This is a follow up to my previous most popular to date post on make up!!! You can find that post HERE.

Skin care is something I never really learnt from my mother. In fact skin care is something mothers of her generation barely worried about. You grew old gracefully. But the dangers are different now and we live in a time when we CAN do something about how our skin behaves and growing old gracefully is for the old. We aren’t old yet.

Good skin care should be a twice a day regime that includes, wash/cleanse, tone/tighten & moisturize/SPF protection every time. The regime should also include use of a good scrub a few times a week as well as good masque once a week. This applies to you whether you have oily or dry skin. Products vary but the steps are always the same.

Some things I need to state right off the bat.

1. Never use wash cloths. They don’t thoroughly clean your face and are harsh.
2. Never use waterproof make up. No matter how great your cleanser all of it is not coming off.
3. Never rub your eyes EVER.
4. Never go to bed without washing your face bare.
5. Never skip sun screen.
6. Do skip wearing makeup at least once a day on the weekend.
7. Do drink lots of water.
8. Do invest in a very good humidifier and run it ALL the time.
9. Do eat raw veggies and fruit everyday.
10. Do invest in good skin care products.

Here are some very good cleansers:

For women who wear little make up Cetaphil makes various different Daily Facial Cleansers, everything from normal skin to sensitive skin to oily skin. It’s a great gentle basic cleanser but not very good with removing make up.

For women with oily skin or skin prone to breakouts I’d recommend Neutrogena’s Deep Clean Facial Cleanser. It’s the right kind of strength to get makeup as well as completely clean out your surface oil. I also recommend the Ideal Balance line by L’Oreal. The cream cleanser is very good.

I highly recommend using scrubs on your face even if you don’t use make up. It helps renew our skin and give it a fresh glow. Remember to be gentle and use a circular motion with our fingers with no pressure. Stay away from the delicate eye area.

Scrubs come in all forms. Gentle scrubs that can be used daily or in the form of a Micro-Dermabrasion kit meant to be used once or twice a week.

L’Oreal’s Refinish is a fantastic Micro-Dermabrasion kit available at drug. It is rough so I’d stay away from it if you have sensitive skin. However if you have hearty skin use it twice a week and I promise you the difference is visible in 4-5 uses.

Always use a toner right after you are done cleansing and right before you put on a moisturizer. Oil of Olay has a great toner called Olay Clarity Toner that can be used everyday. All

On the higher end Biotherm’s Biosource line makes great toners for combination skin as well as dry skin but their Hydra-Detox is perfect for oily skin.

Do use a masque once a week. Peel off kind if you have oily skin, clay wash off kind if you have dry skin.

Neutrogena makes a Oil Free Acne Wash 60 second mask scrub for oily skin that is one of the best in the market. Also Oil of Olay has a Daily Facials Intensive Clay Masque that can be used twice a week for a deep pore cleaning.

Freeman’s Clay masques are great for dry skin. Biore has a very good Shine Control Clay Mask that is great for dry skin. You will actually feel your skin tighten with this mask.

I actually make a home made masque I’ve been using for years. It’s my mother’s concoction and I’m sure quite common in most Indian households. 3 tablespoons heavy cream, 1 tablespoon gram flour (Besan), 1 tablespoon ground almonds, ¼ teaspoon turmeric (Haldi). Make sure the cream is cold so your masque is cold. Mix to make a pasty consistency, add more cream if needed, put on with fingers, leave on for 30 minutes, rinse.

Best spot treatment for occasional breakouts is Biotherm’s Acnopur. One tiny dab overnight will make the bad boy disappear. I won’t even recommend any other brand because this one is truly the best I’ve ever used.

There are 3 types of Moisturizers you should use…daily moisturizer with SPF, a heavier night moisturizer to go to bed at night and a separate eye cream for the gentle eye area.

Look for words like Vitamin C or Vitamin E. These two ingredients make for incredible moisture and smooth and supple texture when put on. I’m not so fearful of oil and don’t necessarily gravitate towards oil free products because I have dry skin. In fact I look on the lable to make sure that water is listed lowest on the ingredients list or not in there at all and I will especially stay away from a lotion that has Water listed first on the ingredients list. It evaporates and it most probably used to hold the product together.

For day I recommend these moisturizers:

L’Occitane Immortelle Very Precious Fluid is a great moisturizer for the day. It offers all the benefits of a great moisturizer as well as SPF 40 protection.

Murad makes a Essential-C Moisture lotion that comes with SPF 15 that’s a very good day moisturizer.

Cosmedicine Primary Care Moisturizer offers all around benefits with SPF 20. It’s very light and gets absorbed in the skin right away and very good if you have dry flaky spots on your face.

Neutrogena’s Healthy Skin Face lotion with SPF 15 is a very good drugstore moisturizer. It’s oil free, contains my favorite Vitamin C & E and comes in a sensitive formula as well.

