Let's Go Nude For Hands And Toes In Spring 2009

Alright, ladies. If you've had enough of the gray/griege/grey nail polishes of late, or the dark shades like navy blue and plum, let's go nude/neutral!!!

We're heading to the softer, flesh-toned colors for Spring 2009!! All you had to do, was take a look at the runway models, and nude nail polish was the easy favorite. Even Hollywood A-listers like sexy Eva Mendes recently posed for photos, showing off elegant, nude nails.

Pictured above, is Creative Nail Design's (CND) Cocoa nail enamel ($6). This particular shade was hot on the catwalk of popular designers like Nina Ricci.

And try out OPI's Nail Laquer in Sand in My Suit ($9). From the South Beach collection. A lovely, shimmery nude. The only frost in the set for 2009.

Or how about Essie's Eternal Optimist ($9 ). A sexy fleshy-toned creme nail shade. Another hot hue for the Spring of 2009.


Let's face it, ladies. Nudes and neutrals look gorgeous on our toes. And when you wear flesh-tones on your fingernails, the effect is one of elegance. The color also elongates and slims the hands. It's a very wealthy look. And the upkeep isn't that hard to handle.

So if you're growing weary of snow and icy, gray days, maybe you can spring ahead with all the pretty and soft looks for the new year. Remember:

Let's go nude for hands and toes in Spring 2009!!!

How To Relieve And Relax The Redness In Your Face

Ruddy complexion?

Don't feel bad. It's a problem that can attack your skin at different stages of your life. Having a red face, however, is not what you should be aiming for. Some people think that a red, flushed face is healthy. No, it is not.

A ruddy complexion means your face is inflamed. And the redness can come from a few sources, namely sun damage. Or from being sensitive to products. Or caused by rosacea, an acne-like skin condition. Blood vessels react by dilating, and that in turn, brings on the redness and/or blotchy look.

We have a few beauty treatments for you that aim to relieve and relax the redness in your face.

You want to remember, that you are trying to neutralize the redness. You can do that with products that contain anti-inflammatory properties like licorice extract and chamomille. And you can also cover your ruddiness during the day with green-based correcting serums or creams. Yes, the green balances out the redness.

Here are 3 beauty treatments we like for relaxing the redness:

1. Eucerin Redness Relief Soothing Cleanser ($8.99, at drugstores). Oil-free and very calming. This is a well-liked and gentle cleanser for ruddy complexions. Eucerin features a gel-based formula that effectively cleans skin and calms the redness down. Doesn't aggravate sensitive skin and leaves face soft and soothed.

2. Darphin Intral Redness Relief Soothing Serum ($110, darphin.com). Pricey, indeed, but many women say it's worth the price. A strong but gentle concentrate of plant extracts like peony and chamomille. Simply massage in after cleansing to face and neck, and watch irritated skin smoothe and balance out the ruddiness.

3. Aveeno Ultra-Calming Night Cream ($13.99, at drustores). Try this popular brand to wipe away redness at night while sleeping. The Aveeno name has long stood for effective beauty treatments. Light and fast-absorbing with natural soothers like chamomille. Smoothes out skin texture and minimizes ruddiness. Keeps acne away, too. A nourishing and calming product at a reasonable price.

Add Lancome's Oscillation Mascara To 2009 Beauty Bag

We'll be very honest here. Maybelline's Great Lash Mascara has always been our favorite. And apparently for the nation, because one tube of Great Lash is sold every 1.6 seconds in the United States. Wow!

But there are some new formulas on the block, and you'd be wise to dig a little deeper into your wallet to try the multi-talented/gadget mascaras.

Namely---Lancome's Oscillation Mascara ($34, at fine dept. stores).

Maybe a bit pricey, but this one's a must-have to add to your 2009 beauty bag. It's worth the cost.

Lancome makes great makeup. Period. And their mascaras have always been of exceptional quality. And yes, Dior, too, makes unstoppable long, thick lashes.

But this one is awesome!!! We got to finally sample the new Lancome PowerMascara. There was a huge waiting list of thousands.

What's so amazing?

7,000 oscillations per minute. A vibrating tube of mascara. Just one click of the button, and your stubborn eyelashes come alive!!

As lancome.com explains it:

With one easy new gesture, let the vibrating brush combined with an exquisitely smooth formula wrap every lash up to 360°.
- Instantly see a fascinating gaze: lashes appear ultimately extended, remarkably separated, and virtually multiplied in number.

