After a long day, few things are as satisfying as slathering skin in soothing, results-driven, serum-soaked masks. While traditional sheet masks have been a major staple in everyday and self-care Sunday routines, nowadays things are starting to get a whole lot more advanced. Within the past few months, the beauty world has seen the introduction of smart masks. Designed to create an elevated experience (through infrared light, advanced self-timer formulas, and galvanic current), these at-home treatments promote better penetration, longer-lasting results, and an all-around tech- savvy approach to caring for your complexion. Ahead, we introduce you to the four masking products changing the way we pamper our skin.
FOREO UFO
Short for Ur Future Obsession, this smart skincare product pairs a high-tech infrared light device with Korean mask formulations to address complexion concerns from all angles in just 90 seconds. The infrared light device emits red, green, and blue LED light (all of which produce heat in different wavelengths). Red light caters to anti-aging concerns by promoting circulation and collagen production; green light helps tone and brighten skin; and blue light kills bacteria and stimulates circulation to help combat acne. While beneficial on their own, when paired with the seven face masks (including hydrating, mattifying, illuminating, and anti-aging) offered in the UFO collection, the results will make you do a double take.
Dr. Dennis Gross Spectralite Faceware Pro
If you love the results of a quality face treatment but hate applying a half dozen products to get the look, you’ll love this LED light-powered masking technology. When used in red mode, the futuristic face mask combines 100 LED lights to smooth wrinkles, tone skin, and diminish sun spots, whereas the blue mode relies on 62 LED lights to combat p. acnes — the bacteria responsible for causing breakouts. There’s even the option to use a dual red and blue light setting.
To achieve the best possible results, try exfoliating before using the mask so that the lights have less buildup to bust through, and then wait to moisturize until after use. When used daily for the recommended three-minute treatment time, you can expect to see results in as little as two weeks, with optimal complexion changes appearing at the 10-week mark.
3. Karuna Revivify+ Sheer Collection ($12 for a single mask or $44 for a set of four): Smart masks aren’t reserved only for high-tech skincare tools. Case in point: This complexion-clinging sheet mask collection. Made with Japanese sheer cotton, these delicate masks (available in both face and eye versions) lock onto skin and look almost transparent. As the coconut water hydrating masks infuse skin with moisture to plump fine lines and wrinkles and create an all-over dewy glow, the see-through fibers begin to change color, turning white once the masking moment is complete. A self-timer that takes the guesswork out of when to remove a mask? Yes, please.
Georgia Louise: GloPulse
Georgia Louise GloPulse
Skip the pricey monthly facial and opt for this celebrity-approved, high-tech, wearable device. It relies on galvanic current, which is often referred to as a nonsurgical face lift for the way it smoothes wrinkles, tones and tightens skin, and improves circulation. When paired with products, it helps active ingredients penetrate skin for deeper, longer-lasting results — especially when using Georgia Louise’s GloPulse Sheet Masks ($75 for a set of 10). Inspired by Louise’s beloved in-house treatment (Jennifer Aniston, Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway, and Emma Stone are all fans), this easy-to-use at-home version takes just 10 minutes to create a gorgeous, glowing complexion.
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures