Mineral Makeup Goes Liquid With Neutrogena

Kinder and gentler to skin. Clean and breathable.

That's what mineral makeup is supposed to be about. No we haven't tried it yet. But some of our friends seem to love the loose powder foundations and blushes.

Neutrogena always seems to be on the beauty forefront, and for a couple of months now, has been pushing its new Mineral Sheers Liquid Makeup.

Mineral makeup is very popular these days, and for a number of good reasons. That's why big names in the biz, like Jane Iredale and Bare Minerals sell it:

Battles dryness
Unclogs oily skin + pores
All natural, finely ground minerals from the earth
Allergy-free
Good for sensitive skin
No fragrances, no dyes
Protects skin from the sun

Neutrogena's Mineral Sheers Liquid Makeup ($13.99, drugstores, http://www.ulta.com/) comes ready with a silky brush for buildable coverage. Although it's in a liquid form, it is still light and airy, according to the brand. We love that it has an SPF 20. And it comes in a dozen shades, which is pretty generous. You have quite a range to select from.

There are also foes of the mineral makeup boom. Some women swear this makeup actually accentuates fine lines and wrinkles. And there are those who say their acne got worse after wearing this kind of makeup.

We like to say that everyone is an individual. What works for you, might not work for her, and so on.

We have one friend who works out hard four days a week, and she wears mineral makeup to the gym. She says the foundation hasn't failed her yet. It stays on throughout her exercise routine.

We are going to try the Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Liquid Makeup in a few weeks. We are attracted to the liquid foundation aspect of it. We hope it glides on easily and mattes our oily skin.

Rembrandt Really Keeps Teeth Whitest And Brightest

Rembrandt.

The name has been around for a number of years now. There have been many teeth whiteners that have promised you this and that, and produced average results. And some have quickly disappeared off store shelves.

But Rembrandt Teeth Whitener has endured for one simple reason: It delivers a whiter and brighter smile. Period. And Rembrandt has three powerful yet gentle-to-your-mouth products to maintain that beautiful smile.

Let's be honest here---your smile says plenty about your physical attractiveness. You don't need big, chicklet-sized veneers to be pretty. Look at Julia Roberts. Her mega-watt smile has opened many doors in Hollywood. And her smile is real, and her teeth are white. Nothing fake or phoney.




We took an honest look at Rembrandt's 3-pronged attack for the whitest and brightest at-home teeth whitening products:

Rembrandt 2-hour Whitening Kit ($20.25. Save $5. Visit: http://www.rembrandt.com/). You need molding trays and whitening gel to get the brightest smile around. The kit includes it all. Simply mold the trays to your mouth. Apply the Rembrandt whitening gel to the upper and lower comfy tray applicators. Wear them for 20 minutes. Remove the trays for 10 minutes. And repeat for 4 applications and a total of 2 hrs.

You end up with a visibly, gorgeous new smile. No more waiting months or weeks. One day in just 2 hours! The only company that can make that claim is Rembrandt.

And Rembrandt makes it easy to maintain your new bright smile with 2 more products:

Rembrandt Whitening Rinse with Fluoride ($5.99, 16 fl. oz.) Fresh mint flavor. The only rinse out there that "whitens teeth while actively restoring tooth enamel." Use it every day to protect your teeth and make them stronger.

Rembrandt Intense Stain Toothpaste with Fluoride ($7.49, 3 oz.) The third teeth whitening product in their line. An amazing toothpaste that "prevents plaque build-up, tartar, and gumline erosion." Clinically shown to lift those stubborn coffee and red wine stains. It, too, restores tooth enamel with special micro-polishing particles. Users remark that the toothpaste leaves your mouth very clean, just like a trip to the dentist.

As the folks at Rembrandt say: "Take care of your mouth. It can be brilliant."

Less PMS With Relaxing And Happy Saffron Spice

Saffron.

Most of you have heard of this exotic and ancient spice. And many of you have tried Saffron rice. But did you know that Saffron maybe be the answer to improving PMS or premenstrual syndrome? We had heard about this a couple of months ago, and just saw an item in October's issue of Allure magazine.

Saffron has been used in traditional Persian medicine for many years. In fact, Iran is the world's largest producer of saffron. And it is exported to more than 45 countries. And it certainly isn't cheap at $800 per kilo of saffron. The reason for its high cost? It's very difficult to farm. Saffron is harvested from the fall-flowering plant Crocus sativus, a member of the Iris family.

