Look Hot By Lily Wood Copyright 2011 by Lily Wood SmashWords Edition Smashwords License Statement This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. ISBN 978-0-615-48894-3 Table of Contents Intro Face Teeth Hair Poise Attitude Body Hands and Nails Accessorize Style Fragrance INTRO I am sick and tired of reading beauty advice in beauty magazines that does not work. The advice, found in beauty magazines is often worded to catch your attention and make you feel that you have finally found the answer to your problems. Reading about how a new specific brand of lip-gloss can actually plump your lips, or how a certain over-priced brand of face cream is the only thing that will remove wrinkles makes one think they have found the holy grail of beauty products. These cleverly written pieces of beauty advice are often pure lies. I mean really, from years of being my own guinea pig and actually testing out these products at home on myself I have never once removed my own wrinkles or plumped my own lips from these products. Magazine beauty editors are lying to their readers! I have found and researched what really does work on me and my beautiful friends. I confirmed the information in this book through surveys and focus groups with beautiful women, both naturally and through artificial means. I am finally starting to find out what works. What works is detailed throughout this book in ten different categories. The tutorials in this book detail how one can look insanely hot through certain skilled beauty techniques, and the inclusion of a dozen or so ingredients in a well-formulated product to produce the overall beautiful effect desired. Brands do not mean a lot in this book. There is no certain line of facial or hair care products that is the cure all. A lot of money is not necessary to look drop dead gorgeous. If you really want to look beautiful you need to be willing to research your products and be willing to spend the time to practice the beauty techniques found in this book. Take away from this book what you like. I know you will be pleased. FACE EYEBROW SHAPING Everyone's face can look dramatically different after shaping the eyebrows. By shaping of the eyebrows I mean plucking any strays around the natural shape of one's eyebrows to enhance and clean up the appearance. If you look at someone before and after they have had their eyebrows tweezed their face and features can look dramatically different. I think everyone looks like they have had a mini-facelift, and much more fresh faced after a good eyebrow shaping. We have just detailed why you need to shape your eyebrows and now let's talk about how to do it. I would like to preface this by saying that there are so many helpful videos and tutorials online that will tell you near identical instructions to the following, and that they may be very helpful in shaping your own eyebrows. Here are the basics. The beginning of an eyebrow (the end near the center of your face) should start from the place where if there was an imaginary line drawn from the outside tip of your nose straight up should be. The "arch" of the brow where the lifted appearance of one's eye will really be most noticeable should be at the point where one imagines a line runs from the outside tip of the nose through the iris and is extrapolated through the eyebrow. Lastly the brow should end (outside edge on the far side of your face) where an imaginary line runs from the outside edge of the tip of your nose through the outside corner of your eye. Keep the maintenance up on routinely shaping your brows and you will not be disappointed by how amazing your face will look. I find the best time to tweeze stray hairs to be at night, because time in the morning is always so limited and any inflammation and/or redness from plucking will disappear overnight. Slant tipped tweezers work the best if you plan to tweeze your own brows at home. Trimming of the longer brow hairs is a grooming step that some of you may need to learn if you have long eyebrow hairs. After you shape your brows you can brush all your eyebrows straight up and carefully trim the longer eyebrow hairs (if you have any) that loom over the edge of your brow shape. Then reverse the direction and brush all your eyebrow hairs straight down and again trim the tips of any of the longer hairs that fall out of shape. An old clean mascara wand works great as an eyebrow brush. For those of you who over-tweeze, you know who you are, fill those stick thin little brows back in with a good brow powder or pencil, following the same eyebrow shaping diagram. If your eyebrow hair refuses to grow or fill back in and you want a more permanent fix than cosmetics, try carefully applying a little 5% minoxidil or one of those lash growth serums like Latisse or Rapid Lash right on your brows. Read the lash growth serum section for more clarification on which serums work and which do not. SKINCARE SPF Wearing a daily sunscreen is so important for your health and your beauty. The number one sign of aging comes from sun damage. Everyone looks seriously older with brown spots from sun damage, and wrinkles from one too many summers spent not protecting their skin. I wish I had started using SPF 15 moisturizers earlier in life. I now put an SPF on every day in the form of my moisturizer, foundation, or my pressed powder. Even on cloudy days or when I don't think I am going anywhere. I have seen a dramatic difference in my skin in the last few years that I have been wearing it religiously. My skin LOOKS better. My aging has been significantly reduced from when I wasn't wearing my SPF products daily. Even in the car or sitting by a window you can have UV rays hitting your skin through the glass and damaging your skin. Grrr the lessons we have to learn in life can be tough. So start wearing the stuff now! About application, apply this stuff liberally folks. That means to use a good amount in your application, because most people do not apply enough SPF to their skin. I like the physical barrier found in ingredients like titanium dioxide and zinc. In fact I now buy only SPF moisturizers, foundations, and pressed powders that have this listed as their active ingredients. I know some ladies have more oily skin so they try to stay away from the more emollient moisturizers and they can still get their sun protection from using pressed powders and foundations that have an SPF 15 in them. Many people show signs