Skechers Toning Shoes Don't Shape Beautiful Legs And Butt According To New Study

Sorry, Skechers.

The American Council on Exercise did a study, and found that toning shoes like Skechers Shape-Ups, "do not deliver the fitness or muscle toning benefits they claim."

Ouch! That means, ladies, that these odd, little shoes that make us walk harder do not 'build' us a better pair of legs or butt?! And these toning shoes do not help us lose weight?!

Well, Skechers isn't taking this one lying down. The popular shoe maker is fighting back, by claiming the study by the American Council on Exercise did not have any scientific basis. Skechers also says it would contest two new civil complaints against its Shape-Ups product line, saying the lawsuits were frivolous and targeted at extorting money from the company.

We've written before about toning shoes, like the FitFlop. And to us, the science seems pretty convincing. These shoes are purposely made to produce instability. That, in turn, signals your muscles to hold your posture. So as you take more and more steps, the body is being stimulated more and more and working more.

But maybe, Skechers has overly inflated the benefits of buying their Shape-Ups, by telling customers to, "get in shape without setting foot in a gym,". Still, there are many happy customers. We have read plenty of reviews, and a lot of women say these toning shoes give the entire leg and butt a strong work-out. And yes, women have lost weight wearing these shoes. By the way, the pair pictured above, are the Skechers Shape-Ups Xf-Accelerators ($100).

Remember the wooden-soled Dr. Scholls sandals from the 1970's? Those really gave your legs and butt a great work-out.And the Dr. Scholls company claims they are truly the original exercise or toning sandal.

We don't really care what this recent study shows. If women claim they are getting a good burn walking around in these toning shoes like Skechers Shape-Ups, then, let them keep walking. We don't see the harm in wearing these exercise shoes.

Women Still Talking About Recent Re-Touching Of Model By Ann Taylor

Re-touching. Photo-shopping. And now the popular retailer Ann Taylor is getting tons of publicity, but not the kind that mentions their beautiful clothing.

As long as the brilliant technology remains, we assume that 'designing' the so-called perfect, yet unattainable body, will continue with the images of ultra-skinny models selling clothing.

But when the gorgeous model herself, has been re-touched to appear even skinnier than she is in person, then we wonder what our culture is really trying to sell.

Website Jezebel.com recently uncovered an error admitted by the Ann Taylor shopping website, of a model having been photographed for the site, and then re-touched to appear much thinner. You can see the before & after shots(above) obtained by Jezebel.com. We think the before photo of the model shows a slender but healthy woman. The after picture shows a much tinier waist, hips, and bust, and all-over frame. We are confused with the photo-shopping and the reason for it.

And this technical glitch has been the talk-of-the-town for a number of days now. Ann Taylor got in hot water with another re-touching model incident a few months ago prior to this newest image altering.

Who cares? Well, a lot of women do. The models are skinny enough. This scary altering promotes a body image that is nearly impossible to achieve, even for an almost 6 foot tall model whose job is to maintain a very slender figure, to begin with.

The retailer told Jezebel.com that, "We agree that our re-touching has been overzealous."

We aren't picking solely on Ann Taylor. We happen to love their classic, lovely clothing. Even celebrated designer Ralph Lauren got raked over the coals several months ago, for an advertisement that depicted an extremely photo-shopped model, one who appeared to have a serious eating disorder. We are aware that re-touching or photo-shopping goes on quite a lot in the industry, for lighting purposes, and to make clothing appear more fitted and wrinkle-free. But erasing too many inches from a woman's body, makes you wonder.

Remember Naomi Wolf's best seller, The Beauty Myth? One woman commenting about the Ann Taylor re-touching error, left this quote from the book:

"More women have money and scope and legal recognition than we have ever had before; but in terms of how we feel about ourselves physically, we may actually be worse off than our unliberated grandmothers. . . . there is a secret "underlife" poisoning our freedom; infused with notions of beauty, it is a dark vein of self-hatred, physical obsessions, terror of aging, and dread of lost control. It is no accident that so many potentially powerful women feel this way. We are in the midst of a violent backlash against feminism that uses images of female beauty as a political weapon against women's advancement: the beauty myth."

Simple Smart Hair Tips By Celebrity Stylist Ted Gibson

Celebrity Stylist Ted Gibson. He sure knows a lot of famous and beautiful heads of hair. Women like Angelina Jolie. Anne Hathaway. Debra Messing. Eva Mendes. And of course, the heads of many models.

