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Europe is one of my favorite places to visit. With countries steeped in history and art, down to the fabulous nightlife and extravagant shopping, it's a must-go destination. I am always struck by how style is visible everywhere. Paris is the beauty capital of the world; Milan corners the fashion market. Natural beauty also makes its mark, as one notices that in certain parts of Europe, many of the women wear little to no makeup at all. Even when keeping the makeup to a minimum, these European beauties still manage to look great (and healthy!) from head to toe.
A Makeup Remover So Sweet
French beauties treat their skin as delicately as a porcelain vase, especially around the eyes. Their secret to removing eye makeup while hydrating and keeping the eye area smooth? Sweet almond oil. That's right, these gals use a dab of sweet almond oil on a pure-cotton ball to remove makeup around this delicate area.
Reminder: Having trouble finding almond oil or any of the other great exotic ingredients in this book? Just take a quick jaunt to your local natural foods store or global market. Most of these items are available in your own neighborhood.
Give Your Feet a Treat
Our feet don't get the constant TLC they deserve, especially in the wintertime. Often neglected, our tootsies are usually left to our pedicurist for all the tough work. It's time to give your feet a treat at home and maintain beautiful-looking toes all year round. Here's a tip from our friends in the Mediterranean, using a traditional staple of many European mealtime dishes -- olive oil.
Beautify your feet by dipping them in warm olive oil for a few minutes, and then buff with coarse salt, and rinse. You'll have soft, beautiful feet in no time!
Get Dirty, Girl!
As you clean, get dirty! French women soak up toxins with clay, which absorbs oil and impurities without drying or irritating the skin. It draws out toxins from the skin and improves circulation. The best way to find clay is in powdered form at your local natural grocery store. Mix it with a little water (just enough to form a paste), and then smooth it over your face and body. Let dry, rinse off, and feel the difference!
Tip: If you have large pores and a tendency toward dull skin, a clay mask is your answer. It purifies your face, ridding it of dull, lifeless-looking flakes.
Lost Baggage? A Good Thing
Cucumbers are great for reducing puffiness around your eyes . . . it's a trick that's not so tricky. Just slice a few, and lay them on closed eyelids for a few minutes. One new secret I learned from my friends in Germany was to use chamomile tea bags to get the same effect. Just steep the tea bags in hot water for a few minutes, and let them cool. Place each bag over the eye, and relax for a few minutes. Take them off, and voila! Your puffiness is gone!
Think Mink for Anti-Aging
And you thought that only the rich and famous wore mink! Wrap your skin in luxury with rejuvenating mink oil. This amazing oil is recommended by many European dermatologists to reduce the look of aging skin. In fact, research by Belgium 's Health Department has proven that mink oil is the easiest to absorb and the most compatible oil for human skin. It's perfect for tackling fine lines, wrinkles, and age spots, as well as blemishes, stretch marks, scars, and irritated skin. Use it as a face moisturizer and makeup setter (a few drops of the mink oil spread evenly over your wet face or mixed with foundation), a nourishing treatment for thinning hair (a quick massage with a few drops), and a nourishing bath treatment (1 to 2 teaspoons in the tub).
Tip: If you feel a slight stretching of your skin after applying makeup over the mink oil, not to worry. This is a reaction between your product and the natural mink oil. Eliminate the sensation by applying a moisturizer after the oil.
Grab the Honey, Honey
Here is some sweet beauty. Polish women apply honey to their faces as an intensive moisturizer. Just a thin layer does the trick. This sweet, golden goo's firming and moisture-retaining properties make it popular with the older ladies as well, while also helping to protect the skin from the damage of UV rays. Smooth it on, then rinse away after a few minutes for softer skin!
Honey Mask for Sensitive Skin
Warm a small pot of honey in a double boiler over low heat. After testing a small dab on the inside of your elbow to make sure the temperature is safe, apply the honey generously over your entire face.
Leave the mask on for15 minutes. It may feel a little sticky, but the moisturizing benefits are worth it!
Rinse thoroughly with warm then cool water.
Feeling Blue?
Russian women mean business when it comes to keeping their skin healthy looking. Even when their skin is feeling a little blue -- black and blue, I mean. They use arnica cream to stimulate white blood cells to fight bacteria around a bruise. The arnica flowers blossom in Russia 's Siberian mountains and have tremendous healing power. Although herbal arnica is tough to find, search any natural foods store for topical creams and gels that have arnica as the main ingredient. They do the trick!
Scottish Sea kelp
Like a Scottish lass, turn to the sea and restore hair's shine with sea kelp. High in vitamins A, B, C, and E, kelp fortifies follicles and adds shine to hair. The hairdresser's shop is full of several shampoos with sea kelp as a main ingredient. Mix 1 tablespoon of kelp powder and 2 cups of warm water, and massage it into your scalp for two minutes. Then rinse away to fortified follicles!
French Flour Formula for Shiny, Silky Hair
This simple flouring technique is all the rage in France, where women are known for their beauty. This easy formula is the key to lustrous, manageable hair. Evidently, flour smoothes the scales of the hair shaft. Magnifique!
