Blackheads & Pores

Source: Flickr.com by estelabelleza

Pores are enlarged, right after puberty, due to the increase sebum release by the skin. The purpose of this sebum is to protect and hydrate our skin, but among those benefits it also contains fat and debris. Therefore, excessive release of sebum equals larger pores and oily skin, resulting in acne and/or blackheads. I have gathered tips to treat blackheads and pores.

First tip that applies to just everything in skin care, wash your face before you go to sleep, especially if you are wearing makeup. When you sleep your pores close, if you have a dirty face, you know where all that make-up and debris goes to.

Sarah Jessica Parker's facialist Yana was interviewed by Kym Douglas and Cindy Pearlman in the book The Black Book of Hollywood Beauty Secrets. Yana's tips was to buy a scrub with the beads the same size as your pores. Smaller beads will not be enough to penetrate the skin. On the other hand, larger beads will hurt your skin. (41)

To tighten pores, Rachel Ray recommends a banana mask. Yes, a BANANA mask. Squish the banana and rub it on your face. No, really make a creamy mask and apply to face. "Leave on for twenty minutes, rinse off with warm water, then dash on cold (water)." (Douglas and Pearlman 11)

Lisa Rinna uses an egg white mask to tighten her pores. (Douglas and Pearlman 12)

The best alternative for nose strips and to remove blackheads is glue. Ha ha, did I say glue? Yes, I did! Glue such as Elmer's glue it is nontoxic since mainly kids use it for crafts. Smear Elmer's glue on your T-Zone and let it dry. Remove it gently. (Douglas and Pearlman 10)

I hope you find this enjoyable and useful. Comeback for more tips.

Sources:

Douglas, Kym and Pearlman, Cindy. The Black Book of Hollywood Beauty Secrets. New York. Penguin Group, 2006.

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Stracci is having a very nice offer. Customers will receive a free bag with any purchase. Offer is valid while supplies last and is first come first serve.

Exfoliating Tips

Source: Flickr.com by Hotel Legenstein

Exfoliation is removing the top layer of skin, most likely dead skin cells. We shed dead skin cells everyday and renew our entire body skin naturally every month. By exfoliating, we are doing this process a lot faster. Removing the top layer of the skin leaves the skin fresh and vulnerable, therefore applying skin aid will be more effective. In my opinion, I would rather use natural ingredients instead of chemically made products.

To have a smooth, soft and "glow-y" skin, it is recommended to exfoliate once a week. Exfoliating more than once weekly, would damage and dry your skin. For people with sensitive skin, it is recommended to avoid exfoliating.

EXFOLIATING TIPS

Source: Flickr.com by Public Domain Photos

• Ladies everywhere have used this very simple and inexpensive body scrub-Sugar.  Mostly likely you already know, but have you tried it? All you do is add a small amount of sugar on your scrubber or wash cloth.

• Another alternative for sugar is Baking Soda. Baking Soda is a must have ingredients, since it has multiple uses.

Source: Flickr.com by rob.knight

• Helen Hales-skin care guru in Los Angeles -said a regular double
  sided(green one side and yellow on the other)  dish sponge is great and easy to use in the shower. She uses it to scrub the bottom of her feet and compares it to a foot file. (Douglas and Pearlman 9) Why not use it for those rough edges elbows knees and heels?

• Exfoliating and/or scrubs should not hurt.

• "Exfoliate back of arm with a texture glove or a cloth (Bristles are too harsh)." ( Claire 41) Marie Claire, author of the book Gorgeous Face & Beautiful Body, to avoid loose skin behind the arm you need to nourish and take care of it.

Thank you for visit and  come back for more amazing tips.

Sources

Douglas, Kym and Pearlman, Cindy. The Black Book of Hollywood Beauty Secrets. New York. Penguin Group, 2006.

Claire, Marie. Gorgeous FACE & Beautiful BODY. New York. Hearts Books,2006.

Must Know Tips About Weight Lose

Source: Flickr.com by UNE photos

Why do we lose weight fast and then it slows down?

The more you have to lose the faster those unnecessary pounds come off.  Personal trainer, Chris simplifies it by saying its like getting water out of a big container with a bucket, the majority will come out easily, but when you get to the bottom the water it's just so difficult. You body wants and needs to get rid of that weight. In addition, if you have never worked out your body will go into shock, causing the same effect.

