Looking for the best skincare regimen, one that actually meets your skin concerns? At Mario Badescu, we know everyone’s skin is different. There is no one-size-fits-all skin solution. Your skin is unique to you!

There are numerous skin types and skin conditions – from oily and dry skin to acne prone and sensitive skin. You probably think your skin has a personality all its own! When you discover the best face cream or rejuvenating toner for your skin type, it can work wonders for your skin, and how your skin looks and behaves from day to day.

That’s why we created our Skin Analysis tool. Just answer a few brief questions and you’ll be paired with the right skincare products for you – the cleanser, toner, moisturizer and specialty serums that meet your own skin concerns.

Once you’ve completed the questionnaire, you’ll get product recommendations for a complete daily skincare regimen. Choose which products you want to pick up now and, for our friends in the US, you’ll have the option to order a free sample regimen to try product recommendations before you buy. (You just have to cover the $2.95 shipping fee!) 

The Mario Badescu Skin Analysis takes just a few minutes, but can offer invaluable skincare advice that will leave your skin clear and your complexion glowing!

Are you ready to get your best skin yet? 
Start your Skin Analysis here.

Originally published as Find Your Best Skincare Regimen from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.

Happy Halloween!

Check out our Halloween skincare guides:

• Halloween Madness, Part
• Halloween Madness, Part II
• Post-Halloween Madness: How to Bring Back the Clean & Clear!

{image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}

Originally published as It’s Halloween! from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.

Don’t forget, we’re giving away FIVE jars of Cucumber Make-Up Remover Cream.
To enter to win one, simply hashtag your Halloween makeup looks on
Instagram and Facebook with #badescuhalloween.
This contest ends Friday, November 1, 2013. 

You’re never too old to dress up. Get in the spirit! It’s time to stockpile (and indulge in) adorably delectable candy miniatures and break out the black and orange décor. Glittery skulls, artfully-carved pumpkins, cotton cobwebs… there’s no better time to channel your inner Martha Stewart.

Embodying a character requires diligence and commitment. It’s not just the costume, it’s the accessories. The hair. The Halloween makeup. It’s the ultimate transformation – the skin – and you know what we always say:

Beautiful makeup needs beautiful skin.

That’s where your Halloween skincare comes into play. Because much as we would love our looks to be as authentic as possible, a real dark or puffy under eye is nowhere near as satisfying as an artfully painted one. Your eye creams are still a must, ladies and gents.

Prime your face. Exfoliate your skin well for a smooth surface, then apply our Temporary Lifting Mask to clean skin. It’s the ultimate go-to special occasion mask here at MB that immediately helps tighten, clean, and refine the skin so that the appearance of pores are minimized. That means whatever you decide to put on next – foundation, face paint, you name it – goes on smoother than melted chocolate (and yes, we’re going with the Halloween candy theme here; what’s your Halloween fun-sized favorite?).

Bronze up. So Halloween is associated with all things dead or dying (a bit morbid for a company who believes that a dewy glow is always in regardless of season), but say you wanted to be Cleopatra, a Greek goddess, Johnny Bravo, some 70s character, or Valentino. A glowing complexion is entirely necessary, achievable only by an Oil-Free Self-Tanning Lotion and Herbal Hydrating Serum. Did you want to be a bronzed Wicked Witch of the West? Go for it. The sky is the limit (though I’m pretty sure she was notoriously green….).

Are you dressing up for Halloween?

 .   .   .

(image via, via)

Originally published as Get Ready for Halloween! from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.

Tag us with hasthag #mariobadescu… and keep your pictures coming, because we love nothing more than your Insta-snaps!

Find us on Instagram at @mariobadescu!

(L to R: @theblondedaria, @minicloud, @snwalt, @wallflowerjcj, @losandes01, @fweetreena, @forgottenfires, @beautybyandriana, @jbombdiggs)

.   .   .

Originally published as Wordless Wednesday: Insta-Favorites 2 from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.

Tag us, hashtag #mariobadescu… Whatever it is, keep it coming, because we love nothing more than your Insta-snaps.

