Improve How You Look And Feel In the Buff
While we know that we should love and accept our bodies—and we’re working on it!—that doesn’t change the fact that most of us dread getting into a swimsuit…let alone our birthday suit. Whether you want to look better for yourself or feel more confident with your partner, we’ve consolidated 11 tips that can quickly improve how you look and feel in the buff.
Self-Tanners: Instead of baking in the sun for days, applying a sunless tanner will quickly give you the look of a week spent relaxing on the beach—but without all the skin damage and used-up vacation days. When we look tan, we tend to feel like we have a more beautiful glow.
Using sunless tanner also evens out and creates the appearance of flawless, healthy skin. So not only does it, within a matter of hours, give our pasty limbs a tan glow, but it also helps reduce the appearance of discoloration, veins, marks, and cellulite.
And, tan-looking skin is also famous for giving a person a thinner, more toned appearance (we swear it looks like we’ve lost 3-5 pounds after using sunless tanner).
Exfoliate: Flaky, rough skin looks and feels unpleasant. So even out, soften, and refresh the look of your skin through exfoliation.
Slough dead skin away during a warm bath or shower using a body scrub, loofah or body brush to reveal the baby soft layer of skin underneath. (If you want to use self-tanner, be sure to exfoliate before applying your tanner).
The act of exfoliating will also get your circulation pumping leaving your skin radiating a healthy glow. Be sure not to forget your back and bum!
Moisturize: After you’ve exfoliated, generously apply body moisturizer. Moisturizer helps your skin feel softer, smoother, and the hydration gives you an added glow.
Keep a tinted bronzing body moisturizer on hand for those times that you need a super quick fix and haven’t had time to (sunless) tan.
Concealer: If you have a scar, bruise or discoloration on your body that you’re not so pleased with—we’ve all got ‘em—in addition to using self-tanner, you can also camouflage it with a little body concealer.
For spot touch ups on your body, you can also try using your regular face makeup concealer, or, for more heavy-duty needs, you could try specially designed tattoo cover-up to conceal stubborn skin blemishes and discoloration. (Cover-up rules of thumb: green concealer tints cover red and pink; yellow covers blue, like with bruising; lavender or light purple covers yellow; white covers brown.) To keep concealer put, top off with a thin layer of translucent powder.
You could also consider dramatically evening out your skin tone with spray on body makeup. Many makeup brands make spray-on concealers for legs and body—don’t be afraid to try them. They’re easy to apply and can really work wonders making your skin look perfectly even and flawless (it seriously looks like you’re wearing panty hose when you wear this on your legs). Make sure you apply it evenly and that the color is the appropriate level of darkness/lightness for your skin!
Red Bumps & Ingrown Hairs: Taking care of the hair “down there” may help you quickly feel more confident when naked, but what about those unsightly red bumps that can pop up after your hair removal? One problem begets another, unless you follow these tips:
The most basic advice to help reduce bumps and irritation caused by shaving is to shave properly: first soak in warm water, then thoroughly exfoliate the area before shaving with a clean, sharp razor. After you’ve shaved, dry the area completely and apply a product that will help sooth your skin and reduce friction/irritation (you can even use baby powder, tea tree oil or coconut oil).
Cellulite: Oh, cellulite, there is nothing worse than you to make us want to keep our clothes on forever. Those unsightly divots, dimples and lumps are almost impossible to permanently get rid of, but there are ways you can help temporarily disguise them.
For one quick fix, you can try a caffeine-containing lotion that will temporarily dehydrate the cellulite affected areas of your skin while plumping the top layer of skin to help fill in the dimples.
Exfoliating and using self tanner are other ways to help slightly reduce the appearance of cellulite.
Bloating: It’s impossible to instantly rock a fit body if you aren’t regularly working out and eating properly—but you can (kind of) fake it by eliminating any extra bloating and water weight you may be carrying around.
To reduce water retention and excess gas that may be puffing you up, avoid foods that promote bloating: sodium, alcohol, raw veggies (particularly cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower), sugar, artificial sweeteners, carbonated beverages and dairy, in some cases. And of course avoid foods to which you may be sensitive, as these can cause bloating too.
Also, try to opt for foods that help reduce bloating. Drink lots of water to flush out excessive fluid retention and munch on bloat-fighting foods such as strawberries, bananas and cooked spinach. Sipping on ginger or peppermint tea can also help to relieve bloating and leave you feeling calm and relaxed.
To eat your way to a bloat-free body, check out the 10 foods that fight bloating and flatten your stomach.
Stretch Marks: Just like cellulite, stretch marks are common skin imperfections that leave many of us feeling self-conscious when the time comes to strip down.
To help fade stretch marks, know that it’s best to catch them early—when they first show up on your skin—as the longer they stay on your skin, the harder they are to treat.
For a quick fix, you can do a microdermabrasion treatment a few days prior, but since it's a little far fetched to think you'll do that before a hot date, a better last minute bet is to use a skin-matching concealer. Apply the concealer to clean, dry skin using your fingers until a more even looking appearance is achieved. Dust a translucent powder over application to “set” concealer.
Read here for more on the ten home remedies ways to prevent stretch marks.
Lighting: Anyone who’s ever been in one of those horribly lit dressing rooms—where you can see every crevasse of cellulite, uneven bulge, etc.—knows what a difference lighting can make. Good lighting is like a real-world Photoshop.
Opt for amber-tinted light bulbs or shades in the bedroom which will cast a warm, romantic hue on the room—leaving you looking amazing and washing out imperfections. You can also try tossing a scarf or two over the lampshade, if you’re feeling a little ‘70s-inspired (just make sure it doesn’t get too close to the bulb or overheat!).
Also try to set up your lighting so that it's coming from multiple sources and different directions. The least flattering lighting is to have one light source right above your head (think bad dressing rooms). It's best to have, for example, lighting from above combined with lighting from the walls (sconces), and from table lamps.
Perfume: How our brains’ perceive what we see is based on a mix of our combined senses—scent being most powerful amongst them. So you can suddenly make yourself more attractive with the right scent.
Scents known to attract men and have aphrodisiac-like properties include vanilla, lavender and pumpkin pie (go figure). While you could always spritz on a little Eau de Pumpkin, you can also try lighting a scented candle or use a scented room spray.
Confidence: While all these tips will give you a birthday-suit boost, remember the quickest—and fastest, might we add—way to look better naked is plain and simple confidence. Let your insecurities fall away and embrace and present your body for the beautiful thing that it is.
No comments:
Post a Comment