Sunday, February 16, 2014



One of top NFL prospects for the 2014/2015 football season Micael Sams Sr. comes out and openly admits he's gay. Some condone and amend him for this and others are bashing him and thinking this action will get in the way of his stock in the draft. Recently his agent has reported that he has a number of endorsement offers since he's made the decision to come out about his sexuality. What do you think about his decision??

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Beauty Tips & Tricks Every Woman Needs to Know

We love good beauty tips, so we’ve rounded up our best get-gorgeous tricks in one spot. Whether you want to learn how to create the perfect wavy hair or brush up on your smoky eye technique, you’ll find beauty tips galore to help you get pretty from head to toe.

How to Get Long Hair ASAP
Pixie cuts, bobs and shoulder length hair can perfectly frame a face, but when it comes time to grow out strands for a new style, the wait can be a long one. Forget marking days off the calendar for a Rapunzel-inspired mane. Read on for how to get long hair, sans extensions.

An Owner’s Guide to Naturally Wavy Hair
If you have naturally wavy hair, then you know that sometimes your texture feels like a curse. Wavy hair isn’t as wash-and-go as straight strands, and lacks the bounce that curls have. But even though getting there may take a little extra work, waves can look shiny and gorgeous…as long as you know how to style them.

101 Ways to Make Your Eyes Pop
All of the tips and tricks you need to know to make your eyes stand out and really pop.

How to Wash Your Hair — the Right Way
You may do it practically every day, but do you really know how to wash your hair the right way? Using the correct techniques can make a world of difference in your hair’s health, bounce, and shine — but if you’re making some common mistakes, you could be damaging your strands without even knowing it.

The Right Bangs for Your Face Shape
We’ve all seen our favorite celebrities rocking some serious bangs on the red carpet and on magazine covers. But becoming a fringe convert means finding the right style of bangs for your face shape, and for your lifestyle.

The 5 Rules of Luscious Lashes
Long, luscious lashes — those are a year-round necessity. Follow these five rules to get perfect eyelashes without having to revert to time-consuming falsies or expensive extensions.

Follow These Three Steps for a Perfect Ponytail Every Time
Because it’s a style we wear almost daily, we never get tired of learning tips to perfect the ponytail. Here are Rodney Cutler’s tips for getting it right, every time.

101 Beauty Tips for Girls
In the world of beauty, there are endless tips and rules to keep you looking fabulous. We break down all those tips to make the industry less scary—from makeup artists, hairstylists, skincare gurus and of course, our beauty staff.

5 Ways to Make Hair Look Gorgeous (Not Greasy) Between Shampoos
Your hairstylist wants you to stop shampooing every day, but who is she kidding? Luckily, there are solutions to transform every hair type from sad and unwashed to perfectly gorgeous—without starting from scratch.

The Secret to Getting a Great Top Knot
Top knots are our favorite go-to hairstyle on days when we don’t have time to go the heated styling route. The style is also helpful when you want to hide the fact that you haven’t washed your hair in, oh, a week. Here’s the trick to getting it right.

DIY Recipes for Hair Masks
Sometimes the best hair treatments aren’t in the beauty aisle, but in the pantry. Here are some of the best DIY recipes for hair masks that you can mix up in your kitchen.

Curly Hair Tips to Help You Love Your Texture
If you have wavy or curly hair, you know that achieving your best texture isn’t wash-and-go. Ringlets require careful styling that straight haired people just don’t understand. To make the most of your curly hair, try these tips we’ve picked up from top stylists.

What Really Works for Crows Feet, Dark Circles, and More
We all covet bright, wide-awake eyes, but genes and life’s late nights don’t always cooperate. Not sure if your eye cream is working? Find out here.

Hair Mistakes That Make You Look Older
Heavy bangs, straight hair, and other common looks can actually make you look older. Check out the worst offenders—and how to avoid them.

