There are very few girls out there who don’t like to feel pampered occasionally. Whether it’s getting highlights at a fancy salon or doing an at-home pedicure, we all deserve a chance to feel beautiful. What I’m unsure about is whether to choose the DIY route for my facial/hair treatment/manicure or leave it to the professionals.

Help, I’m torn!

Love it: It’s rainy days like today that all I want is a good DIY pedicure. Why would I venture out of the apartment into inclement weather just to pay someone $20 to paint my toes? I have all of the tools (nail polish, lotion, exfoliant and a nail file), so why not do it myself? Plus, while I’m at it, I could scour the Internet for some other great DIY treatments, like this brown sugar scrub to soothe my skin. Between my fridge and pantry, I probably have all of the necessary ingredients. Plus, with the money I save, I can buy a new pair of shoes!

Loathe it: I’ve had my share of DIY beauty flops, mostly involving hair dye. (Including splashes, splatters and squirts of the stuff that are still stained on my walls and ceiling.) And you know what, after I screw up at home, I wind up having to go to the salon anyway just to fix the damage. If you’re going to have to pay for professional beauty treatments anyway, why not start out in the salon and not risk permanent damage to hair/skin/nails?

And when it comes to creating your own face masks/shampoos/etc, why the heck would you EVER want to rub a raw egg anywhere on your body? Or mayo. Just the thought of squeezing that burger topping in my hair makes me want to vomit. As does the thought of having to clean everything up when I’m done. That’s not relaxing. That’s not being pampered. And now that most salons are offering natural-based treatments, I don’t have to scramble an omelet on my face to avoid all those harsh chemicals.

But I do have to pay….

So, I’m really not sure.
What do you think?
Are you a fan of at-home treatments, or do you think your beauty needs are best left to a professional?

After doing a little research, however, I discovered that being green does not mean being heinous.  In fact, it means quite the opposite.

Here are my favorite green tips that also make you hotter.  Read on, pretty lady…

Ditch the dryer: Using a hair dryer for only 5 minutes a day for an entire year uses enough energy to power a basic light bulb for 3,259 hours.  And guess what?  You don’t really need it!  Drying your hair frequently can crack the hair’s cuticle and withdraw moisture, leaving you with dry and brittle strands.  Naturally drying your hair even just a few days a week can save your strands and save the environment.  If you just can’t live without your daily drying, opt for an eco-friendly one.  The Go Green dryer is made from recycled materials, is printed with soy ink, and uses 26% less energy than a normal dryer.

Turn down the scalding shower: Not only do long, hot showers waste water, they are also a huge energy expense.  Cut down your shower time and the temperature, and you can save tons of money on your monthly bill.  Plus, cold water is good for your bod!   Hot water can have very drying properties, both to your skin and your hair.  Taking a colder shower leaves your hair silkier and your skin softer, all while increasing circulation and bumping up your immune system.  Now how’s that for a morning routine?

Drink tap water: If it’s really that gross, then invest in a Brita filter.  Water bottles cause tons of unnecessary waste every year, much of which ends up in landfills instead of in the recycling.  Plus, delivering water bottles across the world burns fossil fuels, contributing to global warming.  If that doesn’t convince you, consider the health effects.  Most bottled water does not cross state lines, making them exempt from the Food and Drug Administration’s standards for drinking water.  Tap water, on the other hand, is highly regulated and contains more of the teeth-strengthening mineral, floride, than bottled water.  Plus, simply filling up an aluminum water bottle instead of purchasing a bottle for $1 a pop, allows you to save money while drinking more water, so you can put that money to better use (i.e. on yourself!).  Everybody knows that water does a body good by making your skin clearer, aiding digestion, and hydrating the skin, so drink more of it… from the tap.

Steer away from chem lab cleansers: Look at the ingredients list of any common beauty product and you will see a plethora of science-babble words that not even Bill Nye could understand.  Most of those ingredients are synthetic, requiring energy and emitting toxic waste to produce.  And guess what?  What’s bad for the environment is also bad for your skin.  Harsh facial cleansers, such as toner, astringent, and acne washes can actually make acne even worse.  Drying out the oil on your face causes your skin to go into “panic mode” and produce even more oil than before, leaving you with more acne than you had when you started.  Instead, try to use products with natural ingredients.  A good rule of thumb that I like to use is to not put anything on your skin that you wouldn’t want to put in your body.

Most of the time when I see “Stars Without Makeup!” on a magazine cover, it’s on the front of some tabloid surrounded by unattractive candid shots of gorgeous stars like Jennifer Lopez in an effort to “humanize” them and make it seem like they’re more like us “regular” folk.  And I don’t know about all of you, but these sort of pictures always scare me a little–if  celebrities look this bad without their makeup, what hope do the rest of us have?  I know that I can’t ever leave the house with at least eyeliner or mascara on without feeling like I look sick.

