SAFE SELF-TANNING, HYDRATING OILY SKIN, CLEANSING SANS SOAp, AND BEAUTY FROM THE SEA

Left. gel moisturiz­ersfrom Clinique and .. ~;.===_~..r Oil ofOlay.

BEAU TYCAST See-through gels moisturize without oil and don't clog pores. Above, products from Estee Lauder, Stendhal, Cover Girl, and H20 Plus.

Seaweed

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Michelle ....... , Dominique Leigh's book, right, compiles ancientJa­panese beau­ty rituals.

is in a wide variety of products, in­c1udingthe ones above.

SELF-TANNERS can create a smooth, golden glow, but often end up producing streaks of varying hues. Since many rules for successful bronz­ing are not on labels, Clarins, the man­ufacturer of several popular self-tan-ners, has compiled tips to help you tan from a tube. ELLE can offer other

hints from our resident tanning ex­pert, Alice Welsh, who's been faking a tan since age 14, when she discovered QT. 1. Both Clarins

and Welsh agree: Exfoliate, or at least shave your legs, before applying tanner. 2. Clarins advises putting the cream in your hands and spreading with the palms rather than the fingers.

3. Welsh adds: Stroke upward from the feet. 4. Clarins says that

when "tanning" your face, begin with your forehead, and then work down. 5. Use tanner at bedtime, says Welsh, allowing at least thirty minutes before dressing or lying down. MOISTURIZING oily skin may be appealing, but a creamy product that adds oil to the skin may not. Now there are oil-free gel for­mulations that are noncom­edogenic and more quickly absorbed than heavier lotions. Humectants, the

moisturizing ingredients in these products, attract water to the skin. In contrast, a cream or a lotion may contain humectants but also may form a barrier that locks water within the skin and may block pores, explains Ellen Gendler, M.D., a clinical associate professor of dermatology at New York University Medical School. While very dry skin may benefit from a creamy product, she recommends gels for oily complexions.

BEAUTY SECRETS may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of high-tech Japan. But after concluding that modern Japanese women are rejecting age-old beauty traditions, Michelle Dominique Leigh, an American journalist, compiled The Japanese Way of Beauty (Birch Lane Press), left, before these secrets could be lost. The volume is filled with generations-old (but scientifically untested) recipes for healthy skin and hair. For instance, to alleviate sun­burn, overheated skin, and blotches, Leigh advises tapping the skin with a gauze-wrapped, chilled cucumber. CLEANSERS for sensitive facial skin are common, but now there are non­soap bars that take care of delicate body skin too. "Facial skin is thinner and therefore usually more sensitive," says Alan Kling, M.D., a New York City dermatologist, "but detergent-based soaps can inflame body skin." So Oil of Olay, Eucerin, and, most recently, Cetaphil have introduced non soap cleansing bars (left) that use synthetic surfactants, which loosen dirt in the same way ordinary soaps do but have a more balanced pH level that keeps the skin from drying out. SEAWEED, a marine plant once rele­gated to body treatments and sushi, is becoming a widely used ingredient in beauty products. Repechage, a New York City salon known for its four-layer facial that includes a seaweed mask, has put kelp in new Perfect Skin founda­tion and claims the makeup will hydrate, detoxify, and nourish the skin. But think twice: "Certain algae are known to irritate the skin," says Michael Jacobs, M.D., an assistant professor of derm­atology at Cornell Medical School. Your best bet is to patch-test the make­up, which costs $25. To order, call80G-284-5044-Jennifer Newman