Confessions of a Beauty Editor

Over the years, we at Allure have grilled hundreds of experts and tried thousands of products. We now reveal our untold secrets.
On a recent Saturday, Allure beauty editor Diana Byrne sank happily in-to a pedicure chair at her neighborhood salon, ready for an hour of tabloid enlightenment. "Unfortunately, the friend I was with told the owner what I did for a living, and she spent the next hour peppering me with questions about the latest makeup, the newest anti-agers, and how she should cut her hair. So much for relaxation and the current state of Brad, Angelina and the kids."
Don't get us wrong—neither Byrne nor any of us at Allure are complaining about a job that pays us to sample makeup colors, consult with leading dermatologists (slipping in a question about our own skin problems), and tote home enough shampoo and conditioner to fill a two-car garage. We've learned not to moan about having to endure three massages in as many days. And even though we pour our on-the-job experiences into each story, we've been holding back on you. It is now confession time: We reveal the tricks and secrets that we apply to our own exfoliated and hydrated selves.
SKIN
OUR MONEY'S ON RETINOIDS
We try every new anti-aging product, from the rice fields of Japan to the labs of Long Island. But the cream that earn a permanent place in our medicine cabinets all have one thing in common: retinoids, the family of vitamin a derivitives including retinol, Retin-A and Renova. "I've looked at more close-up before-and-after pictures than I ever thought possible," says Allure beauty editor Kirstin Perrotta. "The one family of ingredients that reduces wrinkles and firms skin is retinoids. They're consistently recommended by dermatologists and plastic surgeons because they've repeatedly proven in studies to work." And while it's true that some women may experience redness and flaking from retinol and its cousins, the ingredients are now available in such a wide range of formulas and strengths that even Allure's most sensitive-skinned editors are believers.
WE KNOW THERE'S A LOT MORE TO A PRODUCT THAN A PRETTY FACE
Fancy packaging and fancier price tags don't always sway beauty editors, because companies frequently send us new products to sample in generic laboratory containers. "Being a beauty editor makes you blind to price, which can be either good or bad," says Linda Wells, Allure editor in chief. "Years ago, one editor wanted us to recommend pasting Creme de la Mer all over the legs and feet because it's such a great moisturizer. She obviously wasn't paying for it." That editor aside, we've found that the best products come in all kinds of tubs and tubes, and at wildly different prices. "I've tried shmancy shampoos laced with truffles or packaged in gorgeous glass containers," says Perrotta, "and I'm proud to say that my absolute favorite, after years of testing, is ThermaSilk, which sells for $3.79 for a big bottle."
WE WON'T STEP OUTSIDE WITHOUT APPLYING SUNSCREEN— EVEN IN THE DEAD OF WINTER
"It doesn't matter how much money someone spends on Retin-A or photofacials. If she doesn't apply sunscreen every day, she'll look like a raisin when she's in her 50s—maybe even her 40s," Perrotta says. Most of us freely admit that vanity is our primary motivation for slathering on the SPF 30 (with UVA and UVB protection) each morning. But that doesn't mean we aren't keenly aware of the other, more sobering reasons to do so. "We did an article on a woman with melanoma, and she died right before the issue hit the newsstands," Perrotta remembers. "She was only 32. I haven't skipped sunscreen since."
ONLY COPY MACHINES NEED TONER
The pitch from facialists and publicists usually goes like this: Toner removes the soap and dirt that face-washing leaves behind. But we don't see the logic in a product that can be made superfluous simply by rinsing your face a few more times. "I understand why people get sucked into buying these—the black shadow on the cotton ball and the clean, tingly feeling they leave behind," Byrne says. "But I promise you, they aren't necessary at all."