Ted Gibson is Manhattan style...east coast chic.

And we just stumbled onto some simple, smart Hair Tips 101 by Ted Gibson for Teen Vogue. We thought we would share them with you:

1. Don't shampoo more than 3 times a week. Washing too much strips your hair of natural oils.

2. Overnight treatments replenish your mane while you sleep. Apply product to roots, work it through to the ends, and rinse in the morning.

3. If you want to grow your hair, try taking a supplement called Biotin. I've told a lot of actresses to use this B Vitamin.

And these are Ted Gibson's Must-Have beautiful hair products:

1. Icera Ceramic barrel with boar and ionic nylon bristles ($22, at Spornette-Icera. Ted says this brush "promotes shiny hair."

2. Ted Gibson's own product line, especially, his Goodnite Serum ($99) with essential oils and botanical extracts. Ted says his Goodnite Serum is "replenishing and volumizing."

3. Ted Gibson Hair Sheet ($14.99). This one intrigues us. It's a 'revolutionary towlette application and formula' that makes hair soft and shiny. And Ted says his hair sheet "adds texture but isn't heavy."

4. Regular Steel Wire Hair Pins. The old-fashioned kind you can pick up at any local drugstore. Ted adores these pins to "keep your hair up all night".

5. Ted Gibson's own Professional Flat Iron ($175). A wonderful accessory to create smooth hair. And as Ted reminds us all: "Always apply a heat styling product before flat-ironing, to avoid damage."

You can take a look at Ted Gibson's amazing hair products and accessories line here.

Jennifer Lopez Ready To Release 16th Celebrity Fragrance This Fall

Ah....the sweet smell of celebrity. And the savvy mega-star who knows how to capitalize on a sure thing.

Jennifer Lopez is ready to release her 16th celebrity fragrance this fall 2010, called Love and Glamour, Jennifer Lopez.

And as we've all heard by now....JLo is also reportedly ready to sit down as one of the three judges on American Idol.

It seems like she can really do it all. And if you're wondering who is wearing Ms. Lopez' fragrances, apparently, quite a lot of women. JLo's brand of scents just happen to rank as one of the highest selling celebrity fragrance lines. Her perfumes are expected to rake in an incredible $150 million this year alone.

So, what's in Love and Glamour? We've learned that the fragrance has a sexy musky vibe to it, in a lovely floral, fruity blend. Here are the fragrance notes:
Top: Italian Mandarin, Guava, Nectarine Pulp.
Middle: Jasmine Petals, Water Lily, Coconut Orchid, Orange Flower Absolute.
Bottom: Sandalwood, Amber, Musk.

Even the bottle has a unique design and meaning for the sexy Latina star, representing "a woman in an evening gown attending a glamorous red carpet event."

A bottle of Love and Glamour, Jennifer Lopez, will be available at counters by October, and will sell for $49.50 for a 1.7 oz. bottle.

In case you're wondering......here are the other popular JLo fragrances:
Glow
Still
Miami Glow
Live
Love at First Glow
Blue Glow
Live Luxe
Glow After Dark
Deseo
Deseo Forever
Deseo for Men
Live Platinum
Sunkissed Glow
My Glow

Okay, we have listed 14 of her fragrances here. We're missing one other. And then her newest, Love and Glamour makes 16.

Can you find the missing JLo fragrance?

Need Back To College Jeans? Jessica Simpson Showing Off New Jeans Line

Jeans. We all love them, and so does celebrity favorite, Jessica Simpson.

Did you know, that the average woman owns 8 pairs of jeans?! Some of you might even own double or triple that number of jeans.

We hate to say it, but many of you are heading back to college soon, and you will need some sexy, comfortable jeans....the ones that make your butt look incredible and your legs a mile long.

Jessica Simpson just happens to have a new collection of jeans out from her popular Jessica Simpson Collection. She loves wearing her Sunset Boot Cut Jeans all over town. And there she is, pictured above, wearing the flattering style.

The curvaceous pop singer recently told our friends at StyleList.com, that she favors the bootcut jean:
I am wearing the Sunset Bootleg in this photo," Simpson remarked. "I love a good bootcut because it elongates the leg."


