She said she just didn’t feel very good about herself because everyone was doubting and underestimating her.  So she decided, that’s it: I’m making a huge decision to leave the show and do something that I know I’m good at to prove everyone wrong.

She wrote a book, “LA Candy” about a girl, much like herself, who spent her late teen to early twenty years filmed in front of a camera on a reality TV show. Not exactly original or creative, but it’s a huge accomplishment–writing a NY Times best selling book. In fact, she’s already writing another one.

This is also around the time that she launched her new clothing line at Kohl’s, which she describes is “much more me” than her other high end designs.

In the midst of all this change and breaking out of her shell, she proved herself that she is determined and can stay committed to becoming and staying fit. She has been practicing a strict regiment of eating healthy and exercising every day.

Her diet consists of watermelon, organic salad greens and tuna.  She does a workout regiment that you can do anywhere–which helps  because she’s on the road so much for her book signing, etc.

One of her workout plans is doing 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps of squats, in order 2 or 3 times a week. You should rest for 30 seconds between sets.

How to:

Works legs, butt, and shoulders
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and loop the center of a resistance tube under your arches. Hold a handle in each hand next to shoulders with palms facing forward. Bend knees, lowering hips until thighs are parallel to the ground, then rise up as you press your hands overhead. Return to start position and repeat. 

 Image source: insider.com

I mean, sure it’d be nice to see what her hair looks like, but it’s not exactly Earth shattering as she’s making it out to be. The idea behind it is noble–she’s encouraging natural beauty. Personally, it’s hard to take her seriously because her fame and success roots from her modeling–an industry that revels in fakeness. So she’s basically saying natural beauty is ideal on her talk show, but it’s still okay to promote unattainable heights of beauty through her other show Top Model, which is all about unnatural beauty.

Banks told Radaronline that, “It’s just me coming straight out of the shower with wet hair. My hairdresser’s going to do my hair live on stage.”

Subsequently, she’s going to be talking to audience members who don’t feel good about their natural hair. I’m sure Tyra’s going to show us her real hair but then return to the next red carpet event with yet another wig. So what good does that really do? This all just seems like a novelty gimmick because I can bet on the fact that Tyra will not take her own advice, her role in the supermodel industry prevents this from happening.

Image source: zimbio.com

I think skinny eyebrows first came into style when Brooke Shields threw
away her tweezers in the 80’s. A lot of people were scared by this look–but come on, her eyebrows are a little wild to say the least. You really can’t help but notice that Brooke’s face would be even more gorgeous if she’d trim her brows. As a result, this fear of the eyebrows as inhibitors of our optimum beauty took control and so began the relentless plucking obsession.

I think Tyra Banks is the prime example of the classic omg-what-did-I-do-to-my-eyebrows moment. In her picture on the left, you can barely tell that she has any hair follicles at all above her eyebrows–giving an alien-like illusion to her face.This is a definite DON’T! Natural beauty is the last thing that this look produces.

If that didn’t scare you, check out Pamela Anderson’s awkward face. Let this be a lesson to all of you. Drawing in your eyebrows does not fool anybody.

Finally we’ve reached a decade in which more celebrities are discovering the obvious in-between. Something not as manly as Brooke’s brow nor as freaky as Tyra’s or Pamela’s eyebrows.

Hayden Panettiere from Heros has eyebrows
that look groomed, yet naturally stunning.

Anne Hathaway’s dark, full eyebrows seem to compliment her face very well and she’s definitely got that natural beauty.

Image Sources: Annehathawaygallery.com,  celebritybeautybuzz.com, blackhairmedia.com, broadwayworld.com 

Shop for tweezers at Smarter.com, but don’t get carried away!

We might not all be able to look like the timeless beauty Christy Turlington, and we might not all be able to live like her: model from the age of 15, spokesperson, activist, mother of two, wife and now grad student at Columbia University in Public Health making a documentary on women’s health. But, there is one thing we can all aspire to and look to dear Christy for advice and inspiration: Yoga! Turlington has sworn by yoga’s empowering exercises for years, and there’s no reason why without a few good tapes, some mats and some dedication, you can emulate the lifestyle choices of Christy in your own home!

Some starter kits to get the beginner’s going: remember, Yoga is more about the movement then the equipment. So start small; you really don’t need any of the materials, and many can be substituted with normal household items: (try a towel instead of a yoga matt, a jump rope instead of a cotton strap, Tupperware containers or boxes for support bricks, etc). But here is a super cheap starter kit with matching colors (and a video!) to get you started on the right foot, if you don’t know where to start at all:

Yoga Starter Kit with 6” x9” x 4” Yoga Mat, Foam Block, 6’ Cotton Yoga Strap, and Yoga Postures Poster: $29.99 (marked down from $49.99)

If you have some back problems and want to get some super supportive yoga mats, the Yoga Monster Mat is for you!