Find us on Instagram at @mariobadescu!

(L to R: @tferg3, @fashionablyfayy, @judithssworld, @mab_mua, @dilljloc, @wideawake0310, @margi_t, @krissersxo, @kattleyaa)

.   .   .

Originally published as Wordless Wednesday: Insta-favorites from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.

I love skin, I really do. I didn’t always, and that was probably the culmination of sheer (teenage) ignorance (which, for the record, is not bliss) and a supreme lack of self-confidence. As a teen, I remember slinking through Target’s beauty aisles with my poor father, grabbing every spot treatment I recognized from Teen Vogue ads. That was the closest thing to a skincare regimen I ever got; I promptly gave up on it all one week later out of frustration.

No filter, no makeup, and I’ve even taken to rocking the natural hair. (Am I working hard, or hardly working in this well-lit cubicle of mine?)

Here’s the thing: little girls have memories of rifling through their mother’s stash of lipsticks and smelling every little pot and potion atop the bathroom counter, but anything beauty related was foreign to me. My mom is a simple woman: warm water and soap are her tools of choice. On occasion, I’d see her face glazed over with a makeshift egg white mask – it was meant to lift and tighten the complexion, something she learned from her mother – but that was as complicated as her beauty regimen ever got.

What was skincare, anyway? To me, my mother was the most beautiful woman in the world, and if soap and water was good enough for her, then they’d be good enough for me. Skincare seemed extraneous, and save for the brief acne stint, I never gave it much thought until fairly recently.

I’m not sure when that mindset shifted. I don’t know if it was because I matured or because I started working at Mario Badescu, or because I was actively trying to make changes in my lifestyle. Perhaps it was all three, I don’t know. But somehow within the last few years, my perspective on skin and skincare has completely changed.

I’ll say it again, however weird it may be: I love skin, I really do. It’s beautiful, human, holistic, worldly, sensual. I’m a firm believer that skin is always most beautiful in its natural state. Naked, bare, nude, without a drop of makeup to conceal, taking pride in its own state of perfect imperfection. This philosopy is one that grew from a combination of minimalism and a holistic approach towards beauty and health taken from my mother. After all, skin tells your story. It’s a reflection of how you treat yourself, what you do, how you feel, what you eat – essentially all that you are.

Finding the right products for my skin and learning to follow a regimen twice daily made it alive. Skin was no longer just a thing that happened to be there; it became radiant. When I learned to care for my skin, to take the time to exfoliate regularly, to moisturize head to toe twice daily, to invest in serum concentrates, it was almost too easy to step out from behind the physical and emotional mask. Look! This is me, all of me, the real me!

It’s incredibly liberating to not just feel comfortable, but beautiful, in your skin.

When I learned to be at peace with my complexion, with or without makeup, I learned to love my skin, imperfections and all: that was what skincare gave me. (It must be said, however, that we’re our worst enemies and our harshest judges: what looks horrific to us is barely noticeable to the general public.)

So yeah, this is my story so far; I’m only 21 anyway, I have a long way to go. And while I’m not sure what the moral is, here’s the takeaway: for one week, forgo all makeup (fine, I’ll let you slide with mascara!) and focus solely on caring for your skin.

.   .   .

Check out this video on one of my absolute favorite Mario Badescu products, the Vitamin C Serum:

Originally published as Share Your Skincare Story: Kimberly from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.

Originally published as Not-So-Wordless Wednesday: Frida Kahlo from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.

(L to R: @priinciipessaa, @eatyourmakeup, @la_rosaliac, @love_danibby, @nymphett, @saritanickel, @wendybentleyblonde, @bkgirlsexywithlegs, @salonduemila).

.   .   .

Tag us, hashtag #mariobadescu… Whatever it is, keep it coming, because we love nothing more than your Insta-snaps.

Find us on Instagram at @mariobadescu!

Originally published as Wordless Wednesday: Insta-Favorites from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.

Originally published as Not-So-Wordless Wednesday: What Makes You Beautiful? from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.

Here’s to summer, sun and skin. Lots of skin (or none of it at all), depending on when and where you were at the time…

.   .   .