How to Supersize Your Hair
If you have the type of fine hair that falls flat after a few hours and won’t hold a curl, humid weather can leave your style looking deflated (cue the sad trombone). Try these tricks for every styling stage for volume that lasts through anything — even sauna-like heat and humidity.

How Often Should You Wash Your Hair? We Asked the Experts.
You’ve been doing it for ages, but do you really know how often you should wash your hair? The answer might surprise you.

Experts Spill on How to Braid Your Hair Even Better
Even after watching tons of video tutorials, we admit we still aren’t really braiding ninjas. So we turned to the experts to answer some of our most pressing questions about creating amazing braids. Read on for their genius tips to make braiding way easier.

Fix Chipped Nail Polish (Like a Lazy Beauty Editor)
Accidentally ruined your mani? Don’t stress—there’s a two-minute fix that camouflages chips without having to start a whole new manicure from scratch.

Shorten Heat Styling Time for Your Hair
Sometimes, you just don’t feel like drying or flat-ironing your hair, but no-heat hairstyles just won’t cut it. Celebrity hairstylist Josue Perez walked us through some easy tips to shorten our heat-styling time.

How to Get Rid of Blackheads
Everything you need to know about how to get rid of blackheads, once and for all.

7 Ways to Get Beach Waves
Whether you have naturally wavy or super-straight hair, getting beachy waves is easier than you think.

Tricks to Disguise Thinning Hair
The issue of women’s thinning hair is finally getting the attention it deserves. Whether your hair thins as you age or you experience thinning your 20s, there are simple cuts, coloring techniques and styling tricks that can disguise sparse strands.

The 5 Rules of Heat Styling Your Hair
Hair stylist Anna Jackson, who works at the Maxine Salon in Chicago, says there can be a compromise when it comes to having hair that’s both healthy and styled, as long as you follow these rules.

How to Care for Wavy and Curly Hair
What most people who don’t have curly hair don’t understand about it is the amount of work involved. There’s nothing prettier than a mop of bouncy, perfectly defined ringlets, but getting curly hair to look gorgeous on a daily basis takes dedication.

4 Tricks to Prevent Split Ends
There are some simple changes you can make to your hair routine to prevent split ends. (Thank God.)

Apply Mascara First, and More Backwards Makeup Tricks That Actually Work
One major makeup artist swears by switching up the order of almost every product that goes on your face, and when we first heard his tips, they kind of blew our minds.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Highlights for Hair
Thinking of going lighter with your locks? Highlights can bring out your bone structure and make hair shimmer in the sun, but go the wrong route and the look can turn stripy or brassy, quick. We asked colorist Kyle White of Oscar Blandi Salon in New York to spell out the do’s and don’ts of highlights for hair.

How to Prevent Frizzy Hair
Humidity doesn’t have to be a death sentence for your blowout. To find out the secret to frizz-free, silky smooth hair, we caught up with two stylists who provided expert advice, from long-lasting treatments to styling tricks and must-have products.

101 Hair Ideas to Try When You’re Bored With Your Look
Can’t figure out what you want to do with your hair today, next week or next month? Start with this mega helpful list of styles, tricks and techniques you may have never considered before.

How to Care for Your Red Hair
We have two reservations about taking the plunge for red hair: the commitment and maintenance that comes with it. Here are some tricks to make the transition easier from a celebrity stylist.

3 Tips to Make Your Hair Look Good in Pictures
A recent poll by hair care line Joico found that 69 percent of women report having a “hair fail” that has ruined a photo. To make sure you’re not one of them, learn how to make your hair look good in pictures with these tips from a celebrity hairstylist.

10 Things Every Woman Needs in Her Makeup Wardrobe
Style gurus who preach the gospel of closet staples are right: The perfect trench, a well-fitting pair of jeans and a little black dress pull together a wardrobe like magic. Naturally, the same principle works for your makeup bag.

This 10-Second Makeup Trick Lifts Your Face
Recently, we asked Amanda Bell, a makeup artist for Pixi Beauty, to show us some of her best tricks for creating subtle contours on the face — and she dropped this gem on us.

