New Year, New Skin

In true party fashion, we're likely to be found this New Year's Eve stuffing our faces silly with the most decadent holiday delights, consuming an alcoholic beverage (or five), and staying up well beyond the moment the ball drops, all with the semi-genuine intention of working it off the next morning, and to never party that hard ever again. Right?

Photo courtesy of AFP/Getty Images

Don't lie to yourself again; we're only human. The reality is,  New Year's Eve may be a time for new beginnings, but none of us are able to truly live up to it's revolutionary, self-improving hype. While there is the rare and occasional individual that goes beyond the mold and will lose those extra 50 pounds, by February, the gym will have cleared up, and the treadmills will be available once more!

So for those of you wanting to start small, start today.  Start by improving your skincare regimen! And the real beauty in skincare improvement is it truly starts from within; as a transformative process, you'll need to purify your body before your skin sees the benefits. This includes drinking the regulatory 8 glasses of water a day, applying sunscreen, and even cleaning up your diet to include fresh fruits and vegetables. Get at least 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Exercise a few days a week. Translation? A whole new you (and even maybe lose a few pounds!), so you'll be killing two birds with one stone!

Photo courtesy of Pampering 4 Life blog

EvolutionMan supports your success. Try out our Moisture Protect to keep your soft and youthful looking, and use our Conceal & Treat at your discretion to make the perfect impression at the party. Not only will your skin look great, but you'll get the girl that night, too (or at least muster up the courage to ask her for the time, right?).

Keeping Christmas Green

Ahh, the holidays. Nothing quite like that joyous spirit to get you in the giving mood, or more precisely, the buying mood. From everything to wrapping paper to the regulatory Christmas cards to be sent to every family member from Mom to your second cousin twice removed, Christmas is an unduly, overly-expensive holiday to not only enjoy, but to endure. We'd be lucky to enter 2013 with a balanced bank account.

Enter the concept of recycling. You do it everyday, and the holidays should be no exception. With the bundles of gift wrap excessively stuffed into gift bags, the extra energy amassed as a result of travelling (don't forget about the heat used in the house!), not to mention the massive tree sitting in your living room, decked out from head to toe with beautiful ornaments, Christmas does quite the little number on Mother Earth.

Imagine the day after Christmas for this Rockefeller tree!
Photo courtesy of cntraveler.com

So what are some of the best ways to give back to the environment during this joyous season of, well, giving? Once New Years rolls around and your living room is stuck with the skeleton of your Douglas-Fir, you can do your part by hauling it onto the front yard for pick-up, sans ornaments and artificial snow. Recycled Christmas trees are often used as mulch, sprinkled along hiking paths, and even converted into fuel as biomass plants.

Some other quick tips for keeping Christmas green: reuse gift bags, or regifting (someone else may love it!), adjusting your thermostat (your skin will feel the difference!), and research before you buy! Next time you're online, search for everything on their gift-list and keep it local. You'll save time and gas that way.

For more green tips, check out: http://www.nrdc.org/living/stuff/recycle-your-christmas-tree.asp and http://earth911.com/news/2009/11/25/green-holiday-basics/

Ingredient Spotlight: Panthenol

There’s nothing like taking a nice hot shower after an especially exhausting work day. As the hot water rolls off your back, and the worries and concerns of the day melt with them, stepping out of the shower becomes an almost therapeutic experience. An instant weightlessness is felt in the muscles, and a sense of well being permeates the mind. A hot shower is pretty amazing, huh?

That’s all well said until the drying process kicks in. While you continue to reel from the otherworldly sense of relaxation, your skin is livid. As the water evaporates from your skin, so does the natural moisture within your skin. Stripped of it’s soothing oils and moisture, it doesn't become long before your skin or scalp become an itchy mess, ruining what was almost a worry-free night. Instead, you’re writhing in itching agony, rolling around in bed, grappling with the pricks of itch on your legs. What’s worse is that this could have all been avoided.

Next time you’re experiencing a particularly painful bout of dry and itchy skin, be sure to utilize a moisturizer rich in Panthenol (the alcohol version of Vitamin B5). Panthenol is an ingredient frequently used in skincare as an emollient and moisturizer. The chemical can be found in shampoos and conditioners, and is a popular ingredient used to seal in the moisture along your strands. Likewise, it is also used in skin lotions, including EVOLUTIONMAN's Moisture Protect SPF 20. Liberally apply a moisturizer with the water-binding ingredient on your skin and you'll feel the relief. 

Not only is it perfect for an almost instant relief, but it protects the skin from irritating weather elements, including the wind. The product works when it's thoroughly massaged into the skin, so don't be afraid to apply it liberally! The product's penetration into your skin is key to ensuring relief from dry and itchy skin. Once the skin absorbs the ingredient, it's converted into Vitamin B5, where it'll work it's soothing and moisturizing magic from within. 

So don't be shy! Our Moisture Protect contains the ingredient, so no more reaching for your girlfriend's cream when she's not looking. And not only will your skin be as soft as hers, but now you'll probably be spending a little more time in the skincare aisle with her. 

Get Your Tan On

Now that winter is upon us, it brings to us limit(ed) opportunities. Stylistically speaking, we're limited in terms of fashion, now forced to discard shorts for khakis, tank tops for long johns, and sunglasses for earmuffs. In terms of leisurely activities, our fun in the sun is effectively over for 3+ months (depending on what part of the world you live in). No more surfing, swimming, outdoor runs, and sun tanning; forget about it!

Let winter be a great time to rejuvenate your skin. It's not exactly the ideal time to do it; winter's unforgiving weather can certainly do a number on our fragile skin, but it's a great excuse to stay out of the sun and forgo the tanning bed. Try using a bronzer instead. Not only is using a tinted lotion practically 100% safer in almost every possible way (at least when taking into consideration UV ray exposure, and the it's often perilous results), but it's a heck of a lot cheaper. EVOLUTIONMAN's Moisture Protect Bronze is a great example of an easy-to-use self-tanner that won't go awry with your budget. Plus, a single application is all it takes to mimic a healthy dose of the sun at the beach. It's winter - stand out and stay sun smart!

Too Good to Be True?

For those of y'all familiar with country trio Eden's Edge, who knew that the sole man in the group, guitarist and vocalist Dean Berner, has used EVOLUTIONMAN? And who better to use it than a real country star - imagine what damage can be done following a (really) late night rocking out in a dark, smoky room!

A little about Eden's Edge for those of you unfamiliar: having originated from Arkansas, the group is signed to Big Machine Records, and have experienced a surge in success since. Discovered by a CMT-sponsored contest in 2006, they have recently released their latest single, "Too Good to Be True."

In a recent photo shoot by People Country Magazine, Dean's make-up artist used EVOLUTIONMAN products for a flawless finish. And look how good he looks in the photo! (Not that he didn't look good before, right?) 

But that's all it really takes to get a smooth, glowing finish - the saying "a little goes a long way" really stands true to EVMAN products, and, as evident in the photograph, Dean's make-up artist knows just the right amount to keep his face looking great in the throes of a music tour!

Ask any music star that's toured and traversed the globe; travelling and putting your best show out there night after night is tiring business! Which is why for country musicians like Dean, we recommend our whole skin care kit to keep his skin refreshed. To keep his skin glowing won't be a task "too good to be true!"