Help! My face is cracking!

Dear Lucy,

My foundation always cracks midday, especially around the nose. What am I doing wrong?

Cristy

I am guessing that you either apply too much foundation or you are having trouble with dry skin. Perhaps you are going through some skin peeling treatment? That could be the culprit also. If it is the former, I suggest that you apply just the right amount of foundation and then set it with powder immediately. I also suggest that you use blotting paper throughout the day.

The first instinct would be to pat on more pressed powder the moment you see shine, but you are really just trapping the oil and clogging your pores. What you must do is to blot first, and only then should you refresh with pressed powder. If your problem is the latter, then I suggest that you switch to a liquid or cream foundation. My favorite is liquid because it feels lighter on the skin and looks more natural. A primer also works wonders. It makes your foundation stay on longer and better!

Lucy

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If The Shoe Doesn't Fit

Dear Rissa,

My tita just came home from the States and gave me a pair of shoes as pasalubong. They were super fab so I wore them every day. They weren’t very comfortable during the first few days so I now have blisters at the heel of my foot and some calluses on my toes. I really love my new shoes, but I think they’re a little tight for me. What can I do so I can still wear them?

Rita B.

I know how you feel. I myself have bought lovely shoes and even if they were my size, I would later realize they didn’t fit perfectly. What I did was have them stretched so that they fit more comfortably. Do try having your shoes stretched at Mr. Quickie, Heel Sew Quik, or Besa’s, which are all easy to find at the malls. It costs around P100. Since you have to leave your shoes there for stretching, it’ll take around one to three days before you can slip into those shoes again. Most of these shoe repair services only stretch shoes made of leather while some will accept shoe stretching depending on the material. They can stretch the shoe’s width while other shops can stretch both the width and length. Make sure to inquire properly and clarify what you need to be done. With the various shoe-sizing systems, perhaps your tita miscalculated and bought a pair that was half a size smaller. Then again, it could be your correct shoe size, but the width or the shape of the shoe might be a little narrow for your feet. Most people’s two feet aren’t exactly the same size so always ensure that your shoes fit the larger one of the two.

Rissa

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Boning Up On Skin Vitamins

Dear Ms. Tingting,

How can I get essential vitamins and nutrients for good skin and bones without taking pills or injections?

Malou

Whether your vitamins are administered via needle, powder, or pill, doctors say they’re better as a supplement than haphazardly added to food or beverages. Beauty experts say that there is no supplement that works as well as a proper diet. Eating broccoli is always, always better than buying supplements.

Here are some excellent food sources:

• Calcium from milk, yogurt, canned salmon.

• Vitamin C from almost all colorful fruits and vegetables, such as spinach, broccoli, romaine lettuce, and grapes for disease prevention, healing, and for glowing skin.

• Vitamin D from fortified milk, sardines, tuna. Vitamin D is good especially for women who are prone to osteoporosis because it regulates how much calcium gets absorbed by one’s bones.

Tingting

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Send e-mail to tingtingcojuangco@yahoo.com, ltg@pldtdsl.com, and stylesos_rissa @yahoo.com.