The word saffron comes from the Arab word zafaran, meaning 'yellow.'

According to a recent study that was noted in Allure, 50 women with a history of PMS, and ladies, we know who we are, were given two 15-milligram saffron tablets twice a day for two menstrual cycles or placebo pills instead.

76% of the women who were assigned the saffron tablets, had at least a 50% improvement in PMS symptoms. Those taking the placebo pills saw only an 8% improvement.

Scientists find that saffron calms down the stomach, and also acts as an anti-depressant, in the same way that Prozac does. And new research show that saffron is just as effective as Prozac in treating mild to moderate depression.

Before you begin any treatment for PMS, please check with your OBGYN. You want to make sure the spice does not interact with other medication you might be on. In addition, too much saffron can be deadly and leave one in a deep narcotic sleep. Of course, that would mean taking very large amounts. It's always best to check with your doctor before trying to begin a new treatment program yourself.

Still, quite a fascinating story about a farway, exotic spice, and how premenstrual syndrome could be connected.

Mia Hamm And Athletes Wear Mission Product Skin Care

Let's make this clear:
You don't have to be a super athlete like soccer legend Mia Hamm to wear Mission Product.

We stumbled across this exciting company recently, and decided it was time more people heard about Mission Product....Athlete Engineered Skin Care.

X-Games Gold medalists Gretchen Bleiler and Ryan Sheckler joined forces and developed Mission Product...skin care treatments designed by and for athletes.

These skin care items are effective, sweat-proof, and water-proof for the active woman and man on the go.

Mia Hamm loves the Mission Product Daily Offense Stick (Sun Stick) with an SPF 30($9.99, www.missionproduct.com, and sports stores).

This compact Sun Stick is perfect for your nose, cheeks, ears, lips, and neck. Just rub it in all over your face and go!

"SPF 30 offers broad long lasting protection from damaging UVA/UVB rays.
Nourishing oils, butters and Vitamin E moisturize, condition, heal your skin.
Dries quickly upon application, non-greasy, non-sticky, won’t sting your eyes and works perfectly with any skin type.
Pop it in your jersey pocket, seat bag or hydration pack for easy transport.
Preservative and paraben free ."

Mission Product also carries in its skin care line, these excellent treatments to battle the elements and soothe active skin:

After-Sun Revive Gel
Anti-Friction Cream
Foot Synergy Gel
Lip Protector SPF 20

Judge Throws Out Silly Hair Dye Suit Against L'Oreal

This one really caught our eye. It's been the buzz around hair salons the past few days.

Our Beauty Tip Today: Carefully examine all products bought in a box, before doing at-home beauty treatments.

Trust us...this will make sense in a moment.

Ever use a box of hair color bought at your local drugstore? No, it's not embarrassing to admit you dye your hair by yourself. There are millions of women who home-color.

This incident took place in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Charlotte Feeney had bought a box of L'Oreal hair color. Charlotte claims she purchased a box of blonde hair color. But what came out, was a head full of brunette dye. Charlotte says that the wrong shade was in the wrong box---a bottle of deep brown hair color was what she found instead. But Charlotte had no idea the dye was allegedly tampered with and proceeded to color her hair. This occured in 2005, by the way.

Charlotte was so devastated, she tried suing L'Oreal, according to the Associated Press:

"Charlotte Feeney of Stratford says she can never return to her natural blonde hue, a shock that left her so traumatized she needed anti-depressants.

She says she suffered headaches and anxiety, missed the attention that blondes receive and had to stay home and wear hats most of the time."

The Superior Court judge tossed the lawsuit against L'Oreal out of court last Monday, saying that Charlotte, "never proved her allegation that L'Oreal put brown hair dye in a box labeled as blonde."

And the L'Oreal hair color/cosmetics giant also had disputed the claim.

What's the lesson here? We believe Charlotte's story. It is very possible the hair dye was accidentally placed in her box or mislabeled as blonde color. Or someone could have purposely tampered with the bottles as a cruel joke.

Maybe Charlotte didn't pay attention to the color itself as she was applying it to her hair. Maybe she had never used this particular L'Oreal hair color before. She obviously didn't do the strand test. We're all supposed to do the strand test each time we color. But do we???