of aging by the skin appearance on their chest and the back of their hands, more so than their face. We may have been taking care of our face for years, but neglecting the delicate skin on the back of our hands and chest, only to find sun damage start to appear on these unprotected areas. Apply DAILY to ANY exposed skin on your body. That may mean your arms if you are wearing a t-shirt, but definitely your face, neck, chest, and back of hands as these are the most commonly exposed parts of our body. SKINCARE EXFOLIATION Our skin sheds itself naturally to produce healthier newer skin underneath. We can help this process along through exfoliation. Skin looks so much healthier after proper exfoliation by removing the built up layer of dry dead skin cells. Products like moisturizers and skincare treatments absorb much better into exfoliated skin, and the texture and appearance is greatly improved upon exfoliation. Types of exfoliation vary from manually applied scrubs to liquid exfoliants in the form of alpha-hydroxy or beta-hydroxy acids. Physical exfoliation of the facial skin can best be done with a simple washcloth and facial cleanser. Many scrubs have particles that are too harsh or abrasive and can tear our delicate skin. Liquid exfoliants can truly be a godsend. Alpha hydroxy acids exfoliate the top layer of our skin, and come in a variety of concentrations. OTC varieties near 8-10% work best, but higher percentages can be found in dermatologist offices in the form of various glycolic acid and lactic acid peels to name a few. The most amazing liquid exfoliants I have come across are BHAs (beta-hydroxy acids) containing Salicylic Acid. Salicylic Acid has anti-inflammatory properties that help reduce redness and inflammation, but most importantly this liquid exfoliant can exfoliate inside the pore as well as on the surface of the skin. So it really does the AHAs (alpha-hydroxy acids) one better. Try a 1-2% BHA on your facial skin and watch the difference after a week. Your skin will feel so smooth and look just radiant. If you feel the percentage is a little high you can also try using only every other night after cleansing. Can also be used on the little bumps found from shaving as well as on the upper arms where the pores can get clogged resulting in keratosis pilaris. BASE If you want to look seriously hot you need to achieve flawless skin using all of the skincare advice in this book. We still sometimes find ourselves with redness and discoloration on our face and these areas need to be concealed using some sort of a concealer, foundation, or cover-up. The most common areas of redness are around the nose/nostril area, center of the face, chin, and eyelids. Plus any blemishes or spots may need to be lightly dabbed with a bit of concealer as well. Some people have dark spots like under-eye circles or blue veins along temples, eyelids, and other parts of the face. Try to lightly conceal these as well. Keep your application natural and light; use clean fingertips, clean makeup brushes, or a clean sponge for application. Anything cakey or crusty must be removed because that will surely look worse than anything that you are trying to conceal. A light layering technique using concealers and foundations will achieve the best results. The ultimate goal here is to look naturally beautiful and flawless. THINK NATURAL Think natural, only enhance. Keep saying this mantra over and over as you apply your cosmetics. The most beautiful people in the world have learned to enhance their natural features on their face through definition, and if they haven't then their make-up artists and handlers certainly have. Heavier cosmetic application can be performed at night because the lighting allows for a more dramatic appearance than in the natural daylight, where cosmetics can look garish and heavy if applied too strongly. You want to have the look of natural beauty, even if you are using cosmetics to achieve it. EYE MAKEUP Bringing out one's eyes by defining the natural features is the most beautiful look on a person. I cannot stress the word NATURAL enough. Using eyeliners, shadows, and mascaras that are complementary to the real color of one's skin tone and hair color is so important. One can tend to look really silly with blue eye shadow and green eyeliners. Those odd colored eye makeup colors do not "enhance" one's eyes. Everyone should use natural colors and just define their own features. Liners Practice makes perfect. I would hope everyone would want his or her eyeliner to look polished and defined, unless of course you are trying to recreate a smoky smudged look. But even then stray lines, spotty eye powders, and the dreaded raccoon eyes are what we need to stay away from. A clean simple sweeping line on the top of one's lid, not too thick, is the most attractive line. It makes the eye look just gorgeous if it is drawn very close to the eyelashes. Lower lid (under the eye) lining should be a slightly lighter color and/or application than the upper lid line. Some of you may line your waterline; this can be dangerous for eye health and should not be done on a regular basis. The look of drawing on your waterline can be a very dramatic look and should only be reserved when attempting such a look on rare occasions. Women over 50 should consider softening their eyeliner color, think dark browns and grays instead of the bold black, and sticking to lining only the upper lid lash line. Shadows If you are going to attempt an eye design, and I do not feel this is necessary on a daily basis unless you are good at it and willing to take the time to blend, blend blend, try out natural colors and follow the general contour suggestions for an eye design. Blending makes everything look best. And try to use the more matte colors on the eyelids. If it is a shiny shimmery eye shadow those really only look best on teens and early 20-somethings. Do not use those cheap foam applicators that come free inside some eye shadow palettes, buy a small brush instead to apply your shadows. The art store has a great selection of affordable, natural hair brushes. Mascara Most women I know look best in near black mascara. If one has very light toned skin than perhaps they can use something in the brown family but that is it for colors when it comes to mascara. And please curl those lashes before application, and NO CLUMPS. One can ruin a perfectly good eye design with clumpy stuck together