Beauty In 10 Minutes

Just as we spend money, we spend time. We are all in a rush as if we could save it only because we are fast. Mirror is not an exception. We try to do everything very fast and start running our marathon. Why not make the most of this few minutes?

Try to think of everything is advance. While you're making a decision about your hairdo, make sure it's a rather simple one, so you wouldn't have many problems while forming it. Moreover, the most fashionable hairdos for 2007 are very effortless, all you have to do is wash your hair in the evening, apply all the necessary products, go to sleep, wake up and go. You won't have any troubles with your hair and save a lot of time. Those hairdos are both very practical and fashionable.

You may also use your evenings; no matter how tired you are you'll definitely enjoy laying in a hot bath. After this little relaxing procedure, use creams and gels to your body so you wouldn't have to go to any spas and, once again, waste your time and money. If you'll do it regularly, your skin will be beautiful and it'll be easier to cope with it. You'll have more energy for a whole day and feel fresh.

Makeup will also help you save some time. Colors for this season are very natural and pastel, so you won't have to be very accurate while doing your make up. As far as colors are so unnoticeable, you may not wear any make-up at all. When it comes to lipstick, choose a pastel color. You may use it on your way to work. If the stripes won't be very accurate, don't worry nobody will notice it, for it's a natural color.

Nothing and nobody will be able to help you become pretty if you eat unhealthy food, don't get enough sleep or have too much stress. If some of these problems exist, try to solve them somehow. You may find something tasty, easily prepared and healthy at the same time. If you can't get a good night sleep go see your doctor; it may be a serious problem, however if it's not, the doctor will at least advise you on how to improve your sleep quality. Try to avoid every situation that may cause you stress, if you can't - try to talk to somebody, think positively and relax just as you leave a stressful location.

If you don't have enough time to match every single detail in your style, change your clothing to something simple, youthful or maybe even shaggy. Such clothes are very comfortable, they don't need to be ironed every single day and they will make you look younger! Such style together with a simple and fashionable hairdo and make-up will make you look trendy.

You can decide how much time to spend looking at mirror. If you keep your body fresh every day, take a good care of it, choose your make-up and hairdo properly, you'll need only 10 minutes to be ready. Moreover, if you're happy, don't let stress and bad mood control you, you will be beautiful as you are and won't need any special make-ups, hairdos or clothing to look pretty.

Keep Your Skin Firm

There is a certain part of our body that can disclose all our habits, tiredness and even food we choose or how often we exercise. Whatever we do it affects our skin sooner or later. If we do not live right skin loses its firm. It might be unnoticeable in early youth, but we can’t ignore it later. What can we do to prevent skin from losing its shine and elasticity? Basically, you need to live healthy life and take care of yourself. Here are some simple firm skin secrets to follow.

• • Use sun screener. You probably know that 15 daily minutes in a sun, gives your skin the best portion of the D vitamin. What about a longer period? Sun can dry skin cells and do pretty much damage by fastening aging processes and causing serious diseases. Sun

• screener can prevent this from happening. Even if you want to become tanned, without protective means you will rather give your skin damaged but not shinny look.

• • Moisturize your skin every day. Sun, wind, cold, improper soaps, air conditioning or central heating – these are only several things that make a skin to lose its moisture. Apply special cream or oil right after bathing. Pay additional attention to your hands and face; they front most of environmental damage around the year. The less dye and perfume a lotion contains the better it’s for your skin.

• • Exercise regularly. It makes your shape look better and gives you energy. Furthermore it keeps your skin elastic. Regular exercising helps your skin to take up more necessary oxygen. When aging this skin ability can be strongly reduced.

• • Try contrasting shower. Pour yourself with hot and cold water by turns before you get out of bath/shower. This will make your skin to

• relax and contract again and again and will keep it more elastic. Contrasting shower is also recommended as prevention mean against cellulite.

• • Avoid changing your weight too fast. When you lose weight too fast, your skin may not keep in pace with your body. And crumpled wrinkles may be left as a result. Needless to say ultra dieting is not healthy for whole organism. This also works the other way around: if you gain a lot of weight in a short time without moisturizing your skin, small tears may follow.

• • Eat healthy food. Every food is good for you in certain portions. If you prefer fast food to vegetables and home prepared meal, you probably get too much refined carbohydrate and fats, but not enough proteins, vitamins and minerals that your body needs for real.

• • Drink a lot of water. Humidity is vital for skin cells to regenerate. If you don’t drink recommended daily water intake, your body dehydrates and your skin fails to regenerate. Saying that water is a base of our life is not made-up. You should drink 8 glasses of water a day and additional 1 or 2 glasses if you are on diet or exercise intensively. Tea, natural juices and juicy fruit or vegetables can replace water; but coffee, carbonated drinks and alcohol make body to dehydrate even more.

• • Quit smoking and avoid alcohol. Both these things makes your body (of course including skin) to lose water. Furthermore, many unwanted materials get into your body and causes from small to serious skin diseases. Do I need to remind you that skin of heavy smoker is usually pale grey in color?

• • Avoid stress and let yourself to rest. Skin is the most conscientious mirror of your inner feel. If you don’t sleep well regularly, a skin becomes flabby. If you worry a lot, certain wrinkles will form on your face too early.

These advices do not sound like a magical solution, but all the great things are simple. You don’t need to go on strict dieting or buy expensive lotions to keep your skin firm and beautiful. If you love you body and take care of it, it will shine and look great.

Healthy Nails Now

The best way to make sure your nails are healthy is to moisturize them daily, and care for your cuticles. The cuticle is the nail's protection between the exposed dead part of the nail and the matrix, where new cells are generated. Removing the cuticle destroys the nail matrix, which is essential to healthy nail growth. On the other hand, you do want to keep cuticles from becoming overgrown, which suffocates nail growth. The solution: Liberally apply a cuticle remover (not cuticle oil or cuticle cream), which will make the cuticle more pliable. Then, take an orangewood stick and anywhere the cuticle skin touches the nail plate, push it back using tiny circular movements. Hold the stick at an angle so that you do this gradually and gently, without going inside the cuticle. Use a moisturizer daily to prevent dryness.

