Shopping, Beauty & Fashion

The holiday season are just around here, so now is the time to assess your beauty and skin-care need. To make sure that your looking and feeling are very best inspiring of your appearance for Christmas activities, events, family get togethers, and New Year’s Eve parties.

Make this holiday season for a personal checklist of things you can do, such as getting your hair restyled and makeup updated, so that you will not look like a creature from another era.

Here you will find the beauty, make up and cosmetics tips for your look and feel gorgeous during the holidays and throughout the winter season.

CLEANSING the skin properly, especially the face, is fundamental to good skin care. Oil-based makeup, which is preferred by those with drier complexions, should be removed with oil-based cleansing creams. Never go to bed without removing your makeup and thoroughly cleansing your face.

BEFORE makeup is applied, moisturizer should be applied to the face and neck after thorough cleansing. Moisturizers will keep you looking younger with smoother skin. The best time to apply moisturizer is right after you wash or shower, when the skin is damp and the moisturizer can seal in the moisture.

FOUNDATION is very important to one’s overall beauty. Foundation is used to enhance the color of the complexion. Choose a foundation to match your skin tone. Using the right foundation makes your skin look flawless and smooth. Choose the shade closest to your skin tone by testing it on your jaw line. When applying the foundation, be sure to blend it into the hairline and neckline to achieve a consistent tone. Set the foundation by brushing it with loose powder that matches the foundation and the color of your skin.

LIPS especially take a beating during bad weather. A good lipstick will moisturize the lips and shield them from the sun without interfering with the final sheen or finish of the lipstick. Keep your kissers moisturized with vitamin E oil, petroleum jelly or a lip balm or gloss.

NAILS that are beautiful certainly will enhance your overall festive appearance. Our nails are designed to protect the fleshy fingertip and help us manipulate small object. Remove dirt lodged underneath nails. Nails are polished with a buffer. This improves blood circulation and gives nails a shine. Two coats of nail polish and a topcoat later.

MEN should make sure that they always look well-groomed, especially during the holidays. A man should be stylish and elegant in his dressing. If you wear a beard, it should be neatly trimmed. Mustaches should also be trimmed. Trim nails and scrub hands if necessary. Good dental hygiene means a dazzling smile.

The above steps will certainly is one way you can make your holidays happy and bright.

1: Most people will probably head straight for the designer rails so beat the rush and make a beeline for the best of the high street- as always you can get so much more for your money (or tokens!)

2: Don’t panic and think carefully about what you need. A bargain that you only wear once is not good value! Go for basics that won’t date e.g. A check shirt, boyfriend blazer or even a LBD

3: For trying on, always wear clothing that’s easy to slip on and off, boots and a jumper dress are perfect (like Lilly!), there’s nothing worse than trying to navigate a pair of skinnies!

4: A girl can never have too many accessories, make a beeline for the bags, belts and vintage look scarves, they’ll go a long way – true fashion multi taskers!

5: Get set for a proper rummage! Always keep an open mind, swapping is a great time to try a new look you wouldn’t usually pay for and you can be experimental without denting your bank balance.

6: Look out for anything parachute silk- trousers, jumpsuits and utility style dresses are all key for springs grown up sporty look. Suede fringed accessories are also worth grabbing hold of.

7: Look out for spring/summer’s biggest colours – tangerine and bright blue – you can re-work pieces from this season. And have patience! Finding what you’re after takes time, but it’ll be worth it!

8: A classic designer piece will last you a lifetime – avoid faddish trends and watch out for luxe fabrics like leather, silk and cashmere. Keep you’re eye out for good basics that never date.

9: Now’s the time to snap up some bargains for Spring. Head for oriental prints as seen on the Dolce & Gabbana catwalk, candy colours and all things ’80s and you’ll be a step ahead.

10: Go armed with a belt – the best accessory for nipping in cardies, frocks, jumpsuits or tops to totally transform them and also you’ll be able to be slightly flexible with sizes.

Yes! We all want to be beautiful no matter what. We are shown what is classed as as beauty on a regular basis by the media. Fashion models who look like bean poles and who cant possibly eat chocolate or cream cakes as this would be the ultimate sin.

In reality they probably eat very little!

We are all made to be beautiful in our own way! it might not necessarily be in the way the media portray.