6 Tricks for Flawless Foundation
At an event for editors, celebrity makeup artist Troy Jensen dropped so much foundation knowledge that even we (who have written about 5,000 articles on the topic over the course of a lifetime) learned a few surprising tricks.

8 Makeup Tricks to Slim Your Face
If you’ve ever seen celebrities without makeup look unrecognizable, then you know how transformative certain techniques can be. These easy makeup tricks can take 10 pounds off your look, instantly — they’re optical illusions!

The Best Eyebrow Shapes to Flatter Your Face
We asked a celebrity eyebrow stylist to break down the best brows for a range of different face shapes, so you can find your own golden arches.

10 Fashion Week Beauty Tricks That Will Blow You Away
Our favorite part of Fashion Week is learning all the brilliant new tricks that we’d never have picked up elsewhere. Here, we’ve distilled our top 10 tips that you can use right now in your own beauty routine.

The Best Makeup for Blue Eyes
Blue eyes are a beautiful feature, but if you’re not wearing the right makeup shades, you risk having those baby blues go completely unnoticed. Samantha Chapman of Pixiwoo told us which colors look best on blue eyes, and here’s a hint: avoid blue shades.

3 Smart Tips for Wearing Glitter Eye Shadow
Backstage at the Jason Wu show, makeup artist Diane Kendal for Lancôme shared a few of her expert tips for pulling off the look in real life.

5 Timeless Makeup Tricks Every Woman Should Master
Fads come and go, but there are some bankable beauty secrets every woman should master. Take your beauty regimen to a whole new level of refinement and precision with my timeless beauty checklist.

How to Apply Bronzer the Right Way
When applying bronzer, you need the perfect touch — too little and you don’t get the desired sun-kissed glow. Brush on too much and you can end up looking orange.

Pull Off Dark Lipstick Like a Pro
Dark lipstick becomes so omnipresent every fall that it’s hard to call it a trend; it’s more of a seasonal staple, like a leather jacket or a new pair of jeans.

Make Thin Lips Look Fuller
Leave the lip injections to The Real Housewives. There are much easier ways to make thin lips look fuller, like these subtle makeup tricks that plump your pout instantly.

Makeup Tips for Girls With Glasses
we asked Nick Barose, the celebrity makeup artist behind Rashida Jones’ look, for his tips to keep in mind when working with a framed face.

How to Find the Best Blush for Your Skin Tone
Pink blush was always the norm, but now that both red and peach are becoming staples, you may be tempted to give those a try, too. But can you pull off every shade? Here’s how to find your most flattering cheek color.

The Best Eye Makeup for Your Eye Shape
Makeup can completely change the shape of your eyes, but it’s a two-way street. If you know the right techniques, you can make your eyes look bigger and more lifted, but a makeup misstep can close off your eyes in an unflattering way.

Get Fuller Brows With These Tips
For most of us, big, bold brows are but a dream. Whether it’s genetics or too much tweezing in the past, our wimpy little arches could use a boost. Thankfully, in this day and age we have tons of options for getting fuller-looking eyebrows.

Get an Instant Face Lift With These Makeup Tips
You can use all of the contouring serums and anti-aging moisturizers you want, but if it’s instant results you’re seeking, then makeup is the key to looking younger.

How to Clean Your Makeup Brushes
Because makeup, bacteria, oil and dirt get stuck in the bristles of your makeup brushes, it’s essential to give them a little TLC so you don’t end up with clogged pores and — yikes — even breakouts. Here’s a little cheat sheet to makeup brush maintenance.

The 5 Rules of Covering Dark Circles
Sometimes you can do everything right (drink enough water, get enough sleep), but when you look in the mirror, dark circles still stare back at you. Here are the best ways to camouflage them.

7 New Makeup Techniques to Try
After years and years of applying my own makeup, I still wouldn’t call myself an artist. Most of the time I’m not even confident that I’m doing it correctly, so I’m more than happy to try out a new technique when it’s recommended to me.

