Beauty Blog » Do's & Don'ts

The intake of certain foods can substantially improve your skin’s condition–not to mention your overall health. Though eating right will not produce instantaneous results, the eventual progress will have infinite, everlasting results. Sure those $12 creams and cleansers say that the product will make your skin glow in 5 days, but more often than not, it’s just a marketing gimmick.

The only way to improve your skin’s condition is to to cleanse your skin inside and out. Eating too much food with the additives, toxins and artificial flavoring is not good for your skin. You should cleanse your system with fresh, natural foods to help improve your skin’s health. Avoid eating too much sugar, fried food and saturated fats.

The following are the top 3 most effective and beneficial food that you can eat to better your skin.

SALMON:  Salmon and sea food in general contain a ton of protein, which help in cell repair–a crucial component in bettering your skin. One of the biggest mistakes in womens’ diets is their lack of protein. Protein is vital in improving your skin cells. Salmon also has Omega-3 oils that help reduce inflammation and create a radiant glow.

BLUEBERRIES:  It is unbelievable how amazing blueberries really are. They are an excellent way to improve your overall health. My dad has diabetes and he has been noticing that the more blueberries he eats, the better his sugar level is. This goes for skin improvement as well because blueberries are loaded with antioxidants. Carrots also provide a lot of antioxidants and also Vitamin A, which is essential for skin improvement.

WATER: If you drink 8 glasses of water a day, you’re guaranteed better skin condition. Just try it for a week, you’ll not only notice your skin’s improvement but also feel more energized. Green tea is good for you too, so you can substitute a couple of those glasses of water with green tea.

If you incorporate the above three foods in your daily diet, you’ll definitely see improvements in your skin in the long run.

Image source: topnews.com
Info source: WebMD.com

Wearing big hair accessories is a big risk to take. If you choose one that’s slightly too big, you might end up looking like a circus act. But, I’ve definitely seen some girls pulling off the over-sized flowers and headbands flawlessly. It all depends on the size of your head. If you know you have a relatively small face, you can still wear big accessories, but you should go for a skinny headband. A fat headband and a HUGE flower is going to make your head seem awkwardly small. On the other hand, if you know your head is normal or a little bigger, you can probably pull off most large hair accessories with little worry.

Here’s Taylor Swift and her thin headband, but large flower. If you’re wearing this out to a party or casual get together, the flower could stand to be a little smaller. Taylor’s on a photo shoot in this picture, where the rules applied are a little different, but the overall idea is the same because she’s got a petite frame and the thin strap makes the flower work.

Here’s a DON’T: When we’re talking about big hair bands and accessories, how can anyone forget Whitney’s giant, thermal off white headband that she wore in an episode of the Hills earlier this year. This was not flattering at all and the entire scene that she wore it, I couldn’t not stare at the giant-ness of her flower. The flower itself is not cute and the material and color combination made it look kind of dirty. This is a perfect example a big hair accessory that does not fit the frame of her face. I understand that the headband is probably Whitney’s attempt at staying warm yet fashionable–but it kind of looks like an in-between of a beanie and a headband and that’s just weird.

I couldn’t really find any celebrities that are able to pull off wearing a flower in their hair but here’s an image of a style I stumbled upon that looks elegant and beautiful.  You can’t go wrong with curls and a flower.

Finally, here’s Sarah Jessica Parker walking in at the premiere of Sex and the City the movie. No words are necessary.

Image sources: myspace.taylorswift.com, bellasugar.com, csunsweetie.blogspot.com

Shop for hair accessories at Smarter.com.

Soap is an everyday cleansing agent that is used to clear away dirt and greese right? Wrong! If used frequently enough, some traditional soaps can do more harm than good. You should immediately run to your bathroom and check whether or not you are using the right kind of soap.

British dermitologist Dr. F. Ray Bettley made a bold statement when he said that traditional soap is actually bad for your skin. Bettley said that typical soap, made from “caustic alkalies and fats,” has a way of not only removing dirt and greese from our skin, but also the skin’s natural protective layer, which ensures moisturization.

But have no fear–there is a solution. “Soapless soap” is a cleansing agent that does not strip the skin of its necessary natural nutrients. There are several brands of soapless soap on the skincare market–though some can get very pricey. My favorite is the Aquanil cleanser–it’s a gentle, soapless and lipid free cleanser that restores moisture.

It’s definitely affordable–around $10.58. If you’re really concerned and would like to get the top of the line product in soapless skincare, items can range up to $70.00.

It doesn’t stop there. Manufacturers have developed soapless shampoo and soapless conditioner as well. These products will definitely inhibit excessive dryness to your hair. One thing’s for sure—if you’re using the cheap soap from the Dollar Tree, you’re probably scrubbing away essential oils from your skin. When it comes to skincare, it pays to spend a little bit more.

Hello gals, and Happy Holidays!

Perhaps you’ve already picked out your holiday outfit, and if you have, then you are way ahead of the game than I am. Usually I have a dress in mind and then the night of, I mysteriously will change my mind. Again. And then again. And then again. My boyfriend will attest to this agonizing ritual.

The dress I have in mind is babydoll black with gauzy overlay and silver threads. It’s short, it’s rocking and I wore it last year but it’s coming out again. I had so much fun at New Year’s in it and it was so comfortable, I have no qualms about it appearing again this year.

Ok, so I bring this up only because I think that Rihanna’s eye (above, done with Nars Duo Shadow, color Joulee Poupee) is such a refreshing look. It does have an 80’s bent but I think the look will look wonderful with a vibrant red dress (as long as the rest of the face is nude). This is to avoid the spangled glitterball one might become once we go crazy on silver and gold eyeshadow. Why not do something a bit unexpected and try a fresh strong color on the eye?