Yoga Monster Mat: $28.99 (marked down from $52.99)

If Yoga is a bit too relaxed for you and you want a harder workout that will get the muscles really burning and focus on strengthening more than stretching, you may want to try Pilates instead of Yoga, or a combination of Yoga and Pilates (known as Yogilates. So fun to say!)

Complete Pilates Mat Workout DVD: $34.99 (marked down from $39.99)

Find at Smarter.com: Shop for more yoga equipment.

Here are both ladies at the Los Angeles premiere of The Orphan at the Mann Theatre in the Westwood Village.  Since we are smack dab in the middle of yet another hot summer here in Los Angeles, it is of course almost absolutely impossible to go without seeing a celebrity (A,B,C or D list) in their bikini.  Now, this girl looks like she is modeling PINK in a Victoria’s Secret Catalog.  Wouldn’t you Agree?

Pictured here in Malibu, she looks great, cute ruffled Juicy Couture swimsuit, good beach body and tan, and her hair looks fabulous!  AnnaLynne McCord is her name, she’s on 90210–the new one, and I’ve only seen one episode but her hair is always curly on it if I remember correctly.  Don’t know whether she kept hers salty or not, but it it’s a great look and an example of how to work the beach hair.

Katherine Heigl just made an appearance on David Letterman in this shocking blue dress…

She looks good, I can’t decide whether I like that dress or not.  But, I do know I do not like her hair brown.  For that matter, it’s not even a true, rich brown…it looks golden on top…and this can look mousey.  Heigl is gorgeous, a true, natural born beauty.  I wish she would just stay blonde, it suits her and she wears it well.  Her makeup looks good though, smoky, bronzy eyes, with a nude shimmery lip.  Very on point with the current trend.  I have to admit though, I do love seeing her looking like a real bombshell with her long blonde hair and red lipstick on.

Image Source: people.com

Whenever there is an opportunity to get dressed up, most of us tend to choose neatly coiffed styles, all properly placed within boundaries so that not a strand would dare step out of line or misbehave.  Translation “boring”! Celebrities, on the other hand have no problem thinking outside the box, and often choose to balance their glamorous red carpet looks and spick and span makeup with carefully cultivated disheveled locks.  Something a little undone not only adds oomph, youthfulness and bohemian flair but also prevents us from looking too dowdy and stuck up!

Moderation is of course key.  Always play around for a couple of days before the big day.  Remember not to go overboard!  A few strategic strands go a long way in delivering the right look.  After all we wouldn’t want to provide fodder to the office grapevine by looking like a tramp.

Here are a few good products to cook up that textured, sexy do.   Most of them come with instructions, and work well applied on damp hair.  (Though some may be used on dry hair as well).  Twist, scrunch and pull back sections that you want teased before blow drying. Voila!

1.  Dirt Texturizing Paste , $26

2.  Coiff Nonchalant Piecing and Forming Wax, $23

3.  Wen Sweet Almond Textured balm, $18

4.  David Babaii for WildAid Bohemian Beach Spray, $10

5.     Redken touch control texture wrap, $11.00

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more hair wax and texturizing paste.

photos courtesy : actressarchives.com

According to 50connect, new research released reveals that the age of 28 has been identified as the “Perfect Age”, when women feel most happy with their love life, self confidence and body shape.  By the time women turned 30 the study however concluded, they are increasingly worried about graying, thinning and unmanageable hair with 72% believing that aging hair (defined as thinning, coarsening, graying) is most likely to reveal their age followed by wrinkles (67%).

I think women should take a page from the adorable The Proposal star Sandra Bullock who is well into her mid 40’s but has retained her enviable youthful looks.  She is one of the rare breed of stars who has aged gracefully without any glaring plastic surgery, yet has managed to retain her “girl next door” charm including her endearing , effervescent personality.  Sandra told Britain’s InStyle magazine recently that her beauty regimes only takes eight minutes.  Can you believe it?  With any other actress, I would be like “Yeah, right!”  But I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.  She comes across as someone who does not take herself too seriously and would totally go for an effortless, easy to maintain beauty routine.  She says:

“I use a face cloth and Artistry cream for my daily beauty regime. I put mascara on today because I wanted to make a bit of an effort.  My entire routine takes eight minutes since I have this mop on my head I need to wrangle.  I wash, condition, put product in if it’s a little haywire.  I like it when it’s messy-in-your-face bedhead.  It looks like it just happened.”

But she did concede that her fitness regime is a little more time consuming: “People ask, ‘How do actresses do it?’  Um - they pay us to do this in order to look good on film.  I do pilates, kickboxing, weight training.  When I’m at home, I run or ride a bike.  If I can work out every day I will.”  Very wise, for how often do we pay excess attention to the face only to ignore the body?  If you find Sandra Bullock as adorable as I do, you may want to pay attention to her professed beauty tips:

1. Artistry Time Defiance Night Recovery Cream, $ 61

2. Artistry Time Defiance Day Protect Cream SPF 15, $61

3. Artistry essentials mascara, $ 14

Also check out Smarter.com for fresh Pilates and kickboxing ideas.

