To me, the idea of “bright” skin is what my cheeks look like when after a brisk walk in early November.  The companies trying to define their products are tossing around words like “luminous,” “younger,” “glowing,” “younger,” “radiant,” “younger,” “brighter” … (any English teachers out there who want to remind them you can’t use the word itself as part of the definition?)

Skin brightening, not to be confused with lightening or whiting, is about all those things – and sort of nothing at the same time.  The things that dull the skin – oils, dead skin cells, dryness and so forth – are already being addressed if you have a normal cleansing and moisturizing routine.  If you aren’t currently exfoliating a couple of times a week, try it. The difference will amaze you.

But brighteners?  Many are a type of moisturizer that is chock full of vitamins and antioxidants.  What I’m using now has those things too, even though a derivative of the word “bright” doesn’t appear anywhere on the label.  And since I don’t wear makeup, it’s obvious right away whether or not my skin is bright.  But after you’ve cleansed, toned, moisturized and then “put on your face” with foundation, blush and the works, who’s to know if you did or didn’t brighten?

Brighteners often say they will also help even out skin tones, fading discoloration and reducing blotchiness, so that could make a difference in how your makeup appears on its canvas.  Ingredients to look for include AHAs and Vitamin C.  What those ingredients do, like many skin care products, is help break up dead cells so they’re easier to wash away, as well as promote faster cell turnover.  Newer skin is going to be brighter, of course, but honestly, you may already be using products that do this for you.

All that said, there’s no reason not to add brighteners to your routine, especially if you’re not a regular exfoliator, aren’t loading up on vitamins and antioxidants through your skin care regimen or your diet, or just because you want to, dammit!

There are too many choices out there, and Ulta, Sephora and drugstore.com are where you should start.  If you’re still not sure what to choose, talk to your trusted beauty adviser or Ask LookinGood, and we’ll try to narrow it down for you!

Mass market products include those that contain aloe vera and vitamin E like Palmer’s Scar Serum with Cocoa Butter or Mederma, both of which can be purchased at your local drugstore.  Also popular among the homeopathic crowd are brands containing Allium CEPA, or onion extract, which is found to have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Home remedies we have read about run the kitchen gamut.  Wiki-How says to use plain yogurt or lemon on your face to help fade acne scars.  All of the above are solid, uncomplicated approaches to minor problems, but most people are looking for something faster and stronger.

And so, we turn to modern science.  Our research told us that products containing silicones like Dimethicone are effective in the treatment of scars.  Scars on the skin are basically excessive collagen that has formed around the wound, and silicone sheets, gels and other silicone topicals seem to “soften” the collagen, allowing it to flatten and fade, though the interaction is not completely understood.  Silicone sheets are obtained through your doctor, but other clinical-level silicones may be obtained without a prescription like Kelacote Scar Gel, and Xeragel by BioDermis.

We also learned to be careful NOT to use products with the silicones D4 and D5, as these have been flagged by both the Canadian government and the European Union as potentially toxic.  The lesson here is “read the label.”

Other popular brands that use a variety of Vitamin E, good silicones and retinol ingredients are Kinerase Scar Healing Therapy and AmorePacific Enzyme Peel, which is an exfoliant that reduces scars over time.  We have also seen InviCible Scars Advanced Scar Therapy mentioned as a front-runner that can be used for multiple scarring issues.

Serious scarring, particularly acne scars, call for a trip to a dermatologist who might then recommend dermabrasion, laser treatments and even special grafting procedures for what is called “depressed acne” scars.

The good news is that there are multitudes of professional treatments.  From our standpoint, the difficulty would be choosing which one.

But those gifts – gold, frankincense and myrrh – have been used in cosmetics and skin care since long before the Magi followed that star to Bethlehem and they can still be found in products today.  Poking around, it did occur to us that the three men, wise as they were, would have had a much easier time of it if they’d had wi-fi and GPS, but that’s another story.

It’s no surprise that gold was and is used in myriad products today, sometimes for color, but also for its effects on the skin. Rumor has it that Cleopatra slept in a gold mask.  It is said to increase blood flow to the areas where applied, “speeding up the cellular processes and activating regeneration,” according to information on the Oro Gold Cosmetics website. It is also said to work at a “deep cellular level … slowing down collagen depletion and the breakdown of elastin.”

