Beauty Tip: When in doubt, get a haircut and dye the new do!

I’ll admit this is a very conventional tip. But then again, this blog is for all fun-loving women and we’ve nothing against the conventional methods that are easy, fun and put a smile on our faces afterwards.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m big fan of long hair. I have always lusted after the shampoo-commercial hair but my hair is never that voluminous, thick and long –even after a visit to the hairdresser’s.

So when I want to give myself a sexy make-over, I choose the quick path. I have a nice and modern cut (covering the cheeks and not the neck is usually a great length – easy to style & dry). Then I pick a color that I know looks good on me.  This time I went blonde, with the unintended effect of strawberry streaks (remains of previous coloring).

And I feel great. And I do look pretty decent. I should take some pictures of the new do and ask for your opinion too.

But remember, when it comes to looking and feeling awesome, your opinion comes first.

The Only Main Style Tip You'll Ever Need: Hide the Flaws, Accentuate the Assets!

Kate Bosworth. I think she topped it in the middle. What do you think? Image via refinery29.com

If done right, this style tip works all the time. How do I know? Because whenever I apply it (and trust me, I try to apply it whenever I can), I am either complimented on my body or asked if I have lost weight, or both.

What I do is I hide my flaws and accentuate my assets. Now, everybody has a different body type. I am tall and while I have around 6-10 pounds extra, I look in shape. When I put on weight, the fat is inclined to start growing in my bell first and goes to other places afterwards, so  my whole mission while getting dressed is to hide it as well as I can. 

The assets? It’s different for everyone but I have big breasts and long, lean legs. I especially love mini-skirts because anything but a turtleneck seems to give me a cleavage, even when I am trying not to have fun. But i especially love tight, short skirts. Well, short as in covering my butt totally. I wear them all year, and black is as gorgeous color whether you choose to go with leggings, tight pants or pantyhose. 

So that is what I do: show the legs, accentuate the breasts with a decent bra and hide the belly at all costs. Yes, I don’t look all that great in a bikini and I am going to be working on that But put in any short, tight legwear and I look just fine.

The tip: Show the good, hide the bad and feel & look just gorgeous.

Tip for Beauticians and Cosmetics Store Assistants: Practice What You Preach!

The make-up sales people should have good make-up skills. Plain and simple. It won't help their sales if they are looking like they just dropped in a pool of paint! Image via grinningplanet.com

Recently, I was at a cosmetic store, trying to buy some necessary make-up, and hopefully without going over my budget. But you know how these shops are. Every single fault of your skin is brought to attention under the oh-so-unflattering white lighting. I have always been lazy and frankly it’d be nice to have some efficient product take care of my skin- doing most of the work. So yeah, I am more of the type to go for the concealer to hide the skins under my eyes rather than taking care of my face with masks regularly. 

Oh, and I do have dark circles under my eyes. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with my skin because those circles have been there for a long time. It doesn’t matter how well or little sleep I get, they are just there (so you have tips for me, go ahead and leave them in the comments. I’ll be more than grateful). Anyway, after I got my mascara and being totally put off by my skin, I wanted to look for a concealer. The sales-girl was suggesting that I should use almond oil for my eyelashes. What? Remembering to put on  mascara is enough trouble! And then she suggested, if I were to use a concealer, I should put it on after putting on a layer of face cream. What face cream? I am not using anti-aging stuff just yet. My dermatologist had suggested it is ok if I started them at 27 and so I am thinking, there is still a little time (OK, I am turning 27 next year). The sales girl was certain I was already too late. Of course she has a commission-based job.  So we started talking to another sales girl who started talking about a set which would easily set me back $100-150. OK, there is no way I am taking advice from someone 1) is paid according to what and how much she sells and 2) horrible make-up skills. 