lashes. Keep it polished and simple. Once your eye makeup is on then hands off. Touching your face will smear your makeup and potentially cause breakouts. LIP CARE Lips look best when they are kissably soft and free of any flakes. Whether you choose to use a shiny gloss, a nude lip, or a creamy lipstick with a bit of color to it make sure that you are applying it over lips that are in good condition. The more simple your eye make up the more colorful your lips can be and conversely the more noticeable your lips, the less you should have done to your eye design. If you never want to have chapped lips ever again than put a light coating of petroleum jelly on your lips every night before you go to bed. Be careful of those products like Blistex or Carmex because they can have irritating ingredients that actually make your chapped lips worse. Ingredients like menthol and alcohol are only damaging to the skin, and anything that produces a tingle or a burn is only hurting your skin in the long run. HIGHLIGHTER This stuff makes the celebrities out there look so hot and dewy in their photos and turns women instantly pretty. This is the magic step to making everyone look so stunning in his or her flash portraits. When the light hits one's face the highlighted features have an ever so slight dewiness that brings youth and natural attraction to the face. To lightly dust a highlighter powder along the upper part of the cheekbone and to dab a spot on the brow bone under the arch of the eyebrow brings so much lift to one's face. Any leftover highlighter can be ever so slightly dabbed near the inner corner of the eye corner or run down the top of the ridge of the nose. This stuff looks amazing at night not so much during the day, but can look hellish if over done. No one wants to look TOO shiny or shimmery. And women over 50 want to be very sparing with shimmer in general. Practice, practice, practice. BENZOYL PEROXIDE This ingredient is really a lifesaver for people's skin who are prone to break outs or dealing with blackhead issues. Acne causing bacteria can reside on our face and may need to be treated with a facial treatment that contains anywhere from 2.5% to 5% benzoyl peroxide. It is not for everyone because it can at times be problematic for sensitive skin but it's worth a shot if one has breakout issues and is looking for an acne treatment to lightly apply over the affected area. You can speak to your dermatologist for prescription varieties or check the over the counter varieties at your local drugstore. HYDROQUINONE Massive freckles and sun damage (aka sun spots, liver spots, and age spots) can be lightened with this bleaching cream dabbed on the spot daily. One needs to be extra diligent with their SPF application while using hydroquinone though because it is a bleaching cream and those spots can come back easily in the presence of UV rays. If IPL (intense pulsed light) lasers are out of your price range for getting rid of brown spots on your skin than try out a 4% hydroquinone product from most dermatologist offices for up to 3 months before discontinuing use. You can find less concentrated varieties like 2% hydroquinone in some facial products lines online and in drugstores. The lower concentration varieties of hydroquinone do not require any sort of prescription. VITAMIN A Tretinoin, which is a derivative of vitamin A, is often used to treat acne and other skin concerns such as sun damage. This topical retinoid is more commonly known as Retin-A or Renova. Speak to your dermatologist to see if you are a candidate for this treatment, as it requires a prescription and can be expensive. Some people can not use it because of redness and irritation that occurs, although this can often be remedied by reducing the usage and application. Many beautiful women use this topical treatment to make their skin look more even and to reduce the signs aging. My dermatologist office recommended I mix this with a hydroquinone treatment for best results, though you should consult your own doctor regarding this practice. LASH GROWTH SERUMS These rather new serums are hitting the market with a vengeance and product junkies are going NUTS over these. Most people look hot with defined lashes that make the eyes pop. Whether this is through applying makeup like mascara, or false lashes. Long lush lashes are a sign of femininity and look great on everybody. So should you go out and buy those lash growth serums? Well unfortunately only some work, and others claim too but don't deliver. There is an ingredient or derivative of used in trials with glaucoma patients that found that they were growing long beautiful lashes as a side effect. I can say that Latisse and Rapid Lash contain this ingredient, or derivatives of that can grow lashes. There may be more lash growth serums that work just as well, but many do NOT. And this ingredient can cause bad reactions in some people like unwanted iris color change and reactions where the serum was applied. So research your serum if you are going to try it, but I must say some people have had some great results. Ah the things we do for beauty. BOTOX One of the more controversial procedures to hit the beauty market has been the use of facial fillers like Botox. It is a serotype of botulism that is injected into specific areas of the face to produce a temporary paralysis of muscles and results in a smoother face. Wrinkles and furrows can be dramatically smoothed for months at a time and years can be taken off of one’s appearance in a matter of days after the Botox affect kicks in. Some people who admittedly use Botox look stunning and completely natural, while other people may overdo the Botox and fillers and look too plumped and unable to form basic facial expressions. Botox is not permanent and the effect will wear off depending on the person anywhere from 6 weeks to 4 months. Dermatologists are the experts that should be the ones to administer the Botox to your face; they have medical training on the musculature of the face and the highest level of education. Currently there are many other people besides doctors who will administer Botox, and the price will certainly be more affordable if you have a nurse or a specialist administer the Botox instead of a doctor. You will want to ask for credentials, years of experience, where they plan to place the units of Botox into your face to achieve your desired look, and remember this is your face we are talking about. Be very serious you want to achieve this look before committing to Botox injections. But many of my readers are very serious about looking amazing and therefore should make a consultation to get all their facts straight from their doctor if they want more information. SMILE Everyone in the world looks better when they smile. You want to look hot? Smile. Glaring and pouting only look stupid, even on the stars. To see an immediately attractive transformation of your face – smile.  