20 Genius Beauty Tips for Brides
To help you look your most beautiful on the big day, we’ve compiled these 20 essential beauty tips from top hair and makeup pros.

101 1-Minute Makeovers
A new look doesn’t always have to mean making a drastic change or spending the day in a colorist’s chair. These easy little tweaks will help you look brighter and renewed in 60 seconds flat.

The 5 Rules of Natural-Looking Foundation
There’s nothing more beautiful than a flawless complexion, but foundation can be one of the trickiest makeup products to apply. These easy rules let you fake perfect skin.

Makeup Tricks to Make You Look Less Tired
It turns out a lot of women are getting their makeup wrong, which results in a less-than-fresh complexion. Here are some of the most common mistakes.

How to Use Concealer to Cover Up a Zit and More
Grab your makeup bag and read on to learn how to use concealer to cover up (almost) anything.

Makeup Mistakes That Make You Look Older
From blush to too much foundation, there are eight major makeup mistakes that can add years to your face.

Bad Hair Day Fixes for Your Worst Beauty Emergencies
When a bad hair day rears its ugly head, it tends to permeate everything: suddenly, you’re in a foul mood and nothing seems to go your way. Try these tips to resurrect your style — and if all else fails, tie on a headscarf and call it a day (a good one, hopefully!).

The 8 Brushes You Need in Your Makeup Bag
Using the right tools really can make a difference, even in the hands of amateurs, and can help anyone get a polished look that makes the most of both their features AND their fave products.

How to Prevent Dry Skin Before the Cold Kicks In
If you’re anything like us, the falling humidity levels and indoor heating leave your skin more parched than the dead leaves littering the ground. But it doesn’t have to be that way; here are five ways to stop dry skin this season before the itch sets in.

28 Tips for Clear Skin in Less Than a Month
After trying our fair share of products that promise to transform our skin overnight, we know the disappointment that inevitably follows. Instead of looking for a miracle product, try making these small changes each day to get glowing skin in less than a month.

How to Get Rid of Acne Overnight
Need to get rid of acne overnight? It’s definitely possible with these beauty tricks.

Ways to Exfoliate for Smoother, Softer Skin
Here’s how to exfoliate your unique skin type for smoother, softer skin that (yes!) needs less makeup.

The 5 Rules of Clear Skin
A flawless face is something we all search for, whether it’s at the bottom of a face cream jar or in the the DIY acne masks we see on Pinterest. I wanted to hear what dermatologist Dendy Engelman, MD considered the most important steps to clear skin.

How to Apply Eye Cream, the Right Way
Eye cream is an important step in any skin care routine. Creams can help reduce puffiness, lighten dark circles and make the face look generally more awake and youthful. But if you’re applying eye cream incorrectly, then you might be doing more harm than good.

 

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Facts on Glutes

These are glute raises. When your glutes are weak the top of your pelvis tilts forward. Which can put stress on your lower back, and cause your belly to stick out no matter your fitness level. Try doing 4 sets of 12 to 15 on leg day and you should see results in your lower back and buttocks area.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Why you should crazy about cranberries

Drink cranberry juice. Cranberries contain a substance that appears to keep bacteria from sticking to the walls of the urinary tract and had been shown to help prevent UTIs. Because cranberry cocktail is high in sugar, drink unsweetened juice diluted with water or capsules of powdered cranberry extract.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

8 Health Benefits of Honey That Will Have You Buzzing

Honey is one of the most versatile natural remedies used in traditional medicine. In ancient times this ‘liquid gold’ was effectively used to treat anaemia, skin diseases (injuries, eczema and dermatitis), tuberculosis, heart diseases, neuroses, gastro-intestinal diseases, liver disorders, coughs and sore throat. It is a great source of energy and a reliable immune booster as well.

During the Jewish New Year, it's traditional to eat honey to toast to a sweet New Year. Honey has all kinds, myths, facts, and benefits. It's also known as one of the best natural remedies. So here's a few we've came across recently.

