Glow

Since when did women's skincare get so complicated? My mother's mother used cooking oil to prevent wrinkles and my mother uses Vaseline and now suddenly women everywhere are bombarded with all sorts of secret active ingredients like blah-blah-peptide-complex, this-and-that extract.

OMG

Too much work, too little result.

Here's 10 Tips to easy skincare that will make your life easier and looking prettier without breaking the bank and making a fuss...not too much anyway.

1. Wear an SPF15+ moisturizer everyday (freckles at 4 is cute, agespots at 40 isn't). It doesn't have to be an expensive one, just make sure it's "broad-spectrum". I use Dove, it costs less than $10 and it works fine.

2. Wash your face with a gentle cleanser ONCE a day. No matter who says what, your face is not that dirty in the morning. Gently pat your face with a warm facecloth in the morning and end with a splash of cold water. If you have oily skin, yeah sure, wash twice a day with a cleanser targeted for oily skin.

3. 1-minute facial massage everynight after you wash your face works wonders. It boosts skin elasticity and promotes renewal and circulation. Gently draw little outward circles on your cheeks with your fingers and do the same for forehead and chin. For the skin around your eyes, use ringfinger only! Gently stroke the skin from the inner corner to the outer corner.  Use a good extra-virgin-olive-oil or simply Vaseline for the massage. Wipe off excess afterwards or you'll be looking at oily pillowcases and sheets in the morning.

4. Drink plenty of water. Sure, Dr.Oz said that drinking fluids have nothing to do with better skin but really nothing looks worse than a face dressed in pretty make-up and thrown off by parched lips.

5. You DON'T need a toner. That's right, toners are useless. Unless you dabbed into serious face-paint, I don't see why your normal cleanser can't take off the junk for you if you cleanse properly. Forget about the advertised benefits about toners. They don't minimize pores, NOTHING will. They're just more chemicals packaged in pretty bottles that make you think you're doing something good for your face. Instead, try using chilled rose water, chilled green tea or chilled mint water.

6. Exfoliate once a week. Try this: pour a quatre-size amount of sugar onto your palm and mix it with a dab of any moisturizer and exfoliate away!

7. Take the stairs. Walk to work if you can. Push the shopping cart with more effort. ANY exercise will do. Just get your heart going and you'll see a rosy glow on your cheeks.

8. Reduce sugar in your diet. Sugar ages you BIG time.

9. EAT avocados. You need the good fat for your skin to look alive. Just don't go overboard.

10. Try Chinese Goji berries. They're packed with Vitamin C and help with blood circulation.

Look in the mirror after a while, you'll notice a new glow to your skin!