Eat Right
Though you can't feed the nail directly, a good diet is essential to overall nail health. Biotin-rich foods like eggs, soy, whole grains and liver are said to be extremely helpful to nails, along with foods rich in sulfur minerals like apples, cucumbers, grapes, garlic, asparagus and onions. Also, be sure your diet includes essential fatty acids, or EFAs. Like vitamins and minerals, foods rich in EFA's, such as salmon, nuts, seeds and tuna, help keep nails shiny and pliable.

Do Not Use Your Fingernails as Tools
Using your fingernails as tools to perform tasks -- pushing back your cuticles or scratching a label off a CD is a no-no! Use proper tools for picking and scraping and not your nails.

Top 10 Mascara

1. Lancome produces appreciated prestige mascaras. Lancome Defincils High Definition has all features you can expect from mascara; it extends lashes for more opened eyes image, thickening formula creates dramatic look, the brush separates lashes and even curls them up, so you can have perfect eye make-up. It also stays on well when you sweat or rub your eyes.
2. Lancome Hypnose Mascara Waterproof adds extra volume to your lashes. Special designed brush is comfortable to use. Waterproof formula allows you to sweat, cry and even swim in a pool and your make-up stays where it should be.
3. Lancome Fatale Exceptional Volume Sculpting 3D Comb Mascara. Forget a brush; this mascara has special combs for mascara application and additional combs for more help. Mascara formula contains silicone which amplifies lashes and holds them in bended shape.
4. We all want to have full and long lashes, and if we don't have, we expect a mascara to improve them. Lancome Cils Booster XL Mascara Enhancing Base is dedicated for pre-coat lashes before you put regular mascara on them. It adds length and thickness and also protects your lashes from damage.
5. Maybelline Great Lash Mascara is made for those who want to look adorable and natural at the same time. It doubles lashes volume and makes them look darker; you can even use it if you're hyper allergic or wear contact lens. "Great Lash" is the most popular of average priced mascaras.
6. Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara works well for alluring and dramatic look. It makes lashes 200% thicker so you can enjoy rich and smooth eye makeup. This mascara is one of favorites by makeup artists
7. Maybelline XXL Micro-fibre line's mascaras have two brushes used for different purposes. White coat adds micro fibers to the tips of lashes. Black coat (available in other colors too) thickens lashes and separates them. It lasts long and doesn't make clumps nor smudges.
8. L'Oreal Panoramic Curl Mascara allows you to create that doll's eyes look. Special designed brush and consistence of mascara bends lashes easily and create opened eye image. It's great choice for those with straight and intractable lashes.
9. Max Factor Lash Perfection mascara provides comfortable brush with flexible bristles for easily application from roots to tips. It lengthens and thickens lashes while special brush separates them for a perfect look. It also stays on well
10. L'Oreal volume shocking is another mascara based on two coats application. The first coat amplifies lashes and adds volume too. The second (colored) coat is applied with tiny combs. These combs are the secret solution on how to smooth mascara over the lashes, separate them and to avoid clumps.

How to get Noticed by Scouts

You find your self a model, but you don't belong to any agency yet? If you tried to get into this business you have probably faced that it's difficult to be noticed among many other girls and boys that rush into modeling market. Let's look over what can make you different than others and attract scouts.

Although it might seem that modeling business is overcrowded, agencies always seek for new faces and talents that could represent changing needs. As there are several modeling types, almost all people can find their place there.

If you want to be a model, agencies and potential employers must know that you are there and you crave for taking this job. Don't be afraid to contact agencies your self. Being ambitious is not a sin! Keep up with advertisements in mass media. Companies need various people to represent their products. Fashion house looking for girls for catwalk would probably search for them in a reputable agency, but women magazine may want unusual faces for pictures. That's why it can be worth to read advertisements. A photographer may look for a teenage guy for school theme shots, advertising agency may want an artistic redhead girl for specific project. There are many small modeling-related jobs you can take to gain experience. It is easier to get further jobs or interest an agency when you already have a sense of modeling. Furthermore, you will feel more confident presenting your self, and self-assurance is important thing. You must prove the agency that you can be a model. They must believe that you are suitable for various modeling job, otherwise there's no point for them to accept you.

Portfolio and composite cards are the best way to present you in modeling world. Professional pictures may costs a lot, but this investment is worth it, because scouts will judge you by your photos. It's better to have various pictures taken, to convince that you are suitable for different types of modeling. If you only have photos in swimsuit in your portfolio, you will probably be hired to demonstrate swimsuits/lingerie, but not to do other modeling types.

Although most of modeling jobs requires slim body type, there's no need to worry if you are not slender or not high enough. You can target into petite modeling that requires shorter height, plus size modeling, body part modeling and many others. The main thing is to present yourself in the right way. Fashion fitness modeling scouts will expect you to have healthy look and maybe even some muscles. Lingerie and glamour modeling scouts will seek for body with full curves, while scouts looking for runway models will pay attention to skinny girls. Find your advantages and accentuate them, so you won't be left behind.

Remember to take care of your body. This doesn't mean you have to sweat in gym to get rid of another pound, because too thin models are under discussion these days. If you don't fit into 6 or 8 size, better concentrate on modeling types that doesn't need slim body type. But it is worth to take care of your good appearance as healthy look and clear skin are valuated everywhere. If you can't believe you are beautiful and suitable to be a model, no one else will.

Pay attention to your gait and carriage. Imagine that you are already chosen to step on a catwalk. Would you know how to act? If not, why don't take lessons in advance? Don't miss a chance to improve your acting or dancing skills in courses. These lessons will make you more graceful and flexible plus they will help you to stay in shape.

Nothing embellishes a person more than a smile does. If you are self confident and step with grace, you're going to be noticed by all passengers, not by scouts only. Have your portfolio with you just in cases. Remember Naomi Campbell was discovered while shopping and Twiggy, the model icon of the last century, was noticed in hairdressing saloon. Maybe you are going to be the next one lucky?

