Tuesday, February 28, 2012

To Have Plastic Surgery or Not To Have Plastic Surgery? That is the question.


İmage via screenrent.com
Tom Cruise presenting at this year's Academy Awards. At age 50. Is it all natural?

No, I am not against it unless....
Call me shallow, but I don’t care. I am not against plastic surgery, when done right. I am all for it, if you won’t end up looking like a zombie, a blown-up doll or a transvestite. 

Image via fanpop.com
Courteney Cox. I can't be the only one who thinks she ruined her face.



I am also not against liposuction, lip injections, botox (as long as you still have expressions on your face) or whatever. As long as it works.

Pretty and young is not a bad thing. Unless you end up ruining a gorgeous face with too plump lips – e.g. Nicole Kidman. Meg Ryan’s lips are totally noticed before her any other feature too, and I don’t mean that as a compliment.


Meg Ryan.
Image via education.makemeheal.com

It Is Only Human to Want to Be & Stay Attractive.
Again, calling me shallow is OK. I am just being honest. Because as much as feeling physically and mentally healthy are the most important things, we still want to like what we see in the morning. 

And yes, in an ideal world, we would always like what we saw. With or without make-up. During bad hair days and good hair days. With and without our extra pounds. We would feel good about ourselves all the time.

But maybe with the exception of the wise and the carefree (and the genetically blessed - my mom is 58, she didn’t have anything done-minor or major- and she still looks a lot younger than the Hollywood women in their late 30s and 40s), we do care about how we look. We want to look better. We want to look sexy, whether or not we are trying to attract someone or not.

Some People DO Win The Battle Against Time and Aging
The problem is it doesn’t last for many men and women. Tom Cruise is only what? 6 years younger than Mel Gibson, yet he could play his son. Brad Pitt is buddies with George Clooney, but in a few years he Clooney could just as very well pass as his dad in movies-and he is only 2 years younger than Pitt. 

Michelle Pfeiffer is beautiful, but not nearly as fresh-looking as Sharon Stone who is the same age. Demi Moore looks skinny, but she doesn’t look healthy or pretty.

You get my point.
What's My Plan?
At 28, I am 2 years away from starting to buy anti-aging products. Don’t worry, the age 30 was set by my dermatologist- who in her 40 s looks the same age as me, despite having a 15-year son. 

So I am in good hands and I will be doing some prevention stuff with the help of a professional who does practice what she preaches (Oh and don’t worry, it is all insured so she doesn’t make money by prescribing me anything).

I know that I am at a great age. I also believe that in this day and age, 50s are the new 40s, the 40s are the new 30s. And in your 30s, life really, truly begins. You know who you are, what you want and how to get it. Don’t worry, I already started on that path. I am just reminding you that 30s isn’t something to panic about. It is something to celebrate.

But all celebrations are a lot more fun if you look your absolute hottest. So I am not going to apologize for trying to look hot even in my 60s. Susan Sarandon is doing it. Why shouldn’t I?
So to have plastic surgery or not to have plastic surgery? That’s the question. 

Sorry, William. It is just that I solved my existential issues and I am dealing with the physical aspect of things now.  

And I am saying it is OK to get things done if...Yes, there are "if"s:
  • If you are not screwing up what you already have
  • If you are going to look better than you used to
  • If you can truly afford it.  
  • If you are not turning into your new favorite hobby
  • If you are combining it with a fairly healthy lifestyle (not drinking much, not smoking….)

Did Tom Cruise Have Plastic Surgery? 
I don’t know if or what Tom Cruise did. If he had things done, I want the number of his doctors. Because boy he might be crazy, but he is the prettiest and youngest-looking 50-year-old I have ever seen.

You
What about you? To have it? Or not to have it? What’s your answer?


P.S. Below is the link to the article that inspired this post:

Friday, February 10, 2012

Winter Blues, Eating Unhealthily and Getting Back on Track

Image via jerkmagazine.net


I wonder if all Sagittarii all like this, but despite being born in December, I absolutely hate winter (apart from my birthday week where I get showered with presents and earn the right for *a birthday jam from my lindy hop friends).

But seriously, there is nothing sexy or pleasurable about having to put on layers and layers of clothes, lose your make-up to snow and sweat and have your plans cancelled because the weather really brought everybody down and seriously messed up traffic.

And when you are stuck at home, or the coffee shop nearby, it is hard to pay attention to how you look. Even if I do feel guilty about not having stuck to a healthier eating routine, especially when all the fat is stored in my belly region, ideals of having a Scarlett Johansson-like (I do have the curves, I just have a “little” more extra fat) body are exchanged by the momentary pleasure of chocolate. 

