You Being Beautiful

The age-old expression, "Beauty comes from within" is at the essence of a new book by popular "pop doctor" Dr. Oz. You've seen him on Oprah and now ABC news invites him as a regular guest.

Dr. Oz shares beauty secrets from a medical standpoint but in layman's terms not medical jargon where the individual doesn't just feel enlightened but EMPOWERED.

According to Dr. Oz, it's not Japanese-ironed hair or long legs or the width of your nose that defines beauty. It's the texture of your skin and other below the dermis and non physical approaches that lead to a happier and healthier life.

The doctors take a scientific, informative, and entertaining look at the three levels of beauty and explain how they all work together to form a complete, and authentic YOU.

Those three levels:
Looking Beautiful: Your appearance influences your self-esteem and has major health implications. Here, the docs will tell you how you can look the way you want.
Feeling Beautiful: So what if you have luscious lips or gorgeous locks if your joints creak and you have the energy of a rug? The docs will tell you how to improve your energy levels, beat back your life-altering aches and pains, and help you come to grips with some of life's toughest stresses.
Being Beautiful: By improving your relationships with your loved ones as well as with others, you'll be well on your way to finding true happiness. That's the ultimate goal: Having all three levels of beauty working together so you can have a happy and healthy life.

Order the book now on AMAZON

Beauty Secrets using Coca Cola and Toilet Seat Covers

Ladies, to look beautiful you may not need to race in your stilettos and trip on way to the car in painstaking effort to get to the beauty store. Here are some tips for using household items to tone down your hair or give yourself a new nose.

InStyle magazine's beauty director Amy Synnott-D'Annibale dropped by "Good Morning America" to share some surprising tips such as how to thin out clumpy mascara and tone down brassy hair color with items you might find in your refrigerator.

I love the tip about Coca Cola and will have to try the toilet seat covers as a blotter!

Blotting sheets get expensive!

CLICK HERE to view the video or read the complete article.

Sofia's Closet--Grand Opening

While I may be a single gal with no children, I can't help but gush over clothing and accessories for little girls.

Today I'd like to share the launch of a new e-store created by a friend of a friend--yes two degrees of separation.

Welcome to Sofia's Closet (http://www.sofiascloset.com/). These are customized, handmade dresses for little girls that include pillowcase dresses, sundresses with matching headcover, pouch purses, tutu dresses and so much more! Rifling through this closet I wish I had a little girl. But I'm blessed with a four-legged princess and grace her with Burberry hairbows and other accessories.

Take a peek and you'll fall in love with these designs. If you have something specific in mind, contact Sofia and her mother and they will design your custom princess dress.

Isn't the little girl absolutely beautiful?! Wishing Sofia's Closet much success!

Krysha

The Cosmetic Faceoff

So what cosmetic brands are rolling around in your vanity drawers? Are they all expensive brands from the department store grab-you-while-you're-walking-by -cosmetic counters? Or were you able to dodge the cosmetic vampires before they pelted you with an array of must have these cosmetic palettes and comfortably choose brands at a variety of stores?

Which are better? The super discount no-name brands? The local pharmacy brands? Or the very expensive mall brands?

Well check out this video comparing all three to see which ones lasted longer and which ones were easier to apply. Does price matter in terms of quality? Find out here.

Tell us where you buy your cosmetics and which brands you choose and why! Comment below.

Glamorize Your Summer Look with HATS

This summer, it's all about the hats--wide brim for daytime, cloche (a la 1930's) for a touch of glamour, and canvas hats to accessorize if you don't have the jewelry. It's one or the other.

Here are Christine's picks for this year:

As pictured above, this fedora hat with organiza flower will dress up a more than casual attire or can be worn for a for daytime wedding. If by chance you're headed to a wedding in Europe, especially the UK or Spain, big hats are a must. I learned this lesson the hard way. This beauty is sold at Nordstorm for $118.00.

Next is this Nanette Lepore Jungle Fever Hat that will give you hot flashes when you see the price reduction. Revolveclothing.com has tamed this hat price from $115.00 down to $58.00! With a black tank top, and white linen pants you're off to your own safari.

For different and super cute, check out this Juicy Couture hat "Paisley Terry Malibu" from Bloomindale's for $65.00. Can you imagine the heads turning when you don this hat along with a flowing white sundress? This color is Martinique Pink but it's also available in turquoise blue. Remember this hat is made of terry cloth!