Ladies Fitness: Ages 12-18

So, you are a girl, under 18 years of age, believe in yourself and just wish you were in a better shape. You don't want to be big and muscular, but you do want to look athletic and fit. You worry about dieting because of all the crazy information out there, and more than anything, you want to be healthy. On top of this, everyone tells you to just be patient, wait till your body matures, and don't worry about that, you are still too young. Where do you turn? What do you do? Well, my beautiful young ladies, you have come to the right spot!!
To begin with, let's look at nutrition. There are three types of molecules in food that we have to be concerned with: Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats. It is important that your body receive certain portions of all of these, however, what you may not know, is that WHEN you take them in is also important. To keep things simple, I am going to list a few good food types so that you understand the differences.

• - Protein Carbohydrate Fat
• - Egg yolks Rice Olive oil
• - Fish Potatoes Butter
• - Chicken Green beans Vegetable oil
• - Red meat Corn Canola
• - Pork Broccoli Macadamia Nut Oil

Now, there are some very simple rules that you can follow to put you on the path to sensible eating:

-Eat 5-7 small meals per day
-Always include some protein with every meal
-Take in no simple carbohydrates, like breads, candy, etc.
-Take in only green cars within 4 hours of bed time
-If trying to lose weight, eat carbs with first 3 meals only
-If trying to gain weight, eat carbs with all meals except last

Exercising

Now, let's take a look at exercise. There are three types of exercise, realistically, that you will want to be concerned with at this point. These are cardiovascular, weight training and cross-training. Again, the following list will provide some insight into the different types.

• - Cardiovascular Weight Training Cross-training
• - Biking Free weights Basketball
• - Hiking Weight machines Tennis
• - Jogging Soccer
• - Step climbing Swimming

Here are some additional rules that apply to exercising:

- Engage in Cross-training or cardiovascular exercise at least 3 times per week, for no less than 30 mins.
- When beginning to weight train, work out the entire body 2-3 times per week.
- Always allow at least one day between workouts
- When in doubt, use free weights, not machines
- Free weights will strengthen joints and connective tissue, machine typically do not
- In the beginning, training should focus on 3 key areas, Back, Chest and Legs.
- Always use a full range of motion when doing any exercise

For those who do not have access to a gym, there are some great weight lifting activities that you can do on your own:

- Deep squats, holding a large book in each hand, hands out to a side
- Shoulder presses with either buckets, paint cans, or anything else
- Push-ups
- Leg lifts on a chair
- Arm curls holding anything heavy

While these don't sound like a lot of things, for beginners, it is more than sufficient to start. Keep in mind, as young women: you do not want to be using excessive weight loads, as it can interfere with the natural growth processes of the body. In particular the complex joints of the hips and shoulders can be at risk.

As beginners, these basic guidelines can help you make smart choices and have good results from your program. Leave the advanced stuff to others and stick with the basics.

Natural way to Hair care

Pre wash steps

• Massage olive oil in circulating motion in your hair for 10 minutes be patient and do not rush over it. Leave it for 30 -40 minutes before you wash hair.
• You can substitute olive oil with coconut oil.

How to wash your hair?

• Wash your hair when ever you feel need of.
• Do not wash your hair with hot water. Always use lukewarm water.
• Use mild and herbal shampoo and conditioner without any harsh detergent like the sulfates for your hair. If you have oily hair apply conditioner only at the ends otherwise conditioner would leave your hair greasy.
• After washing your hair wrap towel dipped in hot water around your hair. You would see amazing results.

How to dry your hair?

• Shake your hair until dry. It will help blood circulation in the scalp. Make use of your fingers to massage the scalp. Your scalp would only be damaged if your massage the scalp with nails.
• Use wide toothed comb. Divide you hair in sections and gently comb the hair starting from the ends.
• Avoid using blow dryer, styling if you are washing your hair everyday. If you are using blow dryer use it down wards and apply leave in conditioner before blow drying hair. It would protect your hair to get damaged from the heat.

Regular hair care

• Get your hair trimmed regularly. If you have short hair get your hair trimmed every month. If you have long hair get them trimmed after 6-8 weeks.
• Gently tie your hair while sleeping. Even better make a braid. Always comb your hair before sleeping.

Grey hair

• To prevent grey hair massage hair regularly with coconut oil or brahmai oil.
  
• Soak dried Amla(Emblic myrobalan) pieces or powder overnight in an black iron vessel. In the morning sieve it and put the liquid on your hair using brush. Leave it for an hour and simply wash off. Use gloves to protect your hands from the natural color of amla. Wrap a towel around your head in order to avoid dripping. Use an old towel because the liquid would leave some black stains on it.

Natural Dye to hair

• Natural way to dye hair is to use henna. Henna is also good for conditioning. Mix henna with egg and leave it over night in an black iron vessel. Apply this paste in the morning on clean hair and leave it for half an hour for natural conditioning. If you want your hair to get colored mix coffee powder and methi (Fenugreek) powder in the paste. Do not shampoo your hair the same day if you want deep color on hair, just rinse thoroughly.
  

Conditioning with home made packs

• Make a paste using eggs and curd together and apply it on clean hair. Let it dry. Do not wash hair with hot water.
  
• Apply coconut milk on your scalp. It feels cool and relaxing and regular use would make your hair silky and also improves hair growth.
  
• Massage your hair with milk. Let it dry. Wash it off with mild shampoo.
  
• Once in 15 days rinse your with lemon juice mixed with water and honey as a final rinse after shampooing your hair.
  

Hair Loss

• Regular massage with castor oil as a hair oil helps the luxuriant growth of the hair.
  
• Rubbing lemon juice into the scalp also strengthens the hair roots and helps preventing dandruff. Rub lemon juice into scalp leave it on for 15 minutes and wash it off.

Those are some of the tips to get healthy and beautiful hair. Follow your routine regularly to get good results. If you are thinking to change to a new hair product. Stick with it for some time to see the results. It is always better to make use of herbal product since they do not damage or harm your hair.

