Most Powerful Retinol Cream Available Over The Counter For More Beautiful Skin

Here at BeautyTipToday, we are always on the search for the perfect anti-aging cream, one that actually says what it will do, and more.

Sure, some of the beauty products we mention here are better than others. And there are a few that turn out to be expensive duds. While many women are interested in over-the-counter anti-aging creams, they do want ingredients that are powerful and work fast!

Just maybe, we have found another great skin care weapon in our anti-aging arsenal. This one is called Zo Skin Health Radical Night Repair Plus. It's by famous skin expert, Dr. Zein Obagi. It costs $195, 1.0 Fl.oz. Yes, it's not cheap, but it's packed with a lot of retinol punch. And you simply rub it on your face and neck before you go to bed.

What you're getting in Zo Skin is a cream that really delivers a prescription-strength dose of retinol. We're talking a whopping 1 percent retinol. So? Well, that amount is 6x the industry average. How's that for numbers!

Like its more potent prescription cousin Retin-A, Zo Skin Health Radical Night Repair Plus will cause irritation like redness, drying, and peeling, and must be used only about 2x to 3x a week. But the results are amazing-----Smoother, more even textured, younger and healthier skin. And wrinkles and sun damage reduced.

The magic is in the retinol. It helps the skin generate new cells and produce more collagen. The old cells come up to the surface and exfoliate, leaving behind a more radiant complexion.

Is more beautiful skin worth $195 a tube? We think so, especially if the ingredients are packing a potent beauty punch.

For more details, check out Zo Skin Health products.

Cindy Crawford Puts The Super In Model As Big Crowd Shows Up For Meaningful Beauty Launch

At age 44, most models seem to quietly fade into the background. But then there is Cindy Crawford, who continues to put the super back in supermodel!

The gorgeous brunette recently stopped by the Glendale Galleria in California, to launch her Meaningful Beauty skin care line at Sephora inside JCPenney. That means her successful skin care items can now be bought in a dept. store, rather than through the website or following an infomercial.

A huge line snaked through the Gelndale Galleria to meet and hear what the ageless mom of two had to say about beauty and the value of her skin care line, Meaningful Beauty. Her best beauty advice to the adoring crowd: Do NOT smoke.

Great advice, and we have more smart beauty tips from Cindy Crawford that we've collected:

ALLURE: How do you take care of your skin?

CINDY CRAWFORD: I use a day cream with antioxidants and sunscreen, a night cream, and an eye cream.I do masks once a week, and I get microdermabrasion once a month. I'm pretty diligent with microdermabrasion because I've noticed a big difference in the texture of my skin from it. Basically, I take care of myself, but I don't want to be obsessive, and I don't want to not like who I am today. I'm all for fighting the good fight, but I don't care how much you work out or how much cream you put on-things change.

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.

ALLURE: Do you try to keep your hair young looking?

CINDY CRAWFORD: Color is the most important factor. You can get any plastic surgery in the world, but hair color is what enables women to look younger longer. I've also become more aware of hair health. I stay away from razor cuts because they can make my hair look frizzy, and I give myself a hair treatment while I'm in my sauna to keep it conditioned.

Grays And Roots Be Gone: ColorMark Wins Allure's 2010 Best Of Beauty

Ask most women who color or highlight their hair, and they will tell you that stray grays or roots that pop up so quickly after a salon visit, can be a real downer. Oh yeah, hair matters to most women, and when it isn't right, neither are you.

Let's face it, most women do have color-treated hair. Many dye hair at home, right from the color-in-a-box method, but the majority let the pros handle their hair coloring/highlighting needs. And it's an expensive visit.

So when those nasty grays and pesky roots suddenly appear, you reach for something to cover them up. Maybe it's a 'jagged' hair part to fool the masses. But usually, it's an at-home-root fix-in-a-box. Or it's a temporary color crayon, 'mascara-type' wand, or powder to hide the obvious. But these only coat the surface.

Some of these temporary fixes work well, and some do not. We use a temp mascara wand color to quickly erase the grays against our dark brown locks. It covers well, until our next shampoo, but it can also get sticky and clumpy, if we are not careful how we apply the wand.

We are tired of chasing after stray grays, but those hairs are not going anywhere, so we have to deal with them. And that's why we are interested in Allure magazine's 2010 Best of Beauty List. The beauty publication has named ColorMark Temporary Liquid Hair Color as the best when it comes to hiding grays and roots.