We love mascara!!! And this one delivers!! And no, it doesn't shake like crazy. What it does, is boost your scrawny lashes, and builds big, amazing fringe around your eyes. For lower lashes, it's a bit trickier to manuever the PowerMascara wand. But the formula is superb.

Who are we to stop in the name of beauty technology? Best to get with it, and add this multi-talented mascara to your 2009 beauty bag. You'll be glad you did.

Chia Pet:New Health Food For Your Heart In 2009?!

Ch-ch-ch-Chia!!!

You know that catchy tune. The one that pops up on telelvision ads right before Christmas.

We know that many of you have given and received Chia pets as joke gifts, but you might want to re-think what's really in a Chia pet.

Chia seeds are the latest health fad going. The seeds are good for your heart and pack in more Omega 3's than flaxseed.
Whatever you do, don't eat your Chia pet. We'd prefer that you head to your local health food store and pick up a bag of Chia seeds. The seeds are sprouting across store shelves, as folks try and get on healthy diets in the new year.

Even Dr. Andrew Weil enjoys munching on the nutty-flavored chia seeds. And Dr. Weil is quite the nutrition guru. We found this great nugget of research at greengrownproducts.com:

Dr. Weil on Chia Seed:
"Unlike flaxseed, chia seeds can be stored for long periods without becoming rancid and don't require grinding (whole flaxseed is tough to digest). Chia provides fiber (about 2 tablespoons--25 g--give you 7 g of fiber) as well as other important nutrients, including calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, niacin, and zinc.

Very few formal studies have looked at chia's benefits, although I expect that more will soon. In a preliminary study from the University of Toronto, researchers fed 21 diabetics either a supplement made from chia or grains with similar fiber content. After 3 months, blood pressure in patients taking chia dropped (10 points diastolic, 5 points systolic) while the grain group's BP remained steady.

I enjoy the seeds' nutlike flavor and consider them to be a healthful and interesting addition to my diet. You can sprinkle ground or whole chia seeds on cereal, yogurt, or salads; eat a handful of whole seeds as a snack; or grind them up and mix with flour when making muffins or other baked goods.Or make your own "chia fresca," a drink popular in Mexico and Central America: Stir 2 teaspoons of the seeds into 8 to 10 ounces of water (you'll end up with a slightly gelatinous liquid). Add lime or lemon juice and sugar to taste, and enjoy.My prediction? You will begin to see chia being added to more and more commercial products, such as prepared baby foods, nutrition bars, and baked goods."
- Andrew Weil, M.D.3 Reasons to Eat Chia

First Lady Makeup Tips And Kinder Gentler Eyebrows

Yesterday, Inauguration day, was a glorious day indeed!

And although all hopeful eyes were upon our new President Barack Obama, the fashion and makeup eyes were definitely and carefully examining our new First Lady Michelle Obama.

So how did she score?

We like to think back to our beloved Diana, the Princess of Wales. At the beginning, she had some fashion faux pas, with some less than attractive hats, and not-so-hot ball gowns. But once, the people's princess slowly adapted to her huge role and responsibilities, Diana became a fashion icon. And we like to think, that the same degree of Vogue appeal could bestow our First Lady Michelle in the months and years ahead. .

What Diana and Michelle share in common, are long legs and great height. They are both able to carry off many silhouettes and with great style.

We were not gaga over Michelle Obama's Inauguration dress/coat ensemble nor her Jason Wu chiffon one shoulder gown. We think she should stick to iconic designers like Ralph Lauren and Oscar de la Renta, when it comes to momentous occasions.

Meantime, we like Michelle Obama's hair and makeup. Subtle and simply elegant. We learned recently, that there had been a big-to-do about the First Lady's eyebrows. We had no idea, her high arches were causing unease among the masses. (Top photo- before)(Bottom photo- after).

We think the First Lady has pretty eyes and a great high brow bone. But her Chicago-based makeup artist Ingrid Grimes-Myles recently and reluctantly softened Mrs. Obama's eyebrows, so she didn't appear so angry or intense. Hmmm, we had never noticed anything bad about her eyebrows.

This is what Ingrid Grimes-Myles told the Chicagotribune.com:

"In the very beginning when I was training Michelle's brows, I trained them to grow in an angular way," said Grimes-Myles. "My personal aesthetic is that I like a high arch."

Then in late summer, criticism about the cast of Obama's brows reached critical mass.