Also I totally dig Jessica Biel’s strong pink lip. It’s an alternative to the classic red lip. It looks so pretty, don’t you think?

Nars lipstick in Funny Face is a good pick. My personal favorite is Nars in Niagra (coral peach).

A good example of glitter overload versus glitter chic is the photo below: Same dress, two different looks.
Mary Kate keeps it simple and understated with loose hippie hair and no accessories while Carrie (though I love her) turns it up a wee bit too loud with fussy hair and dark tights and accessories galore).

Hope your holidays are sparkly!!!

One of the perks of blogging is having a public forum to vent. Well this is one of those posts!

I think I have kept mum about the following issue for long enough. What I want to discuss with all of you is what you think the proper decorum is for guests who come or sleep over and use the shower. Which alone is of course not a big deal, my issue is when they bogart all your expensive shower products and/or use your LOUFFAH!

Am I taking crazy pills or is that not crossing the intimacy line?! I chalk that right up there with using my toothbrush for pete’s sake! 

Here’s the back story. I have a handful of girlfriends (and my younger sister) who take advantage of my beauty product addiction and use my shower as their own personal beauty testing cubicle. It use to annoy me but I have learned to deal. What I do now is hide the really pricey scrubs and shampoos before my sister comes over, lest she bogart $60 dollars worth of Bliss products. I swear the girl will consume half a bottle of shampoo in one shower trip, I really think she stands there and dumps the good stuff on the floor just to spite me.

PLUS - I think the following is just plain rude, gross and wrong! (Btw, this applies to male visitors as well)

• when you see hairs that are NOT yours in your shower razor
• when your louffah is moist and sudsy after they leave the bathroom, indicating direct use from a stranger
• the brand new body scrub you just opened is suddenly half empty and you can feel the granules lining the shower floor (indicating someone went product testing crazy at your expense)
• little”ummm” hairs stuck to your bar of soap (barf)

I readily admit, I am a tad OCD-ish! But I honestly don’t think my requests are a lot to ask. Is it? Ugh! Just thinking about it makes me shudder. All I keep thinking is the parts of my body that my louffah touches and the parts of their body the louffah touches! Add germs to that line of thought, and rashes, and flesh eating bacteria, and.. and…and… *screams!* GROSS!!!

Am I wrong here guys? What are your “SLEEPOVER-SHOWER-DON’TS”?!

So here is the dilemma and it is not a unique story at all.

Yesterday I sort of felt the first slight tickle slash tingle of a zinger (zit) about to break ground and rear it’s ugly head! I tend to get them when I am stressed. Or right before “flow” comes to town, get it? (wink, wink)

Well not since high school do I get a multiple zit explosion, I generally just get one monster one. Doesn’t make it any less annoying or ugly.

So my question is, What do you guys recommend to get rid of one big zit faster?  

I have always been told not to pop it because then it will scar and be really gross. No one wants Edward James Almos cheek scaring!

What I do is put a hot compress on the bugger and hope and pray that the puss will break free on it’s own, then I may gently nudge the crap out. If I see that it bleeds I put a dot of neosporin on it so it doesn’t scar and it heals nice. This usually does the trick.

But I have somewhere important to go to on Saturday and I want to look my best, what do you guys recommend?  

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I use to have a bad habit that everyone in the office hated but it took my boss to finally say, “Michelle don’t cut your nails at your desk!”

Hold your judgment for a mili-second, let me preface with my office is not your common office. It literally consists of a large room with assorted desks and people in casual attire staring and pounding away at their appointed keyboards AND at the time of said faux pas there were literally only 12 people working here, including the owners.

So it is not like I sat at my desk clipping my nails and twirling my hair. I would notice a hang nail and have at it. Unfortunately it is so quiet in here that even the slightest clipping noise bounces off the wood flooring and walls. Alerting everyone to my secret habit.

Anyhow this memory was triggered yesterday when I saw someone clipping their TOE NAILS on a bus bench! What the heck! I may be wrong but that was way too much for me. The idea of one of his toe clippings shooting across the air and hitting me in the face would literally enrage and repulse me at the same time. I might need to kill this guy, and I feel that his death would be justified.

So here is a list of Do’s & Don’ts as far as public grooming:

Let’s start with the DON’TS!

• DON’T … clip your toenails anywhere but the privacy of your own home
• DON’T…blow your nose into your hand and wipe it on your clothes
• DON’T…go deep diving in your nostrils when you know people can see you (in the subway, on the bus, in line anywhere)
• DON’T… chew and or eat noisily, with your mouth open and bits of saliva and fragments of food shooting out
• DON’T… pick your teeth with your nails during a meal, after a meal, before a meal…actually JUST DO NOT DO IT!
• DON’T … pick your murf or wedgie in the middle of a room full of people. I know it happens to all of us but back up against a wall and dig or go over to the bathroom.

What did I miss? What should we add to the DON’TS?

Time for the DO’s!

• DO…courtesy flush as soon as you squeeze out the kids
• DO…wear deodorant, if you even think you smell chances are YOU DO!
• DO…cover your mouth when you cough
• DO…say “Please” , “Thank you” and “Excuse Me”
• DO…put your cellphone on silent at a nice restaurant and for Pete’s sake save the bedroom talk for when your NOT on speaker!
• DO … leave people their personal space. If there is room in the public area no need to stand so close and breathe on people’s necks ( I hate this!)

Hmmm… that’s all I could think of for now. What did I miss that NEEDS to be on here?