Oro Gold is a luxury line, obviously, given the price of gold on the stock market these days.  But it’s also pretty interesting. All of the products in this pretty extensive line are infused with 24-karat gold. It includes everyday facial care, collagen boost series, masks, a men’s line and a “bionic facial expressions” series, which claims to give results similar to treatments like Botox, without the paralysis.  So much for diamonds being a girl’s best friend.

Frankincense and myrrh are in some appealing products, too.  Both are plant resins, most notable for their fragrances and used heavily in incense and as essential oils. But they have other healing properties as well.

Frankincense is a stress-reducer and has been found to encourage the growth of skin cells. It has long been used to heal everything from vomiting and sores to leprosy and gonorrhea.  The South African company Dermaxime uses it in a rejuvenating face wash that’s filled with stuff that helps the skin, including AHAs, BHAs, horse chestnut extract and a dozen or more ingredients like that.

Ren Skin Care and LUSH also use frankincense in products that we’re putting on our wish list.

Myrrh is primarily an effective skin care agent when the essential oil is mixed with a so-called carrier oil. It’s not the main ingredient, but can improve the look and glow of skin, and has soothing and calming effects to ease dry or severely dry skin.

Today, three guys showing up at your door carrying gold, frankincense and myrrh is probably going to seem a little like Ziggy Stardust at Woodstock, but hey, check out their skin. You might want to let them in.

Ain’t it always the way? You start losing the hair on your head and it starts sprouting out of all kinds of other unwanted places. Like your nose and your ears. Not only does it sprout, but it grows. Fast. Like weeds. Or kudzu. And it’s not just one long stray, but it comes in tufts.

And it’s as hard to tame as jungle undergrowth. You can’t just hack through with tweezers or regular trimmers because those protuberant little follicles are amazingly sensitive. As tempting as it sounds to grab a machete or weed whacker, at some point in our lives we are all going to have to reach for a nose hair trimmer.

It’s personal grooming’s embarrassing little secret; one of those products you never admit to using or owning (although it would be much more disgusting to borrow one). But besides your finger, it’s the only thing actually engineered to fit up your nose. And truthfully, it’s a lot easier just to get one and get it done than try to find an alternative tool or watch your head slowly start to look like a fluffy cauliflower.

There are manual and battery-operated versions of the nose hair clippers and all of them also work on the ears (and eye brows, guys, if you’re tired of the Andy Rooney look). Just about any company that makes an electric shaver also makes nose hair clippers. Remington rates high at shopinprivate.com, but Panasonic and Oster are more highly rated at Amazon.com.

They range in price anywhere from $3.95 to $25.95 and up. The fancy models come with vacuums to suck up the trimmings or lights and mirrors so no strays are missed. The wet/dry versions are marketed as more easily cleanable and good for allergy season or “in case you have a cold.” Um, yuck.

Maybe the only thing worse than that image though is wanton wiry bristles bursting out of the orifices in which they once hid.

At first blush, you might mistake rosacea (roe-ZAY-shuh) for a rosy glow or maybe an odd sunburn.  It’s a red splotch or patch of pimples you think is going to go away, but keeps coming back.

If that’s not vague enough for you, rosacea, which affects an estimated 14 million Americans, can come and go, it’s not clear what causes it and there’s no cure. Oh yeah, skin tone and skin type don’t matter either, although it is most obvious among the fair-skinned.

The National Rosacea Society (NSR) lists the warning signs as: Redness on the cheeks, nose, chin or forehead; small visible blood vessels on the face; bumps or pimples on the face; or watery or irritated eyes.  (For good measure, the American Academy of Dermatology says it can also occur on the ears, chest and back).

To us, that sounds like the side effects of a girls’ night out or the start of allergy season.  However, if those symptoms show up regularly or seem to be caused by exercise, stress, too much sun or wind, temperature swings, spicy foods or drinking,  you might consider talking to a dermatologist or your physician to see if it might be rosacea.

Left untreated, it can become increasingly severe, turning into bumps, spreading to larger areas and even causing the skin to thicken, according to WebMD.com.  It can also cause burning and soreness in the eyelids.

