Dressing To Your Hair Colour

There's a fine line between matching and clashing, blending and blurring. It's sometimes a little overkill to throw on pink shadow to match your pink dress, and you can transform a beautiful outfit into a tacky topic. But when it comes to hair colour, you can have an outstanding effect by co-ordinating your outfit and accessories correctly. You have license to experiment a little more in this department, but don't go rushing out to buy that hair dye yet; there are options for every shade.

If you've ever looked in the mirror and thought that something wasn't quite right, it may have been the co-ordination between your hair and your outfit. It's something that you can't always put your finger on, but when you strike the right balance it looks fabulous.

If you have a natural shade of hair colour, dyed or not, then you can look forward to some exciting possibilities.

Red Hair 

Redheads can often achieve the most striking combinations. Anybody who watched the recent Oscars will have seen Florence Welch (from Florence and the Machine) will have been dazzled by her burnt orange dress, complimenting beautifully with her copper red hair.

Within the darker shades of red and ginger, try finding outfits that incorporate pale gold and light brownish-greens like khaki and tan. The slight contrasts will look beautiful together. Lighter shades of red hair will look better with camel tones, earth, orange and browns.

Blonde Hair 

The phrase 'blondes have more fun' might be a hotly debated topic, but in the area of co-ordinating hair to outfit; they truly have an exciting collection. You can often go down the same route as the lighter redhead tones, with chocolate browns and gentle oranges providing an excellent complement to luscious blonde.

Classic blonde hair, to the more natural tones, will benefit from the incorporation of pastel colours. Peach and brighter greens work well but don't discount navy and black if you're looking for a sexier or more sophisticated look.

The ranges of blonde make it a difficult hair to assign colours too, but that's what it makes it so thrilling. Those of you with ash or 'dirty' blonde hair can look towards gentler colours like cool blue, violet, earth greens and honey. For those of you with richer, warmer blonde hair you should experiment with combinations of rich reds, bright pinks and yellows.

If you're a fan of understatement, all shades of blonde work well with the neutral whites, blacks, greys and beige through brown. Anybody who's seen Sienna Miller in Layer Cake knows that blondes can pull off black as well as anybody.

Brunette and Black Hair 

Because of the darker nature of brown and black hair, you want to stay away from the simpler colours that you'd get away with on brighter hair tones. Co-ordinating with brunettes is all about the offset, go bold with pure whites, turquoise, fuchsia and royal blue. Don't discount hot pinks and bright reds for statement.

If you're a lighter, ashier brunette then you'll want to avoid greys, crèmes and beiges. Those of you lucky enough to be blessed with green eyes will want to take advantage of this combination and incorporate some green into your dress, the lighter the better.

With darker brunettes and black hair, whites and pinks look great. Red is the perfect dress for cocktails or a night on the town, and don't forget about your little black dress; this is what it was made for! If you need inspiration on how to dress to thick, dark hair; look no further than Megan Fox's style at any red carpet event.

Something To Think On 

It's worth remembering that these rules don't only apply to hair colours, your eyes and skin tones will have a huge effect on the outcome of an outfit too. Try experimenting with the different shades and hues, look closely at your eyes and skin without any make-up and decide what you think would look the best.

Trust your instincts in fashion, how many times have you seen somebody's outfit and made a millisecond decision that it doesn't look right? Your gut knows what works and what doesn't; trust it and you won't stumble. But if you do, there's nothing to stop you trying 1001 other combinations!

Homemade Face Masks Bases and Ingredients

Making your own skin care masks, creams and treatments at home is easy if you know how. You've probably heard of ingredients like CoQ10, Copper, Retinol, AHA fruit acids, DMAE or Papain and many others often promoted in beauty advertisements.

Well, by making your own homemade face masks & creams with the right ingredients at home that closely mimic many active ingredients that you find in top skin care ranges, you can maintain glowing healthy beautiful skin in minutes a day for a fraction of what you would pay for your usual skin care products.

You can benefit from their potent and powerful anti-aging and moisturizing benefits like the ones in top of the line skin care products.

You can not only make your own homemade face mask recipes, but also create your own range of skin care treatments to target specific conditions while protecting, moisturizing and repairing your skin.