I should elaborate on the second thing a little. She was wearing too much make-up for a day job.  The powder she was using wasn’t exactly her color and you could so obviously tell it was powder.  And she wasn’t pretty. At all. Isn’t make-up all about hiding your faults, accentuating your good qualities and well, making you look prettier? Anyway- I wasn’t about to take skin advice from a girl whose skin wasn’t exactly glowing with radiance. So no, of course I didn’t buy the expensive stuff. I am seeing my dermatologist next week and get some brand recommendations from her. 1) She is not on commission. 2) She is an expert 3) and yeah, she is also pretty and knows her make-up.

Just like you wouldn’t take relationship advice from a serial cheater, you shouldn’t take make-up advice from just any store employee. I am just saying. If she was such an expert, she would apply her skills on her face first. So unless you fall in love with the looks and make-up of the sales-girl, just stick to your own gut and well, budget.

Hanging Out with Your Attractive Friends: Unconventional Fitness Activity 4

     You know what highly success people advise? That you surround yourself with more successful people so that with the help of the group’s dynamics, you will also succeed. It makes perfect sense – when no one around you is aiming low, nothing- even you- can hold you back.

So what does that have to be with beauty and fitness? Well, a lot actually. The idea is that you will hang out more often with friends who pay attention to how they look. I am not suggesting you surround yourself with superficial people, fashion victims or diet freaks. Rather, I am merely suggesting that among all the friends you can hang out with, choose to spend time with the ones who are more active, health-conscious and overall well-groomed.

Because you will feel bad if you are the only one who’s not taking care of yourself, peer pressure and motivation will make you want to put on that little touch of make-up, give up on the coffee cream and pick your more flattering outfits to wear.

image via: danspalatset.se

Yes, this is a Lindy Hop move. Hopefully one day, it'll be possible for me too. But there is no way I am going to get to it if I just sit around with my friends who only like to sit around. I have a lot of those!

Recently, I have been spending more time at the dance studio (where I am taking lindy hop lessons). The more I watch the good dancers, the more I want to attend the practice times and well, the more I want to dance. And the more I dance, the better I feel . And the more moves I can master, the more I will enjoy it and the more I will want to dance. Oh, yes :it is one fantastic and beneficial cycle.

The point is whatever you’d like to accomplish and/or maintain, find a way to hang out with people who are better at it than you do, or at least just as enthusiastic as you are.  I had a great year in Norway, when I was an exchange student. I had great friends, who were just as addicted to fun and partying as I was. The result? One fantastic year. And I am thinking, why not apply it to our looks?

Dating a Hot Guy: Unconventional Fitness Activity 1

Nope, not just any dating. Dating or trying to date really, really hot guys. Yes, a good personality is a plus but since a lot of guys are superficial (regardless of how good or bad they look), it doesn’t hurt us to go after some eye candy. If we are lucky, we can land a really hot guy (or hot guys-sky is the limit).  

*Note: If you are happily coupled up, feel free to ignore this advice.

Here is why I am emphasizing a guy should have a hot body:

For one, I am sick of ugly, balding, and fat middle-aged men cheating on their lovely wives (I know girls and other types of men cheat too, but that’s off topic right now). And many men seem to have double standards when it comes to how their girlfriends should look. They want them to be fit and well-groomed, while they rarely hit the gym. Even if they do go, they do tend to fall for the younger gym bunnies.

But of course this double standard isn’t just about older, married or fatter men. A couple of years ago I used to date this really skinny guy. I actually don’t even like skinny guys. I like guys tall, well-built and strong .  I’d rather have a guy who built those muscles naturally through his work or favorite sports (and preferably not by living in the gym).

How about James Denton from Desperate Housewives or the new addition to that show, Brian Austin Green? I don’t know if their bodies are gym-based, but they look amazing.



Brian Austin Green in Desperate Housewives. Image via  movieline-com





Teri Hatcher and James Denton in Desperate Housewives. Image via insidesocal.com



Anyway, we all have an ideal image when it comes to looks but feelings and hormones get the in the way. And boys know it really well. Back to the skinny guy: He was barely an inch taller than me. And he wasn’t strong. But personality matter more than looks, right?

