How To Select The Best Beauty Product For You

You can forget buying the latest clothes, getting your nails done or having a pedicure. The only thing worth focusing on is your skin; the rest can look after themselves! Your skin is one of the first things we notice as we start to age because of the fact it loosens, sags, dries out, oils up, gets wrinkles, develops age spots and changes colour in patches throughout our lifetime not to mention the trauma of our teens with hormones causing it to break out which can leave long term scars. It is so important to look after our skin, not just on our faces but all over our body because as we get older we retain less of the vital vitamins we need to ensure healthy skin and balance.

There are a million and one things on your local drug store shelves, in magazines, even in the beauty aisle at the supermarket so it's little wonder we get confused about what is the right product for our particular skin. If you have sensitive skin or it has problems such as acne which need more specialist products and treatment it is better to go for more high end products which are designed to combat individual problems and have a higher concentration of vitamins, minerals and oils.

Try a facial first and see how your skin reacts to the products, get the facialist to write down the names of the products and see if you can get any samples so you can keep up the routine at home and check the products don't dry out your skin or bring you out in spots after a period of time. Low end products can sometimes be very drying especially if they are to combat oily zones or acne because of the acid they contain whilst some of the moisturisers are not rich enough to penetrate below the surface skin layer so it can feel like you constantly have to apply moisturiser. This isn't true for all products of course; some low end products are actually incredibly effective such as nappy rash cream for drying out individual spots or basic baby oil which locks in moisture better than many moisturisers. High end products can also wreak havoc on sensitive skin due to the perfumes and can be a waste of money if your skin doesn't seem to have any noticeable changes to it as the adverts indicate.

Get samples where possible and check the internet for reviews before buying anything expensive and ask friends for recommendations. If you find a product that works for you make sure you take a look at the ingredients so you can keep an eye out for similar products and pass them onto your siblings or children who may have similar skin to you.

Faced with the Dreaded Hairy Upper Lip

As I have reached my early forties I have noticed I am beginning to get more stubborn hair. When I was younger I always used to shave my legs, but as time has gone on I have had to shave once a day to keep my legs smooth, and it’s always been a big pain. I have waxed a few times too but I hate having to leave my hair to grow beforehand so I always stuck to shaving If I wasn’t going on holiday. However, recently I began to find more facial hair and I hate it.

Aging is One Thing, Becoming Hairier than My Husband is Another

I like to look as good as possible, and while I embrace my fine lines and will allow myself to age the idea of having a hairy upper lip or cheeks seems horrific to me.  I have been bleaching my upper lip for about a decade but I hate putting chemicals on my skin, so I decided to look for an alternative.  Waxing my upper lip always resulted in a break out of spots for some reason so I turned to laser hair removal instead.

I was a little nervous about going to see a professional about removing my hairs, but the thought of not having to shave, wax or bleach was enough to make me go and talk to someone. It was actually fine and they were obviously not bothered about looking at my slight double chin or cellulite on the back of my legs.  They were very respectful, friendly and even empathised with me.  I know this is a common problem but I found it made me feel less feminine and a bit insecure. Silly really considering it happens to everyone eventually.

After My Lip I went for the Whole Hog

In the end I decided to have my legs, bikini, upper lip and armpits done, focusing on one at a time. I decided to do my lip first as this was more visually noticeable by everyone I saw. It felt a little strange when I was being lasers, but it was really fast.  When I had my legs done it lasted for about an hour and I went for two treatments to get the results I wanted.  It’s strange because the hairs don’t vanish, they fall out over a couple of weeks and you are told to keep shaving in that time. Once they fell out though they didn’t come back and am so glad I decided to have it done.  Gone are the days when I worried about having a harrier lip than my husband!

5 Ways to Become More Photogenic

Some of the most beautiful people in the world don't always look great in magazines because they aren't photogenic. Taking great pictures may not seem like that big of a deal, but that is going to determine how people remember you in the future. You obviously can't change the structure of your face or body to suit your photos, but you can tweak a few other elements to make yourself look better. Here are a few tips to help you out.

Find the Light

Fans of the show America's Next Top Model may have heard Tyra Banks tell the contestants to "find [their] light." This is an old trick that can completely transform the way you look in photos. If you use the light to your advantage, you can hide some of the negative features you may not like about yourself. If you ignore the light, you can actually emphasize areas that didn't look that bad to begin with. Play around with your facial positions until you get light to glimmer off your cheek bones, irises, and lips. You'll instantly look better after that.