Plastic Surgery

The phrase “plastic surgery” floats in the air every time someone mentions something about celebrities or any famous person. Plastic corrections and augmentations have become a regular topic of everyday coffee time chats and are widely discussed in everyday life. I believe you can count the celebrities who had none of the surgical plastic intrusion on your hand fingers. However, only some of them openly discuss the topic. Lets take Cher for example, she had tens of plastic surgeries and she is proud of it, but you try to talk to Tom Cruise about it and you will get in trouble (actually I am not even sure if he had any, but it looks like it).

My own opinion about the plastic intrusion is quite negative. However, if you are a star and you’re always in the center of attention, I can see why you would want one. If you are just a regular person with a regular job, I just can’t see why would you want or need one. Perhaps one of the reasons might be that you are pathologically unhappy with your body (or part of it). Plastic surgeons, at least the professionals, will always try to talk you out of having the surgery and only after the serious psychological tests you will be allowed to do it.

Well if you are absolutely sure that you need a breast job or a liposuction or any other surgery (God there are so many of them), you will need to know a couple of things before you do it. I will try to put a couple of answers to the most common questions on a plastic surgery right here in this article.

I believe that the most common of them would be - When will I see the results? It depends… Some procedures take more time for the results to come up, some less. Depending on the procedure, your doctor will let you know how long it will take before you will see the end result. There is always a chance that you will not be happy with the results at all, but this is the chance that you take.

Will it hurt? Oooooooooh YEAH! It will hurt and it will hurt badly. You will not be able to continue your daily routine, no exercising, no lifting in some cases, bed regime for a week or more. Just imagine your lip cut off, but without pain, and imagine that the pain comes in, in an hour or so and you will feel the same. Of course, there are drugs that will reduce the pain significantly. However, there is no wonder drug.

How much will it cost? And yet again – a lot. Of course it depends on the doctor who is performing the consultations and operation, but do not expect it to be cheap. My piece of advice would be – if you are sure you need a cosmetic surgery, never save on your health, get the best surgeon you can afford. Remember that only reconstruction surgery (the one where only the parts of the body that are damaged are being reconstructed) is covered by insurance, all the rest you will have to pay from your own pocket.

An operation is never the best idea, so never consider it as the best option. There is always a risk of harming your health, take the situation in all its seriousness.

How to Become Self Confident?

Do you feel yourself like being a very self confident person?
If so – you are very lucky. Self confident persons are considered to be much more successful than those who find it hard to trust themselves. Most of us will agree that a person who speaks loud enough, keeps his head high and is assured in what he says has much more chance to persuade us and reach his aims. So it becomes obvious that persons with a lack of self confidence are not so inspiring and don’t look so charismatic and attractive. Of course all of us would like to be self confident, successful and always in front with great ideas and others support though it is not as easily done as it sounds. Reality shows that many people who have less self confidence would like but cheer up; if you are one of those – there is always a way to improve the situation.

Am I self confident?
If you feel you should be more self confident than you are now, first of all try to find out what do others think about you. Maybe this lack of self confidence is not obvious at all. If so, the only thing you have to do is to persuade yourself that you are a good and trustful person, which is not very hard having a strong support from your close people. The main things that show incontinence are fear of failure and avoidance of any risk, dismissing compliments you get, strong dependence of other people opinion and similar. If you have some of these features and that makes you feel uncomfortable it’s about time to get rid of them. Don’t think it will take only a few minutes because it will surely take some of your time, but if you be positive and expect good results it will be quicker.

How can I become more self confident?

Think of this process as of a journey. First of all you have to decide whether you really want this journey and decide to start it or not. Firstly, you will need feedback which will make you stronger for starting. Your feedback can be your past achievements, so write them down. Make a sheet of what you have already done that makes you feel proud of yourself. For example a very important project or even a good advice which you gave and it helped.

When you finish writing your past achievements, start a new sheet about your present situation. For this step you may use SWOT analysis. The basics of it are determination of your strength, weakness, opportunities and threats. Strength is what you have that other don’t for example when comparing yourself with your friends maybe you have some special features like education, specialty, sense of humor, look and similar. Do something similar defining your weaknesses which will be mostly your complexes. Opportunities are all means and ways which you could use for improving your personality like moving to a new place, changing job, taking a holiday or even meeting new people. Treats will be all obstacles which can appear while using opportunities.

The next step is setting up of your future goals. SWOT analysis is a very good way to see what you are and see what you should improve and what to avoid for reaching some goals. When you have past achievements and a realistic view of present, try to decide what you want to achieve in the future and define areas which need to be changed. When defined some major goals make a list of small steps for reaching them.

When you have a clear vision of what you want to be, start managing your mind. You have to be positive and promise yourself that you will do anything to achieve your goals. Don’t be afraid of taking small risks and challenges – it’s a part of your journey. Start valuating your casual actions and enjoy everything you do, and if something goes wrong, say that you’ve done your best and you’ll do even better next time.

Start doing practice – define skills needed for achieving goals and learn them, make steps you wrote in previous parts, celebrate each small success. Don’t be too strict if you have some problems - mistakes are your learning experience and what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger! Don’t stop until you get the results you wanted and be always proud of yourself for the efforts you are giving!

4 New Beauty tips & Secrets for Summer

Beauty Tips & Secrets 1

- Match your cheek, lip, and nails with either a warm, cool, or neutral color (sheer colors, true reds). For dazzling effects, apply a pink undertone with cool colors and a yellow undertone with warm colors.

Beauty Tips & Secrets 2
- Choose one feature (eyes, lips, cheekbones) on your face and make it stand out! One of the easiest and most effective makeovers is to brighten the eyes. To achieve this effect, just add a highlighting color to the brow bone like crystalline (shimmering white). Next, add the finishing touches. Use brown mascara on the lashes and black on the ends.

Beauty Tips & Secrets 3
- Keep your skin in great condition at all times! Use skin care products made specifically for your skin type.