Scarlett in Red.


I was feeling bad that I cheated on my Fitnesspal (both the website schedule and my friend), but learned that she doesn’t exactly have the Jennifer Aniston resolve to get and keep fit at the moment either.

Of course unhealthy eating adds to your depressed state, which adds to your unhealthy eating. It is a vicious circle, and even though I want to be all on salads and vegetables, it seems impossible to just to eat natural nuts, dried fruits for snacks. And it no longer motivates to listen to songs like So Hot (Kid Rock) when you know you are not. At least not as hot as you can be.

And while I do admire Adele for embracing her weight and I’d never want to be skinny, I am the happiest with myself when I am the fittest.  How are you on your end? How is winter treating you?  If you got off track, don’t despair. It happens to all of us (humans.) The best thing you can do is to increase the indoors activity. 

Some Applicable Tips to Get Back on a Healthier Route: 

-Try your sexy dresses and see how much you need to hide and/or tuck in. This might upset you, but at least it should motivate you to do better. 

-Can’t say no to the chocolate bar? Eat it. Then turn on your favorite dancing songs, and dance away.
The faster the songs, the better. You can at least burn some off it!

-Clean up your house, organize your (home) office. If you are anything like me, the needed collective cleaning will equal to an 20-min aerobics session.

- Keep trying on more clothes. See if anything no longer suits your taste. Not only it burns calories, but it will give you space for shopping.

- Go clothes shopping! You shouldn’t go crazy like Rebecca Bloomwood, but trying on lots of clothes in lots of stores is actually quite good (and fun) exercise. If you can cut back a little on food, great. I once lost 8 kilos in one summer with shopping! 

- Go dark. Dark chocolate is more fulfilling, and you will feel more saturated with less amount of it. 

-Eat the chocolate but not the cake. Cut the flour, if you can’t cut the sugar.

-Take the stairs. In case you are carrying your laptop and other stuff with you.

- Go out to dance, if the weather allows you. 

-The moment you feel you won’t freeze outside, leave the house. How far you will go is up to you, but anything is better than sitting at home and feeling miserable.

- Listen to songs that are about getting back on track and/or never quitting or breaking no matter what. 

Some of my favorites: Bon Jovi, Unbreakable.                                          
                                  Tom Petty, I Won’t Back Down.

Which reminds me. I just changed my station into rock’n’roll for some stretching and dancing around. Will switch to rock after I warm up….

P.S. I know I didn’t include things like go to the gym. I live in a big city where my gym is far away. I think I’ll be going in that direction once March arrives.  Of course if you can go hiking or jogging on a regular basis, I’m proud of you. But then this post wasn’t really meant for the steel-willed….

*birthday jam: When all the guys and the girls try to dance with you because it is your birthday and others just watch and enjoy the show.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

How to Cure Winter Blues by Spending 30 Minutes at Your Hairdresser

Image via charlottemagazine.com

Maybe I’m missing some fundamental female genes, but I have never liked going to the hairdressers.  I am just not the biggest fan of sitting and waiting for ages where meaningless chatter and gossip surround you as some terrible music comes blasting from the stereos. 

And I definitely don’t like people I just met to let me tell them my life story, and pout when I don’t like doing so. Oh, of course there is the painful part of sitting for what feels like hours, while you have nothing to do as you count down the seconds until your hair is finished. 

Well, given that I’m a tad hyperactive, don’t like to do just sit and wait, and absolutely hate techno and computerized pop music, you might think that I am not the best candidate for writing a post on why going to the hairdressers is a practical and mood-lifting idea for the winter. But bear with me for a second.

I’ve recently realized that the hairdresser experience doesn’t have to be annoying, boring and bank-account emptying. All you have to do is to look around, research a little and find a hairdresser close to where you live that won’t make you go bankrupt, where the blow-dryers surpass the music and the employees respect your privacy and let you talk as little or as much as you want to.

I found such a place in my neighborhood. They don’t list a hundred reasons why my hair needs more work. They don’t ask about my private life. They are friendly but respectful, and the prices are affordable. Sure, I still have to sit and look at my hair for 30 minutes, but at least it doesn’t feel like hours, and the guy who blow-dries my hair is actually not bullshitting: when he blow-dries, my hair stays blow-dried for a couple of days- without spraying my hair as if we are still in the 80s.

I get it blow-dried, because even though my hair is straight, it gets frizzled really easily. At least it stays in shape, looks good and makes me feel better about myself. I’ve never been a fan of the cold, rainy and windy winter days and great hair takes the blues away.