Make It Natural

Rather than looking like you're forcing a smile, you need to make your photos look like they were taken in the moment. For instance, let's assume that you're just trying to take a picture with you smiling. Laugh during the photo session so the smile looks believable. Your muscles will react differently during live situations like this. It's your job to get those moments captured on film. 

Practice Your Angles

Turning your body, face, or feet in a certain direction can completely transform the way you look in a photo. Most people look larger when they face a camera than they do when they turn to the side. You don't have to completely move around, but you need to think about cocking yourself slightly to the side. You'll automatically look thin and lean this way.

Utilize the Eyes

Your eyes are the windows to your soul, and they also happen to be the doors to great photos. The key here is to "smize" (smile with your eyes). You basically have to squint while staring at the camera so that your eyes look like they are piercing straight through the viewer. Practice a bit on your own, and you'll soon see a difference in the emotions your photos evoke.

Clean Your Skin

Having clear skin is an important part of taking a good photo. Blemishes and dark marks always seem to stand out in photos, no matter how much makeup you wear to cover them. Wash your skin on a regular basis, and consider using a microdermabrasion treatment to get that ultra-clean feeling every few weeks. If you can consistently keep your skin soft and smooth, your pics will naturally look better. 

If you follow the tips above, you're sure to have consistently great photos. People will be offering you modeling contracts in no time!

How to Pick a Good Makeup Brush

Who knew applying makeup would turn into such an art? It reminds me of artists whose techniques depend on the brush, the medium, or the canvas. I guess our “medium” is the makeup and the canvas our face. In fact, much of the same shading and color knowledge used in art applies to creating special looks with makeup. Brushes provide opportunities for a soft, natural, or dramatic appearance…whatever your preference. Deciding which brush depends on a few important factors.

Natural Hair Types

Natural bristle brushes are wonderful for sculpting with dry products, which include powder, both compact and loose; blush, and eye shadow. Before going shopping for a natural brush know these brushes tend to soften with use and contain mostly virgin hair whose ends taper to stay soft on the skin. Whatever you do, stay away from poor quality natural hair brushes. They can become scratchy after a time and shed. And avoid the dyed brushes unless you just want to make your brush jar a color palette. Several types of hair are available in natural brushes.

Squirrel Hair

One type is squirrel hair. Prior to commissioning your hunter to bring back a squirrel from your yard, be aware the bristles actually do not come from these little darlings. However, they are the softest natural hair found in makeup brushes. They are more expensive, as quality products often are, but are a worthwhile investment because of their durability. When considering brushes for blending eye shadows, choose squirrel hair brushes.

Goat Hair

A second choice for natural bristles is goat hair. This brush is wonderful for powder… giving the smooth, finished, professional look. It also helps create a glow to your skin naturally as it deposits the powder evenly. Goat hair brushes are best for cheeks and contouring.

Sable Hair

But if you are looking for brushes that last a lifetime, choose sable hair. These may or may not be the most expensive of all, but are worth every penny. With wet or dry products, these brushes are therefore quite versatile. They are well-suited for shadowing. In fact, if my sable brush from college days had not sustained a permanent bend after a move, I would still be using it today! They are really easy to care for as well and have no hint of animal "fragrance".

Synthetic Brushes

If you just plainly do not wish to spend major funds on makeup brushes, synthetic ones made from nylon or a product called taklon are available. Synthetic brushes are good for cream or liquid items such as concealer or foundation. These brushes tend to soak up less liquid than do the natural ones and give a soft, natural, even appearance. However, they can become stiff and may not last as long as their natural counterparts. If you have sensitive skin, the usual preferences are good quality synthetic brushes. They are less expensive, for the most part, are soft against the skin, and any allergies are rare. But find ones that are dense enough to do a good job, and not too floppy.

Weigh the pros and cons of each brush type for your needs. After starting with these tips, you may agree that having a small assortment of excellent quality brushes of which you take excellent care, is the best choice for all your versatile looks. So, before throwing away that brand new blush because it did not give the look you anticipated, check to see if your brush is the culprit.

Kathryn Thompson is a fashion guru who enjoys letting her natural beauty shine forth.  She enjoys writing about anything related to fashion and beauty and recently wrote about her favorite makeup and cosmetic brushes.