The ability to lose weight has a lot to do with age and genes. After a certain age around 30 for girls, is extremely difficult  to lose the “pouch” and get into the model body, but not impossible. It means you have to be dedicated, actually workout, and really stick to a healthy diet. Diet that suits your life style and health.

Some people’s genes come from heavy parents, and although they can lose weight to a healthy weight you will not see them wearing a string bikini or will you? Don't give up. If you stopped losing weight or have slowed down, while exercising appropriately, remember slow and steady its good. You are closer to your goal.

Remember no pills, no starvation diets. There are exceptions for everything, in this case pills are taken for people who strictly need to lose weight due to endangered health and even for life threatening cases. In these cases pills are used to get a head start and maintaining to lose weight by dieting and exercising. Otherwise, pills can make you lose weight fast but as fast as you are losing it you might gain back.

Be stress-free, be happy, be active and overall love yourself, since this is going to help you make the right decisions for your body.

Fun Tips For A Sexy Waist

Source: Flickr.com By iujaziu

How to get a  sexy waist? and have fun at the same time. Well, a lot of people incline to Zumba, yes that's one  way to go, for a fun calorie-burning activity, and depending on your instructor you might get a total body work out. Sad to announce that you can not just stay in Zumba and any other cardiovascular activity because it eventually stops working for your body, also known as Plateau. But this is not about Zumba, this is about something similar that has been around for centuries, SALSA!!!

Not only salsa but Latin dances such as Merengue, Cumbia, Punta, and Zamba are great, fun, calorie burning, and muscle sculpting dances. All these dances workout your obliques, and your body does not get used to them therefore, it does not stop working. For example, sits ups,  you can increase the number of sit ups and your body gets stronger; maintain the same number of sit ups and your body maintains its shape and strength. Don't we all want to go out and dance? or just have fun? and feel even better when we realize we're working out!!. We are burning calories, we are working our leg muscles, obliques, working on our posture.

Merengue, Cumbia and Salsa are slightly different from each other, on the steps and rhythm. The main idea of Salsa is to move our hips; Imagine making a figure eight with your hips, or making a circle to one side and then the other. Now, imagine that movement throughout, you can also add a side step, a front step, back step so on and so forth. Merengue is also a leg workout, I can not describe the steps because it would probably take me the entire day. With Cumbia, you travel a bit, from one side to the other. Aren't these supposed to be with a partner? Yes, but you don't have to. Either way you are still having fun and getting that small waist you desire.

Punta from Central America and Zamba from Brazil, are both extra quick. The music guides you through the rhythm with the drums, making it a bit easier. Punta is translated to point its dance with the first third of your feet-meaning the ball of your foot on the side of the big toe. These two dances works out the calf muscle, thighs and waist, but you need to have endurance to last for an entire song. Zamba is as fast as Punta, if not faster. The difference is Zamba has actual steps and not just moving your feet from side to side on the ball of your foot.

Some warm up exercises to try before getting into the dances:

Figure eight with hips. Imagine your feet are two dots and you will circle around one and then the other, forming a figure 8.

Moving hips side to side. Only your hips nothing else.

Moving your hips around and turning simultaneously. One hip at a time.

You might feel how your obliques work doing these exercises.

I have concluded about this dance/workout through experience, after about two weeks of starting the fun. I must say this will not have the same benefits as a real total body workout. You will need to add some lower ab exercises for a total core workout, since it just workouts your obliques for that slim waist. I would do any of these 2-3 times a week for 3o-40 minutes including warming up and cooling plus the additional lower ab workouts.

So, Its time to look into these dance, download some music, have fun and get that slim waist you always wanted!!!

Make-Up

OH!!! Yes, when you see the title you imagine all the great, styles, colors and statements you can make with "make-up". My tip today is about wearing foundation. I would have to give thanks and credit to everyone who has posted make-up tips and people who have written books about make-up, since everything I know is from reading, research and of course trial and error.

The method I use and has worked best than other methods is wearing different shades of foundation. Yes, I know it sounds so bad. Let me explain, if you look at your reflection in a mirror, you can see that beautiful bare face is actually different shades. Now, wait a second, we are not going to buy the shades and just wear them in those areas. You can achieve different looks with this method.