Immune booster: Honey’s antioxidant and anti-bacterial properties can help your immune system defend you against illness, including the common cold.

Weight loss aid: Honey may help dieters lose weight when used in moderation as a replacement for other sweeteners. Keep in mind that one tablespoon of honey has about 63 calories, so use it in moderation.

Digestion Aid: Honey is a popular home remedy (though the science behind this isn’t conclusive) for all kinds of digestive problems, including constipation and ulcers. For a homemade digestion aid, try tea with honey and lemon.

Cold remedy: Many people swear by honey’s cold and throat-soothing properties. Add honey to tea or hot water with lemon for an instant throat soother.

Anti-Inflammatory agent: In a 2005 study, topical application of honey was found to reduce mucositis, or inflammation of the digestive tract, in 85 percent of patients studied. A drink made from honey and apple cider vinegar is popularly used as a home remedy for arthritic pain or joint inflammation.

Anti-bacterial treatment: Honey has long been used as a topical anti-bacterial treatment for minor cuts, burns, and scrapes. Although the scientific community is still undecided about how effective this treatment is, preliminary data suggests that honey, applied in bulk to a wound, may indeed help prevent infection.

Skin soother: Honey is a popular ingredient, along with beeswax, in natural lotions and lip balms. Its antimicrobial properties are thought to make it a good choice as a home acne treatment. Combine honey with warm water and oatmeal for an all-natural skin scrub.

Energy booster: Honey, like all sugars, can provide a temporary energy boost and spike in blood glucose, and it’s a healthier option than many sugar substitutes. Research shows that diabetics can eat limited amounts of honey, too, provided they’re closely monitoring blood sugar levels.

Monday, November 18, 2013

6 Great benefits of water

By

Americans seem to carry bottled water everywhere they go these days. In fact, it has become the second most popular drink (behind soft drinks). But water lovers got a jolt recently when we heard that a new report had found that the benefits of drinking water may have been oversold. Apparently, the old suggestion to drink eight glasses a day was nothing more than a guideline, not based on scientific evidence.
But don't put your water bottle or glass down just yet. While we may not need eight glasses, there are plenty of reasons to drink water. In fact, drinking water (either plain or in the form of other fluids or foods) is essential to your health.
"Think of water as a nutrient your body needs that is present in liquids, plain water, and foods. All of these are essential daily to replace the large amounts of water lost each day," says Joan Koelemay, RD, dietitian for the Beverage Institute, an industry group.
Kaiser Permanente nephrologist Steven Guest, MD, agrees: "Fluid losses occur continuously, from skin evaporation, breathing, urine, and stool, and these losses must be replaced daily for good health," he says.
When your water intake does not equal your output, you can become dehydrated. Fluid losses are accentuated in warmer climates, during strenuous exercise, in high altitudes, and in older adults, whose sense of thirst may not be as sharp.
Here are six reasons to make sure you're drinking enough water or other fluids every day:
 
1. Drinking Water Helps Maintain the Balance of Body Fluids.
Your body is composed of about 60% water. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature.
"Through the posterior pituitary gland, your brain communicates with your kidneys and tells it how much water to excrete as urine or hold onto for reserves," says Guest, who is also an adjunct professor of medicine at Stanford University.
When you're low on fluids, the brain triggers the body's thirst mechanism. And unless you are taking medications that make you thirsty, Guest says, you should listen to those cues and get yourself a drink of water, juice, milk, coffee -- anything but alcohol.
"Alcohol interferes with the brain and kidney communication and causes excess excretion of fluids which can then lead to dehydration," he says.
 
2. Water Can Help Control Calories.
For years, dieters have been drinking lots of water as a weight loss strategy. While water doesn't have any magical effect on weight loss, substituting it for higher calorie beverages can certainly help.
"What works with weight loss is if you choose water or a non-caloric beverage over a caloric beverage and/or eat a diet higher in water-rich foods that are healthier, more filling, and help you trim calorie intake," says Penn State researcher Barbara Rolls, PhD.