Flour Power
- 1/2 cup of white spelt flour
- 1/2 cup of barley flour
- 1 cup of distilled sater
- 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
- Shower cap
Sift the flours together in a large bowl. Pour in the water and vinegar, and mix well.
Spoon the mixture into your dry hair, and smooth the paste all over the hair, avoidignthe scalp. (This treatment is for the hair. It's not harmful for the scalp, but the focus is getting the paste on the individual strands of hair.)
Sweep the coated hair up on top of your head, and put on the shower cap. Leave on for twenty to thirty minutes.
Remove the cap and rinse the mixture off hair thoroughly, using cool water. (Hot water will make the flour stick to the hair shafts -- a gluey mess!)
Shampoo as usual, rinsing with cool water.
Venetian Gold -- The Perfect Hair Color
In Venice, the women once were obsessed with dyeing their hair blond with different concoctions (sometimes using the oddest ingredients, like alum and oriental crocus), choosing the hottest moment of the day to sit outside, and letting the sun bleach away the color. They still knew the importance of keeping skin safe from the sun's harmful rays. These lovelies wore a wide-brimmed hat called a solana to protect their faces from the sun while bleaching their hair.
Don't risk your hair's beauty -- apply sunscreen on your hair. After all, it needs shielding from the drying summer elements like salt, chlorine, sand, and sun . . . especially if you already have bleached color. Look for sunscreen made specifically for color-treated hair.
Tapped into Beauty
Turn off the tap, and turn instead to thermal water for what your skin needs. French women have started adding thermal water to their skin-care creams and cleansers to help relieve dryness and irritation. This water contains selenium, an anti-inflammatory that gets rid of redness; tap water, on the other hand, can strip away the skin's protective lipids and increase sensitivity.
Perk Up Your Summer
When summertime hits, Parisian women have nothing to worry about when it comes to perky breasts in their bikini tops! Follow the French and splash on cold water for breast-firming benefits. These flirty women use pulsing, ice-cold shower water to boost circulation, which allows their skin to absorb their favorite breast-firming creams more easily. They also believe that hot baths and steam treatments can cause sagging bust muscles -- a definite no-no when it comes to hitting the beach!
A Quick Brit Fix for Winter Skin
Wintertime in England can be harsh on the skin. With whipping winds causing chapping on lips, hands, and any other exposed skin, English lasses ask their local chemist for a glycerin fix for their dry skin. My friend Diane says she and her family swear by glycerin to soften up any chapped areas.
Hydrate for Beauty
Scandinavian women know that beautiful skin is just a splash away. These beauties simply drink at least 1 1/2 liters of pure spring water every day, and begin and end their day with 15 to 20 splashes of ice-cold spring mineral water after cleansing, which is said to encourage the skin's own natural functions. In other words, they can skip spending tons of money on expensive skin-care regimens that exfoliate and rejuvenate. The ice-cold water takes care of that for them! Ice-cold water also helps to reduce puffiness while bringing on a rosy glow.
Tip: I love using a spray bottle to mist my clients' faces after applying their makeup. Not only does a light mist help set their makeup, but it also hydrates and refreshes the skin! Try the Global Goddess Refresh Revitalizing Spritzer.
Spice Up Your Mood
There's nothing like a zesty fragrance to get the heart pumping, the mind going . . . and the mood soaring! Women in Spain know that the trick to elevating their mood starts in the kitchen and ends in the bath. Try enveloping your body at home in this zesty bath, sure to kick up any grumpy day.
Spanish Stress-Reducing Bath
- 1/4 cup of sesame oil
- 6 cloves
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 bay leaf
- Dash of dark rum
Combine ingredients. Steep for one hour in a dark glass bottle.
Add three drops to your bath for a lifted mood and conditioned skin.
Lash Out at Lame Lashes!
I used to work with an exquisite model who had the most amazing lashes. She told me about a little secret she picked up in Romania -- castor oil. Placed carefully on the eyelashes, it helps to strengthen and stimulate lash growth. It's also good for hair regeneration. Castor oil can rescue your thin, brittle lashes and locks.
Tip: When's the last time you replaced your mascara? To avoid clumpy, dry lashes and possible eye infections, make sure to replace your mascara once every three months. Also, avoid "pumping" your mascara brush into the tube to get more product on the wand. By doing this, you push more air into the tube, causing the product to dry out.
A Carrot a Day Keeps the Acne Away
Hungarian women reach for the carrot to relieve unsightly blemishes and to cleanse oily skin. They dab carrot oil lightly on the offending areas. Women in general have been using carrot oil to treat skin diseases since the sixteenth century. It's rich in beta-carotene and vitamin A, which nourish new cells.
A Good Witch
In England, girls who suffer from oily skin and breakouts turn to witch hazel for skin therapy. Witch hazel, a natural astringent, is used once a day to dry out breakouts and to reduce oil on the face. Make your own oil-control astringent by mixing 1 part witch hazel and 2 parts rose water.
