Before Making The Big Beauty Decisions: Know Thy Real Self

Greek philosopher Socrates once said, "Know thyself.".

We're taking this one step further...."Know thy 'real' self."

And in beauty talk, we are referring to a super website called, RealSelf.com.

If you have ever had a question about a cosmetic treatment, procedure or surgery regarding the face, body, teeth, or skin, you WILL find an answer at RealSelf.

There are always experts online ready to answer your questions for FREE. Let's say you are interested in getting breast implants or a new nose, doctors in those fields are ready to dispense with advice. You also hear from patients who have undergone such procedures, and you learn a lot of excellent information up-front.

The best part of all, you can ask questions anonymously and get a quick reply from the more than 3,500 doctors on-board.

Here are a just a few of the 250-plus cosmetic treatments discussed at RealSelf:

Eyelid surgery. Tattoo removal. Fat transfer. Lasik. Porcelain veneers. Tummy tuck. Laser hair removal.

RealSelf.com is widely recognized and regarded by medical authorities, so this is a legit online source.

OMG! JLo Gets Naked For Launch of Glow Fragrance #18!!

Time to get your Glow on, again, ladies!

Superstar Jennifer Lopez is launching her 18th Glow fragrance, aptly named, 'Glowing.' Well, at least we believe it is her 18th. Not easy to keep track of Miss JLo's many endorsements these days.

The sexy celebrity has decided to get naked and a bit airbrushed for her newest Glow fragrance. Did you instantly recognize Jennifer Lopez here in this photo release? We sure didn't. Where the heck are her famous curvy hips?!

We know that JLo is in superb physical shape, especially for a woman who had twins and in her early 40s. We say, 'Bravo!' But she looks so not JLo in this new ad.

Having said all that, we are excited for the American Idol judge. This latest Glowing sounds like a great scent to add to your collection. Jennifer says, 'Glowing is such a clean fragrance. That's what I've always been about...At the essence, it's still natural, earthy, clean and real, but a little different side of that. It's the woodsy side of it, which I think is kind of New York-y, darker and sexier.'

Glowing, which also includes top notes of bergamot, cypress and mandarin, among other scents, will make its debut in early May.

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.

Shine on, JLo, shine on!

Battle Brown Spots With AHAs: This Stuff Really Works!

A lifetime of sun damage.

That's what we earned for spending our summers by-the-sea during our childhood and early teens, up until we left for college. Loads of fun swimming in the ocean, playing in the surf, and lying down on the hot sand, baby-oiling our bodies to look super tanned. Hours upon hours under the sun, especially positioning our decollete front and center to the searing rays.

Hello, brown spots.

Those tiny spots or freckles are the little gifts left to us by the damaging rays, and are the gifts that keep on giving. In other words, if you don't tackle those brown spots ASAP, they will grow and grow, and deepen in color as time marches on.

That brings us to the subject of AHAs, or Alpha Hydroxy Acids. These acids exfoliate both surface skin and dead skin cells beneath the skin’s surface within follicles. AHAs give back healthy, glowing, younger-looking skin.

And we are proof positive, that AHAs REALLY do FADE brown spots and other sun damage. The key here is 'patience.' It took years to develop those spots, and will take at least a year to see gradual fading begin. And yes, we still have brown spots sprinkled across the decollete, the area between the neck and chest, but they have faded, and some appear to have disappeared.

You've seen us brag a few times here before at BeautyTipToday, about the Alpha Hydrox skin care line. It's drugstore. It's cheap. And it's effective.

The Alpha Hydrox brand uses a bright red box for packaging. You can't miss it, when it's available on a store shelf.

One of our faves is the Alpha Hydrox 10% AHA Enhanced Lotion. Generally, we see it for $12.99, but have found it for $10.99 at Walgreens. And although it is geared more for dry skin (our face=oily), we do apply it religiously to our neck and decollete daily, and carefully under our eyes. We love it, and learned from skin care expert Jan Marini, to use the 10% lotion as a super hand cream, also.

"I've tried every hand cream on the market," she says. And she loves this brand because of it's 10% glycolic AHA content.

"Its molecules are so small that they penetrate more deeply, dislodging dead cells and lifting the skin, giving it a smoother appearance. And glycolic acid also helps get rid of age spots!".

Check out the entire Alpha Hydrox skin care line here

Get Real: It's All About Teal Nails For Spring 2012

Okay, let's talk about the color teal.

We love the shade, but for some reason, we don't think teal looks pretty against our light olive skin tone. Check out our BeautyTipToday archives on teal eyeshadow/liner.

But teal, the medium-blue-green hue, is the new hot nail trend for Spring 2012.

Speaking of which, we just saw a gorgeous teal top in a catalogue, and it's so lovely we want it, but we can't seem to get over our fear of wearing teal.

