This gorgeous ball of fire can cause real damage

It’s that time of year … The sun is staying out later, the weather has the first hint of balmy warmness, and winter clothes are officially packed away.

What that means for your skin is something a bit different: longer exposure to more direct sunlight, meaning that unless you take the proper precautions, you’re putting your birthday suit at risk of everything from premature aging to skin cancer.  Just make sure you grab the right product – after all, not all sunscreen is created equal.

But with a suncare aisle packed with competing bottles, confusing marketing messages and a number system that just doesn’t make sense, how do you know what to grab?  Your cheat sheet after the jump.

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Women have a complex relationship with hair.  We’re obsessed with our “crowning glory,” and will spend large sums of money to get the hair we want.  In fact, hair care garners the largest percent of beauty editorial coverage in the pages of women’s magazines – beating even skincare and cosmetics.

So how do you deal when your pride and joy starts coming out in clumps?  Female hair loss happens, and the causes range from the natural thinning that comes with age to alopecia areata (a condition in which the body attacks the hair follicles).  It’s a surprisingly hard reality to accept, but there are some simple techniques you can use to make your mane look thicker.

One quick tip: take some “before” shots of your hair with your camera or cell phone, then take some “afters” at least three months later.  You’ll be pleasently surprised.

Embrace Niacin-based Hair Products
Niacin is a B-vitamin which has the ability to dilate blood vessels, enhancing the scalp’s circulation. Because of this, it is actually capable of stimulating the activity of hair follicles, improving hair growth. Possibly the most famous niacin-based brand is Nioxin, a line of hair products that includes everything from shampoo and conditioner to more in-depth treatments.  It’s not the sexiest hair care brand around, but it’s been proven to work in as a little as 12 weeks.

The Nioxin Collection

While it’s the most well-known brand out there, Nioxin isn’t the only niacin-based line for thinning locks. Hair guru Frederic Fekkai has his MORE line, a a four step system that nourishes thin hair and troubled hair follicles. It contains a patented Niaplex technology which basically releases essential doses of niacin to your hair each day. With continuous use, after just 90 days, your hair will seem thicker, stronger and fuller!

Fekkai's MORE collection

More tips after the jump …

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Anthony Foaming Hair and Body Wash

When it comes to men’s products, one line I really love (and have reviewed before) is Anthony Logistics for Men.  Well, the brand has given me one additional reason to respect it (above and beyond their award-winning products): 100 percent of the profits from the gentle Anthony For Little Men Foaming Hair and Body Wash (created to commemorate the birth of founder Anthony Sosnick’s twin sons) through the end of May will be donated to the Hope For Kai fund.

Look, I’ll just put it this way: I’ve worked with a lot of brands, and many have run charitable programs before.  The “charitable” aspect is really the last thing the brands want to be involved in – despite the hype around their “giving,” they always cap the total amount they’ll give, or will put a limit on the amount of cash-per-product (I’ve seen it as low as five cents!).  Anthony isn’t doing that – while there is an understandable time limit, the monetary limit they’re providing is limited only by the amount of people who buy the Anthony Foaming Hair and Body Wash.

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Being as Earth Day is later this week, I thought I’d talk about green shopping.  Yes, I’m aware of the irony.  How are we talking about green shopping when the greenest thing we could possibly do would be to not shop?  Reduce, reuse, recycle, emphasis on the reduce.  No matter how green a product may be or how diligently you recycle, nothing can beat not buying it in the first place for minimizing your impact.  Realistically, though, our consumer lifestyles are not going to screech to a halt any time soon, and no matter how conscientious you are about reducing, periodically you’re going to need some new lipstick or replacement clothing.

That being the case, I am all for supporting companies who are trying to reduce their environmental impact.  Sure, it’s not no-impact, but every little bit helps. Voting with your wallet may be a cliche, but it works. Shouldn’t every company be doing this?  So, in honor of Earth Day, here are a few places to hook you up with eco-conscious goods to fuel your green lifestyle.

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If you’ve been around this blog long enough, you’ve probably seen me reference my never ending diet (and if you want an update, here it is: I apparently have plateaued just two pounds away from my goal.  OH COME ON!).  Anyhow, the point is that I’m spending a LOT of time in the gym.  And it’s getting really old, especially now that the temperature is starting to creep up.

So what’s a girl to do?  Luckily, science has already answered that question for us – there are a wealth of products out there to help me fake the last few pounds of progress (until the plateau breaks):

Trimming Down Inches

Rodial Tummy Tuck

• Rodial Tummy Tuck – This is my secret weapon (and I’m not alone in my love for this – after being featured on The Rachel Ray Show on March 6, 2009, Tummy Tuck sold out almost instantly. Don’t despair – Beauty.com has a waiting list for customers desperate to try it), a product made specifically for my problem area: the belly.  This fig-scented gel helps to break down fat cells, while neuro-peptide boosts cell metabolism by stimulating a cell reaction similar to the body’s natural response to exercising).  Microfibers condense cells, providing an immediate tightening effect.  The best?  This is clinically proven to reduce the abdominal area by up to one inch in just eight weeks.  Join the wait list for the $130 product at Beauty.com.

