Posted by hillary on Aug 31, 2009 in Uncategorized |
Sexy Brazilian swimwear line Poko Pano shares their Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami collection here on Solessence.
Looking at the stunning array of 15 styles, I asked Amy Snyder Hackbart if she would provide a few tips for getting swimsuit sexy. Amy came back with something even better – a “Love Yourself” guide, a reminder that being fit by being healthy is the sexiest look of all.
Styles, L to R – Isabelle, Murango, Parker
Love Yourself Enough to Embrace Your Assets
- No one loves everything about their body. It’s true. Whether young, old, famous, infamous, thin, not-so-thin – EVERY woman has something about themselves they don’t like. Accept that this is okay and that you are not alone in your dissatisfaction about whatever body part it is, and you’ll feel better about yourself – truly you will.
- Find one part of yourself you are satisfied with. Once you’ve made peace with your imperfections, it is kind of nice to also find at least one thing about yourself you like. It could be your toes, or your hair, or your waist or your shoulders, but find something and then focus on it. Lavish praise upon this part you like– and maybe slowly you can become friends with the other parts that aren’t your favorites.
- Enhance the parts you like. Learn to dress to enhance the part or parts you like best. This is true at work, play, at the beach or in the snow. There are SO many designs and styles of apparel available, there is certain to be a dress, shirt, skirt or swim suit style that helps you enhance the parts you like so you feel better about yourself as you are today. Once you gain the confidence that comes from showing off what you like about yourself, deciding to take care of the rest of you seems only natural.
Styles, L to R – Jayne, Hope, Sophia
Love Yourself Enough to Eat Right
- Give up Fast Food. Period. There is no such thing as healthy fast food. It is as empty a calorie as cookies and chips only with tons of fats, preservatives and fillers. You deserve better, so eat that way!! Shower yourself with fresh fruits, nuts, lean meats, fish, veggies, cheese (yes cheese!) and you won’t miss that nutritionally deficient fast food filler.
- Clean out your cupboards. Like cleaning out your closet of clothes you no longer wear, cleaning out your cupboard of chips, cookies, cakes, pies, pretzels etc. will help you stay on track. Instead replace these nutritionally empty snack foods with better choices. Since no one is perfect, if you do get the urge to splurge, try to limit your intake of these types of foods to ‘special occasion’ single serving sizes – and try to eat just one.
- c. Drink water or tea instead of juice, soda or alcohol. By keeping your body well-hydrated, you are allowing it to operate with maximum efficiency allowing you to burn more calories and digest foods more efficiently. Hydration is crucial, but what you use to keep hydrated is just as important – fruit juices, alcohol and even soda are full of sugars that your body metabolizes as FAT. Diet soda is just as bad – it is all chemicals that still cause your body to read the artificial sweeteners as sugar that create FAT. Get bored of water and tea? Buy naturally flavored sparkling water, or buy plain and flavor it yourself with lemons, limes, berries, apples and other fruits.
Styles, L to R – Calient, Serena, Shine
- Eat more foods that are plant-based. Fruits, vegetables and nuts, should be a big part of your daily menu. They taste best when they are freshest (even frozen is okay, just not canned – too many preservatives and sugary syrups). They make you full faster and help your skin, hair and nails look better.
- Had enough on food changes? Not sure you can make them all? That’s okay, just do your best each day, keep track of what you eat and make sure each of your three meals (skipping meals equals a slow metabolism) include fresh fruits, vegetables and lean protein and no fast food or snack foods!
Love Yourself Enough to Exercise
- Exercise 30 minutes a day 3 times a week. Even 30 minutes a day, 3 times a week can make a big difference in how you look and feel. Maintaining a healthy pace as you walk, jog or ride your bike will get your heart rate up and blood flowing.
- Add some weight. No, not put on weight, but ADD weights to your workout routine. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so ideally you want to build as much muscle as possible to turn your body into a top notch calorie burner. Small hand weights of 3-5 pounds used regularly whether for bicep curls, lunges or squats make you work harder and help you build muscle as you burn calories. It’s a proven, powerful combination that really helps get you results.
- Park as far away as possible. This is the easiest way to get exercise I know. Parking far from the entrance of where you work or shop gives you the opportunity to squeeze in some extra exercise! It helps you get the extra steps that add up to the 30 minutes of exercise you need 3 times a week. Walk at a brisk pace, and you’ll be boosting your metabolism as you burn more calories. Plus, there are always parking spots!