Find discounts on anti-aging cream.

Photo Courtesy: http://movies.msn.com

She kind of reminds me of a porn star, minus the big hair, it must be her name…no offense anyone.  I will admit she is pretty, a good model too seeing as how she is tall and thin but curvy.  The curvy tall models are good…hey, that’s what the original supermodels were anyway (Cindy Crawford, Tyra Banks, Claudia Schiffer anyone?)  So, Miss Amber Rose has some bright flashy style just like her man, they both love attention and turning heads it seems. So it is not surprising that Amber dyed her hair a greenish blue…

I would call this a shade of turquoise blue/green.  Some beauty critics are comparing it to the color of the Caribbean.  It matches the color of her sunglasses and the pastel pink color on her lips is a bright enough shade to off-set the shocking hair tone.  It’s cute, fun, funky, what have you.  If she was going for shock factor…she got it.  I respect the fact that she wants to be different and turn heads.  I guess I feel like neon color for the hair is not only so 90’s (not necessarily a bad thing), but that neon hair is a bit adolescent.  I liked her better in photo #1 with her main man Kanye.  I wonder what he thinks about it?  Perhaps this was a reason to be off again?  Or on.  One never knows these days.  Amber Rose pulls it off well seeing as how she has no hair really, but I just wish she would take off those enormous sunglasses from time to time so we can get a glimpse of what looks to be a very pretty face and perfect complexion.

On a side note, something to leave you hanging for the next posting…since when did Megan Fox try to get all vampy?

I will admit, she wears it well, but probably only because it is a trend.  Not because she is a true fan of the original vamps and glamour girls from the black and white days.  I’m not a big Megan Fox fan so I guess I’d rather see the likes of Scarlett Johansson sporting this classic look.  Now here is one fox that can really work this and pull it off.  Why her and not the other?  Scarlett is a classic beauty, one who can appreciate the classics, and wear the looks well.

Look at the way her eyeshadow makes those green eyes pop!

Image Source: blogstodiefor.com, glamour.com

Here is Cassie at the 2009 BET Awards, and I think she looks absolutely stunning.  She was probably thinking “Diddy, eat your heart out!”

This is what Cassie looked like before

She was definitely just as gorgeous then but now with her new look she has a more exotic thing going. She also has a good head for revealing as shaved.  Anyone can do this really, but its not going to look the same on everyone of course.  Cassie actually reminds me of the model and wife of David Bowie, Iman.

Iman has been like the ultimate exotic African American supermodel forever.  She makes cosmetics now.  But seeing those photos of Cassie at the BET Awards just made me think of Iman.  Cassie looks mature now, statuesque and she’s carrying herself with confidence, something Iman always does in every photo that is snapped of her.  The thing is, if you decide to do something this drastic, you must be able to wear it with confidence.  As silly as that sounds, its just the plain old truth.  My hair is curly and wild, and I might consider doing this one day, not shaving half of my head, only a small portion on the right side, the area where you tuck you hair behind your ear.  I had a previous co-worker that had half of her head shaved.  It looked good.  She wore it well.  My best friend shaved a little portion of her head and her hair kind of falls into it, disguising it sometimes.  I think it looks awesome.  I don’t know you guys…is this the new trend???

Image Source: glamour.com, beautyfashionlife.files.wordpress

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for electric shavers.

If you follow celebrity fashion or keep in touch with the latest music videos, you might be wondering why the nails that the ladies are sporting look extra spunky these days.  It is thanks to a revolutionary new nail treatment called Minx made from flexible film strips applied to the nails using a heat lamp.  The high gloss, long wearing coating takes about 15-20 minutes for application and needs absolutely no drying time, therefore avoiding accidental smudging or denting.  They are supposed to last for 1-2 weeks without chipping.  To remove them at home you just warm up the film with a hair dryer and peel it off.

So, if you are tired of your run of the mill, timid polishes and can’t stand fake nails either, check out Minx’s stunning array of selection.  The solids are anything but boring (think gold metallic like Beyonce in “Single Ladies” or chrome silver) .

The patterns range from intricate, delicate bridal laces to bold and brash animal prints.  You could even custom design a favorite photo into a nail coating.  How is that for a choice?  If you are worried about any harsh chemicals in the formula, you can relax.  Since it requires only heat for application and removal, it contains no harmful substances and is totally eco-friendly.

This hot new trend sported by the likes of Beyonce, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Pink, Fergie, Christina Aguilera, Victoria Bekham among others, can now be found at Spa Nordstorm Escape. Or, to find a Minx nail salon in your part of the country, try the spa finder at Minxnails.com.  At Nordstorm , getting a minx treatment would cost you $50 including manicure and just $30 without manicure.

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more manicure supplies.