TEETH WHITEN The biggest compliment I have gotten on my teeth over the years is asking how I got them so white. I bleach them! Or I used to anyway, now I only maintain that with a once a year touch-up. I love having white teeth, especially when I drink dark colored beverages like coffee that can stain teeth yellow, I feel more confident knowing that my teeth will still retain their white appearance. I hope at the very least you have tried some Crest White strips or something comparable to whiten yours. Most people naturally have stains on their teeth, even with proper brushing. So you can look into having them whitened at your dentist’s office or consider trying it yourself at home with drugstore products. I never use the whitening toothpastes because I am too afraid that the abrasive materials in them will cause damage to my enamel. STRAIGHTEN Having braces in your youth is the best fix for crooked teeth because it is considered socially acceptable and you have all your peers, whom are also wearing braces, to commiserate with. If you are now an adult and finding your crooked teeth a problem you may want to consider getting them straightened. Usually one gets braces but there are more adult friendly braces these days such as Invisalign (clear trays that you change out every two weeks) or you could just wear a retainer if your teeth aren’t incredibly crooked. Make sure to continue to wear your retainer after treatment is finished as your teeth may continue to shift in adulthood. Lastly, and the more expensive route, is getting a new smile through veneers. This may be cost prohibitive but it will instantly transform your smile. It is the way that most celebs get an overnight transformation on their smile when they first start to make it big and do not have time for two years of orthodontia. FRESH BREATHE Bad breath is the worst way to bring attention to your self. Oral hygiene is insanely important if you want to be considered an attractive and presentable person. Bad breath can usually be fixed by drinking a glass of water and then followed by brushing your tongue. Some people forget to brush their tongue when they brush their teeth, which I hope everyone does a MINIMUM of two times a day. A piece of gum or a mint is imperative in situations where you are speaking in close proximity to other people and you have not had the opportunity to brush your teeth. HAIR STYLING Hair looks best when styled. I know there are the rare beauties who have luscious locks that look perfect without ever seeing a hot tool, but most of us are not that lucky. I admit I often scrunch gel or mousse into my hair to achieve a level of waviness and then just air dry and go. To look the most presentable one should take the time to blow dry their hair, always aiming down the shaft to flatten the cuticle and using a large round brush to help smooth any fly-a-ways. After blow drying one should follow up with a straightening iron or large barreled curling iron to achieve an updated polished look. These styling tips obviously won’t apply to naturally curly haired beauties. Now perhaps your hair is very short or gets a weekly style/blowout and does not need this type of hair care routine. Than you should ensure your style looks movable and natural and that the hair is in good condition. Careful with the amount of product that you are using in your hair, we do not want crusty stiff hair. Our partners should be able to run their fingers through our manes, if they so desire. Hair ranges over texture and porosity so I know that suggesting any sort of maintenance program may work for one person but not the next, so instead I really want to stress that hair must look natural and current. Why would anyone want to have an outdated look? Whenever you run across someone stuck in the 80’s with their hairstyle don’t you wonder why? What else is that person completely oblivious to, and what other skills are not honed and up to date? You may not want to follow new trends but ensure that your hairstyle is current and always well maintained. If you are a back comber consider stopping this habit because that can be damaging to the hair, do you really want tons of little breakage and fly-a-ways at the back of your crown? Get regular trims, good conditioning treatments, and treat your hair nicely. Try out different styles, maybe a season with bangs? Maybe try a season with wild curls? With new hairstyles come different looks and more ideas. If you look in the mirror after trying out a new style and you feel immediately powerful than you may want to wear that style for a while. Flattering styles will definitely warrant you compliments, and this will only lead to an increase in self-confidence, and everyone is more attractive when they exude self-confidence. Women can just keep looking more beautiful, more beautiful, and more beautiful. COLOR The most gorgeous people in the world have learned to embrace their natural hair color and work with what they have. Unless they have turned gray, and even then the color they had in youth is the most flattering still. If you want highlights, lowlights, or overall color added to your hair for added depth than stick within 2 levels of your natural hair color. Hair color levels range from 1 through 10 with 1 being the darkest black color and 10 being the palest blonde color. It is a good idea to know what the number is of your natural hair color level. Hold up a hair color wheel, found in beauty supply shops, to your roots and match up the color to find your level. Follow this book’s color rules by sticking to hair dye colors within 2 levels of your own natural shade and it will allow you to have a more natural look when your roots start to grow out. Root growth should be retouched immediately, either at home or in the salon. Root growth looks the worst when there is a drastic color change, or when gray is starting to pop through. If one wants to color their gray