"When she started getting that feedback—I have a rule: When three or more people give you feedback, that means hundreds are talking about it—then what I began to do is bring them down and train them down," Grimes-Myles said.

She emphasizes there was no all-out panic.

"As an artist I was surprised. ... And then I took my ego out of it and decided, oh, OK, to most people that would seem a little high. And Michelle ... likes herself. She is a very secure woman. It wasn't like, 'Oh, my God, people are saying my eyebrows are too sharp and too high!' It was something that we moved through very calmly."

And here are a couple of beauty and skin care secrets of our new First Lady:

This favorite said-to-be First Ladydaily beauty treatment from DeCleor (Paris) is already sold out!!

Decleor Excellence de L'Age Eye and Lip Regenerating Cream ($74, skinstore.com).

Benefits:
Helps reduce puffiness, dark circles and smooth fragile contours
Reduces the appearance of fines lines and wrinkles
A light but intensely nourishing daily treatment
Results in a luminous smile and redefined eye and lip contours

Michelle Obama is also a MAC gal, according to the Chicagotribune.com article. Her lips are nicely made up with MAC lip pencils---one darker, one light. Plus lipstick and gloss, which Ingrid Grimes-Myles custom-mixes.

We don't have the exact lip shades at the moment, because her makeup artist is not giving up all her secrets for that presidential smile.

Beautiful Bath Essentials For Perfect Pampering

Okay, we will admit---this cute cupcake looks sinfully delicious to eat. But before you try, it's actually been made with love and all those nourishing treats for your skin. Ladies, this one is for the bath. And it's the bomb, so to speak.

A bath bomb. Actually called--Fizzy Baker Raspberry Cupcake Bath Bomb ($5.50, amazon.com).

And it's simple to use. Please don't eat it. The best news---it's calorie-free. All you do is drop it into your warm bath. It melts, softens, and scents the bathwater, while the pretty soap frosting floats free for you to use as a wonderful scrubbing cleanser.

Made with conditioning coconut oils, the Fizzy Baker Raspberry Cupcake Bath Bomb is a delight in the tub for all ages. The appealing scent of raspberries lingers on your skin far after the bath. And this adorable bathing cupcake is the same size as a cupcake you'd buy in a bakery.



Our second beautiful bath essential for perfect pampering includes this juicy aroma of grapefruit-guava. Mmmm-good. Fruits & Passion Fruity Foaming Bath ($13, fruits-passion.com).

This is another lovely way in 2009 to enjoy a long, creamy bathing experience with an exotic blend of grapefruit-guava. Foaming Bath is formulated with vegetable oil and glycerin. You get a foaming mass of bubbles with a fragrance that stays with you for hours, with super emollient properties that moisturize your every pore.

Drawing a bath these days, can be much more than a regular bar of soap or body wash. The two bath essentials we have highlighted today really target the areas where your body needs some TLC. We all deserve some pretty pick-me-ups in the tub, and these two bathing items deliver.

Christie Brinkley's Got Milk In New 2009 Ad

At 54, America's favorite model, Christie Brinkley, is still wowing everyone with her healthy good looks. Christie Brinkley has never been stick thin. She has been 'healthy skinny,' and curvy like fellow model, Cindy Crawford, and a few others.

And now, a new Got Milk ad for the blonde beauty in 2009. Christie is sporting a moustache, well, a milk moustache. She debuted her new ad at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah over the weekend.

This is Christie's third Got Milk ad. She's always been a nutrition hawk, and believes in the wholesome value of milk. The ad campaign is succesful at raising awareness and reintroducing Americans to milk as nature's wellness drink.

At 13, Christie Brinkley says she became a vegetarian, and then turned her whole family on to the lifestyle. The mom of three, also stays active with sports and working out on her Total Gym equipment.




“This is a great way to ensure that if … you are cutting back and you are not able to buy an expensive piece of fish or something else, milk actually, per glass, is a very affordable way to get your nutrients. Everybody is always rushing around. Everybody’s got so much to do and you can’t always put together that perfect balance of nutrients on a plate, but when you add milk to the meal, it really does complete it!” Christie told reporters.

Christie Brinkley is excited about the new year. And why not? She's getting over that much-talked about, messy split from ex-husband Peter Cook. And she's got lots of projects lined up, including an affordable jewelry line. Take a look at those earrings in the photo above. Gorgeous. She really has fine taste in jewelry, namely bracelets and chandelier earrings. And she's often photographed wearing Native American jewelry.