Beauty Icon: Nicole Kidman

Adding to the evidence that 40 is the new 30, Nicole Kidman, 41, just gave birth to a daughter, Sunday Rose. Nicole's one young-looking mother: nary a sunspot or wrinkle, despite the fact that she grew up under Australia's blazing hot sun. I'm guessing she has an amazing dermatologist to thank--and, judging from her perfect pale skin, a steady regime of SPF.

SPF: What's Good Enough?

Okay, there's no doubt facial SPF is a must, especially if you want to stave off wrinkles (yes, please!). But when I read recommendations saying women simply *must* slather on SPF 30+ in the morning then reapply several times a day, I can't help but roll my eyes a little: putting on lotion or creme means taking off all my makeup, then starting over from scratch. Who has time?

So I asked a dermatologist friend her take on the bare minimum SPF I need. Her answer? "At least SPF 15 in the morning. That's easy to do, because many face lotions and even foundations"--like Bare Escentuals, one of my favs--"have at least that much." My friend does think a mid-day reapp is a great idea (especially if you're going to be lunching in the park or anywhere else outdoors, which I plan on doing tomorrow!). A simple way to touch up without taking all the makeup off? Use a powder SPF, like ColoreScience’s Sunforgettable. Now that is a beauty plan I can live with.

Speaking of Sunscreen....

An interesting product arrived on our desks last week. Vichy Laboratoires (note the French spelling) new Capital Soleil 15 Sunscreen Cream retails for about $29.00 and boasts an ingredient called 'Mexoryl' SX with a trademark no less which they describe as "A unique UVA Filter."

Further analysis of the packaging explains that Mexoryl or Ecamsule contains Parsol 1789 or avobenzone which has long been the European standard of sun protection and more recently accepted in the U.S. as well.

So, are these hard to pronounce ingredients more effective, say than the standard Coppertone? It's hard to know really, though this one claims to provide broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection and block both long and short UVA rays. When in doubt choose a product that offers broad spectrum protection with at least SPF 15 or higher. (we tend to go much, much higher).

No matter which you choose you'll be skin-sational!

Serum-dipity

Serums have been a buzzword in skin care for a while now. Part magic elixir, part hard-working face base coat and part treatment product, there are serums to banish redness, soften your skin or tighten things up a bit.

Somme Institute Serum contains a fairly high concentration of Vitamin C and claims to smooth wrinkles and eliminate brown spots. At the hefty price of $82.00 a pop- we hope it's true!

In the future though, you should always be vigilant about sun protection to avoid the formation of new sun spots, or darkening of existing pigmentation.

Skin-tillating fact: Serum is the Latin for whey, the watery part of milk separated from the curd when making cheese.