Who said plaid is out? Not in hats! This multiplaid canvas hat comes with the Juicy brand name embroidered on the hat (It's all about the brand name!) with a tassle on the back. Grab this chic summer topper at prd_id=845524446212283&site_refer=AFF001&site_refer=AFF001&siteID=El5K43Naw7A-G8B44HIqhxzcmip9YmWf4Q">Saks Fifth Avenue for $75.00

For maximum sun block and that ultimate summer look, the wide brim hat is always a safe bet. This Juicy Couture wide brimmer comes in a pink, yellow or black band color and retails for $75.00. Visit Bloomingdales for your summer pick.

On the other end of the price spectrum is this lightweight floral cloche reduced to $9.99 at UrbanOutfitters.com. As of now it's available in jade or black. This is perfect for those lazy weekend mornings where you don't have time to fuss with your hair. Just throw on this hat, protect your hair from the sun and voila--you'ree ready to go out and wow your friends in an instant.

Enjoy the summer!

Krysha

Mother's Day Exhibition of Wearable Art

You are invited to a Mother's Day Exhibition this Thursday, May 7, 2009 of wearable art.

Peruse, admire and select your signature piece by fashionable, jewelry artists Alexandra Comin, Carol Haggiag, Sue Bee Q Jewelry and Suhei Ruiz.

Just in time for Mother's Day, you don't want to miss this opportunity to present the mothers in your life with a unique gift. No two pieces are alike so you can be sure your choice will be a truly special gift for your mother, step mother, grandmother, godmother, and mother-in-law. Not sure what type of jewelry she prefers (big and bold or simple elegance?) then present your mother with gift certificate from any of these artists.

In the setting of the trendy and popular Design District of Miami, make it a complete fun-filled evening with shopping and dinner. The Design District is not just home to many inspiring art and one-of-a-kind home decor galleries but it also touts some of Miami's best restaurants.

So mark your calendar for this Thursday evening at the Dot FiftyOne Gallery (diagonally across the street from the Midtown shopping center. The Ross store is the anchor store at the corner). Enjoy the art, jewelry, cocktails, the artists and ambiance for a relaxing but enjoyable evening.

Directions: Take I-95 to 195 EAST toward Miami Beach. Take first exit - Miami Avenue. At light, make right onto Miami Avenue and immediate right onto 36th Street. The gallery is on the right hand side. For Parking, you may park at meters along 36th Street or on Miami Avenue. The Midtown shopping center also has a covered parking garage and the fee is $1 (yes $1) for 1-3 hours.

The Beautiful People's Beauty Book

During my research for book recommendations for my book club, and inspired by the movie "The Devil Wears Prada" where an average girl, played by Ann Hathaway, is transformed into an astonishing beauty, I wanted a beauty book with a story. A story about beauty inside and out.

On Amazon, I came across "The Beautiful People's Beauty Book", a vintage (1971) book written by Luciana Avedon (now Princess Luciana Pignatelli; While the U.S. has a four class system comprising lower, middle, upper class and celebrities, Europe has another class-o-sphere of nobility including dukes/duchesses, princes/princesses, counts/countesses, knights, merlins, etc).

After ordering the book for my own historical knowledge (book was published when I was three toddler years old at the time) and retro curiosity, the book details the cumbersome techniques employed by women of this bell-bottom pants and any- hair style-goes period. It also allays my fear that these women were born strikingly beautiful. Not at all. Cosmetic surgery and household ingredients were the tricks --tried and tested by the most notable socialites.

Luciana enlisted many friends including other princesses and countesses. The only recognizable name in her "list of friends" was Sophia Loren.

Before studying the book, I made a list of ingredients my grandmother used at the same time period for hair or skin--beer, mayonnaise, olive oil, egg whites... Would any of these show up on the 70's European socialite's list? Let's take a look...

On lifestyle and beauty:"If your lifestyle is casual, add a few eyelashes and maybe a hairpiece and forget exotic endeavors." Krysha agrees.

On skincare:"An excellent astringent mask, the rage a few years ago with Paris homosexuals, is this: Take the white of one egg, a teaspoon of the best olive oil, beat, apply for 20 minutes. Remove with a hot face towel, lace trim optional." Krysha will try.

On dieting: discipline which later I learn means starving oneself. Krysha disagrees. 30 years later we know that starving leads to more body fat and less muscled and quick weight gain later.

Luciana also recommends private bedrooms, facial exercises (OK), and walking as part of exercise. Some eyebrow raising recommendations include the prototype for the right kinds of husbands and lovers.

To read more, order the book now on Amazon. I must warn you that the book is out print and there are only a few used editions. The price range is $100 and one is listed for ONE THOUSAND dollars.