As soon as summer announces itself with its warm winds and bright, shiny mornings, I want to lay out and bake in the sun. Nothing feels quite like floating in a pool – book in one hand, ice cold beverage in the other – absorbing those delicious rays. And nothing looks quite as good with almost every article of summer clothing than some nice, tan legs.

I am fully aware that skin cancer is scary business and not worth the fake-baking/laying out for hours on end. I also have a pretty healthy fear of getting wrinkley in the future, so, to protect myself, I wear my sunscreen. But I recently realized that maybe sunscreen wasn’t enough, and getting my glow a different way may be a better option.

I started investigating.

My former roommate loved sprays, but I personally don’t trust myself with them. I am mildly OCD and need a lotion to ensure I’m not missing anything. I went on a quest to find the perfect lotion and came across a new product: Jergens Natural Glow Express. It looked just like the rest, except that it claimedto show results in 3 days. Conveniently, I was heading on vacation in 3 days, so I grabbed it. Read More »

When I was younger, I was fan of saying to my more melanin challenged friends when they offered me sunscreen, “I don’t need that! I don’t burn, I’m black!”

Oh how very wrong I was. It’s not that sunburn is all that different when you’re black, it’s just way more embarrassing. And way less attractive.

The first time I got burned by my hated enemy the sun was in Hawaii. Proof that you should screen up even on cloudy overcast days. The day albeit warm, was gray — but those wicked rays got me anyway. I didn’t know what it was at first. My shoulders itched and burned. I thought I was having some allergic reaction to something in the Hawaiian air. My mom took one look and said, “Ha! You got sunburned!”

The second time it happened I was in Africa and that was even more unbearable for different reasons. After that I decided that the sun and I just aren’t friends. Read More »

I have a love/hate relationship with makeup.

On the one hand, I go into a drugstore and guaranteed I’m making a beeline for the makeup section. I can’t resist! The bright colors, the sparkle, the textures–man, just try and keep me away.

But once I put it on, it’s always kind of a let-down. No matter how perfect the application, it always looks…well, kind of fake.

So I’ve said it before, but this time I mean it: I am giving up makeup. And it will be glorious.

Here’s why:

(5) It’s bad for your skin.

You know it, I know it. The more crap you put on your face, the more likely you are to break out, and then the more makeup you need. Fact of life. I mean, that’s how they sell the stuff, right?

(4) Guys don’t wear it.

What the flip? Why are we covering ourselves in powders and paints when the boiz iz goop free? Foroget that!

(3) I’m tired of getting carded.

Look, I’m pushing 24. I really should not be getting carded at this point. Especially, I mean, I don’t smoke but I’ve had to buy cigarettes as props for plays (really!) and gotten carded. Do I look frickin’ 18?! I think make-up is largely at fault. Who wears a lot of makeup? Teenagers. Let’s stop freezing ourselves at 19, ladies! Off with the blush! Read More »

I went from cracking jokes about Jessica Simpson’s ProActiv ads to wanting to be in my own acne treatment ad basically overnight. I never had acne problems as a teen. Even buying something as simple as face wash seemed like a foreign concept to me-after all, I had perfect skin. Of course I’d have the occasional tragic zit that would drive me up the wall — but that was as far as my derma-traumas were concerned.

Until I switched my birth control.

Once I switched my birth control my hormones went completely out of whack. A few months ago, after the switch, I started breaking out ALL OF THE TIME. I felt uncomfortable going outside without makeup on. As a singer, I didn’t want to be on stage. As a model on the side, I stopped showing up to interviews. I felt gross and about as far from pretty as a girl can possibly feel without having to be a D list Hollywood drunken starlet.

I wasn’t about to give in to a bleak marriage with acne. My skin’s future needed to be free and happy, not tied down to bullsh*t anxiety.

I finally got to that breaking point where I caved and decided I would try ProActiv-or something like it. Something like it is what I went with when I saw Acne Free at the drug store. It was right there in front of me and for much less than what I hear ProActive goes for (it was $20 for the package). I rationalized with myself for a while before the purchase.

“Elizabeth…you spent $20 at a bar on drinks in an hour. You can chance it for better skin…”

And so I did. Read More »

Yesterday I was having a lovely day with my boyfriend. We ate pancakes for breakfast. We went for a walk around our neighborhood. We talked dreamily about the future the way you do on a sunny Saturday morning.

And then, out of no where, the conversation turned sour.

I don’t remember how we got there, but for some incomprehensible reason, the conversation led him to say this:

BOYFRIEND: Well, you do have a little tummy.

He unwisely pats my tummy.

ME: (turning into a shrieking monster) WHAT?!

BOYFRIEND: No, I love it! It’s cute!