1. Use the different shades. Skin tone, one  lighter and one darker. The number of shades lighter or darker you need depends on your comfort zone and your goal. You can start with a shade lighter and darker, and with experience you can become your own pro make-up artist.
2. Apply where desire. So, do you want a glow? a longer face ? emphasize a feature? where you apply the light shade is what you want to have more of and the opposite for the dark shade.  For a glow, you want to have a natural day light lamp in front of you at face level, where the light glows you would apply the light shade and the dark shades on the shadows.
3. Blend with a blush, so there' s a smooth mix of the colors. Make sure of course to follow your usual foundation application, if you use powder apply it to have a better finished.

A lot of people and articles recommend using a brush to apply foundation, but don't feel bad if it does not seem to work on you. I, personally, do not like it I prefer a sponge or the tip of my fingers for the feeling of being in control. Blending with a blush is require for this technique.

Remember, have fun, and play around to discover what suits you best!

I would love to hear or see your make up tricks, so don't be a stranger and feel free to share.

         _______________________________________________________________

Chris' Fitness Tip 

Take 32 grams of protein at a time to gain muscle and/or lose fat.

Your body won't absorb more than that. Therefore, eating 12 eggs to try to get "bigger" is actually not doing anything to you, except disturbing your cholesterol.  Protein shakes and a meal with protein, won't work either.  Here's a great example: Chicken and potatoes can add Greek yogurt after 5 minutes, or  Steak and eggs for breakfast. You do the math. Just remember 32 grams of protein per meal or at a time, helps you gain muscle and lose fat.





Photograph by http://www.flickr.com/photos/yongjiet/2189176413/ Used under commons License. 

The Benefits Of Water

Picture provided by Flickr.com 

Doctors have said drink 8 glasses of water a day, but do people actually do this? Most people don't, I know I can't.  My average intake of water is around 4 glasses of water. Even if you can't or don't, water still has many benefits. Drinking water has been proven to help with weight lose. Water should be your best friend for the rest of your life especially, after hearing these tips. I am not a nutritionist, doctor or personal trainer, but with experiences, myths, word of mouth, and most importantly proven studies, I can pass this information along to you.

Jump start your metabolism by drinking 12-16oz of water first thing in the morning. Chris Baker, personal trainer, fitness instructor and martial artist,at Recreation Atl., describes the benefit of water speeds your metabolism and helps you burn calories throughout the day.Chris also recommends replacing caffeinated drinks with water. Word of mouth, by a member from the website cafemom.com, says you can see results as soon as one week.

Drinking a glass of water before a meal, I have not yet read any studies for this but if you have, feel free to share. This is based on word of mouth and experience. Based on my experience, water made me feel full resulting in less intake of food. Therefore achieving less calorie intake.

Of course, you can't rely solely on water to loose weight. We have to get motivated to workout at least 3 times a week, with a steady heart rate for 20 minutes. Now, please make sure you know at what rate your heart should be, before attempting this. Ask your doctor or personal trainer. After your workout, drink a room temperature glass of water to get hydrated, after all that's why we seek water the most.

Get your water bottles now and start getting in shape.

Someone who makes a fashion statement

Madonna. Yes, she has always been someone who made a statement with fashion, her fashion. She has been unique and completely confident to *wear anything she wants or wanted. She is an artist before my time, I only got to see a bit of her in her highlights, but it was enough for me to admire her.

This is what "fashion" is about. Is about wearing something unique and extraordinary and making it a style. My belief is: if you like it and it fits, wear it. You tell people about yourself with fashion, your fashion. Not whats popular, but who you are.

*Wear is a key word. Not meaning to literally wear something but to make it "work". For example, some people may wear an outfit that drowns them and you really can not see them, their persona. Wearing is about being seen, making that outfit look amazing, feeling good and having people talk about it. That's my definition of wearing. Don't be surprise if  bad talk happens, it will, but most likely from the person who likes what you have on and is a bit jealous you can wear it.

I remember wearing an outfit which everyone loved. While waiting in line at a store, I overheard a couple of teenagers saying " I would never wear anything like that." This comment made me feel real good and I thought to my self  "and that's why I'm wearing it. Be yourself, make a statement with fashion and share with me the outfits you wear.