How To Get Beautiful Skin + Healthy Breasts With Turmeric Powder

If you love Indian and South Asian food, then you know the distinctive aroma and taste of powerful yellow-orange turmeric powder. In India culture, this colorful spice has been used for many, many generations, as a wonderful food enhancer, but also as a healing agent.

And now researchers are closely studying turmeric powder for its ability to revitalize skin and also protect against breast cancer. Just adding some to your diet, can give you smooth, supple skin in the years to come.

So, what's in this little spice?

Many good things. To begin with, turmeric powder is an anti-oxidant, anti-septic, and anti-inflammatory-acting spice. It also has iron and potassium in it, and belongs to the ginger family.

Ayurvedic healers consider turmeric to be a varnya herb, which means, enhances your complexion. Its strong anti-bacterial properties fight pimples and breakouts. And many women lighten or even out their skintone with a paste containing turmeric powder.

Dr. Andrew Weil talked about the powerful, anti-cancer benefits of turmeric powder in an article at his website back in 2003:

"Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is the yellow spice most familiar in Indian cooking and American-prepared mustard. Not only do I think that it is safe to take after breast cancer treatment, I think it would be helpful. The reason is that turmeric affects hormones that promote inflammation and cell proliferation, processes that seem to underlie most cancers.

Turmeric is being studied widely for its powerful anti-cancer effects. However, women being treated for breast cancer may be advised to avoid it during chemotherapy because of evidence from laboratory and animal studies suggesting that it may inhibit the action of certain chemotherapy drugs.

I often recommend New Chapter's Turmericforce; take one capsule twice a day. You can also safely add ginger, another natural anti-inflammatory, to your diet by eating crystallized ginger or the pickled ginger that comes with sushi."

By the way, turmeric should not be used if you have gallstones or bile obstruction. Though turmeric is often used by pregnant women, it is important to consult with your doctor before doing so because turmeric can be a uterine stimulant. And if you take coumadin, do not take turmeric, since coumadin is a blood thinner, and does not react well with the spice.

If you dislike the taste of turmeric, it can be taken in powder or pill form. It is available in pill form in most health food stores, usually in 250-500mg capsules.

The Vermont Country Store Brings Back Old Hollywood Beauty

I was flipping through the fall 2008 catalogue of The Vermont Country Store, and was quite impressed by the unique and wide variety of beauty products the store features. These folks have been in business for a long time. The Vermont Country Store opened in Weston, Vermont, back in 1946. And the Orton family tradition continues.

"We still go to great lengths to find products that aren't sold anywhere else," said Eliot Orton.
"And each and every item is backed up with our no-hassle, no-fuss 100% guarantee to deliver quality products."

These clever merchants aren't kidding, either. There are tons of wonderful beauty items at The Vermont Country Store (http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/). And these old and new items harken back to old Hollywood. Beautiful products with a vintage touch. All in the classic tradition.

For instance, your moms or grandmoms, or even great-grand-moms, could tell you about these:

Frownies and Wrinkies ($19.95, per box, 144). Actress Rene Russo has always sworn by these wrinkle smoothers. These little, adhesive patches have been around since 1889. Many Hollywood actresses from yesteryear, would leave their frownies or wrinkies on overnight to train the muscles to relax and smooth out crow's feet, and other fine lines within a couple of weeks.

Tabu, the Original Smear-Proof Lipstick ($14.95, per tube). Tabu was introduced to the makeup market in the 1950s. It was a big hit with women because it didn't smear. The secret? A higher wax content. Comes in 4 pretty, kissable colors.

Cake Eyeliner in Black or Brown ($6.95). Hollywood beauties knew that cake eyeliner was the only way to achieve sexy, long-lasting glamorous eyes. This formula really stays put and you can create a very thin line or a thick one. Waterproof, too.

Sweet Almond Oil ($24.95, 6 0z.). Many folks say, that Jackie Kennedy's glowing complexion came from pure, natural almond oil. That was one of Jackie's beauty secrets. And now you can discover the softest, clearest skin by massaging in a little almond oil. No harsh chemicals. Just good for your skin.

And the list goes on at The Vermont Country Store. You might just see some of your favorites that you thought had disappeared off store shelves forever, like Evening in Paris--'The Most Famous Fragrance In the World.' Or Yardley's English Soap and Talc. Remember LemonUp Shampoo or Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific. No rinse shampoo. Fuller brushes. French Tortoise hairpins. Diamond Dust nail files.

It's a beauty junkie's little hidden treasure. And did I mention, the great penny candy, too? Mary Janes. Root beer barrels. Licorice babies. And peanut butter kisses.

