 

The BB stands for Blemish Balm, an all in one beauty treatment! It brightens the skin, acts as a concealer to cover blemishes, hydrates like a moisturizer, evens out the skin like foundation, contains a high SPF to protect, and delivers serums to soothe, fight acne and aging. My model friend turned makeup artist, Colleen, just returned from Asia and shared this little pearl of wisdom with me, so I wanted to pass it on to you too!

This product was originally developed in Germany as an ointment for patients after they had undergone skin peels to protect, soothe and cover redness. From what I understand, a Korean actress used it after laser surgery as a daily cover up for her recovery and went on to publicize her experience and because of her testimony it became a highly hyped and sought after product launching in Korea around 2005. Spreading to Japan, then SouthEast Asia, and now to Europe and North America, these BB creams may be the next hybrid potion to really deliver!


Besides giving your face a natural flawless look while protecting your skin from the sun, prolonged use of these products are said to fade scars and improve the overall quality of your skin tone.
Before and after pictures using BB Cream:

Some of the most popular brands of BB Cream include Missha, Dr Jart+ (both available at Sephora), SkinFood and Liole. 
Many of the BB creams in Asia come in a variety of different tints but the ones  available today in the American market come only in one or two shades. Boscia's BB Cream has a light neutral beige which works perfectly with my skin and my girlfriend's whose skin is a different hue than mine. The girls at Sephora told me that it works on most everyone unless you are very dark or tan, because it seeps into your skin and self adjusts the color so that it looks invisible, giving you a flawless finish. In the US and UK, MAC, Dior, Smashbox, Clinique and Estee Lauder have all launched their own BB Creams. These 5 in 1 multitaskers are similar to a tinted moisturizer used alone or under makeup, but add a radiance with skincare benefits. I see this easily becoming my weekend go-to product!

Even though you may be just now learning about a BB Cream, there is already a new and improved ... CC cream, on the market. The CC (Color Control) Creams promise to provide better coverage with more skin nourishing ingredients than their older BB predecessors. I have been a fan of the BB creams because of the high SPF and tinted skincare benefits, but my complaint is that they are a little too heavy to wear especially on hot humid days. Well, someone else must have thought so too because the new CC Creams include the high UVA/UVB SPF protection with a lighter and less oily formulation that expertly covers uneven skin tone. Plus most include Vitamin C and a skin brightening primer.

Chanel, whose iconic double C's seem especially made for this Cream, launched their own CC Cream in Asia. They have not yet announced the US release of this product but you can be sure beauty bloggers are already looking for an Asian connection to get their hands on it. Interestingly enough, it looks like drugstore brand and long trusted skincare line Olay, might be first up to bat in the U.S. with their anticipated launch of Total Effects CC Tone Correcting UV Moisturizer in October - available in 3 shades for $22. 



But if you're like me and gotta have it now ... well, where there is a will there is a way! The only CC Cream seemingly available in the states is Rachel K's best selling and highly hyped balm, founded by Miss Singapore Rachel Kum. Available for sale on the ever popular shopping site Ebay. This in demand product is sold in 2 colors - one for yellow undertones (the pink bottle "neutral" color) and one for pink undertones (the black bottle "original" color). Of course this begs the next question ... How do I know what undertone I am?

Undertone is the natural skin coloring that we were born with, notwithstanding the surface color of your skin from weather or skin conditions like acne or rosacea. It's possible to change the color appearance of your skin with makeup or skin products but the idea of finding your undertone is based on the skin you were born with. I think the easiest, fastest way to check is by holding your thumb firmly against your inner forearm for 10 seconds. When you release your thumb, the blood should rush back into the covered area and reveal your true undertone - yellow or pink.

If you have a warm or yellow undertone your skin usually tans and does not burn. And if you look at the underside of your arm, your veins may have a slight greenish tint if you can see them at all.

If your skin has a cool or pink undertone you probably burn first before you achieve a tan and if you look at your veins on the underside of your arm, they will appear blue.

I think whichever  BB or CC Cream you pick will quickly work it's way into your everyday staple because using it corrects uneven face color instantly - tricking people into thinking you have naturally flawless skin without having to worry about the precision of foundation, powder, concealer, primer, brighteners ... All in one! Plus it's good for your skin because of the vitamins, anti aging ingredients and SPF . Remember the big difference between the two is that the CC Creams have a lighter texture.

A little secret about applying the creams ... for areas around the nose or other pigmented areas that need a little more concealing, pat instead of rub to create a layer to cover the redness and even out skin color.

And I couldn't end this post without wondering if a DD Miracle Cream to enhance "you know what"  is on the horizon? Let's hope so!

Shelley GoodStein is a 47 year old FORD model who speaks to women through television, national articles and public forums about a model's secrets to looking good from the inside out and the beauty of aging! She is the author of Face This: Advice From Real Models, Photographers and Make Up Artists on How to Become Picture Perfect!