hair they need to be dedicated and keep up with regular maintenance to look their best. Women over 50 need to consider softening their overall look including hair color and makeup tones. When I was first told I had to stick within 2 levels of my natural hair color I was dismayed and thought, “Then what is the point of dyeing it!” There is a caveat to this general rule, if you have a superb colorist at a skilled salon than they can often make brunettes look blonde, and vice versa. Though do not try to achieve this drastic color change at home unless you have had proper schooling. Stay away from abnormal hair colors because they make people look odd. Abnormal hair color on a person may be a stripe of platinum or blue hair on a brunette, or perhaps a fiery red color on a natural blonde. You know your own hair and what looks natural. Stick to a natural look and you will look the most flattering. POISE POSTURE Stand up straight, shoulders back; keep your head straightforward with your chin slightly lifted. If you do not already naturally stand in this position than memorize these instructions and repeat them over and over to yourself all day long until it comes naturally. Everyone looks more attractive with better posture. They look thinner too! When sitting at a desk, or in front of a table, do not rest your body on the table to support yourself. Sit on your bottom, lightly suck in your belly and lean ever so slightly forward. You may lightly rest your forearms on the table in front of you if necessary but try to keep an upright position at all times. I have had personal goals to work on my posture and it shows. In pictures and continually through life people have told me I carry myself well and have good posture. When people slouch they look sloppy and unattractive. Also our body language shows we do not really care when we slouch. Try to match your body language to your environment. If you are in a casual environment where everyone is lounging on couches and soft chairs please sit and enjoy, but there is no need to round your shoulders and drop your head into your chest giving you a double chin. One should always keep their head up and make eye contact with those they are listening to. SUCK IT IN Throughout the day we need to take a minute to stand tall and suck it in. That means engaging your core muscles, taking some deep breaths, and purposely lifting and straightening your spine while sucking in your belly. Shoulders down and back people. You will instantly look better. Now do it. LIFT YOUR HEAD Keep your chin lifted to look graceful. This is also imperative in conflict situations where we feel the need to drop our gazes and therefore our heads. Always keep your head up with your chin ever so slightly lifted. A forward gaze is the most attractive position and allows for the best eye contact with our peers. The neck can look doubled in size when scrunched downward by a dropped chin; this is another reason to always keep the smooth graceful appearance of our neck by lifting our chin up. ATTITUDE GRACE Manners are the icing on the cake for the ultimate hot person. When a gorgeous person is polite to boot, it is the quintessential delight. How we treat others is a reflection of how we treat ourselves. Honey will get you much farther than vinegar. Manners have too often gone down the drain amidst reality TV brawls and daytime talk shows. Keeping a polite demeanor is imperative because it shows we care. So shake peoples’ hands, always introduce yourself, smile and be congenial, say excuse me, please, thank you, and you’re welcome and always show respect for your elders. This is kids stuff here. But unfortunately needs to be reminded to those that have forgotten that manners leave the biggest first impression besides appearance. CONFIDENCE Meeting a beautiful woman with self-confidence leaves people thinking positively about that person long after the introduction. Confidence is a huge factor in deciding which candidate will be offered the job. Confidence is best demonstrated in a firm handshake and good eye contact, but it also comes out in how we speak and act. On one end of the spectrum we do not want to rush our words or giggle nervously, but on the other hand we certainly don’t want to go so far as to brag about our accomplishments and look disdainfully down our noses at others. If you feel confident in your abilities this will shine through to those around you, so start feeling it and watch the way people will start to treat you. BE POSITIVE We all love feeling happy and being surrounded by happy people. Laugh and enjoy life. Be positive about your experiences and look for the bright side of every story. Do NOT be the Debbie downer at the party. This gets old really fast. Positive people always appear more attractive than the broody pouting ones that look like they want to cry. LISTEN Remember to listen. Talking and making impressions is great, but there comes a time when we need to be still, quiet ourselves, and ask those around us how THEY are doing. Then comes the time where you must listen to their answer. True listening does not mean interrupting or not paying attention because you are planning what you are going to say back to them. The most enjoyable conversations are when people are truly listening to their peers when they talk, and showing that they enjoy what they are hearing through their facial expressions and body language. HAVE A SMILE Everyone looks better when they smile. Smile if you want to look and feel gorgeous. FEMININITY The next time you drink a cup of coffee or tea lightly stick your pinky out. Besides making you smile just a bit this is the best test of true femininity. Our feminine side comes out in the small dainty gestures and graceful movements that we do throughout our day. We may not even know it but the men certainly do. To take advantage of the beautiful feminine nature we are born with take the time and the thought to be graceful in your movements instead of clomping around noisily and breathing heavy like a cave man. Lift and lower yourself gracefully while you get up and down from your seat. Walk like a woman, putting one foot in front of the other. Some women naturally sashay their hips a bit as they walk, if this happens naturally for you let it. No need to be jerky and poke your butt out from side to side as you walk, but most ladies are born with hips that will have their own swaying movement that looks