What The Hell Is This $28 Pore Putty And Here’s Why Beauty Editors Are Loving It

_{PureWow investigates this buzzy beauty product.}

You know us: We don’t gush over specific beauty products all that often. (Really only when it’s a magical zit-eraser or a legendary hair spray that cuts drying time in half.) So when we heard the phrase “pore putty” thrown around, we had to investigate.

What it is: A quick-drying serum you apply after your moisturizer and before your makeup.

What it is not: Actual putty. (Confession: We weirdly hoped it’d be straight-up spackle.)

How it works: There are a few on the market, but the kind we tried, from Peter Thomas Roth ($28.89), acts like a makeup primer of sorts. Rather than filling in pores (like the word “putty” suggests), it works by absorbing oil. That way the surface of your nose (for example) is less shiny, more matte and doesn’t have obvious little divots everywhere.

How we feel: About ten years younger.

Read More From PureWow:

• 11 Things That Are Clogging Your Pores
• There’s a Better Way to Wash Your Face
• 7 Beauty Myths to Stop Believing
• Makeup Tricks For People Who Love To Work Out

The post What The Hell Is This $28 Pore Putty And Here’s Why Beauty Editors Are Loving It appeared first on SELF.

9 Things You Need To Know About Peels Before You Do One

Don’t let the term “peel” scare you. These chemical exfoliants gently resurface your skin to treat acne, fine lines, uneven pigmentation and more. Here’s what you need to know.

1. Know the main issue you want to treat.

Peels can treat a wide range of skin issues—brown spots, acne, rough texture, fine lines, clogged pores—but focusing on one specific problem can help narrow down the right peel for you, says Kate Holcomb, MD, a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans.

Renee Rouleau, a celebrity aesthetician based in Dallas, Texas, breaks down peels into two categories: preventative and reparative. “For the most part reparative treats discoloration, acne or clogged pres,” she explains, “while preventative peels focus on jumpstarting cell turnover and rejuvenation.” Either way, your skin looks fresher, smoother and brighter after a treatment.

Plus, peels can actually help treat dry skin. When dry skin builds up on the surface, the dead cells create a barrier that prevents moisturizers from penetrating. A peel helps remove those dead surface cells, Rouleau explains, so hydrating ingredients can do their work.

“Peels can also be customized and layered to deliver the best results for your skin type,” says Dendy Engleman a NYC dermatologist and director of dermatologic surgery at New York Medical College. So peels are not one-size-treats-all.

2. A combination of acids is the most effective.

Several different acids can be used in a peel, but the work in different ways and may be more effective when combined. Peels most often contain one or more of the following: salicylic acid, lactic acid, glycolic acid, Dr.  Engleman explains. She’s a fan of the new SkinCeuticals Advanced Corrective Peel because it contains a potent antioxidant that helps the acids penetrate better and work more effectively.

The post 9 Things You Need To Know About Peels Before You Do One appeared first on SELF.

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A Ski Adventure Freed the Old Me

For the past couple of years, I hadn't gotten around to working out, despite my best intentions. I was consumed with keeping up with my 4-year-old and tending to a colicky baby as I fueled myself with coffee and soothed my nerves with an evening glass or two of wine. I was still carrying the 20 pounds I'd gained from pregnancy, along with another 10 I put on post baby. (Breast-feeding apparently doesn't burn off daily doughnuts and dishes of ice cream.) I felt trapped and depressed, and I regularly fantasized about who I was before I became a mom: a fairly stylish and ambitious woman who never left the house without lip gloss on. Now I frequently snapped at my husband and felt oppressed by the endless household to-dos.

And then, salvation: an invitation to ski at two Wyndham resorts, in Beaver Creek and Aspen, for five days (on a press trip). I grew up skiing but hadn't done it in forever. As much as I wanted to go, though, my motivation was at rock bottom. My husband—fully aware that I was a mom on the verge nudged me, and we moved heaven and earth (and paid a lot of babysitters) to make it happen.

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During the week leading up to the trip, I was filled with trepidation: What if I fall and break my leg? What if Im too out of shape to ski? On my first day at Beaver Creek, as I queued up for the bunny slope with another woman on the trip, Sarah, embarrassment struck. I'd skiied since age 4 and yet here I was, surrounded by kids just starting out because I was so rusty. As we stood at the top of the mountain, I felt shaky: Even that small hill looked enormous.

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I took a deep breath of mountain air and pushed off. My anxiety was quickly replaced by amazement that I was actually skiing. I felt a bit stiff, but I managed to keep my speed under control and avoid veering into anyone. At the bottom, I high-fived Sarah and we decided to do a green run. As we ascended the mountain, my nerves flared up once more: We're going so high, and there's only one way down.


Sarah led the way, and I followed her tracks, wobbly at first but warming up. We reached the bottom and did it again, then again. That afternoon, I got up my guts to tackle a few small moguls. As I zipped over the little bump-bump-bump, a guy behind me gave me a “Woo-hoo!” I knew I'd gotten my ski legs back.

By day three, I was flying down black diamonds and literally saying to myself, "Winning!" I started to cry as I came over a crest one morning, and it wasn't just the view of the Rockies. I saw a glimmer of the girl I used to be: brave, athletic and full of life. I couldn't wait for my kids to meet her.