Best Ways To Keep Your Skin Healthy

It is of great relevance to maintain the health of your skin for obvious appearance-related reasons but also for your own well-being. Skin care products are often advertised on television and in many other places and there has pretty much always been a consistent demand for them, evidencing the recognition from people with regard to the importance of a healthy complexion. You may choose to take the opportunity on certain occasions to have a professional facial treatment at a spa but there are also a number of regular practices that can help your skin.

Maintaining calm
Everyone is aware that keeping life free from stress is a near impossibility but there are a number of times when it can be avoided or let go. Managing the level of stress you go through is one of the key factors in maintaining healthy skin, not to mention the effect on your health in an overall sense. Finding the time to shut off from all demands is not always an easy thing but if you can manage to do this at some point during each day then you will benefit yourself considerably. If you do spend time relaxing in the bath then try not to go overboard with how long you spend in there as this can decrease the level of necessary oils in your skin.

Adequate protection from the sun
This is admittedly more of an issue for those who are deemed to be fortunate in living in close proximity to areas that experience a lot of sunshine but protecting your skin from the sun's rays is vital. Among the typical guidelines for sun protection is wearing sun cream that has a high enough factor to protect your specific skin type. In addition to this, finding a place in the shade to sit in is recommended when the sun is at its most powerful in relation to where you are. Hats and other clothing that safeguard against the most harmful rays should also be worn.

Your diet
The food you eat is certainly significant in how your skin looks and feels. An intake of water is often associated with healthier skin and the required amount of hydration is one of the principle elements of the whole process. The first thing that most will think of when beneficial foods are mentioned is fruit and vegetables. Dieticians and nutritionists will advise you against eating excessive amounts of foods high in fat as this is of course detrimental to your overall health, and the same can apply to your skin too.

5 Tips For Healthy Glowing Skin

When it comes to skincare, getting the basics right can really help you avoid the natural aging process and avoid skin problems later in life. Here are 5 easy tips to get you started:

1. Keep a close eye on what you eat
Research shows a strong link between a healthy diet and good skin. By eating the foods you are supposed to eat such as fruit, vegetables, proteins & good fats (such as the fats found in nuts & avocados) and avoiding the high salt and fats found in many microwave meals and takeaways this can really help promote good skin and a healthier lifestyle in general.

2. Quit Smoking
Smoking can lead to a tightening of the blood vessels which decreases blood flow, in turn reducing the amount of oxygen and nutrients that our skin needs to remain healthy. If you do smoke, quitting is a very key way to improve your skin condition and more importantly your overall health. There is an array of options available to help you quit smoking, so do your research and get the right thing for you. Nicotine patches can give you the hit of nicotine your body requires or there are any number of electronic cigarette retailers such as the vape store that supply cigarettes that emit only water vapour.

3. Get some R&R
We all feel the stresses of daily life, whether it’s the kids, the job or those bills continually dropping through the door. But, in amongst all of this, make sure you make time for yourself to relax and reflect, have a soak in the bath with some relaxing music, add some bath oils and help soak away the daily build-up of stress.

4. Sun Lotion & Sun beds
This really is one of the key ways of looking after your skin. Spending too long in the sun can lead to wrinkles in later life; it can also cause other skin conditions and age spots and can severely increase your risk of skin cancer. Most importantly, avoid the concentrated doses of UV that sunbeds bring.
Make sure you use a good amount of sunscreen with at least a factor 15 protection. It’s easy to forget to re-apply but make sure you keep on top of it by re-applying every 2-4 hours or more if you are in and out of the swimming pool.

5. Be good to your skin
The strains of daily life can take a toll on your skin so make sure that you take precautions to look after it. We all know what it feels like to get out of the shower or bath and feel like we have dry skin so make sure you add the moisture back using a good moisturiser like Nivea or Vaseline. Make sure when you shave you lubricate and protect your skin and avoid strong soaps.

This article was created by Paul Young, an accomplished freelance journalist with published healthcare articles on a number of high tier blogs & websites.

How Do Your Eyes Focus?

The eyes function kind of like a complex camera. They snap a picture of whatever is in the field of vision and send that image to the brain. Just like a camera, the lens regulates the focus. By definition, focus means the point rays of light converge. In human optic terms, focus defines the way light refracts to hit the retina. It is a combination of factors that allow you to focus on what you want to see. Understanding how the eye works is a valuable asset when considering whether LASIK surgery is right for you.