quintessentially feminine. BODY WORK OUT CONSISTENTLY Follow a regular workout schedule. It does not matter if you change your routine from running to yoga to weight lifting, just be consistent and work out on a regular basis. Finding the time to work out is a priority for your health, longevity, and your appearance. Everyone looks better in clothes when they have a fit body underneath. Let yourself work out to the point where your heart rate is elevated and you may break out in a sweat. Wear a heart rate monitor and obviously consult a doctor for your best physical fitness advice. If your goal is to look as hot as is humanly possible than you need to know that working out is a given, and you will honestly feel way better after exercising. COUNT CALORIES Figure out how many calories you should be consuming through many of the books, articles, or online tools containing this information and then follow it. If your goal is to lose weight than you need to take in less calories per day than you expend through activity. This deficit will result in a weight loss, and the opposite will result in a weight gain. Simple enough, let’s not complicate things. MODERATION Moderation is the key when it comes to what we put into our body. Whether it be food or drink we need to keep a balanced diet and not go crazy on the sugar, alcohol, name your vice. If you blow it and down a whole quart of ice cream in one sitting than get right back on track the next morning. Everyone feels and looks better with a balanced diet. SHAPEWEAR Wearing shapewear under your clothing will give you a smooth and sleek appearance. Even the trimmest celebrities will often wear Spanx underneath their dresses at big parties to reduce the appearance of any possible bulges or rolls. Muffin top is a horrible syndrome to take over our world from wearing tight low-rise jeans. Try pairing those tight low rise jeans with a Spanx cami underneath and watch that muffin top disappear. You know best where on your body your trouble spot is and buy the proper shapewear piece to wear underneath your clothing at that trouble spot. It will be your little secret, or secret weapon as it turns out. DO NOT TAN Please please please do not go tanning unless you want to look like an old hag very fast. Tanning in beds or outside in the sunlight will damage your skin and make you age. None of that bologna about UVA versus UVB tanning beds makes any difference; you will accelerate the aging and wrinkling process if you choose to tan. Learn to love your natural skin color. It is odd to finally embrace your natural skin color if you have been tanning for a while. You will get used to it and you will start to LOVE it. One of the biggest beauty tips for centuries has been to stay out of the sun, and that is because beautiful people know how great they can look without exposing themselves to increased risk of skin cancer and sun damage. Any potential benefit of receiving your daily dose of Vitamin D through sunlight is far outweighed by the risks it poses to your health, and therefore your beauty. Pop a vitamin instead and stay out of the sun. If you must have the tan look try dusting on some bronzer when applying your makeup. Make sure to dust it on all the parts of your face/body that the sun naturally touches like your cheekbones, forehead, and nose. If you want to even out your skin tone, try a self-tanner or spray tanner. Exfoliate first and moisturize afterwards so you don’t look spotty. Do NOT go oompah loompah orange; you’d be better off not sunless tanning if that is your goal. Remember, your skin will look even more orange in flash photography than it does in natural light. So if you get a sunless tan and plan to be in a place where people are taking pictures you may be mortified by how you look on film. HANDS and NAILS SPF USE The back of your hands are one of the first things to show your age so it is vital that you apply at least an SPF 15 product on the back of your hands every day. Remember any exposed skin must be protected by applying SPF 15 to reduce the risk of sun damage, and should be reapplied regularly. So many people who remember to use sunscreen protection on their face will often forget the back of their hands and find that their hands age quicker than the rest of their body, often leaving large brown age spots to appear over time. You can also take good care of your hands by keeping them properly moisturized at night. Before you go to bed apply a moisturizer to your hands and cuticles and really rub it in well to absorb. If you are already a dedicated hand lotion user, as I see so many women are, then consider using only lotions that are fragrance free in the future. Many of the fragrant lotions are filled with alcohols and other fragrance ingredients that can be irritating to the skin. Any form of irritation to the skin results in skin damage and can actually be hurting skin cell growth instead of being beneficial. TRIM NAILS Long claw-like nails are OUT. Update your look now with a nice shortened nail. Only a bit of growth beyond the tip of the finger is acceptable in the workplace. So take proper care of your nails at all times to complete the whole package. Trim your nails and follow that by filing any ragged edges or points until they are smooth. CLEAN & TIDY I hate to have to mention this but everyone must keep clean hands for sanitary reasons, as well as adding to their overall look. Dirt under the nails and red raggedy hangnails around your cuticles must never happen unless you are on a mountain climbing expedition or gardening. Keeping your hands and nails clean and tidy is the most attractive look for everybody. NAIL POLISH Polish your nails or not. That is a personal preference but there are is a rule to be followed if you choose to adorn your nails with polish. Once the very first chip appears in your polish you must remove it immediately with nail polish remover or else paint in the chip. Chipped nail polish is a look that works on very few, so keep an eye on your nails and be prepared to never wear your polish for more than two days. FAKE NAILS Yuck do not do it. They are time consuming, expensive, and unattractive. Now the new gel nails are considerably more durable and do not necessarily fall into the fake nail category. The old school fake acrylic nails that you have to get filled in every other week are damaging to your nails, and besides, those fumes from applying them are