How To Get Soft, Sexy, Kissable Lips

We all want soft, sexy, kissable lips, but most of us just slap on a lip balm and think that's enough. We're done. Hold on a moment----you have to apply a few more steps to achieve the ultimate in lip care.

First, don't smoke. (We're not here to preach, but we all know that smoking can cause those bothersome vertical lines around your mouth.)

You will need a toothbrush as one of your key instruments for lip maintenance. No. We're not kidding. You must exfoliate as part of your daily and nightly routine. For instance, after brushing your teeth, take your wet toothbrush and gently brush your lips in a circular motion for several seconds. This brushing will loosen dead, chapped skin and give you smoother, softer lips.

Or you can go one step further. Buy an extra toothbrush. Take a dry toothbrush and dip the bristles into a little Vaseline. And brush your lips. This really works, and it's a beauty tip that's been around for a long time.

Okay, now you can take out the balm and condition lips. Some gals don't even wear lip balm. But you need to condition this area of your face, too. Look for a balm that contains lip- smoothing and moisturizing ingredients like beeswax, glycerin, jojoba, aloe vera, or shea butter. Wear the balm at night while sleeping, and during the day, with or without lipstick.

And be careful in the sun. Lips don't have enough melanin to protect us from the searing heat. Melanin is the natural skin pigment that filters out the strong and damaging UV rays. Lips are also thinner in skin structure, very sensitive, and lack protective oil glands. That is why you need to have a lip balm with an SPF of at least 15. An SPF of 30 would be best.

And we've talked about this before. Dermatologists are now warning women about the dangers of wearing lip gloss in the sun. Sounds crazy, but this can maybe cause skin cancer. According to NYC dermatologist, Dr. Bruce Robinson, it's the moisture in the gloss that attracts the sun's harmful rays. "Take a magifying glass and put it over your lips." When you apply shiny lip gloss and go out into the sun, "that's essentially what you're doing."

Just don't go out under the sun with bare, naked lips. Always wear a conditioning balm. And save the gloss for after sunning.

Limit your use of dry, matte lipsticks. Sure, many of these kinds of lipwear last longer. Your lipstick doesn't rub off as easily, but matte lipsticks can equal dry, chapped lips over time. Matte lipsticks contain more pigment, but less moisturizing properties. Don't become a slave to all-day lipsticks.

Hey Sephora! Make Room For CVS Beauty 360

Many of you buy your makeup at Macys, Sephora, or ULTA. How about buying your high-end cosmetics at CVS from now on??!! Make way for Beauty 360.

CVS Caremark sees the huge appeal for skin care and cosmetics, and now they want to jump into the mix and sell prestige beauty products. CVS wants to test this concept on the east coast and west coast.

Women's Wear Daily, which first reported the news, said the first Beauty 360 would be opened in Washington, D.C., and the second in Sacramento by the end of the year.

CVS' Beauty 360 stores will be built right next door to existing CVS drugstores, if these two trial stores take off with success.

"Beauty has always been a core part of our front-of-store offering, so this is the next evolution," CVS spokeswoman, Eileen Howard Dunn, told USA Today recently.

CVS will have more than 6,800 stores if it finishes its planned purchase of Longs Drug Stores. That geographic reach is one way to challenge the prestige beauty war with Sephora, Dunn said.

32 lines of skin care and cosmetics and a number of fragrances will be offered at CVS' Beauty 360 stores.

We say thumbs up, to CVS!! The more beauty stores on a block, the better. Now, if we could only use our CVS Care Card for some decent discounts on this high-end makeup, that would be the icing on the cake.

Two Faced Flawless Face Fall Collection

Now that's a mouthful:
Two Faced Flawless Face Fall Collection.

The makeup is gorgeous. And today, we're presenting another 2008 fall look!

The stunning model in the photograph, evokes haunting images of late starlets, Anna Nicole Smith and Marilyn Monroe.

Two Faced Cosmetics have just come out with their fall makeup line, and we have to say, the look is clean, polished, and classic. And we're going to show you how to get there. Especially for you blonde, fair-skinned beauties, this is a look you can copy.

We love Two Faced Cosmetics because they create the classic Hollywood look, when movie stars were, well, movie stars. The shades and textures of the makeup are carefully selected to give you a glamorous, but never overdone appearance.

Two Faced Magic Wand Illuminating Foundation
in Paris Light Medium ($32.50). Create a 'cashmere-soft' face with this healthy makeup. Packed full of skin-soothing properties, like cactus flower, calendula, and vitamin E. With the flick of this 'magic wand,' you put on a radiant, glowing face with a semi-matte finish.