Oil of Olay’s Complete Defense Daily UV Moisturizer comes with SPF 30 and excellent benefits Vitamin E & Green tea. Oil of Olay is the category leader in skin care at drug so most of their moisturizers are very good.

For night I recommend these moisturizers:

L’Oreal’s Wrinkle Decrease line has a Night cream. It’s an anti aging treatment with Boswelox. If you are starting to see first signs of fine lines around your mouth and eyes this will work the best in minimizing them.

Origins Plantitdote Mega-Mushroom Face Lotion is an oil free concoction that gives you immediate relief. On days when you feel like your face has been thru the wringer and it’s sensitive this face lotion is fabulous.

Biotherm’s Line Peel is incredibly rich and perfect for overnight renewal. It will truly hydrate your skin if you have drier skin. You can use this even if you have a oily T zone.

Lancome has a overnight treatment called Primordiale Optimum Night, again for first signs of aging. This cream is one of those truly luxury creams that you wake up feeling like your skin ran a marathon and won overnight. You will truly see a visible difference with this one. It’s expensive but worth it.

I use Leaf & Rusher’s Active Serum. It’s ridiculously expensive and not easily available. In NYC I can only find it at Saks. It is amazing. It’s the lotion that will make you go “WOW”. The combination of no water, Vitamin C & Retinol is brilliant.

You don’t need to use anything expensive. The key is to use product though. By the way do ask for samples at the counter. Usually a sample contains enough for last two treatments so ask for a couple and try it for a few days and see how you feel about the product.

Lets talk about eyes. They are the first features on your face that will start showing signs of aging. If you have naturally oily skin, your eyes are benefiting from it. If you have dry skin like me your eyes will need some extra help in terms of moisture replenishment. Here are my recommendations for the best eye creams out there.

Biotherm’s Source Therapie eye care. It’s a rich cream I’d put on to sleep with at night and it’s a great moisture source.

Kiehl’s Imperiale Repair Eye Balm contains Vitamin A & E which is so good for your eyes. It is also intensely moisturizing.

Aveda’s Tourmaline Charged Eye Cream brightens dark circles and reduces puffiness. This is a good cream to wear during the day because it dries on the surface and seals in the moisture and you can wear makeup on top.

Once a week if I’ve had a late night, before I hit the sack I soak cotton balls in cold heavy cream (milk) and put them on my eyes till either I fall asleep and they fall off or for about a half hour. This prevents you from waking up with puffy red eyes.

Remember there is no such thing as too much moisture for your eyes. Your eye area is so delicate it’s where the first signs of tiredness and aging show. Make sure you get enough sleep, elevate your head a little always, don’t abuse alcohol, eat on time and your eyes will reflect it.

Last but not least do protect your lips especially now in this weather when it’s cold outside and very dry inside. Even on weekends when I’m home and don’t have make up on I wear a lip balm because indoor heat can still chap your lips.

Rosebud Salve is this great little lip balm that offers wonderful benefits for lips. Burts Bees also makes this great Beeswax Lip balm that I use all the time. Kiehls’ Lip Balm # 1 is truly the # 1 lip balm out there and is very good too.

I’ve made recommendations for body moisturizers in the past. The best way to get your body to absorb moisturizers is to lather it on as soon as you are done showering; without drying yourself. Your body will naturally soak up the moisture so just air dry for 5 minutes. I’m a big fan of Johnson’s Baby Oil with Aloe Vera that I’ve transferred to a spray bottle I use everyday. The spray bottle helps me reach parts of my back I can’t otherwise.

Hope this helps. I'll be happy to answer questions as well. And if you have your own fabulous skin care regime you'd like to share please do so.

OK I had a request for Hand and Foot moisturizers so here they are.

I love and personally use Burt's Shea Butter Hand Repair cream in the winter. It's kinda greasy but really great. I keep it around my desk and use it thru the day every time I wash my hands.

I also recommend Bath & Body Work's Look Ma No Hands. It's not as greasy but very rich. 

For Feet I use Bliss' Foot Patrol lotion. It softens and exfoliates. Put it on before you go to bed and pull on cotton socks. Wake up to supersoft feet. Also fabulous is Dr Scholls for her Ultra Overnight Foot Cream that is excellent.

On my previous Beauty thread Manisha recommended Jojoba (ho-ho-ba) oil for dark circles. Jojoba Oil has lots of benefits. My advise was to use it sparingly and introduce it to your skin slowly because it is very rich and you can have a breakout from it. I've bought from EVitamins before and they sell Jojoba Oil.

Pooja recommends:

St. Ives Apricot Scrub twice a week

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing lotion (my recommendation as well) after every shower

C.O.Bigelow Lip Balm from Bath & Body Works (excellent choice)

L’OCCITANE En Provance Shea Butter Hand Cream everyday.

Fantastic picks!!