As the number of rosacea sufferers grow, more products are being introduced to address the problem.  Every source that has anything to say about rosacea stresses using sunscreen.  Look for products that are specifically made to reduce redness and even skin tone, like Estee Lauder’s Verite Moisture Relief Cream (1.7 fl oz/ $50); Clinique’s Redness Solutions line (&17.50-$39.50); Bare Escentuals RareMinerals Skin Revival Treatment (.15 oz / $60); or MD Skincare’s Hydra-Pure Redness Soothing Serum ($42.50).

Keep in mind that key ingredients to avoid include astringents (i.e. alcohol, witch hazel) and fragrance.

Other treatments for rosacea are antibiotic creams or pills; Accutane or Retin-A, and in the most severe cases, dermabrasion, cryosurgery (freezing bad skin cells with liquid nitrogen) or laser surgery.

Most people affected are between the ages of 30-50, both male and female, but it can also affect children.  Of course, that makes rosacea just one more thing to worry about as we age, especially without well-defined symptoms.  However, if you find yourself a little too red in the face a little too often, maybe it’s time to talk to a dermatologist.

April is National Rosacea Awareness month.

As Linus sat in that pumpkin patch year after year waiting for The Great Pumpkin to bring toys to all the children, you couldn’t help but notice there was nary a blemish on his perfect little cheek and he never seems to age. The secret, friends, is in the pumpkin.

There is little than makes us happier than a pumpkin pie in a flaky crust (Just pass me the pie plate and a fork). Imagine our delight in finding out that getting that creamy puree all over our faces is a good thing.

Pumpkins and their seeds are among those skin care miracle workers that can soften, smooth, erase and heal. Pumpkin offerings are on as many fall spa menus as restaurant menus, from facials to peels to body wraps. And it’s getting easier to find pumpkin products where you shop for your everyday personal care items.

That bright orange flesh is filled with antioxidants (betacarotene, lutein), vitamins and minerals (the Bs, as well as A, C and E; potassium, niacin, riboflavin). The seeds provide protein, magnesium, zinc, iron and copper. Whether you eat it or wear it, it’s good for your skin. Look for “cucurbita pepo” on product ingredient lists and then just say it out loud because it’s fun.

We expected to find it in products for the face and body, like Desert Essence’s Hand Repair Cream and MyChelle’s line that includes Pumpkin Renew Cream, a toner and the Incredible Pumpkin Peel to slough off dead cells and give you that glowing, Linus-like baby soft skin.

But we also found it in a couple of hair care products, namely Rusk Purify Deep Cleaning Shampoo with Cucurbita (told you it’s fun to say,)  and Tea Tree Oil, and Nexxus Botanoil Nourishing Botanical Shampoo and Conditioner.

Most surprisingly, cucurbita pepo seed extract is a key ingredient in RapidLash.

Great Pumpkin indeed.

• DivaVillage explains the benefits of pumpkin and skin and massage.
• A nutritionist extols the healing properties of pumpkin.
• And check out the ingredients in RapidLash.  There’s that funny word again.

The study, in which P&G put its Pro-X line up against the prescription wrinkle-reducer tretinoin (aka Retin A) .02%, and won, was published in the British Journal of Dermatology.  That makes us think that the study may have been a little more independent of the product company than these things generally are.

“We believe this is the first of its kind clinical study comparing a cosmetic anti-aging regimen against a recognized prescription topical treatment for improving the appearance of facial wrinkling,” said Joe Kaczvinsky, PhD, a principal scientist at P&G Beauty & Grooming and a lead author of the study, in a press release from the company. “Having this study published in a prestigious peer-reviewed journal is a testament to the significance of these findings.”

And Joe, we do agree that’s pretty significant.

In the study, nearly 200 women were divided into two groups. Half used a daily regimen of Pro-X Repair moisturizing cream (with an SPF30) in the morning and the Pro-X Wrinkle Smoothing Cream in the evening, and Pro-X Deep Wrinkle Treatment twice a day for eight weeks. The other half used an SPF 30 sunscreen and the tretinoin 0.02 percent every other day for two weeks and then every day for the other six weeks, as per directed for the prescription drug.