Eye Basics
The eye is a hollow globe composed of several critical elements. The part that makes you a brown-eyed girl or a blue-eyed boy is the iris. In the center of the iris is a black dot, or pupil, that opens up to the inner chamber in the globe. The white part is the sclera, and in front sits a clear, fragile skin known as the cornea.

Included in the globe is a gel-like substance, the vitreous body, that gives the ball its shape. The back wall is where you find all the sensitive building blocks that make up the retina. Directly behind the pupil rests a transparent, biconvex lens that is a major component in the light refraction necessary to focus your vision.

Light Refraction
Refraction is a vital term to understand when considering eye focus. Refraction is essentially the bending of rays. When light passes through a medium, like a lens for example, it changes direction. The shift alters the wavelength of the beam. It is the job of the lens to refract light to focus on the retina.

If the lens were a solid piece with no flexibility or mobility, your vision would be limited to a specific distance. The lens changes shape to allow you to shift your focus when looking at something. By altering shape, the lens adjusts to the focal distance.

Focal Distance
The lens of a camera moves back and forth to focus a picture. This is to accommodate the bending of the light rays. Technically, the closer a lens is to the object within the field of vision, the more powerfully it bends the light. When the lens moves farther away, it loses some optical power. The same principle applies to the lens in the eye. The closer you are to an object, the clearer it appears.

The eye lens does not have the space to move back and forth in the globe. Instead, it changes shape to adapt to the focal distance.

Focus
The methodology behind focusing is similar to the technique used to project a movie. A stream of light passes through the lens of the projector. The lens changes to focus that light on a screen to show an image. When you are in a movie theater, the light passes through film into the lens. The lens moves forward or backward to focus the beam onto a white screen. The image of the film transfers with the light onto the screen.

The human eye works the same way, just in reverse. Light passes through the cornea into the pupil. Once it enters the globe, it moves through the lens and an image projects onto the retina.

Changing the shape, or curvature, of the lens requires a powerful muscle – the ciliary muscle – plus a fibrous ring of tissue, the zonule of Zinn, which suspends the lens in place. It is a combined effort of both the ciliary muscle and the zonule fibers that shape the lens.

What Happens When You Focus?
When you are looking at something that sits close, the ciliary muscle contracts, the zonule fibers relax and the lens thickens. Accommodation for greater focal distances works in reverse. The ciliary muscle relaxes causing the zonule fibers to tense to pull the lens flat and thin it out.

Transparency
In order for light to pass through the lens, it must remain transparent. When the lens thickens, it must maintain proper index of refraction while still retaining clarity. This is done via crystallins, water-soluble proteins that are packed into the lens fibers. Crystallins are what keep the lens clear regardless of the density.

Cornea
The other component that is critical to focusing vision is the cornea. When light hits the cornea, it bends to enter the pupil and then bends further as it passes through the lens to focus the image onto the retina. The cornea must have perfect spherical shape in order to refract the light properly. If it is misshapen, light bends wrong and the image ends up fuzzy.

The eyes ability to properly refract light and focus an image onto the retina is the basis for vision. When something is off even slightly in the process, people wear corrective lenses or get LASIK surgery to fix the error.

20/20 Institute is the leader in vision correction in the Denver-Metro area. Call for a free consultation if you want to know if you qualify for the best Denver LASIK.

Beauty Tips while Travelling

When you're travelling, there are often more pressing things on your mind, such as: how much money is the bus? Do I have money? Where does the bus go? Is that man going to mug me?

Unfortunately, there are always things to worry about when you're travelling abroad, so you'll always be occupied with them. Don't worry, though, because we have made a guide for you to look great while you stress overseas, with these easy beauty tips that will guarantee that you look great every day, even when you're backpacking and sleeping in tents most of your trip.

Pack light

Keeping your skin hydrated is something that will be of the highest priority, especially when you're travelling in the air. Use a light cream rather than a heavy moisturiser, as the latter will make you look oily. A light cream is one that applies and dries quickly – but if you're even more of a rush, just use a bit of concealer and lotion and apply to your face.

Hide any smudges quickly

Made a bit of a mistake rushing from Wallert to the airport? Don't fret, you don't have to go back to your Eucalypt home and wash it all out and start from scratch. Instead, what you could you is use a creamy concealer to break down the existing makeup, which will then blend out.