Skin types:
Dry skin - dry or flaky all of the time.
Normal skin - stays dry most of the time. Sometimes oily around the nose and chin area.
Oily skin - Have difficulty keeping cosmetics on. Skin is oily around the face most of the time.

Beauty Tips & Secrets 4
- Make your skin look soft, moist and clear just in time for summer! Use a buffing cream after you cleanse. Pay careful attention especially to the rough spots (elbows, knees, and heels). Follow up with a moisturizer made for your skin type and use one that exfoliates like Visible Action Skin Revealing Lotion.

All about geishas

I believe there is no person in a civilized world who would not know the term – Geisha. However, what exactly is Geisha? A very wide opinion in the world is that Geisha are just simple prostitutes in Japan, and as the first thing I would like to clearly state that, they most certainly are not.

This opinion originated after World War 2, and was brought to United States by its soldiers. Service men came back with wild and juicy stories about the girls called “gee-sha”. Those women were not Geisha, they were just a regular red light district prostitutes who dressed up like Geisha to attract costumers, nothing more.

History
To be honest Geishas do originated in red light districts of Kyoto region, but not as prostitutes. The Odoroki or “dancing girls” were very popular in these areas for entertainment, though as some of the girls grew older it became inappropriate to take this name and so they called themselves Geisha. As everything in Japan, this caste became strongly ritualized. Geishas are sometimes mistaken with Tayuu, who were the highest rank of courtesans (in simpler words prostitutes) in pleasure quarters. Lords ruling at that time ensured that the courtesans would not be able to wear the same clothes as Geisha, as well as the Geisha could not engage in prostitution. Geishas were not aloud to compete with Tayuu for the costumers they were just working together with them helping with dances and music. This gave a beginning to the simplistic kimono and simple hairstyles of the Geisha: the point was understated elegance rather than extravagance of courtesans.

Geisha and Maiko
Let us come back to the question - who are Geisha? The word itself translates from Japanese as “art person” or “artist”. They are the professional entertainers who work in traditional Japanese teahouses called Ochaya. Geishas entertain teahouse costumers by performing various arts like singing, dancing, playing instruments and tea ceremonies. They are called “Geiko” in Kyoto region.

Maiko translates as “dancing child” but sometimes is referred as “dancing girl” as well. They are apprentice Geisha. They have to undergo a lengthy training in all the arts a real Geisha has to master like music, dancing, playing traditional instruments and singing. The training usually takes around 5 years and after that, they become Geisha. Nowadays a girl can become Maiko at the age of 16. Though not attending conventional school after becoming Maiko, they must nonetheless attend classes every morning in dance, Shamisen, singing and other "gei". Maiko as well as learning artistic pursuits must learn the social graces and old style Kyoto dialect before becoming a Geisha.

Geisha in nowadays society
The number of geisha has been declining for two main reasons. First, one is the training, which is long and hard. Second, the variance in levels of Geisha, as far as cost, has all but disappeared. Geisha have become an elite group and have therefore become very expensive. Fewer men are willing to pay the high cost of a Geisha when other entertainers (i.e. hostess) are available.

Keeping Your Youth

So, how old you actually are? How many times have you noticed that your school friends, college friends etc. look differently? While one of them looks 25, the other still unsuccessfully tries to prove she‘s not fifty. And you know that they‘re of the same age... This is where „biological (or true) age“comes to the stage. Biological age shows how worn out your body actually is, not that tiny number in your passport.

According to Professor Michael Roysen, day-to-day lifestyle plays a significant role on the mechanism of human aging. If your friend looks like she‘s 20 when she‘s actually 40, it means that she‘s pursuing a healthy lifestyle. Don‘t get upset though, as nothing is impossible: you may start fighting your aging right now, and all you have to do is take a specialist‘s piece of advice. So, here it is:

· Regular consumption of tomatoes (tomato sauces, roasted tomatoes) subtracts 1.9 from the current age of men and 0.8 years from the age of women, making them look more youthful.

· Daily consumption of aspirin pills subtracts 2.2 years.

· Regular (daily) quality sex with the same partner subtracts 2-8 years.

· Daily 30-minute walks in fresh air subtract 1.6 years.

· Exercising for 30 minutes per week subtracts 1.6 years.

· Daily doses of chocolate are very useful and prolong your life up to 1.3 years.

· Daily consumption of 5 different fruits adds 1.4 years.

· Daily consumption of one ounce of any nuts adds up to 3 years to your life.

· Consumption of boiled or steamed fish helps you prolong your life up to 3 years.

· Consumption of balanced food supplements subtracts up to 3.3 years from your „apparent“age.

· Laughing prolongs your life significantly, from 1.7 up to 8years.

· Folic acid in the form of multivitamins or separately in food adds up to 1.2 years to your life.

· Calcium and calcium rich food – it’s another 0.5 years.

· Taking vitamins every day – adds yet another 0.4 years.

· Taking care of your mouth and teeth and visiting the dentist each 6 months – 6.4 years.

· Breakfast every morning adds 1.1 year.

· Washing your hands – 0.4 years.

· Good night sleep – 7 hours for women, 8 hours for men, adds astronomical 3 to 12 years to your estimate lifetime.

· Stressful situations are extremely harmful. Only three catastrophically in your life might shorten your life up to 32 years.

· Keep your weight leveled (perfect weight for women is the weight they had when they were 18, for men 21) – 6 years.

· Using alcohol in small amounts (of course if you don’t have an addiction to it) prolongs your life by 1.9 years.

Doctor Michael Roysen recommends to start to slow your biological clock right away by choosing at least 5 of the suggestions from above.

Don’t know where to start? Try to start with simplest things: breakfast, everyday long walks, tomatoes, good sleep and sex. Let’s talk about sex separately. Average American has sex only 58 times a year (!). It is less than 2 months a year. Doctor Michael Roysen states that if this number would increase to 116, the life would be prolonged approximately by 1.6 years. If you would have sex every day, the chances are that you would live 12 more years.

Good habits will help you to fight the process of aging effectively; the only thing you have to do is make a little effort.