After eight weeks, experts compared the participants’ fine lines and wrinkles before and after using the products, blind to which group was using what product. Olay came out ahead, with 58 percent of the people using Pro-X showing improvement, while only 41 percent of the tretinoin group saw improvement.

Two groups of 25 women used the products for an additional four months, and the women’s skin continued to show results, but the efficacy of the products was virtually even. The study authors, including Kaczvinsky, did note that limitations to the study include the small number of people in the extended study.  Others will argue that the products do different things: Pro-X being a moisturizing regimen and tretinoin being an irritant designed to generate new skin.

The bottom line is they both reduce those lines and wrinkles, but one is mass-market and the other is a prescription topical, with all the related expense. Olay is so sure about Pro-X, it guarantees you’ll be happy with the product or offers your money back.  It is also worth noting that in 2007, Consumer Reports found Olay Regenerist, at $19, was the top performer against Lancome Paris Renergie, $176 and La Prairie Cellular at $335 an ounce, as well as several other brands.

All in all, it seems to us anyway, a trip to the drugstore for our skin products doesn’t leave much to lose.

If YouTube was considered a search engine, it would be second only to Google.  More than just a place to watch your favorite music videos about lipstick stains, it’s a how-to gold mine, with users posting clips showing you how to do everything from riding a bike to open heart surgery.   LookinGood often uses it as a reference, picking and choosing tidbits as we need them. But when we started looking for a channel to subscribe to – someone we could turn to regularly for makeup needs, we found the pickin’s to be slim.

The best makeup videos out there are done, not surprisingly, by young women.  they are most comfortable with the medium of YouTube.  Many are professional and relevant to our over-39-year-old needs,  but users need to get comfortable taking advice from someone who looks like they are also going to sell you Girl Scout cookies.

• Our favorite “kid” skincare advisor is Michelle Phan, who is now a spokeswoman for Lancome.  If you can get over the fact that she does videos about “theme park makeup” (like Disneyland), she’s a real makeup artist who does excellent demonstrations on the application of foundation, the use of brushes and a whole host of color techniques.
• Makeup Geek is a bit older, with a straight-forward approach about achieving results like contouring to make your face look thinner or how to apply normal-looking eyeliner.
• MakeupByCheri is another one we found with decent how-to applications on using powder blushes or how to put on mascara.  She IS a 22 years old, however, so occasionally subscribers are subjected to chronicles of loud road trips that and unintelligible slang.
• Wayne Goss is a makeup artist from the UK who teaches both men and women all the basics as well as those special occasion-night-on-the-town looks.  It is a little odd to watch a man apply purple eye shadow, but this is 2010, what can we say?
• Women of color have The Accidental Beauty who needs some lighting expertise for her videos, and Lady Elle, who has the best personality and music.

And as for the over-40 set or over-50 set, fuhgeddaboudit, unless you want to watch a clip on “how to look like a cougar.”  Most of the videos are sitcoms waiting to happen (you read it here first), taking themselves way too seriously without offering anything useful, like Lanaindiana (“Hi, this is Lana, welcoming you back to my bathroom” or  Amy Miranda who offers bad audio and “Saturday night pub” makeup.

Because YouTube is also a social media marketing tool, cosmetics and personal care companies post a lot of how-to videos, as do salons and makeup artists, like Allison Saunders, and MAC Cosmetics.  We found this especially true when it comes to men’s grooming.  There aren’t a lot of guys in their bedrooms with their mischievous cats offering grooming and shaving tips.  Most, like AlphaM. Image Consulting or posts from the Grooming Lounge guys, are quasi-professional or professionally made.  That doesn’t mean the videos aren’t helpful, it just means they’re trying to sell you something.

Turns out, peptides are amino acids, or the building blocks of protein. There are basically four types of peptides used in skin care products: acetyl hexapeptide-3, palmitoyl pentapeptide-3, palmitoyl oligopeptide and copper peptides.  Each is thought to have a different, positive effect on skin, but there isn’t a lot of research to back up claims made by the product manufacturers.

