Fall 2009 Makeup How-Tos

by Michelle Smith

Have you ever noticed that as the weather cools, you start reaching for the warmer, deeper colored pieces of your wardrobe? I do the same thing with my makeup, I like to wear a bolder lip or eye. This Fall some old favorites are coming back around (red lips!) along with some new looks.

Here are few easy tips….

Keep It Simple
When going with something new and bold, keep it simple. Chose one feature to highlight. For example, when wearing a red lip color, keep the rest of your makeup neutral – warm and natural. If you are going to wear a heavily lined eye, keep the rest of your makeup soft and subdued.

Use Brow Powder
Strong, defined brows are in. The trick is to keep your brows looking as natural as possible. Start with the correct shape and fill in with a slightly lighter color brow powder if you are brunette and slightly darker if you are blonde or a red head. Even if you’ve got dark hair, don’t go with a dark brow color. I’m a medium brunette and I use a blond/light brown brow powder. You want to enhance what you’ve got, not draw on brand-new brows.

Experiment with Metallics
Glamour magazine likes a Metallic Lid for Fall – a metallic bronze, metallic green, a bit of gold. They suggest lining the lids with shadow in an exaggerated “V” formation. Try a fuller line than usual, heavier on top, closer to lash line at the bottom, just beyond the eye corner a bit, with a slight up-tilt at the far outward edge.

Do Your Eyes First
An eye makeup look like this has a tendency to travel down the face a bit, specks of powder can get everywhere. I suggest switching up your usual application order up. Do your eyes first. Apply base, then line with shadow, fill in your “V” shape, clean up the edges, then go back and apply foundation, powder, blush, and so on. Putting the makeup on in this order helps to keep the rest of your face neutral and fresh. This order also works well when you are doing a smokey eye.

Get a Colorful Yet Smokey Eye
Speaking of a smokey eye, the September 2009 Issue of InStyle featured actress Amanda Seyfried with a twist on the classic black smokey eye look. They show the green-eyed Seyfriend (she really has lovely eyes) with 3 different looks – teal, metallic, and brown. Mariel Barrera, the makeup artist who created the looks says that the most important thing is to blend, blend, blend, thus the colors “melt together.” Another tip, when using the metallics, keep the brow bone clear, because using metallic shadow “too high, can look harsh.”

January Jones Shows Some Skin in White on the Red Carpet

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January Jones struck a pose in her unique white dress on the Emmy red carpet today. Her gown featured cut-out pieces on top and a high slit, which she showed off for the cameras. Last year Mad Men took home the award for Outstanding Drama Series and we predict they just might win it again. What do you think about January's Emmy Awards look — vote on all the red-carpet choices with Fab and Bella's live love it or leave it polls.

BRINGING THE SPA HOME

Stella Gray, Spa Elder Fern Tree, the Spa at Half Moon

Monday, September 21, 2009

I was recently asked by an All Woman reader if I would talk more on the subject of skin care and thought I would take the opportunity to go over some skin care basics before giving more information. First, it is good to remember that our skin is a living organ of our body and can be affected by our diet, lifestyle, hormonal changes, our general health and well-being, and by the climate we live in.

When caring for our skin, the most important thing for us is to ascertain what type of skin we have. If you are unsure, consult a good skin care practitioner who will help to guide you as to the products that are best suited to your skin type.

There are five skin types:

Normal Skin - People who have normal skin are fortunate as their skin is well balanced and rarely has breakouts.

Oily Skin - This skin type often needs a lot of care as it is prone to blackheads, pimples and acne. Oily skin will appear shiny due to an over-production of sebum. Teenagers are often prone to oily skin and can suffer from acne breakouts due to hormonal imbalances.

Dry Skin - As we age we are more likely to have dry skin as the hormone balance changes and our skin produces less sebum. Dry skin is fine in texture, has few open pores although it can be flaky and rough in places. Due to the lack of sebum it tends to show lines and wrinkles easily.

Combination Skin - If you have this skin type you will have what is known as an oily "T-zone" in the centre of your face including the forehead, nose and chin. The rest of your face can be either dry or normal. You will need to care for both zones.

Sensitive Skin - Often when we think we have sensitive skin it can be skin that has been sensitised and is having a reaction to factors such as stress, diet or use of products that do not suit our skin. Using gentle hypoallergenic products can often return your skin to its normal type. Things to avoid using are soaps, highly scented products and hydroxy acids. Certain types of medications will also bring on skin sensitivity. So if you have recently developed sensitive skin, look at all the things that could be affecting your skin.
There are three basic steps in our daily skin care regime.

A. Cleansing

Proper cleansing will remove make-up, sweat, impurities and excess sebum. First, find a skin care product for your skin type, but stay away from soap as this will leave your skin feeling tight and dry. Our skin is slightly acidic and soap is alkaline. This can happen to all skin types even when you appear to have oily skin as soap dehydrates and causes moisture loss.

B. Toner

After cleansing it's important to restore the pH balance to your skin with toner. Astringents can be toners but contain alcohol. Care should be taken when using an astringent as alcohol will irritate some skins and have a drying effect. Additionally, with prolonged use, astringents may strip the skin's natural immune barrier and promote the formation of brown spots. Also, as a note, perfumes are alcohol-based, so for those of us who spray colognes on our necks don't be surprised if you develop dark marks where you spray.

C. Moisturiser

This product helps our skin retain water. There are a number of formulations to help nourish and protect our skin, so choose the type that best suits. You may also want to buy a moisturiser that has SPF to protect your skin from the sun's harmful rays.