Is "natural" really natural?

Times are changing, but everyone still wants to be beautiful. Every woman wants to look young and striking. Men just like women are also taking care of themselves. That’s why everyone is buying cosmetics. All of us are using more or less make-up and body care products.

So, it’s the right time to have discussion about natural cosmetics. Word “cosmetics” includes skin, hair, nails and teeth care products. Nowadays cosmetics industry is using term “natural”, but is this “natural” really natural, safe and useful for us?

Let’s make one simple experiment. Take some of your cosmetics which are called “natural” and read place where ingredients are declared. Most likely you will find a lot of interesting and mysterious chemical words. How can it be so if product is natural?

This aspect shows that word “natural” not always means truly natural and is only nice advertisement for manufacturing company. In fact they also include a multitude of synthetic ingredients. We must always check our cosmetic products if they don’t contain any of carcinogens,cancer-causing agents,toxins, irritants, contaminants or potentially harmful ingredients.

In our daily life there are tens of thousands of synthetic chemicals. Here is list of some mostly used ingredient:

1,4-dioxane
2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol (Bronopol)
Alcohol, Isopropyl (SD-40)
Ammonium Laureth Sulfate (ALES)
Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate (ALS)
Anionic Surfactants
Benzalkonium Chloride
Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA)
Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT)
Cationic surfactants
Cetalkonium chloride
Cetrimonium chloride
Chloromethylisothiazolinone
Isothiazolinone
Cocoamidopropyl Betaine
Cocoyl Sarcosine
Cyclomethicone
DEA (diethanolamine), MEA (Monoethanolamine), & TEA (triethanolamine)
Diazolidinyl urea
Dimethicone
Dimethicone Copolyol
Disodium Dioctyl Sulfosuccinate
Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate
Disodium Oleamide Sulfosuccinate
DMDM Hydantoin
Ethoxylated surfactants
FD&C Colour Pigments
Formaldehyde
Fragrance
Hydrolysed Animal Protein
Imidazolidinyl urea
Imidazolidinyl Urea
Isopropyl Palmitate
Lanolin
Lauryl dimonium hydrolysed collagen
Lauryl or Cocoyl Sarcosine
Lauryl Sarcosine
Liquidum Paraffinum
MEA compounds
Methylisothiazolinone and Methylchloroisothiazolinone
Mineral Oil
Nitrosating Agents
Paraben preservatives (methyl, propyl, butyl, and ethyl)
Paraffin wax/oil
Phthalates
Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) compounds
Potassium Coco Hydrolysed Collagen
Propylene/Butylene Glycol
PVP/VA Copolymer
Quaternium-7, 15, 31, 60, etc
Rancid Natural Emollients
Silicone derived emollients
Sodium Cocoyl Sarcosinate
Sodium Hydroxide
Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) Ammonium Laureth Sulfate (ALES)
Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate (ALS)
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Stearalkonium Chloride
Talc
TEA (Triethanolamine) Laureth Sulfate
TEA compounds
Toluene

We are living in a very polluted atmosphere and yet we are still empoisoning our bodies with cosmetics. As we all know our body absorbs what we put on our skin. If you really care about your health, make a little research on your cosmetics products in website www.hazard.com/msds. There you will find the true nature of your “natural” cosmetics product.

There are some ways of recognizing if cosmetics are really natural. First thing what you can do before buying a product is reading ingredients list on cover and checking amount of chemical ingredients. If the list is somewhat long it’s up to you to decide whether to buy it or try and find something not so synthetic.

Some companies are trying to tell you that they don’t test their products on animals, thus their products are natural. But be careful! It can be just a smart disguise. Perhaps they didn’t make any direct tests with animals, but you should be aware, that all synthetic chemicals (which are used as ingredients) were most likely tested on animals. And some more food for thought – about 50% of them have died…

One more tip how to recognize natural product is expiration date. Natural products without chemical ingredients have shorter expiration time, lasting about 6 months. Natural products usually must be stored in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

If you want to buy really natural cosmetics, check products characteristics which show real nature of product: plant-derived ingredients; no alcohol; no artificial dyes; no thickeners; not animal tested; no petroleum products; no cheap filler ingredients; no synthetic fragrances.

Natural cosmetic are using essential and fragrance oils, oils from fruits and nuts, aloe vera and tea tree oil, extracts and juice, seed oils, seafood, amino acids, phospholipids.

Materials are natural and no chemical processing is used on them. Since cold purification process is used, materials avoid any thermal processing thus keeping all valuable characteristics.

Visit page http://www.safecosmetics.org/companies/signers.cfm ant there you will find the signers of the compact for global production of safe health & beauty products.

Choose a colour according to Feng Shui

Feng Shui principles can help you to choose the right colour to create harmony in your life. Colours classification according to Feng Shui is based on what particular colour represents. Five elements - water, earth, wood, fire and metal can be illustrated by different colour groups and tones. It is very useful to know decorating your living or working place, because adding some of the colours in each space you sort of add particular element.

The element of water according to Feng Shui stand for blue and black colours with all their shades. Blue is also considered as healing colour, it associated with the bladder and kidneys when these organs lacks the energy arises anxiety and fear. Blue is the colour of beauty, but cold. You should avoid this colour in your bedroom if you want to create warm and passionate atmosphere.

The element of wood is repreented by all shades and tones of green colour. Green symbolizes living things so it adds the energy and harmony to your house. It is also very sensual and sexy colour with the meaning of satisfaction and abundance of the Earth.

The element of earth is illustrated by the colours of brown, orange and yellow. Yellow is very suitable in office or working places because it promotes acquired knowledge and seriousness.

All shades of red and pink colour represents the element of fire. Red is considered as primordial colour and very significant to human senses. It activates body with the energy, stimulates appetite and aggressiveness.

The last element - metal is represented by white, grey, silver and gold colours. Gold and silver in Feng Shui science represents the flow of two main energies Yin and Yang. White colour doesnt bring any of emotions, it is a symbol of clearness and purity.