just noxious. ACCESSORIZE ACCESSORIES Please wear accessories. Even one statement piece added daily to your outfit is so pleasing and shows you took the time to consider your appearance. Accessories are not only jewelry, but they can also be a scarf thrown around your neck, your handbag, or even a hat. A properly coordinated outfit in which you took the time to adorn yourself with a few accessories is so pleasing to the eye, and makes you look more attractive than just wearing your outfit alone. I think every woman needs to have a personal goal to add one accessory to her outfit everyday. STATEMENT PIECES When wearing accessories it is possible to over-accessorize. Coco Chanel suggested that all women look in the mirror before they leave the house and take the last accessory they just put on back off. Everyone should pick one statement piece to wear, but then any remaining accessories on their body should be smaller in nature or not as noticeable as their chosen statement piece. For example, one can wear a bright coral scarf wrapped loosely around their neck as their statement piece. Since this is very noticeable and brightly colored any other accessories should be smaller and simpler in nature. Simpler accessories could include a pair of small hoops or stud earrings, or perhaps a simple tennis bracelet and nothing else. I LOVE large accessories and large pieces of jewelry on a woman. I think they are fun to look at and compliment, and they are the best conversation starters. Our eye is always drawn to large statement pieces and having more than one on your person can be too much for the eye to take in. Too many accessories look so busy and silly on a person that one has to avoid looking at you. Choose your one statement necklace, or dangly chandelier earrings, and then remain simple with the remaining pieces. A word about rings, stick to just 2-3 at the most on our hands. When did massive amounts of rings on our hands become popular? They certainly aren’t practical. GOOD CONDITION If you are going to invest in accessories consider getting high quality pieces that will not look cheap. I often see impeccably dressed women in high-end clothing and shoes only to throw on a cheap looking necklace and take away from their whole appearance. I believe that you can find good quality accessories without spending a fortune. Also you can make your accessories look better by keeping them in good condition, clean, and free of any tangles or nicks. Any outdated or cheap accessories should be donated and purged from your collection. JUST TRY IT A skirt and a shirt can come to life with a gorgeous necklace thrown over it. College students or stay at home moms in jeans and t-shirts look more chic if they pop in a cute pair of hoop earrings and some bangles on their wrist. It doesn’t have to take a long time to accessorize, but it can be fun to put together your adornments and totally transform your look. Just try it every morning as you get dressed and you will be thrilled with your increased hotness. STYLE FIT The most important principle in style and fashion is clothing fit. How does that outfit fit on your body shape? Fit the largest part on your body and anything else can be tailored. For instance, if you have an undefined waist then you need to make sure your jeans or skirt are not too tight in this particular area. Every person’s body is different and they may need to purchase items in a size that allows room for their voluptuous chest, or hips. Maybe their thighs and booty always feel like sausage casings because they are stuffed into their pants, then go up a size! You need to fit the largest spots on your body then anywhere that is too loose can be taken in. It is best to go shopping with the mindset that anything off the rack will need to be tailored or hemmed for an extra $10 or so. Rarely does anything fit like a glove without the proper measurements. If you have a closet full of items in a smaller size or two than do not wear these items, you need to dress for the size and body that you are currently in. Perhaps you need to finally donate those items. By the time you may reach that smaller size again those items may be outdated anyway. Wearing clothing that is too tight will make you look large. Conversely, clothing that is baggy and hanging off you does not make you look small, it makes you look frumpy! Wear clothes that fit you. HORIZONTAL LINES Make sure that you are not placing horizontal lines and color changes at trouble spots on your body. Here are a few examples: a woman with large flabby upper arms wears a cap sleeve shirt that is tightly fit around her troubled upper arms. The change in color from her shirt to her skin tone, along with the tight hemline of the cap sleeve, makes for a bad horizontal line at her trouble spot. It brings too much attention to her upper arms and would be better suited in a ¾ length sleeved shirt or even a tank top where the shirt sleeve doesn’t end right at the large portion of her arm. Here is another example of horizontal line use: a woman wears a white shirt over black pants. The white shirt meets the black pants and forms a horizontal line right at her very wide hips. The color change is very dramatic and the eye is drawn to the wideness of the hips. Instead she should consider where she is placing her horizontal lines by wearing a similar color shirt as her pants to create a vertical column, which is very slimming, and maybe topping her outfit with an open cardigan. If she still wants to wear a white shirt over black pants then she needs to consider the hem-length of her shirt and have the color change occur at a more flattering part of her body. Maybe her thighs are very nice and she wants to wear a longer styled fitted white sweater that ends at her thighs instead of her hips. Every woman needs to take her body into consideration regarding where horizontal lines can occur. GOOD BASICS Have some good basic clothing pieces to have in your closet before you splurge on the trendy items. Good basics include a few tanks/camis and t-shirts in your basic color, for instance black, grays, white, browns or tans, this all depends on what looks best with your skin tone and wardrobe. You will also need a black pair of pants, a nice dark pair of jeans or two, long sleeved shirts, a coat, and sweaters in basic colors. Lastly you need a solid color skirt and dress. Before you buy the purple ruffled skirt or the military