Maybe, if we started out with teal nails, we could slowly advance from there.

Estee Lauder has just launched their own Spring 2012 nail trend:

28 Teal Topaz, Pure Color Nail Lacquer. Very nice. We are liking it, and it looks turquoise-ish, a color we fell in love with years ago.

And we hunted down Butter London 3 Free Nail Lacquer in Slapper, Spring/Summer 2012 Collection ($14, at Nordstrom's. Lovely, luxurious shade, also.

Will you 'nail' the teal trend in Spring?

Check These Out To Stop Curling And Other Hot Iron Burns

This is both cute and smart!

But let us first ask:

Have you ever burned yourself with a curling iron or other hot iron styling tool?"

We once practically burned a small hole through our forehead after getting clumsy with a curling iron. And that hurt so much.

Well, we're happy to see that some brilliant beauty creators are busy looking out for each and every one of us. Say hello to Glam Ears ($12 for 2, at clevergirlinnovations.com).

Don't laugh. If you've ever singed your ears from an accidental swipe with a hot iron styling tool, well, you know the sheer pain that quickly results. And when you're playing with hot rollers, flat irons, and curling irons, these styling gadgets can heat up to an excess of 400 degrees.

What we adore about Glam Ears is its simplicity and protection. These adorable silicone ear covers can do all this while you pretty-up your hair:

• Reusable - easy to put on and remove
• Heat resistant to 450 degrees
• Made of silicone; safe, non-toxic to skin
• So comfortable, you will forget you have them on
• Washable with soap and water; air dry
• Safely shields ears from the harsh dyes of hair color. Hair color may stain GlamEars , but does not affect the integrity of the product.
• One size fits most

Beyonce Reveals Post-Baby Body In NYC: But Tongues Keep Wagging

Just one month after welcoming Baby Blue Ivy Carter into the world, Beyonce Knowles made a public appearance in New York City last evening, celebrating husband Jay-Z's double concert dates at Carnegie Hall.

And proud, new mama Beyonce wowed her fans with her rockin' post-baby body in a curve-enhancing orange Alice Temperly dress with sexy Louboutins and blue nail polish.

Amazing! That's just how she looked post-baby, and how she has always looked BEFORE baby.

Maybe that's why the tongues keep wagging.

Just go to any online post today about Beyonce's post-baby body debut, and you will find tons of comments about the multi-Grammy award singer. And some of these remarks are not too kind. About half of the more than 250 comments at People.com suggest that the beautiful star was NEVER pregnant to begin with, that Beyonce definitely had a surrogate deliver Baby Blue, and so on.

We are certainly not here to judge Beyonce and Jay-Z. We are happy the couple has welcomed a healthy baby girl, and that everyone is doing fine.

Did we, too, have doubts about the real or faux pregnancy?

Yes, and that is all we will say.

We will add, that when you are a famous celebrity like Beyonce, everything you do and say is examined and re-examined. And when you are living in the public eye it is so difficult to have a private life. Beyonce has always conducted herself with such grace, kindness and class, and yet, people are so curious about her, even how tall or short she really is. For years now, there have been lots of posts about the singer's height. Beyonce adores sky-high stilettos and some claim she is only 5'3", while others argue that Beyonce is really 5'7". And so on....

During an interview televised on ABC with Katie Couric last month or so, BEFORE Baby Blue's arrival, Beyonce talked about the untrue stories that were circulating about her so-called fake baby bump. At that precise moment, we wished that the talented singer would have merely flashed the world her pregnant belly just to dispel the rumors. That's all---just a little peek at the belly.

No, Beyonce did not do that, nor was she asked to show her growing belly. Period.

So, the tongues keep wagging. Meantime, the singer is in great, curvy shape, and as soon as we hear about her post-baby diet secrets, we will bring them your way.

Balenciaga Runway Shows Bold Black-Cherry Lips In Spring 2012

Many wonderful trends come off the runways each season, and although we shouldn't copy EVERTHING we see on the catwalk, this is one little beauty tip we think you will like:

Black cherry lips. All glossed up.

Fashion and beauty editors were going ga-gag over the dark, sexy mouths that ruled the Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton 2012 spring runways. You couldn't help but notice the striking lip color sitting pretty beneath the low-sloping hats of the Balenciaga show and boldly standing out on the Louis Vuitton models.

Celebrated makeup artist Pat McGrath tells Vogue magazine about the strong black-cherry lips trend she started, "It was about about power."

And you can get the runway look here, too. Pat gives out the details:

1. Layer CoverGirl Queen Collection Lipstick in Fine Wine($6.99) OVER CoverGirl LipPerfection Lipstick in Euphoria($6.99).

Okay, so black-cherry lips aren't for the shy gals, but think of the shade as a great Spring 2012 accessory. Like a gorgeous pair of shoes, you don't need much else.