This knowledge will help you to create beneficial space around and fulfill your needs.

by Rugile Kiguolyte

Beautiful You

By Anna Soref

A touch of color to the cheeks, a little lipstick, maybe some eye shadow and mascara -- makeup seems harmless enough. But check out the labels on department store cosmetics, and you'll see a list of tongue-twisting chemicals that could be hazardous to your health. But don't despair -- makeup doesn't have to become yet another item added to your "don't" list. Many natural cosmetics now rival department store offerings in quality -- and they're toxic-free.

Makeup's Ugly Side
As surprising as it may sound, the majority of cosmetic ingredients are not tested for safety, according to a study released by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group. Because the government does not monitor cosmetic companies, questionable ingredients creep into most makeup products.

Although most cosmetics ingredients appear safe for use in the short term, long-term use could be deadly, says Kim Erickson, author of Drop-Dead Gorgeous (Contemporary Books, 2002). "Some cosmetic chemicals accumulate in the body's fatty tissues, where they can remain for years and damage your cells," she says. As an example, a study reported in the January 2004 edition of the Journal of Applied Toxicology found parabens, the most common cosmetic preservative, present in significant amounts in 18 out of 20 breast cancer tumors.

The number of chemicals in a simple lipstick is astounding. In addition to phthalates (which can cause kidney and liver damage and harm a developing fetus), lipstick may contain the possible human carcinogens butylated hydroxytoluene, polyethylene, dimethicone and a slew of artificial colors derived from coal tar. And if you wear lipstick every day, you'll ingest at least 4 pounds of it over your lifetime.

Pretty and Chemical-Free
OK, so you're ready to try natural makeup. Fortunately, you're no longer stuck with blue eye shadow and orange foundation. Natural products manufacturers are turning out new cosmetics to meet a savvy shopper's needs. "The offerings are a lot better, and there are a lot more shades for a lot more skin tones. You're seeing stuff you would see at the MAC or Estee Lauder counters," says Patrick McRae, marketing associate for Zia Natural Skincare.

Shoppers will see breakthrough technology in natural makeup that rivals the big brands. For example, the foundations from Borlind of Germany are made with tiny lecithin liposomes (pouches) that melt over time, so the foundation maintains a dewy look. "Some natural foundations tended to look gritty over time," says Linda Upton, Borlind's vice president of education and training. "This technology has changed that."

Some companies are also taking cues from brands such as L'Oreal and changing their color schemes with seasonal fashion changes. Borlind now offers more than 20 eye shadow shades and 16 lipstick tints. And to stay on the cutting edge, Borlind has its classic mainstay colors but also fashion hues that change with the times.

The Safe Side
Of course the best part about natural makeup is that it's safe. Most natural makeup bases use products such as jojoba oil and candelilla wax instead of petrochemicals such as mineral oil (a gasoline production by-product), says Upton. And colors are derived from naturally occurring earth pigments in lieu of artificial colors.

Some manufacturers are finding new ways to avoid using synthetic preservatives such as parabens. At Logona USA, the makeup packaging is designed so that fingers don't make contact with the product -- possibly introducing bacteria, says Michael Wrightson, president of Logona USA. And the products are preserved with essential oils, tocopherols -- even salt.

An added bonus with natural cosmetics is that many work double duty, McRae says. Companies are adding ingredients such as aloe, cucumber, green tea and ginkgo so the product "works as a makeup but also soothes and is an anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant," he says.

So the next time you need some new lip gloss or eye shadow, forget the department store and head to the natural products store -- you may be surprised with what you find and with how you look wearing makeup that's good for you.

www.betternutrition.com

The Natural Products

Natural-based personal care products have become more popular in recent years as marketers and consumers discover the benefits of natural ingredients such as vitamins, herbs and materials derived from the sea. At the same time, however, as natural products gain widespread acceptance, a true definition for the term natural becomes more obscure.

The word natural is easily twisted, noted Warren Raysor, president and founder of Abra Therapeutics, Forrestville, CA. The meaning depends on who is trying to define natural. Is petroleum natural? Are all things that exist in the world natural? It depends on who is defining it.

Natural ingredients are seasonal with limited quantities. Smaller companies relying solely on natural ingredients must target smaller audiences. And larger companies often use the word natural as a marketing tool, but their products are 99% synthetic, according to Mr. Raysor.

Of course, there are benefits to using synthetic materials. For example, synthetics are uniform from batch to batch. With natural ingredients, each batch is unique, taking more time to perfect the outcome. And despite recent reports, the safety of synthetics versus natural ingredients is not a black and white issue, said Mr. Raysor. He noted that the company uses Parsol 1789, a synthetic sunscreen, in several products.

There are a lot of natural things you dont want to get next to, such as poison ivy, while many preservatives are not harmful. But natural often suggests nutritional, Mr. Raysor said.

Using natural ingredients is also beneficial because customers are often more familiar with herbal names than other naturally-derived ingredients.

Vitamin fractions are generally so difficult to pronounce, customers dont understand their value, said Mr. Raysor. Herbals, on the other hand, are easier to understand and read.

Abra has had long associations with herbal formulators, organic farmers and producers. The newest Abra product is Adaptagen Phytoserum which contains green tea, sage leaf, Siberian ginseng, schizandra berry and grape seed to protect environmentally threatened skin. Green tea, a natural photo-resistant and anti-carcinogenic leaf, has been used for thousands of years in eastern tea ceremonies.


www.happi.com

Skin Care for Men

Have you ever seen a couple together and thought, "He must be taking his mom out to lunch"-only to find that the couple is married?It's a fact: men's and women's skin age differently. Testosterone causes men to have thicker skin, which means that it tends to sag and wrinkle less and is a more effective barrier against environmental irritants and bacteria. Not only do women have thinner skin, but their oil glands produce slightly less oil than men's, which means they have less "natural" moisturizer.

Men usually shave their faces, which exfoliates the dead cells and lessens the appearance of wrinkles. On the down side, for many men shaving is an abrasive experience and can account for the roughening of the skin along the jaw line and cheeks.

