Nothing pulls a look together like neat, trim nails and a standout manicure. And while somehow the pros always seem to do the best job—line-free polish applied precisely and identically on each finger, not to mention invisible cuticles—for fixes between visits, you can keep your nails looking perfectly groomed. Here’s how.

1. A good quality nail file is a simple, multi-use tool that’s essential. Use a file to shorten the length of the nail, or to smooth out snags, chips or breaks.

2. Prolonged use of dark nail polishes can cause discolouration and stains. To keep nails looking fresh, I like Cuti-Clean Cuticle and Stain remover from SPARITUAL to soften cuticles and remove excess colour. Keep the skin around your nail beds soft and smooth with Lipmann cuticle remover or SPARITUAL’s Cuti-quench cuticle and skin conditioning crème.

3. To keep your hands looking and feeling soft and supple, try Helping Hand Scrub by Lipmann. Enriched with antioxidants, it exfoliates and hydrates in one simple step. For extra moisture, follow with a rich lotion, like the SPARITUAL hydrating hand salve.

 4. Leave the work of trimming cuticles to a professional: sharp tools can cause nicks and cuts in the nail bed, sometimes leading to infection. Instead, use a wooden orange stick to gently push back your cuticles.

Beauty is only skin deep, so the saying goes. But even for those of us with vanity firmly in check, the quality of our skin means much. The skin is the body’s largest organ and it’s a major contributor to our sense of attractiveness.

So while some people worry about freckles or brown spots, and others struggle with acne, there are many for whom skin tags—small flaps or folds of skin doctors call acrochordons—are a great source of embarrassment. In fact, about 46 percent of us will have a skin tag at some point in our lives, usually after the age of 50 and usually on our necks and in our armpits.

While completely benign, these folds of skin not only make us feel self-conscious, for women they can also make application of makeup and accessorizing more difficult.

Bottom line, we want them gone. Your first stop is your doctor’s office. She’ll rule out anything serious and confirm the diagnosis. For small skin tags, physicians can often just snip the tag with a pair of curved surgical scissors, or, for larger ones they may use a procedure called electrodessication (slicing and then cauterizing the tag).

Over-the-counter options are also available. Many of these rely on a technique that freezes the tag—much the way wart remedies work. Just check with your doctor before using them and then enjoy the skin you’re in.

More isn’t necessarily better, and that goes for makeup too. Especially during the summer, a fresh-faced make-under with gorgeous, barely-there shades is the ideal summer look. Just a few clever products and time-saving tips will give you a healthy, natural glow that goes from day to night and leaves you looking done—not done up.

1. Avoid bold colours and stick with soft, neutral shades.

2. Instead of concealer, foundation and powder, use a tinted moisturizer for simple, even coverage that looks dewy and fresh all day. 

3. Use a shimmery blush for a delicate, healthy glow on the cheekbones, as well as a highlighter on the brow bone and down the center of the nose. I love Benefit Sugar Bomb, the delicate shades of peach, plum and rose blend beautifully and are flattering for almost every complexion. To complete the look, apply a bit of champagne coloured shadow on the corner of the inner eyes and brow bone for bright, sparkling eyes.

4. For soft summer lips, use muted shades of lipgloss, and avoid strong, dark colours. I’m a big fan of Lancome’s new Juicy Tubes 100% Natural Origin lip gloss. Made with 100% natural ingredients, flavors, fragrances and coloring agents, summer’s hot shades include Sheerfully Sweet and Blushing Beauty.

5. For nighttime, add a bronzer with shimmer for glow, and a darker, creamier lipcolour, like Love Devotion from Nars.

Body odour isn’t the most glamourous of topics, but let’s face it—we’re all human and that means we all sweat. When sweat is released from the glands, it comes into contact with bacteria on the skin’s surface. It's that combination of bacteria and perspiration that creates an unpleasant smell.

There are two ways to combat that unpleasantness. Deodorants mask it with lovely-smelling deodorizing agents. Antiperspirants, on the other hand, stop bad smells before they start by preventing sweat from contacting the skin.

Most antiperspirants accomplish that with various forms of aluminum salts. Aluminum chloride is one of the oldest forms and it’s the strongest. (Some people find aluminum chloride too strong, resulting in skin sensitivity.) Today, most non-aerosol antiperspirants use a gentler derivative called aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex-glycine.

You’ve probably read about the supposed link between aluminum and a number of diseases—notably breast cancer and Alzheimer’s. There is still no conclusive evidence linking those diseases to aluminum or blocked sweat glands, but if the rumblings are enough to concern you, there are alternatives.

In addition to aluminum-containing antiperspirants, there are a number of natural deodorant products that I think are all good bets.

1. Avene’s relies on an innovative new ingredient called spherulites, which help to release deodorizing ingredients gradually throughout the day.

2. Dr. Hauschka’s contains sage, witch hazel (known for its anti-microbial properties) and essential oils.

3. Kibio’s deodorant spray uses orange and lemon oils along with witch hazel.

A well-manicured hand is a fab finishing touch for a look that’s effortlessly elegant and perfectly put together. Beyond the season’s hottest nail colours, taking care of your skin, nails and cuticles is crucial to beautiful hands.

To begin, use a gentle exfoliant to slough off dead skin cells and leave the hands silky soft. Use a nail buffer to smooth out the surface of each nail, then use clippers and a file for the length and shape you want. Massage a generous layer of moisturizer onto your hands, followed by a drop of cuticle oil on each nail bed.

