Cheers To Beautiful Skin!!♥

Drinking water is essential for clear skin and your overall health.

Water is essential for carrying waste material out of your body... and is quite possibly the single most important contributor to healing and preventing acne flare-ups.

How much water should you be drinking every day?

Drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water a day for beautiful skin.

Your body is made up of 70 percent water. Water is literally your body's life force. It is involved in nearly every bodily process, including digestion, absorption, circulation and excretion.Water is also the primary transporter of nutrients throughout your body.

If not enough water is consumed, toxins can build up causing breakouts. Water flushes these toxins out.Without adequate water, we would poison ourselves with our own metabolic wastes. Your kidneys remove waste products that must be dissolved by water. So, by drinking enough water, you are flushing out the toxins that would normally escape through the pores of your skin... thus preventing breakouts.

Your kidneys cannot function properly without enough water. When they do not work to capacity, some of the load is dumped onto your liver. A liver that is not performing at its best can worsen acne because it cannot break down and clear excess hormones from your body.

Water is also important in losing weight. Water suppresses the appetite and helps your body metabolize stored fat. Studies have shown that an increase in water intake can actually reduce fat deposits.

So, drink 8 to 10 glasses of water a day.Your body will not function properly without enough water and cannot rid itself of wastes and toxins. Drinking water is essential for clear, healthy skin.

Most consider a glass of water to equal 8 oz which means a 16oz bottle of water is 2 glasses :)

♥Healthy Kisses! Nikki :)

Source:http://healing.about.com/cs/skincare/a/uc_adultacne.htm

Need a Break From Breakouts??

We have all been there and if you haven't, be Thankful! I'm talking about BREAKOUTS. The kind that just won't go away. Pimples, Bumps, Acne, call it what ya want! They are annoying and to some people breakouts are a hindrance. We always want to look our best, so here are some excellent tips that work!
~ Change your pillow case once a week, more if you use oils in your hair
~ Wash your hands BEFORE you wash your face.
~ DON'T STRESS!! This exacerbates acne, so RELAX.
~ Drink 3-4 (16oz) bottles of water daily
~ Flax seed or Fish oil pills are good for you and they heal acne for some.
~ Rinse your face after exercising.
~ Clean your makeup brushes & Toss old makeup.
~ Don't sleep in makeup.
~ Cut out greasy process foods and EAT HEALTHY!

~ See an esthetician ( thnx Chez)
~ See a Dermatologist! This is most important for those who have tried it all and nothing seems to work. Derms go to school many years to treat skin conditions. Derms can also prescribe you "prescription only medications" which often do the trick.
~PEACE & Healthy Kisses! ♥ Nikki~

How To Look Good without MAKE-UP

Make-Up♥ Free Yourself
Practice Excellent skin care ♥
If you're going to forgo makeup, you need to take the best care of your skin possible. Twice a day cleansing with a mild cleanser followed up by a moisturizer cream designed specifically for your skin type is a good start. Follow your skin care regimen religiously to keep your skin in top shape if you plan on going without makeup.
Exfoliate your skin ♥
This is one of the best kept secrets for beautiful skin. In the morning before you go out the door, use a facial exfoliating pad and a gentle cleanser to massage your face in circular motions for at least one minute. This will remove dead skin cells and increase circulation to your face, giving your skin a soft glow that's even better than blush. (I used crushed uncoated aspirin in my mild cleanser 1-2 times a week, works beautifully.)
Get plenty of rest ♥
If you're going to go natural, it's important that you sleep seven to eight hours a night. Tired skin looks sallow and any bags or dark circles you have under your eyes will be enhanced. If you don't get enough sleep and your eyes look puffy and swollen from tossing and turning, try applying an ice pack to each eye for ten minutes to reduce some of the swelling.
Drinks lots of water ♥
Your skin looks best when you're well hydrated. Drink at least 64oz of water per day to maintain skin hydration. Avoid drinking alcohol or caffeine which acts as a diuretic to further dehydrate your skin.
Keep your eyebrows and eyelashes well groomed!! ♥
If you won't be wearing eye makeup, make sure your brows are neatly groomed with no distracting stray hairs. Use a clean eyelash brush to open up and emphasize your eyes.
Keep your lips moisturized! ♥
If you won't be wearing lip color, apply a moisturizer to your lips to keep them soft and smooth. A touch of clear lip gloss can also give you lips and face a natural glow.
Wear a sunscreen ♥
Just because you're not wearing makeup doesn't mean you should forgo sunscreen. Many makeups have light sunscreens which offer some protection from the elements. If you're going natural, be sure to apply a sunscreen with a SPF of at least 20 to give your skin the protection it needs from ultraviolet rays. Choose a sunscreen that protects against both UVA and UVB rays.
Yes, you can look pretty without makeup if you practice good skin care and life style habits on a daily basis. You may actually find that natural works better for you on a daily basis. While makeup can be reserved for special outings. Give it a try!