ME: IT’S CUTE THAT I’M FAT?!

BOYFRIEND: No! No, that’s not what I meant! It’s just that you’re getting older–

ME: WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!??!!??!! Read More »

I would have posted a daily update instead of this week one summary, but no one really wants to read this everyday:

“Oh my God, I miss coffee. I will commit a misdemeanor for diet Pepsi. Dammit, I want an effing cookie. Sugaaaaar. Asouiryth494p…!”

First, I will confess my diet sin: I had a shot on Saturday night. It’s hard being the sober girl at the bar. Sorry, Detox Doc Haas, it’s against my religion to turn down a free drink from a cute bartender.

In my first week sans sugar, nuts, dairy, soy, wheat, eggs and corn, I decided that staying strictly on the diet meal by meal is impossible for anyone who stays up late into the night, has a fast metabolism, enjoys working out or some combination thereof. Since I fall into all three categories, I have modified my eating plan.

I eat 4 ounces of protein at lunch with my veggies and up to 6 ounces at dinner. My cut off time for eating is 8 p.m. instead of 6 p.m. and I eat a piece of fruit as a snack. I also eat an extra piece of fruit in the morning after my oats.

Speaking of oats: if you decide to eat oatmeal when you follow this plan, don’t microwave those bad boys. Don’t. It has the consistency of wall paper paste. That mistake on the morning of day two made me think too fondly of my ‘coffee is a meal’ days. Read More »

Tattoos are always an iffy subject.

They stay on you forever, something that seems awesome at 20 (skull and crossbones with flames! Sweet!) might not seem so cool at 40 (“mommy, why do you have a scary skull on your back?”), and getting them removed is a whole hell of a lot more painful than getting them done.

Plus, people tend to look at you differently if there’s permanent ink on your arm or back or stomach.

Tattoos will always be a heavily debated topic, but what if I told you the discussion was about to get a little more complicated?

Branding Tattoos, a new way for advertisers to get their product out there and for image conscious buyers to forever connect themselves with their favorite apparel or make-up line, are slowly becoming more popular in the states.

Consumers are turning away from hearts, flowers, and tribal armbands, and getting Nike and Dior etched into their skin forever. Read More »

Apples and Pumpkins. That’s fall. Apples, Pumpkins, and realizing it’s too cold for that little skirt but not cold enough to go back and change.

Oh, and fall is also about wind.

Harsh wind that will do a number to that delicate, summer sun-kissed face of yours if you’re not careful. A delicate, sun-kissed face that can be totally repaired by pumpkin.

See how we went full circle there?

To keep that beautiful face of yours beautiful, I’ve found the best, all natural pumpkin facial around. It smoothes and repairs, and best of all, smells awesome.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons cooked or canned pumpkin, pureed

one-half teaspoon honey

one-quarter teaspoon milk (or soymilk)

Directions

Combine all your ingredients and apply to your face—just don’t shove it into your eyes.

Hang out for 10-15 minutes, then wash your face with warm water and apply your normal moisturizer. Read More »

Maybe she’s born with it, but for me, it’s definitely Maybelline. Like most women, I don’t even think about how many beauty products, from face wash to perfume, I layer on every day. Something I’ve given even less thought to is what’s in my products—until I found Kaia House.

Jumping on the organic bandwagon a little late, I just discovered Kaia House, the foremost source for organic skin and beauty care. Kaia House focuses on banishing the use over of harmful petrochemicals, parabens and other skin offenders, and offers 20 lines of premium organic and natural products including celeb-trendy Osea, Perfect Organics, Red Flower, and Biotique.

But when it comes to beauty products, is going out of your way to buy organic really worth it? Absolutely, according to Kaia House. And after reading their extensive list of un-safe (and common) chemicals that should be avoided when purchasing beauty products, I think I’m a convert.

Read up on the dangers lurking in your makeup bag and then head to KaiaHouse.com for a more comprehensive list. Your skin will thank you! Read More »

Beauty is a non-negotiable attribute that one must have in order to fit the credentials of “celebrity”. Lucky for many in Hollywood, high-priced make-up artists trained at top beauty schools are able to transform even the ugliest ducklings into irresistible starlets.

Recently People took a look at an alternative breed of Hollywood royalty: The starlets who don’t need make-up to look absolutely gorgeous. Props to these actresses and performers who are comfortable enough in their own skin to shed the layers of make-up that most celebs don day and night. The girls all look gorgeous and as Jessica Biel mentions, many men prefer women who don’t wear any make up at all! So girls, ditch your compacts and eye lash curlers and join your favorite stars in celebrating natural beauty.

Photo Gallery After the jump. Read More »