Two Faced Eyeshadow Duo in Lovey Dovey ($17.00). A long-wearing eyeshadow that comes compact in the Hollywood tradition. You get a shimmering highlighter, and a darker shade to conture and line. Glamorous and vintage Monroe.

Two faced Lash-Injection Mascara ($19.50). What can we say....this big volume booster makes sexy eyes with long lashes. It's weather-proof and sweat-proof. Just 3-4 coats of this mascara, and you can build a false eyelash-in-a-tube effect.

Two Faced Lip of Luxury in Totally Nude ($18.00). Eight luscious colors to choose from. Soft as satin lipstick, with real staying power. Made with shea butter, too.

You can find Two Face Cosmetics at fine beauty stores like, ULTA, Nordstroms, and Sephora.

The Brand New $1,000 Skin Cream!!!

W Magazine was the first source to talk about this 'magic' skin cream in their September 2008 issue. Plus, Nordstorm's is already selling the item, and placed this expensive beauty treatment under their What's New category at their website.

Having trouble filling up your gas tank or paying the rent during these hard economic, recession-like times?!

If you have plenty left in your wallet, then consider this uber skin-saving treatment:

La Prairie Cellular Cream Platinum Rare ($1,000, 1.7 oz.)

The skin cream contains a formulation with pure platinum in it. Once again, we often tell you how amazing the science is becoming for beauty treatments. This is what the La Prairie people are saying about their ground-breaking anti-aging skin cream:

"This is pure science at its best, offering unparalleled benefits; quite simply, the skin looks, feels and moves like younger skin.
Benefits:- Pure platinum inspires perfect balance to improve hydration, protection, and receptivity to nutrients

- Exclusive Smart Crystals™ help guard skin's youthful appearance, actively reducing the effects of time resulting in noticeable lift, firmness, and the reduction of lines and wrinkles

- Climate-activated hydration adjusts to changing humidity levels and temperatures, continuously providing the perfect level of moisture."

Platinum is said to be a most rare element here on earth. And it has some mind-blowing properties. Platinum cannot be oxidized by air. Platinum is invincible against time. And according to La Prairie's scientific research, platinum is so precious, that "all of it that has ever been mined could fit in a single room."

It sounds almost too grande to be true. And so exciting to apply to the skin. You can use it in the AM and/or the PM. After washing and toning, smooth La Prairie Cellular Cream Platinum Rare over your face and neck. Avoid the delicate eye area.

No, we haven't gotten our hands yet on this ground-breaking anti-aging skin cream. But in the name of beauty science, we are willing to lend our faces and necks for the cause. La Prairie, we hope you let us sample this amazing new treatment!

Magazines Photoshopping Beyonce and Kate Hudson?

Can you say 'photoshopped?'

The two photos, side-by-side above, are both of singer Beyonce. Cosmetics giant, L'Oreal, is using the photo of Beyonce (right) for their Feria haircolor magazine ads. The ads are featured in the September issues of Allure, Elle, and Esssence magazines. The series of ads depict the beautiful pop star with a noticably lighter skin tone.

Beyonce has had 'No comment,' as far as we know. And in a statement released to the Associated Press, L'Oreal denied altering the photos.

"We highly value our relationship with Ms Knowles," the Paris-based company said.
"It is categorically untrue that L'Oreal Paris altered Ms Knowles' features or skin tone in the campaign for Feria hair color."


Can you say 'photoshopped' again?

That young woman is actually actress Kate Hudson on the September cover of W magazine. And no one is saying that looks exactly like her, but come on......it seems like everything and everybody is being photoshopped to ridiculous proportions these days.

What is the definition of photoshop? This is what we found:

An image manipulation program by {Adobe Systems, Inc.}. {Home (http://www.adobe.com/Apps/Photoshop.html)}. [Summary?] (1995-07-05)

According to Wikipedia: photoshop is commonly used as a verb.[14] Also commonly shortened to simply "shopped", this has become the modern replacement of "airbrushed"

Hmmm. Image manipulation. Airbrushed.

Ask any professional photographer, and they will tell you, that photoshopping is an incredible tool. You can 'lift away' undereye circles, scars, moles, wrinkles. You can make faces thinner or fatter, and the same with bodies, too. You can give a woman bigger breasts, at least, for the moment. In other words, you can be photoshopped until you are flawless.

Many a famous and beautiful face has been 'altered' or photoshopped. Recently, one magazine came under fire, for not removing a mole above Angeline Jolie's eyebrow in the final stages of photoshopping for its cover.

How crazy is that? So what if Angelina has a mole. She's lovely with it, and lovely without it.

Have we gone a little too far, in the photoshopping department? Is this quest for perfection a little unreal and bizarre?

Makes you wonder.