There are many oils and natural ingredients rich in anti-oxidants and anti-aging properties that contain highly concentrated quantities of these active ingredients and are also proven to be as if not more effective for evening out skin tone, smoothing wrinkles and much more. There are many easy to make recipes with added "extras" revealed in the book to boost their effectiveness.

Here are some specific homemade face masks you can make:

• Avocado face masks
• Exfoliating papaya peels
• Pineapple facial exfoliant mask
• Moisture boosting face packs to nourish and saturate your skin with plumping firming moisturizing nutrients
• Honey face masks
• Face mask for acne recipes
• Homemade face packs for blackheads and acne
• Moisturizing homemade facial masks
• Anti-oxidant facial mask

There are several "must have" base ingredients for making home made natural face mask recipes:

• Yoghurt, whipping cream or milk (moisturizing, calming, soothing)
• Honey (moiturizing, antibacterial, antioxidant, healing, soothing)
• Olive, almond or soya oil (anti-aging, moirturizing, calming, soothing)
• Avocado mashed (moisturizing and antioxidant)
• Papaya or pineapple or kiwifruit (one tblsp - exfoliating but only leave on for up to ten minutes)
• Oatmeal finely ground (soothing and exfoliating)
• Eggs (moisturizing and egg whites are firming)
• Mayonnaise (moisturizing)

Optional but very beneficial added ingredients:

• Cucumber (astringent, lightening, cooling, dark circles)
• Aloe juice or gel (moisturizing, healing, soothing, calming, balancing)
• Rosemary, lavender leaves or oil (antiseptic, antibacterial, calming, stimulating, acne)
• Lemon or orange juice (lightening, acne, oily skin)
• Apple cider vinegar (lightening, acne, oily skin)
• Coconut milk or extra virgin coconut oil (antibacterial, moisturizing, acne, anti-aging, wrinkles)
• Red wine (antibacterial, moisturizing, acne, anti-aging, wrinkles)
• Tea tree oil (antibacterial, antiseptic, acne)

You can make a base using the base ingredients listed above, either together in a combination or on their own and then by adding 1 tsp of the optional ingredients from the "optional" list directly above.

By mixing these into a smooth paste and applying to your skin for ten to 20 minutes then washing off with warm water, you can give your skin a moisturizing treatment boost.

These are just a few basic tips and ingredients for making your own face masks. There are many other specific recipes that have a lot more "kick" or more potent benefits for your skin. These recipes combine other "active ingredients" found in plant, fruit or seeds like enyzmes, vitamins, fruit acids or other ingredients you can find in skin care ranges sold around the world but in their fresh concentrated forms.

The Basics of Sugaring

Sugaring is a hair epilation method similar to waxing that uses sugar to get rid of unwanted hairs in your body. It is a really old technique that is known to be used by Egyptians, Greek, and the Mesopotamians thousands of years ago. This rediscovered ancient art of hair epilation has so many benefits when compared to using wax. While anyone can have sugaring at home, sugaring is an ancient art that needs to be practiced often than to master.

Waxing and Sugaring

Which type is better for you will depend on your preference, to help you in deciding what's best, let's have a look at the pros and cons of these hair epilation methods:

Waxing

• A wax is applied warm. There are several cases where the client's skin gets burned during the process.
• The wax strip is pulled from the opposite of the hair growth, which is extremely painful to your skin.
• The wax is attached to your dead and live skin cells. The possibility of skin getting peeled of is high.

Sugaring

• The sugar is applied lukewarm. Your skin won't burn in lukewarm temperature.
• The paste or gel is removed from the direction of the hair growth. It is not as painful as when it is done at the opposite of the hair growth.
• The sugar paste or gel gets attached only to the dead skin cells no live skin will be removed.

How Sugaring Works?

A sugar pasted in lukewarm temperature is applied to the area to be treated in such a way that it is applied in the opposite of the direction of your hair growth. In a flicking motion, the hair is removed in the direction that the hair grows. Sugaring can have the hair removed even if it just a few days old. This prevents the discomfort, irritation, and ingrown nails from developing which mostly happens after a waxing session. Moreover, the skin is exfoliated because dead skin cell go along with the hair when sugaring. It is possible to perform sugaring in almost any part of the body from your eyebrows to your ankles.