Hide your bags

That couple in the hostel keeping you up all night? Hide those unsightly eye bags easily by applying an apricot coloured concealer to the offending locations on your face to neutralise the colour. If it's puffiness that is the problem, however, then you may have to work a little more: simply applying concealer will make the light reflect off of it, emphasising its puffiness. Instead, you should work and apply mascara to your top eyelashes to take away from this.

Shine

Exhaustion taking away from your normally healthily radiant complexion? No worries. If you're feeling tired or queasy, all you have to do is apply a simple shimmer powder to your nose, cheeks, and lips so that you can look completely alive. Alternatively, if you have problems with dry skin, try instead a blend of lip balm and a cream gloss to keep yourself looking even more fabulous.

Moisturise your lips

Always keep your lips moisturised. You'll often encounter dry and cracked lips, which are unsightly and feel terrible, when you're travelling. The best way to remedy this? Not surprisingly, it involves bringing lip treatment. Try something medicated so that your lipstick doesn't smudge.

Sarah Paige wants to work part time at the community of Wallert.

How Your Face Ages Over Time

It's a fact of life that everyone gets older. As we age, our body changes, and many of the changes we see take place in our faces. Everyone knows that the way they look changes over time; wrinkles form, facial features change and alter; but not everyone knows why and how this happens.

Three Zones
Looking at the human face, we can divide it into three separate areas or "zones." These zones are useful classifications when discussing the way the human face changes through the years. When discussing aging, these three areas are referred, so it is important to know exactly what portions of the face they encompass.

The upper face includes the area around your forehead, eyebrows and eyes. The mid-face includes the area under the eyes, the nose and the cheek regions of the face. The lower face includes everything below the nose such as the lips, chin and jawline.

Four Layers
Just as the face is divided into three regions, it is also made up of four basic layers. As a person ages, these layers change, giving the characteristic features of an aging human face. These four features, from deepest to most superficial are bone, muscle, the subcutaneous layer and skin.

Different decades see different changes take place in these layers and these combined changes are what case the various facial changes over time such as wrinkles and loss of face volume.

Bone
Although bones are generally thought of as unchanging once we reach adulthood, nothing could be father from the truth. As we age, our bones continue to change and alter, shifting subtly and taking on slightly different shapes.

Because bone is the foundation on which the shape of the other three layers are built, changes in bone structure, volume and shape can cause changes in the other layers. For example, your cheekbones may become less prominent as you age, causing a change in the shape and volume of your cheeks and affecting the three layers above.

Muscle
As we grow older, the strength and firmness of our muscles weakens. As a result, the muscles don't tend to spring back into shape as easily as they did when we were younger. 

As the face is the most expressive portion of our bodies, we are always using the muscles when making facial expressions. As these muscles become weaker over time, they don't snap back into their original shapes as they did earlier in life. Combined with the loss of elasticity in the skin, this causes the creases in the skin caused by repeated facial expressions to become permanent, creating wrinkles.

Subcutaneous Layer
The subcutaneous layer is the layer that lies just beneath the skin. It is also known as the fatty layer or the volume layer. This layer contains collagen, fat and a substance called hyaluronic acid.

While you might be familiar with collagen and fat, most people aren't as familiar with what hyaluronic acid is and what its function is. Essentially, this is an acid that is used in repairing skin tissue. When you become sunburned, the UV rays slow the body's production of this acid. As a result, the degradation of the skin increases significantly, thus causing the skin to peel. This is one reason why the use of sunscreen is important to reduce the effects of the sun's rays.

As we age, the volume of collagen, fat and hyaluronic acid decreases. This loss of volume can cause not only changes in how the face looks, often causing it to seem to droop, but the skin no longer snaps back as well as it once did.

Skin
The skin, or epidermis, is the most visible part of the aging process. The skin is closely tied to the subcutaneous level, and the point at which one ends and the other begins can be quite difficult to discern. 

As time drags on, the skin loses its own elasticity, the replacement of the outer layer of skin slows and the function of the sebaceous glands becomes lessened. The skin itself no longer snaps back, and wrinkles form over time.

It's a Combination! 
Like so many things in life, the effects of aging are not caused by one single thing but rather a combination. As bone changes, muscle loses strength, the subcutaneous level loses volume and the skin just no longer bounces back, the effects of aging, such as wrinkles and sagging skin, begin showing.

Bella Labella founded Bella Labs in 2009 to become a leading edge skin care supplement manufacturer. To learn more, follow Bella Labs on Twitter.