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Does Your Makeup Talk to You?

GeekSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:36:41 -0800

Every once in a while, I run across a gadget I'm not sure is kind of useful or just plain odd. Like cosmetic company Stila's geeky makeup case, which was featured on BellaSugar. Part makeup case, part portable speakers, the Makeup Player ($70) even comes with cosmetics inside.

Download instructional videos from stilabeautytube, plug your iPod (or any video-playing MP3 player) into the case below the mirror, and watch instructional makeup videos from a professional makeup artist as you try the tricks for yourself.

It seems a little gimmicky to me, but I could see the appeal, especially if you're trying to learn some new tricks. Would you use this case?

Très Bizarre: Plastic Surgeon Sculpts His Perfect Bride

TresSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:15:00 -0800

This story is très bizarre and très depressing. When plastic surgeon Reza Vossough met his future bride Cany, he identified a few areas for improvement - specifically, her chest, thighs, eyes, lips, butt, stomach, and forehead. Lucky for Reza, once he and Cany got married he performed eight procedures that would turn his 33-year-old wife into his "perfect woman."

Speaking about his work, Reza said: "It's almost like being God - you have the ability to change nature." No promise that it will look natural, however. And don't feel too bad for Cany. She seems pretty happy, explaining that when you marry a plastic surgeon, "the scalpel is your friend."

I guess the old adage that you can never really change someone isn't true in this case.

10 Funny Retro Beauty Ads

BellaSugar — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:00:02 -0700

Advertising hasn't always been the sophisticated psychological exercise it is today. It took decades of focus-grouping to find out what really works, and decades more to convince ad execs that women didn't respond well to being openly told their intolerable body/breath stank was keeping them from snagging a husband. You may not like some modern marketing strategies aimed at women, but click through here and have a laugh at some truly ridiculous old sales pitches.

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Do Tell: Has Anyone Said Something About Your Looks You Never Got Over?

TresSugar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:15:00 -0700

A former British Elle editor talks in the Daily Mail today about a passing comment her mother made to her at age 10 that colored the way she saw her body for the rest of her life.

When Sally Brampton was 10 years old, her mother showed her a photo of herself in a bathing suit and said, "I think you're getting a bit chubby." From that point on, Brampton would battle with a body that, although "perfect" by the prevailing cultural standards, always seemed too big to her.

Many of us have experienced a comment about our looks that stung. Although we may not have developed eating disorders or issues about the way we look, given that women are told that our looks are of paramount importance to our acceptance, we probably never forgot the comment or how it made us feel.

Has anyone ever said something about your looks you never got over? What do you think about when you remember it?

Say What? The Brits Know the Truth About Beauty

TresSugar — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 07:00:00 -0700

“The English at heart know that beauty is a cheat; it is an unfair advantage, a distraction from the real qualities that you want in a girl: the ability to fry a breakfast with a hangover, have sex in the rain without complaining, flatten an intruder with a left hook, sink a pint, tell a joke, take a joke, be a brick, be a mate, be a mum."

- Reporting from the south of France, British columnist AA Gill explains that while French women might have the chic, unattainable beauty thing down, English women know that a free spirit is a beautiful thing, too. Perhaps the male writer's extensive musings on the differences between women is just another way to say beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

It's Complicated: How Women Determine Facial Attractiveness

TresSugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:00:00 -0700

It's no surprise that how women determine facial attractiveness is complicated. Unlike many men who may give a woman's body a once-over, and then look at her face, deeming her attractive or unattractive, women, when checking out a man's face, tend to evaluate it on two levels, according to a study that was just published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

The first level women use to evaluate men's faces is sexual: they zero in on features like the jawbone, cheekbones, and lips. Then, they look at the entire face for how pleasing the overall aesthetics of the face are.

Researchers set out to prove this dual-process theory by asking two groups of 50 heterosexual women to look at pictures of men's and women's faces.

The first group was given pictures of men and women and told that some of them would be hypothetical dates (sexual) and others hypothetical lab partners (aesthetic). They rated them as attractive accordingly.

For the second group of straight women, they were given the same images, but the faces were split in two with the upper and lower halves shifted in opposite directions. Even with the opportunity to view female faces sexually (that is, feature by feature), the women still rated the attractiveness of female faces aesthetically, and their ratings correlated with the hypothetical lab partner ratings of the first group. When images of men's faces were split in two, however, their rating's correlated with the hypothetical date of the first group, that is, sexually.

The next stop for researchers? Figuring out how cultural differences and hormones play a role in the mechanics of female sexual attraction.

Source

Glamour Magazine's November Issue: Plus-Sized Beauties

TresSugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:00:00 -0700

Glamour magazine learned that it pays to feature so-called plus-sized models in addition to the typical size 0 variety in their pages. (I say so-called because these women look pretty average sized to me!)

They got so many positive reader responses from their nude picture of model Lizzie Miller (sporting a little familiar-looking-to-most women pooch) that they've decided they're going to feature Miller and other curvy models like Crystal Renn, Kate Dillon, and Amy Lemons (shown above) in their November issue. They, too, will be in their birthday suits.

Are you looking forward to this issue?

What's Your Best Mommy Beauty Secret?

babysugar — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 05:00:32 -0700

Miss Piggy never let anything or anyone keep her from getting her beauty sleep. While it's tough to seriously take advice from a pig, we can't deny sleep its power as a natural enhancer. Unfortunately for many mamas, they don't saw as many logs as they'd like. Tricking others into believing they do rest well, mums employ a few tactics that will keep friends thinking she just spent a weekend at the spa. I try to make up for the loss with Ponds Cream around the eyes and when that doesn't work - sunglasses! Sleep masks, vitamins, water, sugarless diets and antioxidants are well known beauty tricks that many ladies use to pull off that refreshed and well rested look.

What's your best beauty secret?

Do You Steal Beauty Products From Your Baby?

LilSugar — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:00:27 -0700

Our girl Bella may not have a baby, but that doesn't stop her from buying goodies from the kiddie aisle. She says it saves her a couple of bucks on beauty treatments, but lots of moms are guilty of borrowing an item or two from their tots. Baby wipes are great stain removers, mild detergents work wonders on hand wash adult apparel and calendula cream cures even mommy's skin issues. Tell us from gummy vitamins to fuel a tired parent to fine tooth combs for the perfect part, what do you use from your child's closet or medicine cabinet?

Oh Snap! Venezuela Rules the Universe

TresSugar — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Miss Venezuela Stefania Fernandez was crowned Miss Universe 2009 last night at the Miss Universe pageant. The Donald Trump-led franchise, which has been televised since 1955, definitely gets a lot of attention for bringing together the world's "most beautiful" women (read: tall, thin, great bathing suit body). Despite the objectifying nature of beauty pageants, they don't seem to be going anywhere soon. How do you feel about these contests?

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