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The Best New Beauty Advancements for 2011

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Sometimes years can pass without me even noticing.  2011?!!  It might as well be 1998 in my house – no HD, no Blu-Rays, no Bluetooth for this gal – heck, my only blue fixture is a globe.  So when I set foot into the new Pittsburgh Penguins arena fairly recently, I felt like I was stepping into the future with the Jetsons or something.  (Seriously – there were so many high-definition screens!  Such high-ceilings!)  It made me wonder what strides were being taken in the beauty arena as well.   Here are three of the most exciting advancements I’ve found so far in this second decade of the 21st century:

41Ic1dORcnL._AA300_1.  High-definition makeup.

The key to looking good on television used to be chiefly lighting – that’s probably the reason Diane Sawyer, although a gorgeous woman, is always lit up like Jesus on TV.  Unfortunately, with the innovation of HDTV, suddenly everything became “six times closer – six times bigger pores, six times deeper wrinkles,” as Dany Sanz, the French creator and artistic director of MakeUp For Ever, tells the latest issue of Elle.  With that type of potentially incriminating insight, it’s no wonder that a slew of high-definition make-up products have hit the market.  The secret to most of these formulas is a base predominantly made of silicones (i.e., cyclopentilosiloxane, cyclomethicone, etc.), which hide imperfections by seeping into fine lines and wrinkles and make skin appear smoother by reflecting light.  Most importantly, they’re virtually fool-proof, building easily on the skin without the cakey, clumpy residue of your mother’s formulas.   Some of my favorites include Tinseltown favorite Pan-Cake (prices vary, $19.99 retail, Amazon.com) with a two-in-one easy-to-apply powder formula and Giorgio Armani Lasting Silk UV Foundation ($59.00, GiorgioArmaniBeauty) with its almost impossibly effective yet lightweight coverage.

But if that’s not enough and you need that extra oompf, there is the Temptu Perfect Complexion Kit ($280.00, Amazon.com).  While pricey, airbrush foundation is considered the gold standard in obtaining perfect skin for photos and video, it hasn’t been available to those of us who don’t own a private jet until now.  Not only does its formula contain a silicone base, but the layerable mist and motorized nozzle allows for the type of even coverage I thought you could only get from airbrushing a finished photo.  (I tried it at a local Sephora recently, and I was amazed).  It’s a great investment for those times you are taking photos you want to keep forever:  your graduation, your wedding, random Tuesday nights when your best friend laughs so hard she has margarita coming out of her nose and you are caught in the photo, in which you know you’re going to be tagged on Facebook…you know the drill.

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2.  Super Advanced Nanoparticle Robot Wawa Woo Technology for your hair!

Well, now that I have your attention, they’re not actually nanoparticles or robots, nor do they wawa or woo – they’re normal-sized molecules of poly beta amino ester-1 (PBAE).  But they do act like tiny robots that coat each hair shaft, leaving behind tiny pockets of space between individual hairs that make hair look fuller and thicker.  (Which may well, in turn, make you woo!).  It was developed by the Langer lab (at MIT), and let me tell you, it works!  I purchased Living Proof Full Thickening Cream ($24.00, Amazon.com) with PBAE recently, and I would say it makes my hair appear about 20% fuller.  I’m not touting it as a miracle product, but it does give considerable volume –  more than with any mousse I’ve tried, and certainly without any of the stickiness or crunchiness you can get from mousse.  Plus, Living Proof Full Thickening Cream makes your hair easier to style, as each strand is easier to grab.  I’m a big(-haired) fan.

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3.  LED lights for your face – at home!

Isn’t that a funny picture?  It looks like the woman is smelling a flower with her eyes closed and somebody came up and replaced it with a monitor.  But, in actuality, this isn’t a monitor at all, but an LED phototherapy machine, and the picture is actually quite realistic, as LED phototherapy is now available for home use and is likely to become quite popular in the near future, with excellent preliminary anti-aging results.  According to 2007 research published in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, LED phototherapy repairs sun damage and increases collagen and elastin production. In the study, researchers treated one side of 61 subjects’ faces with a light-emitting diode machine, while 15 others received a one-sided placebo treatment. Twelve weeks later, only the LED-targeted skin had a decrease in wrinkles (26-36 percent) and an increase in elasticity (14-19 percent).

However, despite LED-induced increases in collagen and elastin production, it is still less than the effect with most in-office lasers and peels, as Seung Yoon Lee, a dermatologist at the National Medical Center in South Korea who worked on the study, told Allure magazine in 2007.

Still, there are fewer side effects with LED treatment than with lasers or peels, as Lee adds, “LED is safe for dark skin, unlike some lasers.”  In addition, LED treatments are now available for use at home, such as with the LED Light Therapy Red and Blue 225 nm Light ($189.00, Amazon.com) or the DPL Therapy System ($349.99, Amazon.com).   In general, these treatments are not as potent as those from the dermatologist’s office, but it is likely that they will decrease signs of aging with continued use over time, as suggested by the Lasers in Surgery and Medicine study.  As always, speak with your dermatologist before beginning this or any other skin care tool or regimen.

With that said…

The world is changing, and now, not only do we have wireless internet popping up everywhere, eyelashes growing down to our noses and apparently a renewed love for Tom Cruise, we also have the machines to tighten and airbrush our skin and fluff up our hair.  Who knew?!  All I know is that when somebody figures out how to get my dogs to talk like Astro, I want a phone call ASAP…

What’s your favorite new beauty advancement of 2011?  Let us know in Comments below!

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