At the end of the day your skin needs to rejuvenate. At bedtime use a moisturizer that is rich in emollients and which contains ingredients that are designed to hydrate and revitalize your skin while you sleep. Sacha’s Overnight Moisture Lotion contains Babassu Oil, a super-rich emollient, which reduces fine lines and helps control the signs of aging.
NIGHT MOISTURIZERS (with Alpha Hydroxy Acids)
Hydroxy acids are natural ingredients, which gently lift and remove dead cells from your skin. These mild acids are natural exfoliants which increase cell turn over and improve skin texture.
There are two basic types of these natural exfoliants:
• Alpha hydroxy acids have a “drop off” rate which means that it will only work when there are dead cells to exfoliate.
• Beta hydroxy acids do not have a “drop off” rate and will continue to exfoliate even after the point when the dead cells have been removed. They therefore have a greater potential to
irritate the skin.
As often as required, use a night treatment which contains natural exfoliants to remove the dead cells. Sacha’s Overnight Renewal Lotion contains 5% alpha hydroxy acids to gently exfoliate your skin while you sleep. Allantoin contained in this product helps to reduce irritation.
Though abrasive physical facial scrubs are widely used for exfoliation, they have a reputation of irritating the skin. A product containing alpha hydroxy acid is a wiser choice.
The Sacha chemists have cut out all the hoopla and have developed a skin care regime that is simple and very effective. To learn more about our Sacha skin care line, please visit us at: http://www.sachacosmetics.com/skincare.htm.
SKIN LIGHTENERS
At Sacha we have taken a firm position against manufacturing any product designed to lighten your natural skin color. The potential damaging effects of skin lighteners, in our view, far outweigh the perceived benefits.
Bleaching creams as they are commonly called, generally contain hydroquinone which can cause irreparable damage to your skin. Prolonged use inhibits the production of melanin, a natural pigment which protects the skin from all the damaging effects of the sun. It also causes the skin to look transparent as it becomes “thin”.
After discontinuation of use of these products, the skin continues to lighten, sometimes for several years, with no sign of stopping. Dark spots often become very light spots. Prolonged use can also cause your skin to become red, blotchy and blistered.
We strongly advise against using skin lighteners, especially those containing over 5% hydroquinone. We recommend instead that you use a sunscreen during the day containing at least SPF 15 sun protection and an alpha hydroxy exfoliant at nights. This is in our view, a far safer approach.
COMEDOGENIC INGREDIENTS
This is a term used to describe ingredients, which have the potential to clog pores and cause acne. Always bear in mind that acne has been proven to be hereditary and can be influenced by stress, hormonal fluctuations, medications and most certainly by excessive exposure to
sunlight.
Some women have the pre-conceived notion that foundations clog pores. This is simply not true. Unlike in the past, manufacturers today have a host of substitutes for any ingredient that is suspected to be comedogenic or has the potential to clog the pores.
Having said that, for your information, the following are a list of suspect ingredients:
• Acetylated Lanolin
• Acetylated Lanolin Alcohol
• Algin
• Carrageenan
• Cetearyl Alcohol and Ceteareth 20
• Cocoa Butter
• Coconut Butter
• Coconul Oil
• Disodium Monooleamido PEG 2-Sulfosuccinate
• Ethylhexyl Palmitate
• Glyceryl-3-Diisosterate
• Hexadecyl Alcohol
• Isocetyl Stearate
• Isodecyl Oleate
• Isopropyl Isostearate
• Isopropyl Myristate
• Isopropyl Palmitate
• Isostearyl Isostearate
• Laureth
• Lauric Acid
• Myristyl Lactate
• Myristyl Myristate
• Octyl Palmitate
• Octyl Stearate
• Oleth-3
• Oleyl Alcohol
• PEG-16 Lanolin
• PG 2 Myristyl Propionate
• Polyglyceryl-3-Diisosteatate
• Potassium Chloride
• Propylene Glycol Monostearate
• Red Algae
• Sodium Chloride
• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
• Sorbitan Sesquinoleate
• Soulan 16
• Steareth 10
• Stearyl Heptanonate
• Wheat Germ Oil
• Xylene
FOUNDATIONS
“Dress shabbily, they notice the dress. Dress impeccably, they notice you”.
Coco Chanel
When doing a painting, the artist first primes the canvas with a base color. This primer must have sufficient coverage to conceal the blemishes in the material and provide a smooth surface on which to work. It has to be a neutral color to bring out the colors the artist intends to use. This neutral primer used is white.
A makeup artist, as the name suggests is an artist. The “primer” used is foundation. When doing a makeover, you cannot of course use white, since it will result in a mask-like appearance. You must find a “primer” that matches your natural skin tone.
