Beauty and Personal Grooming

Anyone who travels with makeup has likely had a terribly experience by which a bottle of liquid foundation breaks, soaking through your makeup bag and onto your clothes, or a container of loose powder cracks, dusting everything in your makeup kit and making for a messy retrieval. The last thing you need when you're on vacation is to have to replace your clothing and makeup the minute you arrive at your destination. It's an expensive and time-consuming hassle that most of us would rather avoid, if possible. So you need to take extra care when it comes to packing your cosmetics, and here are just a few tips to get the job done right.

When it comes to the state of our skin, most of us simply resign ourselves to the fact that we're never going to look like the flawless models and celebrities that we see plastered on billboards and in magazines. Hey, they're airbrushed anyway, right? However, we can always look a little better than we do, and in some cases it's as simple as wearing sunblock, using the right cleanser, or hitting up the dermatologist for a special treatment once or twice a year. So if you're looking for a few ways to brighten up your skin tone or get rid of blemishes, sunspots, and other signs of aging, here are a few tips that are dermatologist approved.

Most women wouldn't shell out crazy amounts of money for a diamond-crusted tube of mascara or lipstick ($14 million from H. Couture Beauty) or even a fake firearm full of Dior Cosmetics ($17,000 from Dutch jewelry designer Ted Norton). But most of us are willing to spend quite a bit for cosmetics that will make us look younger and prettier, or that claim to. The only question is: do makeup brands that cost more actually offer better quality than the bargain brands at the pharmacy, or are you paying a lot more for a label? Here are a few things to consider before you lay down your cash on a gloss or shadow that may give you nothing more than the artificial prestige of a name.

It's not news that women tend to cling to the fashion and beauty trends that were popular when they felt they were at the height of their beauty (which is why so many of our mothers, now nearing the age of retirement, still wear the high-waisted, tapered-leg "mom" jeans that gained popularity in the early '80s). The truth is it's easy to get stuck in a rut with your beauty routine once you're comfortably ensconced in a long-term relationship. And why would you want to change a routine that clearly worked (it helped you nab your partner, right?). But when you suffer a breakup, whether it's years down the road or mere months after the first flush of romance, you're going to need a little pick-me-up to make yourself feel attractive again. So consider this the perfect opportunity to update your makeup look.

Celebrities spend a fortune on cosmetic procedures, relaxing massages and lunchtime treatments – but there are ways to pamper and preen on a budget. Not all beautifying techniques are expensive, so here’s how to look great without breaking the bank.

We all know that exercise does a body good. It can help you to lose weight, build and tone muscle, and look and feel great. As an added bonus, it generally boosts energy and reduces stress, to boot, not to mention reducing cholesterol , hypertension , and the possibility of heart disease. In short, exercise has the potential to help you look and feel great all around. But did you know that there's even more benefit to be had from a regular workout schedule? In case you didn't know, an ongoing exercise regimen can actually have a positive impact on the state of your skin. You might be worried about additional sweat causing further skin issues, but the truth is that exercising can provide a surprising supplement to your regular beauty routine. Here's how.

If you've ever stood at the beauty section and wondered why hair masks are so expensive, then you have a reason to be confused.  While name brand products can cost a hefty pile of money, the truth is that you can get the same, if not better, results on your own with just a few regular ingredients you will normally have in the fridge and pantry.  Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't take a big time investment to make your own hair masks and the natural ingredients you use will be much more beneficial for the long term health of your hair than the chemical additives found in store-bought products that can strip and damage your hair over time.  Here are a few ideas to make your own hair mask and create a healthy hair shine at only a fraction of the cost.

When you're going through beauty treatments to help you stay healthy and look your best, you are undoubtedly aware of your hair and skin, but don't forget about your teeth! Your smile is one of your best fashion accessories, and bright teeth can make you really shine when you smile or laugh. Visit the Dentist Your dentist can offer the most powerful tooth-whitening treatments , with chairside bleaching that you do at the dental office or trays that you fill with a tooth whitening product at home.

With all of the beauty products thrown at us these days it’s easy to forget that there are a lot of natural hair oils available to us that are healthy and work wonders. Hair oils have been around for centuries and are used by many of the old civilizations to this day. Here are some of the more popular ones that you can look into.

I recently started a new job where sitting at a computer screen for hours is the norm.  As time progressed, I seriously felt the retinas in my eyes burning –okay, maybe I’m exaggerating. However, I often find myself, head in hand, trying to figure out ways to divert my attention away from the screen.  It reminds me of the neon bug zappers – every time I meet the computer’s gaze … ‘zap!’ my once-perfect sight loses more strength.

You will find that most makeup comes with an expiration date after which it begins to break down and lose its potency. This is generally located somewhere on the exterior packaging or perhaps on a sticker if no packaging is present. But in most cases it is easily lost, leaving you with no indication of when your beauty products will lose their edge (so to speak). So here are a few tips that will help you to determine when you should toss your old makeup and spring for something new.

There's no denying that just about everyone these days is consumed with the idea of hanging onto (or recapturing) the beauty of youth. Even young people today are using sunblock (or staying out of the sun entirely) in order to preserve their smooth skin and prevent the wrinkles and spots that come with sun damage. Although people throughout history have been obsessed with finding products that would keep them looking young and firm, modern society has used scientific study to find ways to retain elasticity and firmness, reduce wrinkles and sun damage, plump up sagging skin , and combat the many changes that are a natural part of aging. In fact, the research has been so extensive that there are now a plethora of products on the market to choose from. So how do you pick the one that's right for you?

Not all of us are born looking like the celebrities and supermodels that fill the media. And yet, if you admire Gwyneth Paltrow's pretty face and lean figure, Kim Kardashian's buoyant derriere, or Kate Upton's, well, everything, you are just a few surgical procedures away from adopting your favorite features. Thanks to the many advances in plastic surgery, anyone can improve (or at least change) their appearance cosmetically, adding fillers and implants and subtracting bone, fat, and other tissue to become a different size and shape. But before you head to the clinic and hop on the operating table, there are a few things you'll want to consider.

As any woman (and some men) can tell you, the price of beauty is high. While people would get pretty  miffed if vendors charged a premium for necessities like food, beauty products are luxury items, and are therefore subject to arbitrary pricing. So the many lotions and potions that you use to beautify can range in cost from minimal to truly exorbitant. Either way, you can save a lot by mixing up your own alternatives at home, and with so many elements readily available, you might be surprised by how easy it is to create targeted specialty items you want for less. Of course, they won't come with a fancy label, but you can still get some of the many products you use every day at a fraction of the cost of retail. Here are some to try.

Unfortunately, pimples on the forehead are very common - and for teenage girls in particular, the natural reaction is to try to disguise them by styling hair to cover them. This might be a good short-term fix, however it could actually make the pimples worse in the long run because not only could the natural oil from the hair exacerbate the problem but for those with sensitive skins, residues of hair products could also cause skin reactions.