This is a good thing as it would be a rather boring world if we all looked exactly the same.

Time is also a big factor as we struggle to fight against it,nobody likes growing old, but are we really winning or delaying the inevitable?

What is all of this really costing us? we spend millions of pounds a year in the UK on beauty products and treatments.

How many of us know what we are really using in these products? We heard recently about parabens possibly causing cancer yet manufacturers still produce products containing them which we buy and use!

We need to look at what we are buying and what they contain!

Would you knowingly eat something containing poison or harmful ingredients? I know i wouldn’t,yet we regularly buy and use thing to so called make ourselves more beautiful without reading the labels.

Here are some of the many things to look for:

DEA,MEA,TEA(not the kind you drink) are irritants which dry the hair and skin ,also known as allergens

METHYL,PROPYL,BUTYL & ETHYL PARABENS: are food grade preservatives-used to preserve products and extend there shelf-life. considered to be highly toxic and have been found in cancerous tumors ,also allergens.

ISOPROPYL:poisonous solvent used in many products.

IMIADAZOILDINYL UREA:formaldehyde-forming preservatives,known to weaken the immune system.

PROPYLENE GLYCOL: wetting agent and solvent main ingredient in antifreeze and brake fluid.

POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL(PEG): is a caustic substance used to dissolve grease. found in oven cleaner and most skin cleansers.

Are we taking unnecessary risks by not doing a simple thing like reading a label?

Is it worth risking your health for the sake of beauty,when these days there are more and more natural alternatives available in our retail stores,supermarkets and online so we can have a more natural way to enhance our beauty. Without the extra costs!

It doesn’t matter if you are skinny and tall, short, or if you are a plus sized woman – you can look incredibly beautiful and really turn some heads, if you simply had a few tools and tips to work with! Celebs like Delta Burke have clearly shown us that even plus sized women can be beautiful and stylish. The trick is in knowing what clothes to wear, what colors to chose from, and what accessories to wear. When choosing your wardrobe, the whole cliche about “black covering up fat” isn’t necessarily true.

If you look good in dark colors, awesome. Don’t listen to me! However, choosing the same colors for jackets and pants that are the same hue is also a really good idea as well because you aren’t sectioning off areas. It’s all ONE area which makes you look sinner. You can also wear blouses in a contrasting color as well if you needed to add a flair of drama to the outfit. When choosing colors and pattern think vertical not horizontal. Bold buttons down the jacket or shirt, a long necklace, vertical stripes – these are all ways to think vertical and they can help tremendously! It’s also important to wear colors that you feel good in.

Don’t like red? Don’t wear it! Love blue? Slap it on or add accents such as a shirt, or a necklace or a scarf. You can always tie in colors, you don’t necessarily have to have “loud” colors on in order to look better. In fact, I prefer not to wear loud colors. I stay away from pink, oranges and yellows at all cost! There is one thing that a lot of plus sized women do – they don’t wear the right sizes. If you are an eighteen don’t try fitting into a sixteen! All this ends up doing is accentuating those areas where you don’t want it to accentuate!

For example, if you don’t like your butt, and you buy a really tight pair of jeans, chances are your butt is going to look larger, so if this is something you want to avoid, then don’t wear tight jeans! Same goes with shirts or dresses as well! If you are out shopping someplace and you aren’t sure about a specific size or outfit or piece of clothing – ask the sales girl. These girls are more than likely willing to give their advice about any fashion tips you need. Been there done that myself! You could also take a friend along with you as well if you are too embarrassed to ask a sales person to give you advice.

Most friends will be brutally honest about how you look, some are not. If you have a variety of friends pick the honest one! Also, if you like wearing jewelry, try to follow the “wear the right size” cliche above. Don’t wear tiny little earrings or necklaces. Try wearing things like chunky bracelets like bangles, or long flowing necklaces! So you see just because you are a plus sized woman doesn’t mean you have to feel embarrassed or “out of place”. I believe that all women are equally attractive in their own ways.

And a lot of people are going to look past the outside, and see the inside. This is what I try to remind myself when I’m having a bad hair day or something of the likes. If they don’t look inside and all they care about is your looks? It’s not a person you would want to have in your life anyway. YOU are beautiful just the way you are and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!