 He fooled me into thinking he was a nice, fun guy with a high E.Q (emotional I.Q).  His face was OK but if he hadn’t been around that day, hanging with a friend of mine, I wouldn’t have even noticed him.

Oh, you can take a look at a picture of me on the about page. I am definitely not skinny. But I am 1.75 m tall (5’9”) and 69 kilos (about 135 pounds? You get the idea). And apart from the belly I’d like to hide I have a pretty decent body, with long legs and all that.

So this skinny guy who is not eye-catching or good-looking, who doesn’t even walk with a nice posture, starts criticizing my sense of getting dressed and makes hints that I should lose weight. Seriously.

To the outside eye, I’m the eye-catching, prettier one . It was my friends who thought he was not good enough for me.

You see, if he looked like Keanu Reeves or Gerard Butler, I’d not have been mad at his hints. In fact, I’d use him to lose the extra pounds. But if an average looking guy with borderline personality issues asks, I am not even going to move my arm. What would be the motivation? To give him the satisfaction dating even a prettier girl? No, thanks.

Yes, we didn’t last long. And since I was attracted to the niceness in the first place.

My point is, it is OK to be superficial as many of the people around you are too. So why not take advantage of the back? It is all very well looking for your soul mate with that amazing personality. But until he comes along, even for just fitness purposes, let’s hunt down the gorgeous boys. We will be motivated to be as fit as they are. And we can stay in shape by engaging in fitness on our own and with them (dancing, PG-13 stuff and of course the essential R-Rated action).

Do share your stories.

Eating Habits: What are your strenghts and weaknesses?

Oh, how I hate dieting. Even though I developed some stomach problems a couple of years ago, I still prefer taking medication to prevent nausea rather than staying away from all the unhealthy stuff, which are mostly delicious.

But of course just like many people, I have very healthy and non-fattening habits that come naturally to me. And by naturally, I mean I don’t consume some foods and drinks because I genuinely dislike them.

So here is a list of my natural strengths and weaknesses. Please share yours too.

Weaknessses:

Chocolate. This is weakness number one. I just love how it tastes. One of the best movie experiences was watching Johnny Depp’s Chocolat with some chocolate bars in hand.

Chips: I can live without them but hardly anything  beats watching a fun movie with chips in the winter.

Ice-cream: Ice-cream makes summer much more fun and when it is scorching, it makes it bearable.

Coffee: I am a writer. And I love the taste. Enough said.

Cookies & cakes: Yes, I like them.

Cocktails: I am a Sex and The City girl. What did you expect?

Pizza: Love it!

Strengths:

Come on, I am not only the nightmare of a fitness trainer. I have some good habits:

Beer: I hate it. I can’t stand the smell or the taste of it.

Wine: It has some good qualities. A glass of wine every two, three days is supposed to good for your heart. But, I can’t drink it.

Whisky: Yucks! What can I say? I am a tequila and vodka person. And occasionally gin.

Grease/oil/fat: I hate too much grease and fat. I can’t even stand the taste of fat in milk, hence the love for non-fat milk and yoghurt products.

Salt: Don’t like it. Yes, I can’t avoid it in chips but I rarely add any extra to my meals either.

Cream: I hate it.

Fuzzy Drinks: Can’t stand them. Unless I absolutely have no choice, I stay away from them.  They make my throat hurt and my stomach doesn’t appreciated the “fuzz”.

….

What’s the point in my sharing my eating virtues and sins? Well, we all have good and bad eating habits that shape the way we look.  The list of weaknesses will give you an idea about where you should be cutting back. I probably can’t cut back on chocolate (I just can’t- enroll me if there is such a thing called C.A (Chocolateaholics Anonymous) ) but I can work on eating pizza less, have fewer chips and cocktails are too darn expensive anyway. Or alternatively, we can just eat and then work it out. Nope, I know I can make any nutritionist and diet expert cry…