Improving your Posture for a Better You

Have you noticed the way mothers always tell their kids not to slouch? 

This is correct because not only does good posture make you look better, it is also good for your bones and overall health. Look at the following reasons necessary to maintain the proper positions when standing, sitting or walking.

‘Why should you have good posture?’

Standing, sitting and walking tall does not only benefit your overall look, but it also contributes to your health. 

Try to picture what happens to your bones when you slouch. If you are accustomed to sitting with a curved back, more weight is applied to your spinal cord and this may attribute to problems with your bones when you grow older. 

Poor posture will make you appear shorter than your actual height; so use some effort and time to correct your posture and improve your appearance. 
 
‘Correcting your Stance’

Spending some time to correct your posture should not be torture. 

First, you should feel comfortable and relaxed when are in a proper position while sitting, standing or walking. Second, this will make you more alert and have a better disposition. 

Here are some ways you can determine whether your posture is correct or not:

When sitting or standing, your spine should be in an almost straight line – from your head to the bottom part of your back. 

To determine if you have a straight back, you can relax until your back finds its normal upright position. Your chin should be parallel to the floor, and your head aligned with the sky. 

When sitting, your shoulders must be parallel to the floor and not leaning toward either to the left or right. 

When walking, the knees should be in a central position. Keep them relaxed and not locked forward or backwards. 

The most common posture problem is having a slouched chest or back. 

You may have noticed that people with heart problems often have a slouched back. This is because their heart and lungs cannot properly support the chest, resulting in improper posture. To correct a slouched or hunched chest, make certain that your chest is slightly uplifted and centered.

The spinal column does not form a perfectly straight line; instead there is a slight curve in the middle. If your back is extremely curved, then you have imperfect posture. 

Try to find a balance; relax and let your back form an almost straight line. 

Having good posture does not only improve your appearance: it also lightens your movements, improves your health, and adds to your total well-being.

Beauty Tips from the Experts

You do not need to have a perfect feature or a waif-like figure to be beautiful. 

Every person is unique in their own way and this uniqueness is what makes a person beautiful. 

Remember to enhance what you already have. If you have a strong nose or a good jaw line or high cheek bones, you can use these features and put some effort in enhancing your good points. 

By using the following tips from beauty experts you can look good and feel beautiful:

1. Take care of your skin. 

Having a good skin, no matter what your complexion, will be your basic investment for looking good. Whether your skin is fair, brown or dark, - as long as it is glowing and radiant, you will achieve an overall healthy look.

Here are some ways to attain that healthy looking skin:

- If you are eating a great amount of junk food, your skin will look dull, dry and unhealthy. Eat foods enriched with vitamins that are beneficial for the skin so that you can achieve an inner glow. 

- Get enough sleep to avoid those unsightly bags under your eyes. 

- Hydrate your skin by drinking a lot of water.

- Use a good exfoliating product on your skin regularly. Having a regular regimen will help keep your skin healthy. Make sure that the products that you use are applicable to your skin type. 

2. Keep the skin on your face blemish-free. 

If there is a blemish on your face, a quick fix is to use Visine; soak a cotton ball in it and hold it on the affected area to eliminate any redness. Then, use a single drop of Preparation H to remove the blemish. 

To make wrinkles to disappear, apply a highlighter directly onto the crease after you use foundation over your entire face; then blend and set with face powder. 

3. Use makeup to your advantage to highlight your features, especially your eyes. 

  

For those “not-so-good” days where there are dark circles under your eyes, use an orange concealer mixed with foundation.  Apply this under your eyes then apply foundation as usual. Use an eye shadow to highlight your eyelids but avoid using purple and blue colors. 

Use a small amount of foundation to lighten your eyebrows then brush use small makeup brush to comb it through the brows.

Use lip colors that can enhance the brightness of your teeth. 

By following these beauty tips from professionals, you can accentuate the best of your facial features that allow you to look good on the outside and feel better on the inside. 

Why Beauty is But Skin Deep

Ancient Chinese proverbs have taught us that beauty is only skin deep. By delving deeper into the soul of a person, you will learn if they are  really beautiful.

In the movie “The Truth about Cats and Dogs”, Ben Chaplin’s character said:  “You know how someone's appearance can change the longer you know them? How a really attractive person, if you don't like them, can become more and more ugly;  whereas someone you might not have even have noticed... that you wouldn't look at more than once, if you love them, can become the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?”

This is true because real beauty glows from within and is a matter of perception. You do not need to spend a great amount of money for beauty products or artificial procedures to make you look good: it all comes from within. 

An example is:  you undergo liposuction to remove or reduce the fat in your “tummy” but after that is done you find another flaw that you want to correct, etc.

It is a vicious cycle where you are not, nor will you ever be content with your appearance because of  low self esteem.