And for about $49 a pair, you, too, can own some Jessica Simpson jeans.
Here are just a few from her new denim collection:
The Forever Skinny.
The Kiss Me Jeggings.
And the Vintage Flare.

You can check out the jeans at her shopping website.

The 30-year-old beauty seems much more at ease these days. She's got a hot new boyfriend in football star Eric Johnson. And she' s now gracing the September cover of Lucky magazine, telling People magazine this:

"I'm very happy. Right now in my life, I'm the most confident I've ever been. I can make that statement," she says.



What sweet revenge for Jessica Simpson. She took some nasty hits in the past about her weight, boyfriend struggles, and those now infamous 'Mom jeans.'. But she has turned it all around, and suddenly, Jessica has gotten the last laugh.

20% Glycolic Acid Night Cream By Vivite Repairs Sun-Damaged Skin

Vivite skin care has a superb nighttime Glycolic Acid cream that really repairs skin. It's called Vivite Night Renewal Facial Cream with 20% Glycolic Acid ($79, 2 oz. jar).

And what we really like about this line of skin care products is its lineage. In other words, the Allergan company that brought you Botox cosmetic and Latisse are also the proud makers of Vivite beauty products.

We have yahooed about the benefits of Glycolic Acid in a number of past Beauty Tip Today articles.

Why? Simply because the effective AHA, or Alpha Hydroxy Acid, is able to revive skin and bring back a smoother texture, clearer complexion, softer skin, and a softening of existing wrinkles and of sun-damaged problems like sun spots and melasma.

The beauty science can get complex, but in layman's terms, Glycolic Acid is the leader of the AHAs says Allergan:

Because of its smaller molecular size, glycolic acid is believed to be more effective for skin care than other alpha hydroxy acids

.

And Glycolic Acid can do all this:

• Exfoliates by thoroughly removing the uneven, “rough” layer of dead skin cells, resulting in a more compact stratum corneum (outer layer of the epidermis)

• Penetrates through the upper layer of skin to begin exfoliation from the bottom up, diminishing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles

• Increases moisture retention by binding with water and pulling it through the stratum corneum, improving skin hydration and overall skin health.

And it's easy to use, according to the Vivite people: Just apply to the face and neck, once daily, in the evening. Just remember to use very little of the Vivite Night Renewal Facial cream around the eyes, because it can be quite irritating. Use a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher everyday to prevent an increase in sun sensitivity.

Products in the VIVITÉ™ line have glycolic compound concentrations of up to 20 percent, whereas most over-the-counter skin care products have only a three to 10 percent concentration. However, the physician-strength glycolic acid in VIVITÉ™ is safe for at-home use, because it undergoes Allergan’s propriety process called partial neutralization, allowing for less irritation and greater efficacy.

For more details, just click here.

Porcelana Still Around As Cheap Fade Cream That Really Works

Porcelana. The skin lightening cream has been around for years and years. And it has stood the test of time. Maybe your great-grandmother had a jar on her nightstand. Maybe you remember the old television commercials. We have now been noticing new ads for Porcelana in top fashion and beauty magazines.

Does Porcelana really work? Does it effectively fade away dark spots and age spots and other minor skin imperfections like uneven skin tone?

Yes. Dermatologists say that it is a gentle skin fading cream, but it is important to remember, that Porcelana does contain 2% hydroquinone. And hydroquinone is a drug that can be incorporated into many types of creams and lotions to fade discolorations in the skin.

For years, the best and seemingly only way to get rid of uneven skin tone, or hyperpigmentation, has been through a prescription of 4% hydroquinone. Some people have been afraid of using the prescription for extended periods of time, in fear of possibly developing cancer.

But skin experts say that hydroquinone is safe at these low concentrations.

Porcelana takes time to gently fade age spots, dark spots, and hyperpigmentation. You must be patient and in the long haul, for the cream to show decent results---at least 3 months. You can pick up a small 3 oz. jar of Porcelana for less than $10 at your local drugstore. We found it for $6. And it now comes in two creams---one for nighttime, the other for daytime.

It's safe to use daily, although once a day is sufficient. It has a scent some people don't like, but it's not that bad. The Porcelana Nighttime consistency is creamy and thick. All you need to do, is apply a thin layer to the spots you want to target. And do not use Porcelana around the eyes. It can be irritating.

For less than $10, we think Porcelana is worth the purchase, and worth the patience needed. to see some good results.

Fade away, blasted spots!