Health and beauty tips

Honey, trust me on this…

QUESTION: I just hate my skin in the winter; it’s so dull and pasty. When I try to liven it up with make-up I end up looking like a drag queen, so what’s the solution?

ANSWER: Honestly, the solution is NOT what you do to the TOP of your skin – which is all we can see. That dull, pasty surface tells the sad story of all the holiday fun, food, and fat we indulged in. Also, January is “get back to work” time with short, dark days creating a shut-in environment for us. If your skin is looking sluggish it’s because your circulation and organs are sluggish. Bottom line reality: Rev everything up inside with aerobic exercise of any kind, and it will jettison rich blood and oxygen to your muscles, through your skin, and out your pores. I don’t need to tell you what kind of aerobics to do because you know what they are: Just move your body and move it fast! What you want is that pink, moist glow…right? Trust me, working up a good, honest “sweat like a horse” is the one and only path to a peaches and cream complexion. While you’re at it, here are the token side effects: You will #1: detoxify the sins of December (well, dietary ones anyway); #2: energize your brain cells and elevate your mood with happy endorphins so you can actually KEEP a FEW New Year’s resolutions; #3: get a light year’s head start on (ugh!) swimsuit season by throwing in squats and lunges; a few dozen will, literally, kick your butt and make you pant for dear life. If your lower body doesn’t need any fine tuning (you bitch), just sit in a sauna or steam and let the sweat flow…same result. One caveat to skin purging, though, is: If you don’t exfoliate diligently (especially your face), you’re begging for clogged pores and blemishes. Don’t expect luminous skin if you don’t sweep away dead skin cells so the poison can escape. But you should already know, from this girl, that exfoliation is a year-round requirement anyway. Be prepared: if you work up a heart-pumping, red-face sweat every day and wear an endorphin smile, your friends might start begging to know what’s going on in the bedroom. You don’t HAVE TO tell them you got your “afterglow” at Sportsclub L.A.!