1824: The year it all began.

Maria Carolina de Berry wears the first bathing suit in the history of beachwear. Sure enough, her outfit consists of (wait for it…) a hat, umbrella, gloves, woolen stockings, clothing made of thick fabrics and a pair of shiny shoes. Prior to de Berry, no noblewoman dared venture into the water. (Gentlewomen were taken to the shore in a carriage, from which they could dip their toes daintily into the water.)

Why so covered up? Tans were looked down upon; any bit of “healthy” color belonged on the farmers and fishermen of the “lower” classes. Beachwear, from de Berry on forward, consists of a striped tunic in thick wool, complete with a petticoat, underskirt and stockings and accessorized with a bonnet and rubbers shoes. Little changes in the world of beachwear until the early 1900s. A French designer lightens the load by introducing a tube-like sheath dress and fitted pants to the market for what became known as the Victorian swimsuit.

1923: Loco for Coco!

Leave it to the purveyor of tweed jackets, LBDs and costume jewelry to popularize the tan. In 1923, Coco Chanel returns from a Riviera holiday spent on the Duke of Westminster’s yacht with a glorious, golden glow. She’s inspired and features models in shorts and low-cut tops sporting sun-kissed skin. Four years later, tanned models grace the pages of British Vogue… and tanning becomes the new pale.

1930: Golden Girls

Tanning is all the rage, the first backless swimsuit debuts on the beach, elastin fibers finally replace jersey swimwear, and US beachwear brands Jantzen, Catalina and Cole dominate the swim market by having the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth and Esther Williams parade around in their one-pieces.

In 1933, the trikini is born, and we get our first look at the bikini revolution to come. The trikini is almost a two-piece, only the top and bottom half are linked. (For modern reference, think modest monokini.)

But wait!

Then there’s Marta Abba who shocks all of Castiglioncello, Italy, by sunbathing on the beach with the world’s very first bikini.

July 10, 1946: Bikini Bomb

Louis Reard officially patents the bikini in France, naming the scandalous two-piece after the island where nuclear explosives were once tested (and presumably to describe the social and cultural effect it would have on the world thereafter).

1950s: Bikini Babes

Bikinis pose a threat to moral decency in the early 1950s, most notably in Italy where the Minister of Home Affairs has police patrol beaches, rulers in hand, to measure women’s two-pieces (anything deemed “excessively skimpy” was a legal offense!).

It takes the bikini-clad Lucia Bose and Sophia Loren appearing in front of Miss Italia’s judging panel to win over Italy. Brigitte Bardot stars as The Girl in the Bikini before becoming the ultimate inspiration for French-ladies-who-beach. Marilyn Monroe takes the world with her curves – leaving women around the world wanting to copy the iconic two-piece.

1960s: Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

The hit single is released and bikinis go from high-waisted and sweet to barely there. Women’s curves are revered and bikinis are celebrated. Ursula Andress appears on screen as the first Bond girl in that unforgettable white get-up. More skin means more sun – and sunbathing becomes a pastime. Coppertone releases Quick Tan – affectionately known as QT – for orange-brown color in a matter of hours. It’s a hint at a healthier alternative to sunbathing.

1980s: A bikini overload…

… leads to the revival of the one-piece bathing suit. There are cutouts and crochet (probably influenced by the 70s) as well as lace and Lycra (finally!). The past few decades of overexposure to dangerous UV rays have finally raised the concerns of dermatologists and, in 1986, SPF 15 is born.

1990s: Back in the Day

Beachwear has a throwback (not to the 1800s, thank goodness). Vintage-inspired swimwear from the 40s, 50s and 60s come back into vogue and hit the beaches. Sunscreen is manufactured with SPF 30 as the public is made more aware of the importance of preventive suncare.

Today

Bikinis, monokinis or nothing at all – the choice is yours. We celebrate pale skin while also championing a true healthy, sun-kissed glow.

So what’s your pick? Tell us in the comments below!

.   .   .

Originally published as From Stockings to Bikinis: The History of Beachwear from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.