WE SOMETIMES SKIP EYE CREAM
Those tiny pots of cream or gel may feel cool and silky, but they're not a skin-care staple for everyone. Most regular old face lotions can be used safely around the eyes as long as your skin is not sensitive or prone to puffiness. That said, sticking to staples can be pretty dull. "I like to use a separate eye cream because it feels more luxurious," Byrne says.ENHANCING THE SKIN
Wake up fast. Beauty shoots typically begin at the crack of dawn, when no woman is ready for her close-up. "Puffy, tired skin is the bane of my existence," says Strong. To combat that sleepy look, Strong soaks a washcloth in ice water, wrings it out, lays it on the model's skin for a few minutes, and repeats this process several times. "It instantly reduces puffiness," he says. Tammy Fender, an aesthetician in West Palm Beach, suggests her model clients soak cold compresses in her Roman Chamomile Tonic and leave them on the skin for 15 minutes. Not only does this take down puffiness, it also gets rid of redness, she says.
Use eye drops. Since models often get red-eyed from squinting in the studios' bright lights, Buckle uses Naphcon-A Allergy Relief Eye Drops antihistamine eye drops to make their eyes look fresh. Wendy W. Lee, assistant professor of ophthalmic plastic, orbital surgery and oncology at the Bascomb Palmer Eye Institute at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, says that doing this is safe for occasional use for red or itchy eyes, although everyone should read the package insert because there are some conditions, such as glaucoma, associated with a warning.
Don't spackle. "The model in the skin-care ad should look naturally luminous—not made up," says makeup artist Tyrone Traylor, who has worked on ads for Garnier skin care. He creates a sheer base by dotting the center of the model's forehead with a single dab of foundation, then blends outward using a foundation brush. "The model gets more coverage where she needs it—in the T-zone and cheeks—and less where she doesn't," he says.
Go easy on the powder. "Young-looking skin has a nice sheen," says Buckle. To ensure Stone's skin looks dewy, Buckle refuses to pile on the face powder. "I use blotting papers or translucent powder to take down shine wherever there's too much reflection," he says.
PERFECTING THE BODY
Shed dry skin. Before a shoot, Miriam Azoulay, the makeup artist on Jergens Natural Glow ads, will ask the model to give herself a good scrubbing from the shoulders down. "Getting rid of dead skin with a fresh loofah—especially on the knees and elbows—helps even out the skin tone," she says. To "provide double the exfoliation," Azoulay squirts St. Ives Apricot Scrub on the loofah.
Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. To make sure the model looks like a glowing vision of health from head to toe, makeup artist Polly Osmond, whose work has appeared in Olay ads, massages drugstore baby oil into the model's body. Since traditional baby oil can be too greasy in real life, Osmond suggests a less slippery alternative, such as baby-oil gel or Palmer's Cocoa Butter.
Cover up. "Any part of the model's body that's exposed in the ad has to look perfect," says Strong, who uses foundation to camouflage spots and even out discoloration. "But putting products on the model's body becomes a nightmare for the art department, because it usually stains the white couch and the model's white clothes," says Strong. (Those stains are typically retouched.) For that reason alone, Giordano loves M.A.C. Face and Body Foundation. "It doesn't rub off onto fabric," she says—convenient for those who aren't on photo shoots as wellHAIR
WE'VE FOUND THE PERFECT HAIRCUT. WELL, AT LEAST FOR NOW
"What I've learned from talking to nine billion stylists is that the most flattering cut—on virtually any hair texture—is a little shaggy and layered. For someone like me, with thick, bushy hair, that means shoulder-length with a few long layers in front," Perrotta says. There should be no elaborate layering in back: It's too Carol Brady on straight hair and too puff-inducing for curls. That also means no layers (above eye-length) on short hair or above the earlobes on long hair. And by long hair, we mean a style that falls no more than a few inches below your collarbone. "If you aren't expected at fifth-period calculus, your hair should not hang lower than your breasts," Byrne says. "It looks like you're trying too hard to reclaim your youth." Sorry, Demi.
WE'RE LAZY, AND WE CHEAT
"I never wash my hair more than three times a week, on the advice of every hairstylist I've ever met," Perrotta says. She goes shampoo-free for up to three days thanks to a few tricks (and some mighty dry hair—do not attempt this if your hair is even slightly oily). "I never load up on styling products like anti-frizz serums or silicone sprays—using more than a dime-size amount only leads to a dirty mess. I wear a pair of sunglasses as a headband to lift my hair when it's flat at the roots. And I always sleep with the upper layers in a little ponytail on top of my head to give my hair extra volume in the morning."
