Shaun Robinson's New Book Lifting People's Self-Esteem

Some folks don't have much of it. Others have too much of it. And a few have the perfect balance of it.

We're talking about self-esteem.

And today's beauty tip is all about 'it.'

Entertainment reporter Shaun Robinson of Access Hollywood, has written a super book for women of all ages:

Exactly As I Am.

The book is fresh off the presses. And we love the title.

It's an intelligent book about how women get caught in the trap at a very young age. The image society has presented to women on how they should look and how they should be.

Shaun Robinson explains this at http://www.accesshollywood.com/:

“Girls today are so influenced by what they see on television and in magazines, film and media across the board and I began to realize how those images affect girls and how they feel about themselves,” Shaun explained. “That’s really nothing new, but I think the topic has taken on more of an urgency because there’s becoming more of an emphasis on looks. With all these messages of female empowerment, girls are still feeling incredibly, incredibly inadequate.”

In her book, Exactly As I Am, Shaun talks with a number of famous women about the topic of self-esteem. Women like Alicia Keys. Kelly Clarkson. Eva Mendes. Oprah, and other accomplished ladies.

“Whenever I said I was doing a book on girls and self esteem, I can’t tell you how many people said, ‘Oh, we need that now,” Shaun said. “There are so many people that have daughters or know of somebody in their family who is struggling with self-esteem issues. Building self-esteem is a lifelong process. I think women of all ages will be able to get some information from this book and take a piece of it with them. Sometimes I come in and I look in the mirror and I’m like, ‘Oh god, I don’t know how I’m gonna go on TV today.’ But it’s a lifelong process, you get to the point where you are comfortable with who you are, you are comfortable with yourself and you’re able to deal with these outside influences and make sure you can look in the mirror and say, ‘If I like the type of person that I am inside, I’ll like the type of person I am outside."

We like Shaun Robinson's bold approach to a subject that seems so hard to tackle. Self-esteem issues are something we all deal with in life, and it's nice to learn how other women, even famous ones, are dealing with their own insecurities.

Exactly As I Am is available at Barnes & Noble ($18). For more information, visit: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/.

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Supermodel Cindy Crawford Says Decollete Needs TLC

Decollete. Exactly what part of a woman's body is that?

Don't let the French elegance of the word fool you. The decollete is actually the upper part of a woman's chest, below the neck.

Iconic model Cindy Crawford was just mentioning the very delicate skin of the decollete in a recent interview with Allure magazine. And we here at BeautyTipToday, featured some smart, anti-aging beauty secrets from the supermodel, who looks gorgeous at age 43, mother of two.

"ALLURE: Are there any areas you take particularly good care of?

CINDY CRAWFORD: My hands and my décolleté. In L.A., there are 65-year-old women walking around in Juicy sweatpants, and from the back, you'd think they were 20. But when you see their hands or their neck, you know. When I put moisturizer on my face, I use a little extra so that I have enough to cover my hands. Most people don't start caring about the décolleté until it's too late, but I'm religious about it."



Why does the decollete need special TLC, or tender loving care?

According to www.liv.com, a website dedicated to helping raise awareness about early detection of breast cancer, the skin of the decollete, is quite delicate:

"The skin on the décolleté area is more sensitive than skin on other parts of our body; it is thinner, less moisturized, has less elasticity and there is no fat tissue below. Consequently, this skin is more likely to show signs of aging with dryness, hyper-pigmentation and age spots."



We recommend these 2 wonderful decollete creams to firm and smooth the skin:

1. Borba Neck and Decollete Cream ($40, www.DermStore.com)

2. Erno Laszlo Intensive Decollete Cream ($95, www.ernolaszlo.com)

Wake Up On Time In AM With New Energy Pill At PM

Hitting the snooze button once too often?

Late for class, and can't keep your eyes open?

A night owl having to live as a day person?

You are not alone. And now there's a fascinating new, natural product designed to get you up and out of bed in record time!

It's called Wake Up On Time. And it is the first time-released product taken before bed. You wake up feeling refreshed, energized, and ready-to-go!!

So what's in this little all-natural energy pill? See how the Wake Up On Time folks describe their little pick-me-upper:

"Wake Up On Time contains only the finest ingredients, including all the important B vitamins, Siberian ginseng, L-tyrosine and guarana seed extract. It will never prevent you from falling asleep at night, but it's guaranteed to get you going in the morning!"

Wake Up On Time is available at most drugstores at $29.95 for a month's supply.

For more information, visit www.wakeupontime.com.

Milkmaid Braids And Plaiting 2009 Spring Hair Trend

We love this look:

Milkmaid braids. And this is the hottest 2009 Spring hair trend! Bohemian beauties like Nicole Richie wear this style so well. It looks effortless and polished

Lovely Sienna Miller (shown below) was the first red carpet beauty to rock the milkmaid braid in 2007, and got criticized for her 'unfinished hair-do.'

Well, braiding and plaiting are all the rage this Spring, so find a friend to help you get the perfect look. And the top stylists say that all kinds of braids are hot. Thin. Thick. French braids.

We used to french braid our cousin's long blond hair years ago, and she looked so neat, fresh, and elegant.

The key to a good braid equals: long hair or a well-matching extension, or hair piece.

