The ribbon lift is apparently the latest Hollywood plastic surgery craze, and is specifically for people who want to rejuvenate the look of their neck and face (i.e. get rid of jowling, wrinkles and such). An absorb-able ribbon of some sort is implanted in the neck; the ribbon has hooks which allow the surgeon to pull it and tighten loose skin. It’s a simple procedure that comes with minimal bruising and a short one week recovery time.

According to this tabloid I’m reading, Angelina Jolie is the latest celebrity to be spotted with the telltale sign of recent Ribbon Lift work – she was in Venice filming her latest movie, and eagle eyed gossip experts spotted that she seemed to have two large tucks of skin underneath her right ear, and that the skin appeared to be red and sore. Pop star Madonna was also in the gossip news recently as another celebrity who has used the Ribbon Lift to help her look younger.

What next!? Pretty soon there’ll be no need for makeup!

With the country and the world at large seemingly in the midst of a deepening recession, it will be interesting to see what the demand will be like for these new pricey products. Dolce and Gabbana reportedly said that launching a makeup line has been a dream of theirs for more than a decade. I wish them luck, and look forward to at least being able to sample some of their cosmetics when launched.

1. Simple & quick – the trend this summer is toward simple and quick; less is more – wash and go hairstyles, five-minute makeup routines or almost no makeup at all
2. Keep your skin hydrated – use a body hydrating lotion as soon as you get out of the shower and pat down. It’s best to apply the lotion while your skin is still moist
3. Get rid of dark circles – dark circles happen when you are dehydrated. The skin cells above the blood capillaries shrivel due to lack or moisture and that causes the dark circle look. So first, try drinking more water to plump up the cells. If the cause isn’t from dehydration, then it could be from lack of sleep or from an illness. So if water doesn’t work, go to a concealer. Depending on your skin tone, find a concealer that really matches your skin. Don’t go too light or you’ll get raccoon eyes. Then dust over lightly with a bronzing powder that matches the tan part of your skin
4. The trend this summer is to be bronzed – Go light on makeup and use a bronzing products (sunless tanning products) to give you a great glow. Don’t cover up the glow once you’ve got it! Fresh skin is the most beautiful, so less makeup is better
5. Update your look – go to a makeup artist who can help find the right look for you; this might change from year to year, so don’t take it for granted

Source: SheKnows.Com

• Easy on the eyeliner – as women age, eyeliner can drag down the appearance of the lid, especially if the line is too thick
• Use a water-based liquid foundation – it’s always a good choice for women with normal to dry skin
• Less is always best – as with younger women, too much makeup can make you look fake, and definitely adds years to face
• Try Lauren Hutton’s products. Her special makeup is designed and developed for women over 40
• Protect your skin – as you age, your skin gets drier. So for example, older women switch from powder blush to cream rouge in order to help prevent skin dryness. You should also always use a moisturizer
• Lessen the appearance of jowls – Jowls are those lines that typically run from the edge of the nose to the corner of the mouth. Using a highlighter can help to de-emphasize the shadow created by the jowl, thus making it less noticeable

What I’m really talking about is makeup gone bad … spoiled! It’s easy for this to happen … women tend to hoard, stuff gets forgotten and pretty soon you see some obvious signs such as dried mascara or separated foundation. Generally though, it’s usually tough to tell when makeup has gone bad, and unfortunately, U.S. labeling regulations don’t require an expiration date on most types of cosmetics.

So how do you identify bad makeup? Here are some tips and suggestions:

Face Makeup – when you repeatedly dip your brushes and fingers into liquid foundation, you increase the odds of bacterial growth, and with that, the chance of acne break-outs or other facial irritation. Powders present less of a problem, but they’re still likely to get harder to blend over time, and often crumble. Typically, the life span of face makeup is six months for liquids and two years for powders.

Mascara – is often described as the perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Add to that, the fact that the preservatives in a mascara typically only work for so long and no more. Thus, never keep mascara for longer than three months.

Eyeliner & Eye Shadow – Bacteria tend to flourish in liquid-eyeliner tubes, and the product can also get dried out. Powder shadows are less prone to contamination, but they have performance issues over time. Thus, for liquid eyeliners, toss them after three months; for cream eye shadows, keep them no more than six months; and for pencil eyeliners and powder eye shadows, keep them for two years max.

Lipstick & Lip Liner – Lipstick and lip gloss’ water content make them potential breeding grounds for bacteria. Never keep lipstick, lip gloss or lip liner for more than 2 years, tops!

The perfect makeup ideas will stem from this. Here are some additional guidelines for you:

• Think of yourself as beautiful and appreciate your individuality. Ignore the ideals of beauty that are promulgated by fashion magazines. Never use them to judge yourself.
• Makeup is not only a physical product, it’s also psychological. Correct psychological makeup application will help you to feel more confident and of course improve your overall beauty.
• Don’t think of makeup as ‘covering up flaws’; instead, see it as helping to enhance your features and beauty.
• Embrace age and wrinkles. Botox and plastic surgery in most cases don’t help to make you look younger or more beautiful. Some describe Botox as the heroin of the cosmetic world and many look worse off than before the operation / filler application. You should choose instead to ‘look good for your age’ through a combination of factors.
• When applying makeup, always start with a primer. Always use a good eye cream and a moisturizer with a sun protection factor. Forget about using powder.
• When applying foundation, it should always be the same color as the skin, not lighter or darker. Bronzing powder can be used to correct any different color areas of the skin.
• Last but not least, your lipstick – it must always match the rest of your face but should be a warmer, deeper, richer tone for dark skin and brighter for a fair skin tone.

Girls will typically grow up playing with makeup from very young ages but at what age should they be allowed to start using it seriously? Definitely it seems though that girls are wearing makeup sooner these days (new generation), and not just at play time.