Regardless of the inherent advantages that men have when it comes to their skin, a daily skin care regime can work wonders to maintain a vigorous, youthful appearance (that testosterone doesn't last forever, guys). Skin care for men is remarkably similar to that for women. You will want to clean your skin every day, apply toner and moisturize your skin. And always use sun block, at least SPF 15.


Protect Your Skin
Sun is damaging to the appearance and health of your skin, and even those of you who spend a total of five minutes in the sun per day-getting in and out of your car, for instance-will want to heed the following tips. Always use an SPF 15 sunscreen and apply it everywhere the sun's rays might touch you: ears, the back of your neck, and bald areas of your scalp. If you're sweating or swimming, apply it at least once an hour. Wear tightly-woven clothing to prevent the sun from penetrating the fabric and getting to your skin.

Sunburns
If that week-long beach volleyball tournament has left you with sun-reddened, throbbing, blistered skin, there are a few things you can do to lessen your discomfort. Apply aloe vera to burned areas to moisturize and promote healing; chamomile steeped in water can help to relieve the sting; calamine lotion will lessen the itching; cool compresses, baths, and showers will sooth your skin, and adding vinegar or cooked oatmeal to your bath water will reduce the sting. Starchy, liquefied raw potatoes applied directly to the sunburned areas will also lessen the pain, but make sure that you wait until the mixture dries completely before you rinse it off to reap the full benefits.

Acne
Acne is a problem for many men. Thick skin and active oil glands can cause everything from the occasional blemish to full-blown acne. Men's acne treatment is similar to women's, but the products tend to be a little more concentrated. Our Baking Soda Scrub recipe (below) is non-irritating and will sooth and gently exfoliate your skin. For other tips and recipes to treat acne, go to Acne Prone Skin Care.

Baking Soda Scrub
Wet your face with warm water. Apply 1 tbsp. baking soda to dampened skin, massaging gently but thoroughly all over the face (including behind the ears). Rinse carefully removing all the baking soda, and repeat the process. Dry your face, apply toner and sun block.

www.beauty-makeup-tips.com

New Beauty Tips

Author: Donna Toma


Brighten up. For sallow looking skin, give yourself an instant pick me up with Ultima II Glowtion Skin Brightening Moisturizer. This moisturizer adds just a hint of color that makes skin look brighter and even toned upon application! It also contains Spf15 for protection from the sun. This is a perfect way to keep it light for summer months when foundation may seem a bit much on the skin.

Travel Light. For summer's lightweight looks, you don't want to be weighed down by carrying a ton of cosmetics with you for your look. The perfect solution: Bring along just one item- Loreal QuickStick Face and Body Blush in Iced Plum is the ideal shimmer shade for cheeks, over lips, on brow bones, and anywhere else you wish to apply it- try on shoulders with summer's sundresses...

Juice Bar Freebie. Check out your nearest health and beauty aid store now for Juice Bar Scents from Parfums de Coeur- look for specially marked packaging that includes their jumbo new moisturizing lip balm. Try the yummy Cotton Candy lipbalm that is included with the Cotton Candy Juice Bar scent. It will bring you back to memories of a childhood treat, totally guilt-free, no calories!
www.suite101.com

Herbal Beauty Recipe

www.1001beautysecrets.com

Facial masks are beneficial for removing dead skin, unclogging pores and helping prevent premature lines and wrinkles. Applying a facial mask once a week can dramatically improve your skin's overall health.
If you're interested in making your own facial mask with ingredients you can find in your refrigerator, check out the two facial mask recipes below. These masks will your skin feeling soft and smooth and looking great!

Cucumber Avocado Facial Mask
cup chopped cucumber
cup chopped avocado
1 egg white
2 tsp. powdered milk
In a blender combine all of the ingredients until they form a smooth, paste-like consistency. You can apply the mask immediately or refrigerate it for 30 minutes.

Apply 2 tablespoons of the cucumber avocado mask to your face and neck in circular upward motions. Leave the mask on for 30 minutes, or until dry. To remove the mask simply rinse your face and neck with warm water, followed by a cold water rinse. Finally, pat dry your face and neck.

Lemon Egg-White Mask

Juice from half a lemon, strained
1 egg white
Beat together the egg white and lemon juice for three full minutes. Apply directly to your face, avoiding your eyes, and leave on for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes rinse your face with warm water and apply a moisturizer or cream.

www.1001beautysecrets.com

Homemade Honey Beauty Recipes

www.classicpooh.net

Hair Shine

Stir 1 teaspoon honey into 4 cups (1 quart) warm water. Blondes may wish to add a squeeze of lemon. After shampooing, pour mixture through hair. Do not rinse out. Dry as normal.

Facial Toner

In blender, puree 1 Tablespoon honey with a peeled, cored apple. Smooth over face; leave on 15 minutes. Rinse with cool water.

Moisture Mask

Mix 2 Tablespoons honey with 2 teaspoons milk. Smooth over face and throat. Leave on 10 minutes. Rinse off with warm water.

Smoothing Skin Lotion

Mix 1 teaspoon honey with 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice. Rub into hands, elbows, heels and anywhere that feels dry. Leave on 10 minutes. Rinse off with water.

Skin Softening Bath

Add 1/4 cup honey to bath water for a fragrant, silky bath.

Hair Conditioner

Mix 1/2 cup honey and 1/4 cup olive oil. (Use 2 Tablespoons oil for normal hair.) Work a small amount at a time through hair until coated. Cover hair with a shower cap; leave on 30 minutes. Remove shower cap; shampoo well and rinse. Dry as normal.

Honey Cleansing Scrub

Mix 1 Tablespoon of honey with 2 Tablespoons finely ground almonds and 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice. Rub gently onto face. Rinse off with warm water.

Firming Face Mask

Whisk together 1 Tablespoon honey, 1 egg white, 1 teaspoon glycerin (available at drug and beauty stores) and enough flour to form a paste (approximately 1/4 cup). Smooth over face and throat. Leave on 10 minutes. Rinse off with warm water.