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Back home, I hummed as I washed the dinner dishes and laughed while my kids pummeled me with pillows at bedtime. I returned not only a more relaxed mom, but a healthier me. Soon after, I joined a boot-camp class at the gym and started tracking what I ate with an online log, replacing foods like my usual lunchtime grilled cheese with a salad and grilled chicken.

In 45 days, I lost 9 pounds, and I've kept the weight off. Cutting back on wine to just weekends has helped; because I'm exercising and eating right, I no longer need that crutch. And since I'm not dealing with blood sugar highs and lows from sweets, my mood is more stable and I don't get crabby.

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My biggest revelation of all: My family can survive just fine without me (at least for a few days). And, wow, is that freeing. Sure, I still have to chauffeur the kids around to activities and vacuum up their crumbs. But I now realize that these tasks don't define who I am, and I'm less resentful. I've since taken several day trips to local ski mountains, and I've been inspired to get my daughter on skis, too.

I love the woman I am when I'm strong and healthy. And I'll be damned if I lose her again.

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Here’s A Surprising Trick To Get Smoother Feet

_{Shandi-lee Cox / Creative Commons / https://flic.kr/p/8GpLuM}

The Internet is full of questionable-at-best beauty tips. But a DIY pedicure idea in honest-to-goodness print (Jane Buckingham’s mammoth be-an-all-around-better-human book, The Modern Girl’s Guide to Modern Life, to be precise) seems more likely to be legit. So when I came across Buckingham’s three-ingredient recipe for a make-at-home foot-smoothing treatment, I was intrigued. And when I saw that it involved supersimple ingredients I already had in my medicine cabinet and fridge, I was all the more game to try it out.

Buckingham’s soak stars, of all things, aspirin. “You know it works for headaches, but it also softens calluses on your feet,” she writes. (Editor’s note: Say what?) “This solution will soften the callus and make it easier to remove with a pumice stone.” Now, most beauty DIY-ers knows that crushed aspirin mixed with water forms a paste that can act as an blemish fighter for acne in a pinch. (Aspirin contains the same ingredient that’s in spot treatments.) But even the most experienced beauty hack-er might not think to spread aspirin all over her feet. In the name of journalism—and softer feet, obviously—I decided to give it a try. Here are Buckingham’s steps:

1. Crush five or six aspirin pills (I broke out my supercool mortar and pestle—which, yes, I actually own—but you could also toss them in a plastic ziplock bag and mash with a spoon).
2. Mix the crushed pills in a bowl with a half-teaspoon each of water and lemon juice.
3. Coat your feet—focusing on any particularly callused areas—with the mixture, and then and cover with a warm cloth for ten minutes.

_{www.reddit.com / Giphy}

Let me start by saying that things got awkward right away. The powdered aspirin, water, and lemon juice never really gelled to become an easy-to-apply paste; I was dealing with more of a gritty, runny solution. My vision of smoothing it on my feet in a seamless, spalike application (complete with scented candles and soft music) was abandoned straightaway, because no way was that happening with this liquid-y mess. Instead, I plopped on the kitchen floor with a dish towel under my feet, and dumped the solution over my toes and heels, dabbing the excess run-off over my roughest patches. As for that warm cloth that you’re supposed to use to envelop your marinating feet? If you have a clothes dryer, microwave, or (even better!) one of those nail-salon towel-warming things, cool. I lack those appliances, so I had to warm a washcloth by draping it over a pot of boiling water, which worked great…for two seconds. Then the cloth cooled, and I was too lazy to continuously reheat it while my feet were all wet and gravelly. The point is, I didn’t properly pull off step three. But when I showered, I buffed the callused skin gently with a pumice stone. After rinsing and patting dry, my feet felt noticeably softer and smoother than usual.

There’s some science to back this up: “Aspirin contains aminosalicylic acid, a relative to salicylic acid. Dissolving it in water and applying to the skin can offer some skin exfoliation, removing dry, dead skin cells from the bottom of the feet,” says Joshua Zeichner, the director of cosmetic and clinical research at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. “Lemon juice contains natural acids that can not only separate clumped dead cells but also help enhance penetration of the aminosalicylic acid.” The lemon juice also acts as an irritant, according to Gary Goldenberg, a dermatologist in New York City and medical director of Mount Sinai Dermatology Faculty Practice. “It can irritate the skin in a superficial way so it can slough off.” In fact, Goldenberg suspects the lemon juice is doing most of the heavy lifting here. “Aspirin does have salicylic acid, but a few crushed aspirin probably have a low concentration, and I’d worry about it not penetrating. I’d recommend using something with a known concentration of skin-smoothing lactic acid or salicylic acid.” He suggests body products from Aqua Glycolic or AmLactin, such as the Moisturizing Body Lotion.

Want to leave your foot-softening to the store-bought (or salon-employed) professionals? This DIY remedy is just one of the roughly eight gazillion tips in Buckingham’s updated lifestyle tome. And the tips don’t just cover beauty. You could even learn how to deal with a micromanaging boss or drive a stick shift.

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