Okay, let's see why. ColorMark comes equipped with a lipgloss-like wand. It contains temporary liquid hair color in a tube, and it is available in 12 shades:

Rich Black, Dark Brown, Medium Brown, Light Brown, Ash Blonde, Light Ash Blonde, Golden Blonde, Light Golden Blonde, Strawberry Blonde, Really Red, Light Auburn and Dark Auburn..

No ammonia. No peroxide. And no sticky residue, flaking, or 'crunch' to your hair's texture. ColorMark bonds to the hair like all real hair colors do, and blends naturally. And ColorMark is economical, in that a bottle of ColorMark will last from 2-4 months, depending on the amount of gray that needs to be covered. The cost----$21.95 + Free shipping here, and also available at ULTA beauty stores.

We're going to give this little tube a try, and hope for the best.

Demi Lovato: Teen Mega Star Heads Into Rehab For Self-Image Issues

At age 18, Demi Lovato is a teen singing sensation and budding actress
.

The pretty girl with the huge smile, bright eyes, and long, wavy dark brown hair seemed to be at the top of her game. And yet, people are buzzing about the Disney star after yesterday's shocking announcement, that Demi Lovato has entered rehab for "emotional and physical issues she has dealt with for some time," her rep has confirmed. She has since cancelled her tour with the Jonas Brothers.

A source close to Demi Lovato's family tells People magazine, "She was bullied in school. She fought through eating disorders and has struggled with cutting. ... Demi is taking control by getting help."

We had no clue that Demi Lovato had suffered from any kind of weight and self-image issues. But after hearing actress Portia deRossi talk to Oprah yesterday about her own long struggle with appearance and anorexia, and how her tall, 5'8" frame once weighed 82 pounds, well, we were not too surprised.

For women, whether it's Hollywood or hometown, America, the impossible standard to be perfect remains a very serious problem society has created. And perfect, generally means skinny, which generally means better.

Just look at Kelly Osbourne and how she has been received since she has dropped a lot of weight. Suddenly, the young woman has sky-rocketed to bigger popularity and more television show opportunities. Now, everyone wants to hang with tiny size 2 Kelly Osbourne. When she was some 40 pounds heavier, no one cared that Kelly wore beautiful designer clothing, debuted a singing career and had a point of view. Instead, people were cruel about her looks and her being fat.

We are very happy that Kelly has settled into a much healthier weight for herself and found higher self-esteem. But what kind of message does that send to the rest of Hollywood, as well as hometown, America?!

The sad message for women is this: Skinny equals better. Better acceptance. Better opportunities. Better life.

We applaud Demi Lovato for having the courage to seek treatment, and to come forward like Portia de Rossi, about the struggle to be perfect.

Too Much Peek-a-boo And Black Lace Trend Looks Bad Even On Body Beautiful Celebrities

When bad trends happen to good celebrities, we take notice!!!

Let's take a look at what went wrong here:

Jessica Biel. Sarah Jessica Parker. And Carey Mulligan. Yes. Three dynamite women with super fit bodies and all over glam and sex appeal.

All three are wearing what's hot this season----Black lace. A sexy peek-a-boo cut. And the demure, below-the-knee length.

What's so terrible? Yuck! It's too much of a good thing. It's a trend gone bad. Over-kill.

We would agree with most fashion-conscious people, that a little black lace never hurt anyone. In fact, it can be one of the classiest, most elegant, and sexy additions to any wardrobe, when done right. But when adding a little too much peek and too much boo, well, it's not pretty.

Jessica Biel is known for having one of the hottest bodies in Hollywood, but not in this frumpy ensemble. And SJP is always at the top list of best-dressed gals, but certainly, not showing off this almost-vulgar-looking top and skirt. And Carey Mulligan doesn't look too dowdy in her black lace top and skirt, but she's a young girl and these pieces don't do much to show off her delicate beauty.

We think what ruins these three black lace dresses is the peek-a-boo factor. It renders them cheap and somewhat tawdry.

What can we learn from this? Our beauty tip today shows that even body beautiful celebrities can look bad wearing a hot trend. Just because the style is IN, doesn't mean it works, all the time. Some things are best left for the runways

Will You Embrace Bohemian Rhapsody Style For Fall/Winter 2010-2011?