3. Water Helps Energize Muscles.
Cells that don't maintain their balance of fluids and electrolytes shrivel, which can result in muscle fatigue. "When muscle cells don't have adequate fluids, they don't work as well and performance can suffer," says Guest.
Drinking enough fluids is important when exercising. Follow the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines for fluid intake before and during physical activity. These guidelines recommend that people drink about 17 ounces of fluid about two hours before exercise. During exercise, they recommend that people start drinking fluids early, and drink them at regular intervals to replace fluids lost by sweating.
 
4. Water Helps Keep Skin Looking Good.
Your skin contains plenty of water, and functions as a protective barrier to prevent excess fluid loss. But don't expect over-hydration to erase wrinkles or fine lines, says Atlanta dermatologist Kenneth Ellner, MD.
"Dehydration makes your skin look more dry and wrinkled, which can be improved with proper hydration," he says. "But once you are adequately hydrated, the kidneys take over and excrete excess fluids."
You can also help "lock" moisture into your skin by using moisturizer, which creates a physical barrier to keep moisture in.
 
5. Water Helps Your Kidneys. Body fluids transport waste products in and out of cells. The main toxin in the body is blood urea nitrogen, a water-soluble waste that is able to pass through the kidneys to be excreted in the urine, explains Guest. "Your kidneys do an amazing job of cleansing and ridding your body of toxins as long as your intake of fluids is adequate," he says.
When you're getting enough fluids, urine flows freely, is light in color and free of odor. When your body is not getting enough fluids, urine concentration, color, and odor increases because the kidneys trap extra fluid for bodily functions.
If you chronically drink too little, you may be at higher risk for kidney stones, especially in warm climates, Guest warns.
 
6. Water Helps Maintain Normal Bowel Function.
Adequate hydration keeps things flowing along your gastrointestinal tract and prevents constipation. When you don't get enough fluid, the colon pulls water from stools to maintain hydration -- and the result is constipation.
"Adequate fluid and fiber is the perfect combination, because the fluid pumps up the fiber and acts like a broom to keep your bowel functioning properly," says Koelemay.

5 Tips to Help You Drink More

If you think you need to be drinking more, here are some tips to increase your fluid intake and reap the benefits of water:
  1. Have a beverage with every snack and meal.
  2. Choose beverages you enjoy; you're likely to drink more liquids if you like the way they taste.
  3. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Their high water content will add to your hydration. About 20% of our fluid intake comes from foods.
  4. Keep a bottle of water with you in your car, at your desk, or in your bag.
  5. Choose beverages that meet your individual needs. If you're watching calories, go for non-caloric beverages or water.
 
 
 

Saturday, November 16, 2013

30 day ab challenge, won't hurt to try it

Take the 30 Day Ab Challenge Today!

Get your body in shape and tone up your abs and stomach area with this great 30 day ab challenge workout.

With only 4 different exercises to perform, which can be done in your own home without the need for specialist equipment, you can tone up and get great abs in only 30 days.

You can find great simple step by step guides on how to do all the exercises in this 30 day ab challenge via our fitness techniques page to ensure you complete the challenge correctly and get the maximum benefit.

This 30 day regime even gives you rest days to ensure that you can recover and let your body adjust to the exercises, and avoid any injuries.

You do not have to complete all the exercises in one go, you can split the exercises up throughout the day without missing out on the overall benefits.

Please post your progress, comments and questions below to help build up the community.

The challenge has been designed so that novices and experts can do this challenge, with the number on the chart representing doing 1 rep of each exercise only per day, however if you think this is too easy then you can do as many reps of each exercise per day as you wish to get the desired results.  The fitter you are to start with the more reps we recommend, however if you are just starting out we recommend following the challenge charts as they are!

Take up the 30 day ab challenge today!!
Get ready for some work!!