This “primer” must have good coverage and be neutral enough to allow your eye, cheek and lip makeup to highlight your natural beauty. The greatest challenge facing any makeup artist or makeup wearer is finding the right foundation!
The problem is, from the inception, foundations were not invented to perfectly match our natural skin tones. They were first developed for the movie industry by early cosmetics pioneers such as Max Factor.
These were the days when “white light” was used, causing actors and actresses to look “washed out”. To put color on their faces, cosmetic manufacturers developed foundations with a red base. This era of “pink” foundations dominated the cosmetic market during this period and still forms the basis of many brands today.
As the movie industry developed, natural light was introduced and there was no longer the need for “red” foundations. Manufacturers then began reducing the amount of red used in their formulations to better match various skin tones.
Foundations, for many years however, remained far too red. Later, manufacturers began adding more yellow to their foundations to alter the pink look. The “added yellow” however, gave foundations an unattractive orange look.
During this time, cosmetics manufacturers began recognizing that there was an emerging market for African American cosmetics. They took their existing “red” formulas, darkened them, and foundations for women of color were invented. They however failed to take into account that most darker women have yellow undertones and needed to wear foundations with a yellow base.
In his book “Making Faces”, renowned makeup artist, Kevyn Aucoin, states:
“Years ago, foundation was used specifically to alter the color of the skin, re: ‘rosy glow’. But the trend of the last few years has taken us from what intentionally changed the wearer’s natural coloring to products that match the tones perfectly”.He later adds:
“ Still, if you choose to wear foundation, there are two important things to consider when selecting a product, the ‘look’ you want to achieve and that it matches your skin”.At Sacha, we believe that a foundation should provide sufficient coverage to suit the individual’s need and yet remain natural-looking. Your foundation should perfectly match your natural skin color so you do not end up with a “ring” around your face.
From our experience, most Caucasian, African and all Asian and Latin women have yellow-based skin. Yet, most foundations have red or orange tones.
When women with natural yellow undertones wear foundation with a pink or orange base, they often end up with an unnatural looking hue. Women with darker skin tones often turn ashy. Darker African women often look at least one shade darker than their natural skin color.
Because of this, until recently there had been only one “black” Miss Universe in the history of the Pageant. For over twenty years beautiful African delegates would walk out on stage, look ashy under the stage lights, and lose every chance of winning.
After developing our yellow-based foundations we felt that the best way to test them would be on African contestants in beauty pageants. We knew that if dark African delegates did not look ashy on stage then we had hit the jackpot.
And, so we did! The very first beauty contestant who wore our yellowbased foundations was adjudged 2nd Runner Up in the 1997 Miss Universe Pageant. The second one was crowned Miss Universe 1998, wearing our Perfect Copper foundation, and Miss Universe 1999 won the title wearing our Perfect Honey foundation. Our foundations matched their skin tones perfectly without a trace of ashiness.
After twenty years of not having a “black” Miss Universe, we had two in a row, both wearing the same brand of cosmetics - Sacha.
If our foundations could work so beautifully on the most difficult skin tones, imagine how perfect they will be for you.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT FOUNDATION
Foundation is the cosmetic product that women pay the most attention to. It can make the difference between having a natural, flawless finish or looking as if you are wearing a mask.
The foundation market today is saturated with many types and brands of foundations. At the cosmetics counter you are confronted with an array of choices - liquid, cream, oil- free, powder, allergy tested, cake, stick, stay-on, hypoallergenic, cream to powder, non-comedogenic and camouflage foundations. It is indeed quite a mind-blowing experience, especially if you are a first time buyer.
To make it easier for you to determine the type that’s best for you, we have placed foundations into four major categories:
LIQUID FOUNDATIONS
Liquid foundations usually offer sheer coverage and provide a natural look. Most women prefer a liquid foundation because it is easy to apply and fits like a ‘second skin’. They are available in water-based and oilbased formulas.
Sacha’s “Stay-On Color” Liquid Foundation is oil-free and semi-matte. It provides sheer coverage. It is yellow-based and will perfectly match your skin tone. It is suitable for normal, oily or combination skin types.
CREAM FOUNDATIONS
Cream foundations are traditionally the number one choice of makeup artists. They are usually available in compacts or sticks, and provide very good coverage. Foundations of this consistency provide a creamy flawless finish and are easy to apply.
Sacha’s Cream Foundation will perfectly match your skin tone with a flawless, natural-looking finish. It is ideally suited to women with normal, dry or combination skin.
This is the type of foundation most frequently used by our Sacha Makeup artists at international beauty pageants.
Part 1, Part 3, Part 4
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