As popular as peptides are, whether or not they are worth all the hoopla may be in the face of the user. In one post, thebeautybrains.com calls the anti-wrinkle, anti-aging claims bunk, saying there is little or no supporting evidence.  Another post says that “recent evidence indicates certain peptides can interact with skin to trigger biological activity,” but also notes that the tests were done on tetrapeptide, which wasn’t found in products when that article was originally written.

If you are reading labels, peptides break down like this:

• acetyl hexapeptide-3 is thought to relax facial wrinkles
• palmitoyl pentapeptide-3 and palmitoyl oligopeptide may stimulate production of collagen and hyaluronic acid in various layers of the skin, increasing elasticity and smoothness
• copper peptides, according to wrinklereview.com, “have been studied due to their ability to encourage the skin to heal wounds” … a peptide pep talk for the skin? The website adds that because they’re not an anti-wrinkle ingredient, they aren’t used in today’s skin care products like they were years ago.
• palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7 is one of the few peptides with research to support its effectiveness. It has been shown to slow glycation damage.

Paula Begoun, the Cosmetics Cop, says that peptides can’t be proven or disproven as topical applications because they aren’t absorbed enough into the skin.  The bottom line is that it appears that using them won’t hurt your skin, and a unproven possibility that they do help.  Having peptides as the main ingredient of a product, however, isn’t reason enough to buy it.

More information on peptides can be found on these sites:

• WrinkleReview.com
• TheDermBlog.com

Big nose:

• Product:   Makeup and shadows that give the appearance of a slimmer schnozz.  Highlighter to the bridge of the nose, darker bronze to the sides.  Google “makeup to slim the nose” and you’ll get hundreds of methods.

• Process:  Non-surgical nose job using injectables.  Botox can relax the pull on the widest part of the nose and fillers will smooth out the bumps.  For certain nose problems, it’s easy.

• Plastic surgery:  Rhinoplasty, the most common of cosmetic surgeries, can give you that cute little button nose in a day’s time.  Bruises are gone in a week and you’re good to go.

Double chin:

• Product:  Neck creams – there are millions of them.  Dermajuv Neck Restoration Cream, Strivectin Neck Cream, Philosophy Neck Cream, with the truly depressing tag line “when hope is not enough.”

• Process:  The Neckline Slimmer.  A clever little device that helps you exercise your wattle away with three levels of resistance – none of which are easy (yes, I tried it, but it seemed too much like, well, exercise, so I gave it up.)

• Plastic surgery:  Cervicoplasty and/or platysmaplasty, or just a facelift, will tighten up that neckline so well, you’ll have a hard time looking up.

You see my point, right?  But one problem has stumped my theory, and that is the problem of drooping eyelids.  It seems to occur really quickly – like one night you drank too much and those hangover eyes just never went away.  No amount of eye shadow can cover them, no eye cream can firm them, no exercises can lift them.  Only Blepharoplasty will lift those lids to their original height.

Until now.  Introducing our newest discovery – Victoria McGill’s EyeDefining Contour Strips.

“EyeDefining contour strips temporarily reduce the effects of drooping upper eyelids by tucking and holding the loose skin of your eyelid into your natural crease” says the website.  It’s goofy, but remarkably simple.  It’s like lamination tape, basically – a stiff, formed piece of transparent tape that, when applied, pushes the excess skin into the natural crease of your eye and holds it there.  There’s a video on the website with instructions and dozens of before and after pictures of women whose eyes look 10 years younger.

As a temporary measure, it will work, but eyelid skin is extremely sensitive, so applying and removing tape – especially strong, hard, tape – is not a great idea, no matter how much moisturizer you use, as the product directions suggest.  Eyelid infection, or Blepharitis, is common, and often a real bitch to get rid of.  By the company’s own admission, the tape is difficult to apply.  “When applying the strips for the first time, please be patient. It may take 2 or 3 tries until you get the hang of it. When properly positioned you should not feel the strip after a blink or two.”

Removing the tape is the problem, of course.  If you’re not REALLY careful, you could damage skin that is already very, very thin.

This may be one of those times that only one “P” has the answer – plastic surgery.  Eye creams are generally intended for under the eye and any dermatologist will advise you to leave the tender skin above the eye alone. Because  if you think your eyelids are drooping now, imagine what they look like infected.