Boho. Gypsy. Hippie chic. You either embrace this style or you really can't stand the flowing, easy, soft femininity of Bohemian Rhapsody.

We love it! But not always. However, when it's designed by the master himself, Ralph Lauren, it's done with an uptown and mature boho vibe. And it's simply gorgeous. Check out the bottom photo, and you can see the Ralph's flowing flowery dress beneath a rich, classic coat.

Maybe that's why the effortless, boho breezy collection crafted by Project Runway contestant Gretchen Jones took home the winning first place finish last Thursday night on Bravo's popular reality show. See one of her pieces in photo2.

Some Project Runway fans were freaking out, when Gretchen was declared the winner over favorite Mondo Guerra and his busy, very colorful prints and over-the-top theatrical style. Even guest judge Jessica Simpson remarked that Gretchen's collection featured clothing that was 'too loose', but also said that her sister Ashley would wear Gretchen Jones' clothing.

There is something very romantic about Boho style One of our favorite celebrities knows how to pull this look together brilliantly, and we're talking about Nicole Richie. Her Winter Kate clothing line features some beautiful Bohemian Rhapsody pieces.

Meantime, Forever21 clothing stores are coming out with their own, inexpensive Bohemian Rhapsody line(top photo), featuring some cute boho floral tops, flowing long skirts, frontier bags, and floral paisley scarves. All at very reasonable Forever21 prices.

And if you really love those clunky clogs, why not get a pair to top off your Bohemian Rhapsody style.

Get Jersey Shore Snooki Style For Halloween Or Just For The Pouf Of It

Would the real Snooki please stand up??!!

It's Halloween, so we thought we'd have a little fun! And our beauty spotlight today is on the Jersey Shore's Snooki, all 4'9" of the MTV reality star, including her famous hair pouf!

If you don't know by now, a Snooki costume for Halloween this year, is the most popular one by far.

Yes, you, too, can become Snooki for a night. Getting Snooki style isn't that hard to do. We love Snooki. She's cute, kind-hearted, and the best reason to watch the Jersey Shore. And the petite dynamo doesn't take herself too seriously.

Even Ellen DeGeneres and Joan Rivers both put on Snooki Halloween costumes earlier this week, as did Jenna Wolfe on the Today show this morning.

Snooki is famous for that sky-high pouf. But she claims she doesn't use a Bumpit hair accessory to achieve the height. Instead, the 22-year-old reality star says she has thick hair and uses tons of hairspray to get it right.

You can always buy a Snooki Halloween wig. There are tons of them everywhere. Check out the bottom photo...not a bad replica. Of course, a spray tan really adds to the Snooki image, along with a busty silhouette on display, huge earrings, a very tight dress, sparkly high heels, and some serious eyeliner.

In fact, Women's Wear Daily (WWD) took a look at Snooki style back in July, and writer Cathy Horyn compares Snooki to the legendary Elizabeth Taylor, well, sort of. Read on:

..."She(Snooki) is busty and short-waisted with small legs; sort of like a turnip turned on its tip. There is the weird tan, but the pièce de résistance of Snookiness is the half-doughnut-shaped pouf on top of her head.
... Snooki has a way of putting herself together that while in some ways is atrocious, is completely identifiable to her and consistent with her attention-seeking personality. She wears short, clingy dresses in a pattern or with some metallic trim, huge enameled or bejeweled hoop earrings and glittery high heels.
Lots of 22-year-old women wear revealing clothes, but they may not have her body shape, and it’s a safe bet they’re not rocking a pouf. Though that may change when a line of Snooki hair products comes out. Anyway, the effect has been interesting. 'If you were to draw a cartoon of her, you would know immediately who she is,' said Chris Linn, the executive vice president for pilots at MTV. 'She’s an icon.' "

As to how Elizabeth Taylor fits in, there's more:

"The reason she makes me think of Elizabeth Taylor — quite apart from the unbridgeable divide of talent and beauty — is that photographs of Ms. Taylor in the 1960s, many of which recently ran in Vanity Fair, confirm a short, busty woman with high hair, big jewelry, garish taste in clothes and a complete indifference to the cyclonic effect that all that produced."

Ouch! We're not going to touch those statements. Anyway...Happy Halloween!