When you’re ready to apply nail polish, remove all traces of oil or other products on the nails with a swipe of nail polish remover, alcohol or nail-priming product. Use a hydrating base coat to create a smooth surface for polish application. If your nails are ridged or uneven, Lipmann Ridge Filler Base Coat is a terrific product.

Apply the nail polish in three strokes—centre, one side, then the other. Finish with a light swipe across the tip of the nail to seal the polish. Let the polish dry between coats.  Apply clear polish every few days to keep nails looking fresh and to help prevent chipping.

Spice up summer with some of my fave summer shades—Lippman’s Waking Up In Vegas, Supermodel, Shape Of My Heart and I’m Not Innocent.

A scent—maybe more than a hairstyle, or the set of your stride—is a signature. Obsession defined your university roommate (in more ways than one, but that’s another story), and Chanel No. 5 is all mom. So what’s your signature scent?

Physiology drastically affects the way a fragrance smells on us—so just because Chanel works for mom doesn’t mean it will work for you. Fragrances interact with the oils in our skin to impart a distinct scent—that signature aroma. The pH (just how acidic or alkaline) of your skin is like a fingerprint—it’s all yours, and so is the aroma of any given fragrance when it combines with your skin.

What that means is that shopping for a signature scent is a little more complicated than sniffing the samples handed to you in the store—and a lot more fun. I tell customers to thoroughly test a fragrance. Wear it for a day. Ask friends how they like the scent on you. Experiment. With so many new fragrances joining the time-tested classics, the possibilities are truly endless. 

Whether you’re crazy about Cargo or in love with Lancôme, good-quality cosmetics aren’t cheap, and a savvy beauty buff knows how to protect her investment. From proper use to safe storage, here are some tips on how to maximize the lifespan of your makeup and how to keep your cosmetics clean and bacteria-free. 

• Fragrance can be delicate, so store it away from direct sunlight and humidity (bathroom storage is a no-no).
• Keep nail polish in the fridge, it will last longer. Cooling the polish can thicken its consistency, so bring the bottle up to room temperature before you apply it. Lipstick lasts longer if stored in the fridge, too!
• Store powdery products in a cool, dry place.
• Toss any product that has a strange odour or has changed consistency or colour.
• Do not pump a mascara wand in and out of the tube—this will dry out the product and cause clumping.
• Don’t keep makeup brushes that are shedding bristles or are very dirty—invest in new ones.
• Don’t add water to try and rehydrate or prolong the life of any product; this can dilute the preservatives and increase the chances of bacterial growth.

Last week I wrote about how mistreated our hands are—about what a beating they take. This week I want to talk about a body part that isn’t abused so much as it’s ignored, forgotten, overlooked.

The neck occupies a sort of no-man’s land in the beauty realm. Typically, we apply face creams down to the jawline, and body lotions up to the shoulders. Bridging the two is the poor, neglected neck.

Your neck deserves special treatment. Its skin is different from that of the face; there’s less oil so it tends to get drier and more crêpe-like. A few companies have created products aimed specifically at the neck. Clarins’ Advanced Extra-Firming Neck Cream, for example, is a thick, rich moisturizer that pampers.

But if you don’t want to invest in a special product, the best rule of thumb is to treat your neck with the same care you would your face. When you apply your moisturizer, massage it into your neck as well (but use an upward motion to prevent skin from being stretched and possibly sagging prematurely).

Most if us are familiar with hygienic practices when it comes to testing makeup or using samples, but how often do you clean out your makeup drawer at home? Some products should be replaced every couple of years, some every couple of months—the trick to keeping your cosmetics fresh and avoiding potentially harmful bacteria is knowing your makeup’s best-before date.

Here’s a quick list of general guidelines on the shelf-life of common cosmetics:

mascara: 3-4 months

lipstick: 1 year

lip and eye pencils: 12-18 months
powder: 2 years
eyeshadow: 2 years
concealer: 2 years
cream blush: 2 years

Keeping the tools of the trade clean is important, too—bacteria from dirty brushes can end up on your face. Look for products that will gently clean and disinfect your makeup brushes. Cover FX, Clinique and Smashbox all make great brush cleansers.

Searching for a quick and easy cleaning solution? Use a mild soap or gentle baby shampoo to clean your brushes every few weeks. Gently squeeze soapy water through the bristles, rinse and then lay flat to dry. Don’t soak brushes in water—it loosens the glue that holds the bristles in place. Avoid using rubbing alcohol; it’s too harsh and drying.

The first place to show the signs of aging is, no, not the face. It’s the hands.

The eyes may be the gateway to the soul, but the hands are the signposts of aging. Before fine lines, wrinkles and hyper-pigmentation start to show up on our visages, our extremities exhibit the effects of sun and moisture loss—they become riddled with lines and dotted with dark patches we call sun spots.

And sun is the main culprit. While most of us have become vigilant about applying sunscreen to our faces, few of us think to routinely protect our hands. Which is a shame since our hands are, quite literally, right out there; while our faces are protected by sunglasses, hats, awnings and sunscreen, our hands take the full impact of UV rays.

So find yourself a hand cream with built-in sun protection that you love so much you’ll use it year-round. (Hint: many hand creams that are labelled “anti-aging” actually contain sunscreen.) Lancôme’s Absolue Hand is non-greasy, has a luscious scent and protects as well as it hydrates. A double-play for the most mistreated of body parts.