On the other hand, if you completely accept who you are and know how to emit your good points, then your satisfaction will reflect on the outside, creating a positive and vital aura. 

Here are some tips on how you can maintain your beauty from within and not merely settle for skin-deep beauty. 

1. Stay happy!

This is the number one rule for looking and feeling beautiful. 

If you have a myriad of problems and you think that you carry the world on your shoulders, it will reflect on your appearance. 

There will be “circles” under your eyes from lack of sleep, and you will look harassed and distressed. 

By staying happy and feeling young, you will exude an air of confidence and contentment that will make your skin glow. 

2. Be healthy. 

If you have a desk job and are tied to a desk for eight hours a day, you need to participate in extracurricular activities and spend some time outdoors under the sun. 

Engage in a physical sport with your friends to burn calories. Giving yourself a break will help boost your spirits 

Eat healthy to avoid illness. 

3. Have a positive outlook in life.

Negative vibes are never good for anyone. Having a positive outlook on life, no matter what problems may occur, is a sure way to achieve happiness and stay beautiful. 

Stay Beautiful Both Inside and Out!

In a world where companies make millions of dollars in the beauty industry, it helps to know that you do not need to spend a great amount of money on  products or artificial enhancements to really be beautiful.

A positive attitude, a sound mind and body, and a positive well-being will all help you glow from within. Here are some tips on how you can be beautiful from the inside to the outside:

1. Know who you are and be comfortable with yourself. 

The way that you feel will reflect on the outside. If you are feeling stressed and harassed, you will look that way no matter how much makeup you put on or how well you dress. 

On the other hand, if you are comfortable with yourself, you know exactly who you are and you have a positive outlook in life, then you will exude beauty from within, even without any artifice. 

2. Be confident and embrace your uniqueness. 

Beauty is simply a matter of perception. There are people who do not have angelic features or a perfect profile but once you look at them, they have an aura and air that you just cannot put a finger on. 

This vitality comes from their inner confidence. If you just concentrate on your flaws; see that you don’t have good skin, or your nose is crooked, then you will never be content with your appearance. 

You need to focus on your good points and make an effort to bring out the best of who and what you are. 

3. Pamper yourself, eat well take care of yourself. 

Having good overall health will further enhance your inner beauty. Looking pale and unhealthy comes from bad eating habits and not spending enough time exercising. 

Remember that eating healthy does not necessarily mean starving yourself. If you decide to lose weight, do it for yourself - in order to stay healthy. Don’t succumb to the pressures of society; that being beautiful means being paper-thin. 

If you are tied to a desk from 9 to 5, spend some time out in the sun during weekends and jog or play a physical game with friends. This will not just give you a break from work but also lift your sprits. Pamper your self from time to time as a reward for all of the hard work that you do. 

By following these tips, you are well on your way to being truly beautiful - both inside and out.

“Au Natural” - Look Natural for a Better You

A good principle to apply when putting on makeup is to appear that you did not actually put on makeup. The common terms for this look today is minimalist, nude, sheer, au natural – all of them meaning “less is more”.  Looking natural is the way to go. 

‘Au Natural’

The way to achieve an all-natural look is by using "invisible" makeup products. 

With the casual and easy-going lifestyle of today, it would be inappropriate to have a “made-up” look. The beauty products that are used today still create a fresh look and inner glow. 

The goal is to appear as if you are wearing no makeup when you are actually wearing the sheerest shades and tints of beauty products.  Such a look can be achieved by using a sheer foundation that matches the skin tone. Applying a lighter or darker shade of foundation than the true color of your skin will create an unnatural appearance.

Next, apply a pale shade of lipstick with to give you that fresh, dewy look. 

Take a look at some other beauty products that will give you that “au natural” look: 

1. Non-foundation – these foundations are those that give you that “nude” color, depending on your skin tone, which create the illusion of not wearing a makeup base.

2. Light-tinted moisturizers – hydrating your skin has never been more fun. You can wear these light-tinted moisturizers under your make-up to add to your “au natural” look. 

Look for brands that protect the skin. Moisturizers can be put under your make up and the sheer color will perfect the color of your skin giving you a blemish-free look.

3. Lip gloss or nude lipstick – for a natural look, use a product that will give a sheen to your lips. 

You can use lip gloss by itself or over lipstick of a different, but light shade. Your goal is to appear as if the lipstick is barely there. 

4. Invisible makeup products – there are eye shadows, lip tints, light eyebrow pencils, blushes and a host of other beauty products that will give you that fresh, just “out-of-bed” look. 

By using the proper application you can have the natural, minimalist look that will show off the real you. 

The woman of today wants to be accepted for who and what she is. By achieving an “au natural” look, you can show off the real you to the world – a woman who is not afraid to be her self and wants to be liked for what she is beneath the covering of minimal embellishments.