Stylists say that braids look good on most women. We tend to believe the milkmaid braid, however, really looks spectacular on blondes. For some reason, it seems to go best with flaxen-hair women. That's not to say that redheads or brunettes can't wear them, because Hollywood hotties are everywhere sporting braids.....Rachel Bilson. Jennifer Aniston. Molly Sims. Lauren Conrad.

It's an easy hair trend to achieve with a little practice, and it goes dressed up or dressed down. And now braids are elegant enough for the red carpet.

Stem Cells To Build Bigger Breasts In UK Women

We didn't think this would happen so soon in the world of beauty and medical science?!

The Brits are keeping 'abreast' of this amazing and potentially controversial new development.

This tidbit in the Timesonline:

"A STEM cell therapy offering “natural” breast enlargement is to be made available to British women for the first time.

The treatment could boost cup size while reducing stomach fat. It involves extracting stem cells from spare fat on the stomach or thighs and growing them in a woman’s breasts. An increase of one cup size is likely, with the potential for larger gains as the technique improves."

What we like, is the trial underway at the moment, for British women who have had cancerous lumps removed. Stem cells are being used to 'build' or repair their breasts.

Interestingly enough, however, don't expect the new stem cell breasts to have the look of breast implants. In other words, this new stem cell therapy is able to restore volume to the breasts, but not firmness or uplift. Even so, it is still a groundbreaking procedure.

The Times article goes on to say this from Professor Kefah Mokbel, a consultant breast surgeon at the Princess Grace Hospital in London:

“This is a very exciting advance in breast surgery,” said Mokbel. “They [breasts treated with stem cells] feel more natural because this tissue has the same softness as the rest of the breast.” He said the treatment offered the potential of considerable improvement on implants: “Implants are a foreign body. They are associated with long-term complications and require replacement. They can also leak and cause scarring.”

The new stem cell procedure will later be offered to healthy UK women for cosmetic enhancement, and that is where the controversy could get deeper.

To read the full Times article, visit: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article5993187.ece

Avoid Makeup Meltdown With L'Oreal Infallible Collection

You've heard of makeup meltdown.

We've all been there.

You apply your makeup. Then go. A few hours later, well, your face doesn't look as fresh anymore.

Maybe your eyeliner has headed south. Or possibly your undereye concealer has settled into some dry, fine lines. Or your foundation has sunk into your pores, exposing the little things you didn't want people to see.

Makeup meltdown occurs to the best of us---even beautiful celebrities. Our skin's natural oils are the major culprit here. Then again, the elements can ruin a fresh face--like wind, heat and humidity, cold, dry air.

L'Oreal has a makeup collection they swear "puts an end to makeup meltdown."

And the newest addition to their collection is the Infallible Never Fail Powder ($14.29, drugstores). For 16 hours of matte perfection.

L'Oreal's Infallible Never Fail Makeup Collection features advanced makeup with highly-resistant pigments, bold liners, hydrating lipcolors and shining glosses. Formulated to stand up to all-day activity.

The beauty of the new Infallible Never Fail Powder is its lightweight feel and texture on the skin. With an SPF of 20 and available in 6 shades, this little compact is worth checking out.

And also give your lips a treat with the Infallible Never Fail LipGloss ($9.99). For 6 hours of lasting color. The gloss is easy to use with its cute heart-shaped wand. The consistency is not heavy and gooey, thank goodness. And it comes in 16 luscious shades.

Cate Blanchett Keeping Skin Luminous With SK-II

Cate Blanchett, Academy Award-winning actress, is said to have beautiful and luminous skin. And we believe what folks are saying.

Just look at the photo, taken a few months ago. You can always get a pretty good idea of how well someone is aging, by looking closely at them out in the sunlight. The sun has a blunt way of showing all our nooks and crannies, or fine lines and wrinkles.

Cate Blanchett turns 40 this May, and we have to admit, the woman looks darn good, even in the harsh rays of the sun.

What is Cate's beauty secret?

SK-II Skin care.

With Pitera. It is the signature ingredient in all SK-II products, and is 'the secret key' to beautiful skin.

Pitera, what you ask?

It's a very interesting story. According to their website, Pitera, was discovered purely by chance.

About thirty years ago, a scientist noticed that the hands of older workers at a Japanese saké brewery looked beautiful and young.

The workers were handling the fermenting sake.

For five years, scientists did research on over 300 types of yeast, to refine the precise conditions for fermentation. This all resulted in Pitera.

Derived from a unique yeast's fermentation, Pitera is a blend of vitamins, amino acids, minerals, and organic acids that work together to allow the skin's natural surface rejuvenation process to function at its prime, enhancing the renewal of the skin's outer layer. Continued usage of Pitera leads to clearer looking, smoother skin.

Cate Blanchett has supposedly been using SK-II Skin care products for 7 years now, and swears by their effectiveness. In fact, Cate is now the global spokesperson for the SK-II line.

'Throughout my career, I have only accepted roles that I am passionate about, and my partnership with SK-II is no different. I truly believe I already played this role as an ambassador long before SK-II caught up with me,' Cate Blanchett said.

You can see her face in all the current advertisements for SK-II. The skin care treatments can be found at Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue stores.

For more information, visit http://www.sk2.com/.