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The Good Guys

Ah, the sun.  My trip to St. Lucia was the reason I spent the last 2 months going to the tanning salon.  The first month I only went once a week for 10 minutes, I bumped it up to 12 minutes by the second month.  Growing up in Southern California I was taught to abhor the “fake and bake” in favor of the real thing.  That’s all well and good when the “real thing” happens most months of the year.  However, desperate times call for desperate measures.  Let me insert here that I am well aware of the dangers of tanning. I am also keenly conscious of the “first burn of the summer” phenomenon.   For those of you unaware of this event, it is the belief that one must get an initial, all body burn, in order to tan the rest of the summer.  Don’t ask me why, it was just a commonly accepted fact growing up on the beaches of So Cal.  So, thinking that a Caribbean “first burn” would be worse than a few months getting my skin used to fake rays, I chose the latter.  Having only done carry-on luggage for our flights, we were unable to bring large amounts of sun screen and figured we would just buy it at the resort…which we did… for $17 dollars a can.  I picked a Banana Boat dry oil aerosol spray (this was something new I hadn’t seen before) in SPF 8.  I have to admit that buying SPF 8 is a new thing to me.  My entire life I’ve been a 6 kind of girl, but, being told that the Caribbean sun is hotter, I chose a higher SPF.  The aerosol can was terrific.  I could easily spray my back and it was easy to rub in.  I did, however, use Neutrogena’s Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock SPF 30 on my face (which luckily fell just under 3oz and thus was able to make the journey with me).  After all, one must protect oneself from wrinkles.  The Banana Boat ran out after two days.  On the third day I decided to buy a local brand ($10 vice $17), and an SPF 15 at that!  I did this mostly to make my husband happy who frowned every time I sprayed my SPF 8 on.  Never has that old phrase “you get what you pay for” been more accurate.  The Banana Boat 8 was great!  It wasn’t oily, it went on evenly, and I never burned; just tanned after spending all day in the sun!  The local brand 15, however… Not so great.  It left a bizarre white film all over me and after two hours I was burned to a crisp.  Me = not happy.  I ended up retiring to the room early and proceeded to spend the next 18 hours rubbing aloe vera gel all over.  Grrr…. My lesson learned?  Spend the extra dollars on a name brand that you recognize, it just may save your skin…

And the winner of our first-ever beauty give away is … read more »

Eva Herzigova

Following in the footsteps of Jamie Lee Curtis and Brad Pitt, Elle France has pulled together a bevy of natural beauties (including Monica Bellucci, Sophie Marceau, Eva Herzigova, Inès de la Fressange, Anne Parillaud, Karin Viard, Charlotte Rampling and Chiara Mastroianni) for a photo shoot by the esteemed photographer Peter Lindbergh.

I’ll be honest – while the women look amazing, I’m having a very hard time embracing the magazine’s stunt.  These shots are a testament to the fact that a highly stylized photo shoot (which includes an army of fashion stylists, makeup artists, hair stylists, nail technicians, lighting specialists, a skilled photographer and multiple assistants for each person) can hide just as much as any photoshop session can.

Each model is perfectly coiffed, wearing immaculately fitted clothes (ingeniously chosen to give the appearance of “I just threw this on), perfectly groomed (while no makeup was applied, you better bet that artist was busy plucking eyebrows, trimming them, maybe applying a very light highlighter to certain bones), expertly lit and – of course – brilliantly shot.  Not to mention the models’ own genetic advantage: a perfectly photogenic bone structure.

Gorgeous images, yes.  True life shots, as they’re being sold?  No way – unless I’m the only woman on earth without her personal army of groomers.

More gorgeous shots after the jump.

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Military man shaving during WWII (no, this is not my father, whom I reference below)

Believe it or not, I’m pretty sure that my love of grooming and beauty comes not from my mother but from my father. Dad admittedly had a functional view of personal care, but he was also a military man – his day was filled with little rituals, a fact that certainly included his grooming habits.

I grew up watching his shaving routine (which included an old school brush, rather than a can of foam; when questioned by a young Lily as to why he used the brush, he actually dropped the word “exfoliation” into the explanation.  The man knows his ish), and knowing that his appointments at the barber were as regular as clockwork.  He had his go-to cologne and toothpaste, which he still uses.

Because of this upbringing (and my own fascination with/career in beauty), I find it very disconcerting when men don’t take pride in their appearance.  And, frankly, there’s very good reason for men to care enough to have their own stash of products – after all, male skin is different from that of their female friends.  Here are a few stats:

• Male skin is 20 percent thicker than women’s
• It’s richer in collagen and elastin, which means that it’s firmer and has fewer deep-set wrinkles and folds
• Men have more active sebaceous glands (meaning that they produce more sebum, oil and sweat), have larger pores and and a richer blood supply that translates to a ruddier complexion
• Shaving removes the top layer of skin, which means that facial products designed for use after shaving need to be very calming and soothing

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As I mentioned earlier, the Spring holiday season has us all cheery and happy.  So happy, in fact, that we’ve decided to put together our first ever Spring Beauty Giveaway!

List of the goodies (as well as a picture) and rules for entry after the jump.

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