green blazer remember to have the basic pieces first. It is so easy to look at our closet and say we do not have anything to wear, when maybe we are just missing the basic pieces to bring our wardrobe to life. I bet if you shop your closet you will find you already own many of these pieces, now bring them to the front of your closet and base your daily wardrobe off your basic pieces. SKIRTS & DRESSES PLEASE wear skirts and dresses; I wish more ladies would wear these beautiful pieces. The best thing about being a hot woman is that we can dress feminine and show we took the time to care about our appearance. I think all women look better in a skirt because it brings out the beautiful feminine form. The most flattering look of a skirt or dress has the hemline ending around the knees plus or minus a couple of inches. If your skirt ends too short it looks kind of trashy, unless you are a tween that can pull it off, and even then opaque tights or leggings look best with the mini-skirt look because we do not want to make other people uncomfortable when they look at us. Skirts that are too long look frumpy and outdated. Floor length or calf length skirts never look good. I think some women think they are hiding the lower body by putting on massive tent-like bohemian skirts when really they are just drawing the eye down to their lower body. Even if you hate your legs please keep your skirt length just a couple of inches below your knees. CLOTHING CARE Take care of your clothing. You do not want your clothing to have any loose threads, stains, or pills because it will draw negative attention to your appearance. You want people to notice how gorgeous you look every day, and the eye will naturally be drawn to anything ugly or out of place on a person. You want to strive to look impeccable at every occasion, and therefore you need to take the upmost care of your clothing by gently laundering, and following the instructions for care. Please purge your closet of any stained or outdated clothing. If you think you can repair the tear or hole in an article of clothing than sew it up and try it on in front of a mirror to make sure it looks like it is supposed to. Do not stockpile items that you will “one day” get around to sewing and de-staining. Either fix them or purge them from your closet. Regarding storage, clothing can either be hung from a hanger or folded neatly in a drawer or on a shelf. Having heaps of clothing around your room and thrown over chairs will clutter your mind and eventually ruin your clothing. The only time you can pile your clothes is before you are going to wash them. Those clothes you purchased were expensive and you want them to last and look perfect every time you put them on. COLOR PALETTE Try to keep a consistent color palette amongst your wardrobe for ease of dressing. Make sure the color palette is flattering to your skin tone and overall look. A woman who looks good in brown may want to continue to buy and wear her basic pieces in tones of browns and tans that are flattering and that coordinate with other fall colors. Keep it all within one color family and than your clothes have the best chance of matching each other when you are trying to coordinate your outfits. If you are the type to only wear black then make sure this color looks good on you. This is a very current look and nearly every clothing line has their pieces available in the black color. Really look in the mirror at yourself in your black clothing to see if that is truly a flattering look for you. On some people black is a draining color and makes them look deathly. Black is considered slimming so it is popular, but you could also wear another dark color and still get the slimming effect if black is washing you out. HEEL HEIGHT Heels come in so many different heights that pairing your heels with your pants can sometimes be a challenge. One pair of flat-heeled shoes may make the pants drag on the floor while another pair of platform high-heeled shoes may give you the appearance of wearing high waters that are too short for your legs. Please wear the shoes that you are planning on wearing with the pants when you try on your pants at the store, or when you go and get them tailored to a flattering height for your legs. You may want to consider purchasing shoes in all similar heights. I purchase heels and boots near 2 to 2.5 inches in height because I want to be able to pair all of my shoes with all of my pants. I have a couple of pairs of jeans that I only wear with flat shoes; these would look too short if I paired them with heels. When you walk the back of your pant hem lifts slightly and causes the pants to look shorter, so make sure and walk in your pants in front of a mirror to check the length. BRAS Want to look 10 years younger? Wear a supportive lifting bra and lift those girls up! Make sure that your bra is fitting you properly. Go and get a professional bra fitting. You do not want to have spillage over your bra cups that will show through your shirt as bulges and make you look lumpy. Make sure the band is properly fit to your rib cage and that you are adjusting your shoulder straps to get the best fit. A supportive chest makes your clothes look better, makes you look slimmer, and feels better. SHOP YOUR CLOSET Before you go out and purchase a whole new wardrobe spend an hour or two shopping your closet. You will be amazed at some of the pieces you have in there that you can coordinate into new outfits. Try wearing something in a totally different way. Think creatively and have some fun. Get out your accessories and try wearing your outfits in a new arrangement with different accessories. Even if you do not think it is really you there is no harm in trying something different on and looking at yourself in front of a full-length mirror to see the whole package. This may be a good time to purge any old and tired items that no longer fit from your closet. FRAGRANCE SCENT Do you ever smell a perfume and have it remind you of someone? Having a light trademark scent can leave others with a pleasant memory of you. If you are going to wear a scent apply it lightly, so that one only smells it when hugging you or in close contact. It is better to have too little than too much perfume on. A spritz or two can go a long way. When choosing a scent take your time to pick out the scent you want to convey, and pair it appropriately with your style. Women smell good, we just do.