THERE REALLY IS A PERFECT GROWN-UP PONYTAIL
You thought they were all the same, but Byrne has the polished ponytail down to a simple formula. "The secret is positioning it slightly higher on the back of the head. That way, when you brush back the hair on the sides, you're doing it on an upward diagonal," she says. "It's like an instant face-lift." She also adds a tiny dab of shine cream to the ends—"otherwise, it just looks like a gym ponytail."MAKEUP
IT TAKES A LOT OF MAKEUP TO LOOK THIS NATURAL
"People always say, 'Beauty editors don't wear makeup,' but the truth is that we've just picked up enough tricks over the years to make it look a little more convincing," Byrne says. Wells has her routine down to a time-saving system: tinted moisturizer, undereye concealer, blush, brown eye shadow, lash curler, mascara, lip balm on the way to work, and gloss or pink-brown lipstick after she's arrived. "Understated color is better than microdermabrasion at shaving off a few years," Perrotta says. "We've tested every make-up shade, and although it's fun to wear red lipstick or purple eye shadow occasionally, they can make you look older than you actually are."
FOR EVENING, WE ALWAYS DRESS UP OUR EYES
"There's wine to drink, dinner to eat, and people to talk to—you don't want to spend the evening in the bathroom touching up your lipstick," Perrotta says. We've learned to emphasize the eyes by lining the inner rim and the outer lash line with black pencil, then smearing it slightly with a Q-tip, and following with a quick streak of shimmery neutral shadow from lash line to crease. The final—and key—ingredient is layer after layer of mascara. "I just keep going and going," Perrotta says. "Try wedging the wand into the bottom lashes—it darkens them without making a spidery mess."
THERE REALLY IS A WAY TO MAKE SELF-TANNER LOOK BELIEVABLE
"No one tans evenly over their whole face—most people initially get darker on the parts the sun hits first," Byrne says. "The trick is to apply self-tanner the way you would bronzer: Take a small drop and dab it very sparingly on your forehead, the bridge of nose, and over the cheekbones, and use whatever's left on your chin." To avoid blotches and streaks, exfoliate skin first, and allow a half hour for moisturizer to sink in fully before applying self-tanning cream on top.BODY
SOME OF US ARE DIRTY GIRLS…
Our showers may be lined with a king's ransom of products, but it turns out many beauty editors don't use soap from head to toe. Perrotta confesses an aversion to it: "A dermatologist once told me to wash only the parts you really need to in the shower, because many cleansers, no matter how moisturizing they say they are, ultimately dry the skin. Plus, you end up taking a shorter shower this way, which also keeps skin from drying out."
...AND SOME OF US ARE ALMOST OBSESSIVELY CLEAN
There are exceptions to all this filthy behavior—our squeaky-clean editor in chief says she simply cannot function unless she showers each morning with her Olay unscented body wash and shaves with her Mach 3 razor. "At night, I don't care how many glasses of wine I've had, how late it is, or how overcome I am with the flu, I always wash my face," Wells says. "I recently had food poisoning in Milan during the fashion shows, but I forced myself to wash and moisturize my face before I lay down on the bathroom tiles to sleep." (Hello, Howard Hughes.)
WE'RE WAXED, MANICURED, AND CAREFULLY PEDICURED—EVEN IN THE DEAD OF WINTER
"When my nails are painted and my feet are smooth, I feel as if everything in the world is in order, even when it isn't," Wells says. "And you can work while you're sitting in the pedicure chair." Waxing upkeep has a similar psychological boost, with one added incentive: "Take it from someone who's tried stopping," Perrotta says. "It's a thousand times more painful when you start waxing again."