Tip: Witch hazel also reduces puffy eyes. When I'm working on an actor with puffy eyes, the first thin I do is reach for the witch hazel. We keep a small amount in the refrigerator. Soak two cotton pads in witch hazel, and apply one cotton pad to each closed lid. Let sit for five minutes, and open to less puffy eyes.
European Facial -- A True Skin Treat
Nothing says beauty like a facial! Sources tell me that it's the second most popular spa treatment after massage therapy. After a facial, you leave the spa feeling like you just stepped out of a glamour magazine. A European facial involves a few basic steps: deep cleansing, skin analysis, steam, exfoliation, massage, and extraction of blackheads. This routine is followed by an application of products (either a mask or moisturizer) targeted to your skin type, whether it's dry, oily, mixed, sensitive, or mature. With all that close attention and special care, your skin will thank you with a healthy glow.
Tip: There are a few things to remember when you have a facial. First, never get a facial the day before a special event. All that massaging and deep cleansing stirs up the impurities in your skin's deep layers, and you might have a breakout or two. It's also important not to overindulge. Don't have more than one facial a month or every six weeks; your skin needs time to regenerate.
Wake Up Your Feet
Hard day on your feet? Wake up your tired dogs with mint as the British beauties do. The refreshing oils in mint stimulate the circulation and get your toes a-tinglin'. Soak your feet in warm water, then smooth on peppermint oil. Prop up your tootsies on a few pillows, and feel your hard day ebb away. Or mix peppermint oil into unscented body lotion, and give your entire body a minty, refreshing treat!
Peppermint Cooling Leg Spray
- Mix 10 drops of peppermint oil with a few ounces of isopropyl alcohol.
- Pour into a pump bottle.
- Spray on tired legs for a quick pick-me-up.
Get Deeper Color
Brunette beauties in Romania often maintain their naturally deep, luscious hair color by rinsing with an infusion of walnut tree leaves. The concoction is made by steeping the leaves in hot water and then straining them out, and it helps to bring out the hair's dark reflexes. Their blond counterparts choose a rinse of chamomile tea for golden hair shine.
Swedish Massage to the Rescue
A relaxing Swedish massage is all I need to unwind from a day of the crazies. Traditional Swedish massage was developed by a doctor in the 1700s and is based on the theory that by applying pressure and rubbing in the same direction as the flow of blood returning to the heart, you'll relax the muscles. This practice uses five main strokes to achieve its relaxing and healing effects. Through kneading and friction techniques on the more superficial layers of the muscles (so it's not as painful as those deep tissue massages), you will drift away!
Do I Smell Garlic?
If you suffer from goose bumps like I do, you know how hard it is to shave your legs. When savvy girls in Russia cut themselves shaving, they rub cloves of raw garlic on the affected area. Garlic contains antibacterial compounds that help heal those nicks and cuts -- fast.
Tip: For a smoother shave, start off your shower with a good exfoliating scrub. Sloughing off dead skin will make your shave smoother, and you'll be less likely to nick yourself.
Lips Like Sugar
Although their moms warm it to use as a supermoist facial treatment, Polish teens use honey to soften their lips. The honey acts as a humectant, drawing moisture form the air to your skin. This balm keeps your lips soft and plump -- kissing perfection!
Sugar and Spice Equals Skin So Nice
Sweeten the deal by exfoliating away rough spots the way of the Greeks -- with olive oil and sugar. The oil loosens layers of dead skin, while the sugar sloughs them off.
Greek Sugar Body Scrub
- 1/4 cup of sugar
- 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
Mix ingredients to form a thick paste. Apply liberally in the shower, and massage in a circular motion.
Lighten Your Locks
To brighten their blond hair, German women turn to chamomile. To follow their recipe, add a handful of dried chamomile flowers to a pint of boiling water, and let steep for twenty minutes. Strain, cool and apply to just-shampooed hair. Let sit for thirty minutes, and then rinse.
Love Your Blond Hair
Speaking of lightening your locks. European beauties know that flowers hold the secret to beautiful blond hair. In Russia, these stunners add a handful of dried daisies to a pint of hot water, and let sit for twenty to thirty minutes. After straining it into a container, they use this floral mix as a final rinse to bring out fabulous blond highlights!
Beer: More Than a Drink
My girlfriend Patrizia, a fashion stylist from Belgium, has the most incredible sense of style. I had to pick her brain about some Belgian beauty secrets. I asked her about maintaining thick, smooth hair -- a definite fashion must -- have. She divulged that beer is the secret ingredient in Belgium, where there are said to be over four hundred varieties. But rather than drinking it, Belgian women use it as a final rinse for thicker, frizz-free hair.
Vinegar Equals Shiny Hair
I also spoke with Meike, another talented fashion stylist and Patrizia's mom. She told me that she often uses apple cider vinegar as a final rinse to get super-shiny locks. All it takes is 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar (available at almost any grocery store). And of course, you should adjust the amount according to the length of your hair.
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