There are a lot of 'maybes' here. The least L'Oreal could do, is pay for the woman's visit to a professional hair salon to have her hair restored back to her favorite blonde look. L'Oreal is a major force in the beauty world, and should kindly help this poor woman out, out of court.

But as we stated at the beginning of our article, we must all be smart and alert when using any kind of at-home beauty treatments. Seriously. If you're going to do your own chemical peel, for instance, you want to make sure you follow the instructions to the letter. The same applies to at-home hair color, waxing procedures, and so on.

Carefully examine all products that come in your at-home box. It could mean the difference between beauty and disaster.

And as a dark-haired gal, well, deep brown isn't all that bad. We have fun, too.

Bobbi Brown's Simple Solution For Tinted Moisturizers

We love Bobbi Brown's no nonsense approach to looking our most attractive (read her caption above). She gets it, and by that, we mean that Bobbi Brown isn't forcing women to adopt a one-makeup-skin-care- look. She maintains a 'realistic' way of beauty.

Bobbi Brown Cosmetics aren't overdone makeup. Bobbi gives customers the basics. Nothing gaudy. And you don't have to buy an entire line. Her emphasis is on learning to love your look. She explains it best in her own words at her website, http://www.bobbibrowncosmetics.com/:

"Makeup is a way for a woman to look and feel like herself, only prettier and more confident."

Today, we are looking at one of Bobbi Brown's most popular skin care products, one that caught the discerning eye of Cosmo magazine---EXTRA SPF 25 Tinted Moisturizing Balm ($50, 1 oz.)

"Featured in "Cosmopolitan" Magazine (Oct. 2008). EXTRA SPF 25 Tinted Moisturizing Balm is an ultra-rich, luxurious formula that blends easily. Gives skin a dewy, glowing look with light coverage. Ideal for when skin feels dry or dehydrated, it helps reduce the appearance of fine lines. Dermatologist tested. "

And EXTRA SPF 25 Tinted Moisturizing Balm comes in 8 great shades for a healthy, natural glow.

Did Angelina Jolie Tummy Tuck Or Not?!!!

We know....shame on us for looking at the tabloids and actually believing everything they say. But the rags do get some parts of a story correct. Look, both publications have noted how swiftly Hollywood's favorite glamorous mommy has bounced back from giving birth to twins, not even three months ago. See mommy's ultra flat tummy. Hmmm.

Did Angelina Jolie tummy tuck or not?(Actually called abdominoplasty in doctor talk).

Who knows. And do we care? Well, yes. There is a fascination of sorts, with celebrities who make life look so easy in the birthing department, exercise routines, and the hair, wrinkles, and makeup sessions.

Women do want to know if Angie got a tummy tuck after her c-section to deliver twins 11 months ago. Those double procedures are quite common in Hollywood these days.

Angelina and Brad swept through New York City recently, to promote Angie's new film, Changeling. Folks were in awe at how lovely the new mom appeared, according to Star magazine:

"Angelina looked drop-dead gorgeous in a tight black strapless Versace dress," says an awestruck onlooker who saw the actress attending the film's premiere at the Ziegfeld Theatre with Brad on Oct. 4. "My first reaction was, 'Holy cow, how did she get so thin after having twins?'"

Sources tell Star that the 33-year-old actress fretted over the size of her stomach while she was pregnant with Knox and Vivienne. "She doesn't like to talk about it or admit it, but Angie told some friends that she had a 'mommy tuck,' " says a family insider. "She likes the way that sounds better than tummy tuck."

We are not here to state that Angelina got a tummy tuck or 'mommy tuck.' We are just here to tell our readers that celebrities always look perfect, because they have the big money and resources to maintain that Hollywood ideal. In other words, celebrities are not born perfect. They have similar problems that all of us share. Maybe those generous lips of hers are not exactly her own, either, if you believe the tabloids.

According to most plastic surgeons, a tummy tuck can be performed right after giving birth by c-section, although it's best to wait for healing to take place. Surgeons at the Center for Cosmetic Surgery in the Denver metro area in Colorado, explain what the procedure can do for a new mom:

"When there is extra skin on your tummy after pregnancy, an abdominoplasty is generally the best means of managing it. The procedure tightens the abdominal muscles and removes excess fat and skin leaving you with a flat abdomen. The c-section scar is removed during the procedure. Often, women choose to have liposuction of nearby areas such as the flanks (love handles), hips, back, or thighs at the same time to improve their overall look."