WHEN WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THE SPA, WE IMPROVISE
"I don't have the patience to go to a spa and get a real pedicure every two weeks," Perrotta says. "So I do it myself at home. When I take a shower at night and scrub my feet, I paint on a deep red polish. I don't do a good job at all—I just slap it on. I let it dry and go to bed. In my morning shower, after my feet are all wet, all I have to do is reach down and gently scrape the polish off my skin. My feet look almost as good as if I'd spent an hour and a half getting them peppermint scrubbed and painted at a salon."
WE DON'T WEAR FRENCH MANICURES OR PEDICURES—EVER
"I don't care if you reverse the colors or do it with Crayola brights, a French manicure looks cheap," says Allure beauty features editor Amy Keller, who, like most beauty editors, keeps her nails short and paints them either the palest nude shade or a dark, vampy red.
WE KNOW HOW TO MAKE FRAGRANCE LAST WITHOUT FUMIGATING EVERYONE ON THE ELEVATOR
We don't just try to look nice all the time; we try to smell nice all the time, too. Wells reports that she even smoothed on scented body lotion in the midst of labor with each of her two sons. Under less stressful circumstances, she sprays perfume on the backs of her wrists, knees, and neck. "I never rub, because we ran a story saying that rubbing crushes the molecules of the fragrance and ruins the scent." Perrotta spritzes only the inner elbows and behind the knees, "since they stay a little moist. A cosmetics chemist once told me fragrance lasts better in humidity."
OUR TRAVEL BAGS DESERVE AN ENGINEERING AWARD
"I put a checklist on top of my toiletry bag so I can see what I'm missing. And I pack liquids like shampoo in small plastic travel bottles stored in Ziploc bags," says Wells, who prevents leaks by taking off the top, squeezing until the liquid reaches the lip, and holding the squeeze as she replaces the cap. "On overnight flights I also take a separate small kit on the plane, containing lip balm, thick moisturizer, a spray bottle of Evian, a toothbrush, toothpaste, two Olay cleansing cloths, lavender essential-oil spray, breath mints, two extra pairs of contact lenses, eyeglasses, a few Advil, and a few Ambien."
WE WOULDN'T DREAM OF PLUCKING OUR OWN EYEBROWS
Beauty editors would no sooner attempt to shape their own arches than do their own cardiac bypass surgery. "As difficult as it may be, wait between grooming appointments, and let the pro do the tweezing," Wells says. One wrong pluck, and you could have a bald patch for weeks, if not months.
CELLULITE IS A BUMPY ROAD WITH NO EXIT IN SIGHT
If there were a product or treatment that could get rid of cellulite completely, then no rich or powerful women would have it," Perrotta says. "And neither would I!" The caffeine and other active ingredients in these gels and creams don't actually get rid of the bumps; they just make orange-peel skin look a bit smoother—and even that lasts only as long as you keep applying them. After years of dashed hopes, we've struck on one viable alternative: concealment. "Get an airbrush self-tanning treatment, and ask them to spray your butt and upper thighs a litter darker, which really disguises it," Perrotta says.THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
We've distilled thousands of makeup-artist interviews down to ten essential points:
1. Skip concealer beyond the middle of the undereye—it exaggerates wrinkles. 2. Dab creamy cover-up on the inner corners of the eyes, by the bridge of the nose. This is the area that's darkest, and ironically, also the one most women forget. 3. Press loose powder on the T-zone with a puff, paying special attention to the patch between the brows (which can look shinier because of waxing). 4. Curl lashes before applying mascara. It makes fringe look longer and eyes look bigger. 5. Dab the gunky blob of excess mascara from the tip of the wand onto a tissue; otherwise, it'll leave a smudge or a splotch. 6. If you have undereye circles, apply mascara to the top lashes only (on the bottom lashes, it can make dark circles look worse). 7. Apply an extra few coats of mascara to the outer corners of the lashes to make eyes look elongated. 8. Don't line your lips with anything but a pencil that matches your natural lip color. Or skip it entirely. 9. When in doubt, choose a pinkish-brown lipstick, and never apply it beyond the natural lip line or to the corners of your mouth—unless you want to look like the Joker. 10. Before you go out, check your teeth, and rub off that lipstick.