Visit BeyondJane for more articles: ♥ http://www.beyondjane.com/Beauty/Makeup/How-to-Look-Good-Without-Makeup.171869

Kisses♥ NIKKI :)♥

How's Ur PillowCase Treating Ur Face?♥

♥Artical Provided By:AcneMyths.com

Are those Pillowcases Making Your Skin Issues WORST???

You’re very diligent about your skin care routine and you cleanse your skin properly each and every night, so you just can’t understand why you wake up in the morning and your acne looks worse than it did the night before. Believe it or not, your pillow may be to blame.
What Lurks Beneath You
Each and every night, you lay your head down on your pillow and go to sleep. If you’re like most people, at least some part of your face touches your pillow during the night. Whether you like to think about it or not, it’s a basic fact that your pillowcase has bacteria, dust and other acne-causing agents on it. If you want to prevent this stuff from getting into your pores, clogging them up and causing pimples, you need to wash your pillowcases regularly.
Nikki Note: Wash your pillowcase about once a week and watch your skin began to look healthier! Go the extra mile and get a Satin pillowcase like I did....Luvs it!!

♥ KISSES, Nikki

It's Just Too Much To Touch ME♥

My Skin is like Cotton

Embrace is never Forgotten

My smooth is show Stoppin

has my Boyfriend's jaw Droppin

-Nikki. D. City Star &hearts:

Why am I rapping right now? Its because I love my new Shower Brush from Bath & Body Works! lol. I use to be hooked on Lofahs, but NOT anymore. First off, my shower brush is Pink :) Gotta Luv it. Secondly it lathers up great, the bristles are just right, and it leaves me very smooth. Who cares about a cute outfit and expensive perfume when your body feels like sandpaper! lol.
Here's the scivy on my new shower brush that I'm really loving right now.

This skin-silkening body brush will help you achieve a new level of clean. Soft bristles work up a rich lather while they scrub away dirt, impurities and dry skin cells. Imported.

Price: $10.00

My other Must Have for "Soft skin that makes my Boyfriend Grin" is:

Cocoa Butter Body Scrub! I'm in love with the feel of my skin after using this! It's cost 20$ but I only use it about once a week, so it last.

Best if you want to:

Embrace your softer side with a creamy, chocolate-scented

scrub that has exfoliating ground rice and almond shell powder. How it works:
Community Trade cocoa butter, an excellent moisturizer that melts at body temperature, is rich in essential fatty acids and antioxidants. Community Trade organic soy oil is very rich in essential fatty acids that help to repair skin's moisture barrier, so skin is smooth and supple

The Body Shop :)

Try Them!

Kisses, Nikki♥

My Skin's BF♥ Retin-A-Micro:)

I ♥ Retin-A Micro! I don't "worry" about breakouts anymore because Retin-A goes to work on my skin every night and I wake up bright-eyed and with a smooth face. I admitt, It took about 2-3months to see FULL results, but it was Well worth the wait. Now I get compliments on my skin and I always feel ready for any event or meeting.

I was breaking out "on & off" because of stress and nothing would help! I tried it all from tea-tree oil, to 150$ facials and nothing was a permanent fix. So one day I said a long meaningful prayer about it, and I called my Derm, she prescribed Retin-A for me in May of 2008 and 3months later my skin was as clear as the summer sky I was looking at♥. My health insurance is pretty good so I only pay 15-30$ a tube which last about 2months! I would like to use this stuff forever and thats realistic since retin-a has been out since the 1970's, lol. It also aids in reducing wrinkles (not that I have to worry about that at 26) but its good to know that its a multi-tasker. I'll get into my Regimen and show skin pics on another post, this post is just a proclamation of my L♥v for Retin-A.

Check out their Website for more info: http://www.retinamicro.com/