So when I first heard about French Elle‘s “Stars Sans Fards” (literally meaning “without makeup”, but also suggests a sort of “openness”), I was a little scared and also surprised–it definitely doesn’t sound like something I’d expect to see in a magazine like Elle.

Once I saw the pictures, though, I was completely awed.

The women on the cover don’t look like what I’ve come to expect from those paparazzi no-makeup shots: they look absolutely beautiful. Why don’t I look that good without makeup on?  I love the idea of the “au natural” look, but I’ve never been brave enough to try it myself. I know what I look like before a swipe of cover up and a touch of blush – no one else needs to see that.

Of course, all of the women photographed for the magazine are actresses and models who are naturally stunning, and it’s not like these were just candid shots snapped as these women were walking out of the grocery store, but still. We’re so used to seeing them with tons of makeup or Photoshopped in pictures that to see them completely natural is shocking (in a good way).

It’s awesome to see such an influential magazine showing women in such a realistic way.  The un-Photoshopped, no makeup, simple hair and clothing look on the Elle covers isn’t something that’s likely to be seen on any American magazine, though, where expensive clothing and jewelry  and perfect hairstyles dominate the covers. Where photo retouching is so commonplace that we’ve all come to accept the perfect, unattainable beauty and body types represented in most magazines and advertisements as normal, when in fact it’s completely unnatural and doesn’t represent the common woman.  Here in the U.S., most women don’t look like Victoria’s Secret models, yet that’s what we all strive to look like because it’s what we’re told is beautiful.

But maybe French Elle‘s April cover is a step in the right direction.  These pictures show that beauty isn’t just attained by piling on the makeup, hair products, and designer clothes.  I’m not saying we should get rid of all those things, but I think that less focus should be placed on them as the standard of what is “beautiful.”  Let’s hope American magazines take the hint and start showing some more “real” and natural looking women on their pages.

That is true beauty.

Shocked and angry, Susan Jeske gave up her job promoting beauty products to find out just what was going into the products men and women use every single day.

What she found was not pretty.

It turns out that there are 12 chemicals in makeup, shampoo and even toothpaste that could be toxic to our health! Yes, the products we turn to to keep us fresh, clean and looking beautiful could be the very things causing all of our problems.

And the government and beauty industry know about the negative effects of these chemicals. According to Jeske, “More than 1,100 harmful chemicals used in personal care items have been banned in most European countries. In the U.S. only 10 have been banned.” 

Scary, right? It looks like the people behind all of our go-to products are working hard to keep the truth under wraps. So, what products should we be looking out for? Jeske’s Toxic 12 are:

1.   Benzoyl peroxide

2.   DEA (diethanolamine) and MEA (monoethanolamine) and TEA (triethanolamine)

3.   Dioxin

4.   DMDM hydantoin and imidazolidinyl urea

5.   Synthetic Colors and Pigments

6.   Parabens (methyl, butyl, ethyl, propyl)

7.   FEG (polyethylene glycol)

8.   Phthalates 9xenoestrogens)

9.   Propylene glycol and butylene glycol

10. Sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate

11. Sunscreen chemicals like avobensone, benzphenone and PABA

12. Triclosan

Now, don’t stop bathing, brushing and applying makeup just because you don’t want your skin to fall off. It is not easy, but it is possible to avoid any of these chemicals. All products must have a list of their ingredients, so it is as simple as reading the label to find out which of the Toxic 12 are in your favorite beauty products.

Unfortunately, though, a good majority of the products on store shelves have some combination of these chemicals, so you may have a difficult time finding stuff without them. Your best bet is by going natural or organic with your makeup. But don’t trust any product with “All Natural” on the label; not all Organic beauty products are created equal, so read those ingredients!

Of course, no celebs are immune to the occasional “what the hell were they thinking?” moment, but for the most part, these celebs look foxy and fabulous and inspire us all to do the same.]

Her hairstyle was one of the biggest fads of the 90’s, she’s dated (and married) some of Hollywood’s hottest hunks, and she’s known for her girl-next-door looks that continue to hold true even as she approaches forty(!). Jennifer Aniston typifies simple elegance, and is a style icon for many women because of her easy, casual and minimalist style. She doesn’t go for a lot of bells and whistles, but her streamlined shirt and jeans combo always accentuates her fabulous, athletic body.

Aniston even keeps it simple at red carpet events with sheath dresses or classic cocktail dresses in flattering shapes and neutral tones. She encourages women around the globe to play up their natural beauty, opting for loose, easy waves and natural makeup over the over-done looks of many other Hollywood celebs. This ability to look fabulous (even nearly nude!) without seeming to try too hard makes Jennifer Aniston my Style Idol of the Week.