Styles, L to R – Cabana, Mirage, Madiera
- Take the stairs wherever and whenever possible. This is the second easiest way to get exercise! Waiting in line for the escalator or elevator isn’t nearly as fun as trying to beat everyone up or down using the stairs. The added bonus is it is a great lower body (hips/thighs/butt) work out.
- At work, or when studying, get up and walk around. Lots of us have jobs that require us to sit behind a desk for 8+ hours a day. By taking little breaks and walking around for a few minutes (like to the bathroom because you’ve been drinking water throughout the day) helps you feel more awake and feel better.
Styles, L to R – Aztec, Twiggy, Chile
- Hate the idea of a ‘work out’? Get bored at the thought of the gym or weights? The key to exercise is to move your body for at least 30 minutes. Dance, swim, bike, hike, skateboard, roller skate, volleyball, tennis – the list of options is endless. Try them all till you find one or two you like and, as Nike says, ‘just do it!’ You’ll look and feel better in no time!
Poko Pano swimwear is available on their website and select boutiques worldwide.
Posted by hillary on Aug 30, 2009 in Uncategorized |
Unsung Heroes is a place to discuss products that may miss out on glamorous promotions, but deliver on their promises.
Emmy nominated celebrity hair stylist Luke O’Connor, owner of LuKaRo Salon in Beverly Hills has gained a following for creating Debra Messing’s look on “Will & Grace,” and has styled Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Blake Lively, Becky Newton, Diane Keaton, Ashlee Simpson, Brooke Shields and Lucy Liu, among others. As spokesperson and consultant for Suave, he was live at BlogHer, doing what he does best. For the masses. I failed to get my hair done (yes, I was insane to miss the opportunity, and no, I don’t recall them ever taking a break), but I spent a good amount of time talking with other Suave reps about the new Professional line.
The Suave Professionals line is slated to work as well as a competing salon line with less cost. I left with a generous full size bottle of shampoo and conditioner, and Sleek Cream (to help with frizz – there! I said it!). The comparative salon brand for Color Care is Biolage.
I tried the Sleek Cream the next day and love the texture and ease of use. It is of medium light texture, somewhere between a cream and a gel, it distributes easily. I did continue to have mild flyaways, so it is possible I needed to use more. Static is one of the toughest problems to combat with hair, so if you have a lot of issues during humidity you might need to go with a much stronger product.
In the end, it is the shampoo and conditioner that blew me away.
The shampoo definitely cleansed without stripping, but initially didn’t seem to work in as easily as Biolage (I actually had some in the shower, and felt a little pang of regret not using ‘the expensive stuff’). I want to note that after multiple uses, I didn’t seem to have this problem anymore, so perhaps it was battling some sort of build up.
The conditioner, on the other hand, was immediately soaked up in each strand. By nature and chemical processing, my locks are conditioner thirsty, and if my hair takes product in easily I can usually tell it will be good for it. Just like Biolage, the consistency was a nice translucent cream that did not weigh the hair down. Critical!
So what was the end result? Something I didn’t expect. I have some serious shine going on! I can only guess it is the color protectant in the formulation that is making my hair looking as if it was freshly colored. You know, that bright, healthy, vibrant glow? My locks also felt incredibly soft. Fortunately, it wasn’t flat soft (I hate that) and I really could not stop touching my hair.
This was the first I’d heard about the Professional Series, which looks like a revision of a line put out around 2007.
Two thumbs way up for the 2009 version. I don’t know what performance and true color-treatment protection is like yet if used exclusively over a 30-day period, but it is well worth at least intermixing, if not going exclusive. At $3 a bottle, Suave has done a great job. www.suave.com
The line carries a number of products with corresponding salon matches for different hair types. Find your type and treat yourself:
Humectant = NEXXUS Therappe
Color Care = Biolage
Damage Care = Redken Extreme
Vibrant Shine = Sebastian Laminates
Sleek = Matrix SleekLook
Volumizing =Matrix Amplify
Posted by admin on Aug 27, 2009 in Uncategorized |
Free of artificial fragrance or dyes, perfectly round spheres are suspended in a creamy base that includes Vitamin K and Peppermint oil. When smoothed onto the skin, the result is an awakening to the senses, both through olfactory and topical stimulation. Capillary repair is said to be an additional benefit of the Vitamin K.