How often can I perform sugaring?

The best result will happen if sugaring is performed in a regular basis. You need to wait at least 3 to 6 weeks before you can have another sugaring session. As you using this hair epilation technique, fewer hairs will go back, therefore, the time it takes for another sugaring session will be lessened.

Sugaring is the cheapest way to get your unwanted hairs removed and can even be done at the comfort of your home. With just a few common ingredients found at home, you can get your own hair epilation kit and start removing unwanted hairs right away. However, cooking the paste and making it to the right consistency so it sticks to your hair is a bit complicated. If you don't know want to get your feet wet and make your own sugaring paste, you can also buy a home sugaring kit.

12 Toxins to Avoid in Your Cosmetics

Cosmetic products are marketed with the promise of making the consumer more attractive in a variety ways, including clearer skin, shinier hair, less wrinkles, whiter teeth, stronger nails, so on and so on. But the truth is that many of these conventional products are loaded with ingredients that are not only bad for your health but bad for the environment too.

In 2010, the David Suzuki Foundation identified 12 sets of hazardous chemicals that are commonly included in the ingredients of cosmetic products. As described in more detail below, many of these chemibals have been identified as possible carcinogens or at the very least, mild irritants. The David Suzuki Foundation's Dirty Dozen list includes:

1. BHA & BHT: common preservatives found in moisturizers and makeup and may cause cancer (BHA).


2. Coal tar dyes: derived from petroleum, coal tar is recognized as a human carcinogen and is included in some hair dyes as well as a variety of other cosmetics. Coal dyes can be recognized as a 'C.I.' followed by a five digit number in the ingredients list.


3. DEA-related ingredients: these are often found in creamy foaming products, such as moisturizers and shampoos and have been classified as possible human carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.


4. Dibutyl phthalate: suspected of adversely affecting reproduction and healthy development, this chemical is often used as a plasticizer in nail care products.


5. Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives: these chemicals are used in a multitude of cosmetic products as preservatives and are known causes of cancer.


6. Paraben, methylparaben, butylparaben & propylparaben: used primarily as preservatives, these chemicals pose a possible threat to male reproductive functions.


7. Parfum: synthetic fragrances, used in a variety of cosmetics, can bring on asthma attacks as well as trigger allergies.


8. PEGs: often included in cream bases and can be contaminated with 1,4 dioxane, which could lead to cancer.


9. Petrolatum: can be found in some hair care products to promote shine as well as some lip care products, such as lipstick, as a moisture barrier. It is sometimes contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which may cause cancer.


10. Siloxanes: suspected of disrupting the endocrine system, a set of hormone secreting glands within the body, and may adversely affect reproduction. It is primarily used in cosmetics to soften, smooth and moisten.
11. Sodium laureth sulfate: often included in foaming cosmetics and can be contaminated with 1,4 dioxane, which could lead to cancer.


12. Triclosan: suspected of disrupting the endocrine system and may contribute to antibiotic resistance in bacteria. This chemical is often found in antibacterial cosmetics, such as toothpastes, cleansers and deodorants.

The really scary thing about these chemicals is that they are not limited to use in cosmetic products. Some may appear in the ingredients lists of industrial products or even house hold cleaners. The reason for their prevalence is not necessarily effectiveness, but rather that they are cheaper to use and easier to come by. Whatever the reason, it is best to avoid them whenever possible.

With a little time and research, anyone can make their own cosmetic products at home. But if that doesn't appeal there are several natural and alternative products on the market. The important thing is to read the labels carefully so as not to become the victim of yet anther 'green washing' campaign. A great resource for checking ingredients lists is the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetics Database. Their database can be used to get accurate and efficient information on a specific chemical or even a specific brand or product. Thanks to great resources like this and the David Suzuki Foundation, it is possible to make safe and educated decisions about your cosmetic products. Although it may seem a bit overwhelming and like a lot of hassle, it is all for the good of your health; and as l'Oreal would say, 'Because you're worth it!'.