Ideally we should do our skin care routine twice daily. In the morning this will prepare your skin for the day and at night you may need to cleanse your skin more thoroughly in order to remove all traces of make-up. Never go to bed with make-up on as our skin cells repair best at night.

Exfoliation. When we are young our skin replaces itself every 14 days. At about age 40 the cycle is increased to 30 days. When dead skin cells sit on the surface of our skin the pores get clogged and we fail to absorb any nutrients we may put on our skin, which will result in a dull complexion. By exfoliating we remove these dead cells leaving our skin brighter and clearer. Exfoliation also stimulates circulation and encourages cell renewal and rejuvenation.

There are two basic types of exfoliation. The first is where we use an exfoliant product and gently massage it on to freshly cleansed skin and rinse it off.

The second exfoliant is one that contains AHA, BHA, retinoic acid or enzymes. These are substances that remove the dead surface cells without rubbing. When using these products do not combine them with strong scrubs to avoid irritating the skin and causing skin sensitivity.

In Part II I will talk about some of the ingredients you will find in your facial products and their benefits.

Stella Gray is the Spa Elder at Fern Tree, the Spa at Half Moon, with over 35 years in the spa industry.

She can be reached at ferntree@halfmoon.com.

Gentle Facial Exfoliant
What you'll need
2 tsp oatmeal
1 tsp milk powder
1 tsp cornmeal

Method
Mix all ingredients together and add enough water to make a paste.
Apply to freshly cleansed skin. Massage gently.
Rinse, tone and moisturise.

Dairy products contain lactic acids, which add to the exfoliation process. Yogurt can be used instead of milk powder.

Rani Mukherjee's skin show a waste?

By Raymond Ronamai

Dil Bole Hadippa | Rani Mukherjee | Dil Bole Hadippa Trailer | Shahid Kapoor | Hot N Spicy

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Many might not expect Rani Mukherjee to resort to cheap skin show after having done many challenging roles in the past but the actress had no other way out with her career being pushed to a new low. She appeared in a bikini top in one of the sequences of her latest film Dil Bole Hadippa. But the big question now is – will it pay off?

Buzz up!

As far as the opening collections of Dil Bole Hadippa is concerned, it failed to live up to the expectations of the people . It did not make a good opening in spite of the good publicity and good review by the media. The presence of Shahid Kapoor and Rani failed to attract the masses.

Kareena Kapoor recently appeared in bikini in Kambakkht Ishq. It paid off well as the film had a wonderful opening, which made it a hit in spite of bad word of mouth. However, it looks like Rani's bikini show would go waste if we are to go by the opening of Dil Bole Hadippa.

In the meantime, Rani's splendid performance and the good word of mouth would pull in the crowds. Let's hope it turn into a big hit!

3 natural ingredients for softer skin

Supriya Doshi on 09.21.09 | no comments |

Sometimes, there's nothing better than staying in on a chilly night and pampering yourself with face mask, a pedicure and a glass of wine.

Thanks to "EcoBeauty," a book by mother and daughter duo Lauren and Janice Cox, you don't have to go out and buy expensive products. Instead, their book has tons of recipes for scrubs, masks and even shampoo.

Here's a super-easy way to make a mask:

Pumpkin pie mask (from "EcoBeauty")

Ingredients:
>> 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
>> 2 tablespoons vanilla yogurt or sour cream
>> 1 tablespoon

Stir all of the ingredients together until you have a smooth paste. Spoon the mask into a clean container with a tight-fitting lid and store it in the refrigerator, where it will keep for about 2 weeks.

To use, after cleansing, spread 1 tablespoon of the mask over your face and neck, avoiding the delicate areas around your eyes and mouth. Leave it on for 15 minutes, then rinse well with warm water and pat your skin dry.

Yield: 3 1/2 ounces

Personally, I'm excited to try all the hair products, including conditioners and even masks for your hair.

This book seems like the perfect gift or girls' night accessory. You could even create your own gifts with the ideas inside. Check it out ... you may never buy products at the store again.

Man Dubbed 'Human Coral Reef' Free of Shell-Like Growths

Monday, September 21, 2009

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A man dubbed the "human coral reef" after huge, shell-like growths appeared all over his body has been cured.

Lin Tianzhuan, 38, began to notice the hard growths on his hands and feet when he was 13. As time passed, he was unable to move his arms and legs and said the "terrifying" condition made him feel like he was turning to stone.

He said people would scream when they saw him.

"They grew and grew and soon they were all over my arms and legs, my back and even my head,” said Tianzhuan, from Shuimen in southern China. "Gradually my shell became thicker and thicker and I could no longer bend my arms or my legs. It was very frightening."

But now, thanks to a year of treatment and surgery by doctors from a special skin clinic, he only has a few discolored patches of skin left to show.

“He may need radiotherapy for quite some time still but he has made very good progress," Dr. Liu Yinghong, vice president of Fuzhou Dermatosis Prevention Hospital said.”

His rare condition closely resembles that of Dede Koswara from Indonesia, who was dubbed the "tree man.”

Dede has been covered with the bark-like warts for more than 20 years. The growths are believed to be caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) and began to appear on his skin after he cut his leg when he was 15-years-old.

London Fashion Week: Peaches Geldof with Jonny Makeup

Peaches Geldof was interviewed this morning by Lorrain Kelly in the catwalk tent at London Fashion Week. After the interview, Peaches was straight on Facebook and chatting away to her friend Jonny Makeup – a makeup artists from California. Lorraine Kelly then went on to present the hot looks from the catwalk with Mark Hayes, the GMTV stylist.

Peaches Geldof with Jonny Makeup at London Fashion Week (c) TheGlobalHerald.com