When it comes to beauty and anti aging, there are plenty of cheap tricks you can use, and even things you can do in your downtime while you’re sitting at the computer (as I often am), that can help you lift your face, whiten your smile, and tighten those thighs and reduce cellulite.

My first tip, and one of my person favorites, is one that helps you maintain a tight, toned jawline as gravity starts to take its toll when you start getting on in years. Take a pen, or pencil, and clench it between the right side, then the left side, of your mouth, between your “side teeth”.

You will notice that you feel your lower chin area contract. You are actually toning the area under your chin, helping to prevent that dreaded “waddle” which is the loose skin or excess fat that sort of hangs there below your chin – or the “double chin” that none of us wants.  You can reposition the pen as you like, and you will actually feel the contraction switching focus from one area to another.

Taking, that same pen, you can also do another anti aging facial exercise.  Take the pen between your two fingers, and put it right under your chin, so it acts as a sort of chin rest. Then push down on it as hard as you can with your chin. This is another great chin firming exercise.

One of the things you can do while you’re sitting around, or even sleeping, which can help reduce cellulite, is to wear a pair of these new slimming cellulite contour pants.

Most of these are made with neoprene, which is a flexible, but constricting material that encourages circulation and therefore helps smooth out cellulite by constricting the fatty tissue and sort of “forming it” into a smaller space so that the cellulite is reduced over time.

This one isn’t really a time saver, but it’s a good old stand by that I like to remind people about, because it’s dirt cheap and ALL NATURAL, and it also has many other benefits for breath freshening and bacteria killing as well.

I’m talking about using baking soda as a totally natural teeth whitener. Baking soda only costs anywhere from fifty cents to a dollar for a box.  It doubles as a fridge deodorizer too, how cool is that!?

To get the maximum whitening benefits from baking soda, dip your wet toothbrush directly into it ,and before you brush, scrub your teeth with the wet baking soda brush. Then, you can brush with the regular toothpaste if you wish to get that minty feeling. Not only will your teeth whiten a shade after a few times, but you will also experience fresher breath.

When selecting clothing , most women try something on quickly in the store to decide if they like it or not.  This can lead to impulse buying of clothes that you’ve tried on briefly, thought you liked it in the store, then you get it home and don’t care for it at all. 

After this, it may hang in your closet for years before you decide to donate the item to a thrift store.  Sometimes, you just don’t care for a clothing item once you get it home and you don’t know why you find it unflattering. 

There are some rules of thumb when selecting clothing so the outfits you get will look better on you and you will be comfortable wearing them in any environment.  When choosing the color scheme for your clothes, try to find a color that flatters your skin tone rather than a hue that matches your eyes or goes with your hair. 

Patterns in clothing should be based on your body type and stature.  A petite, small boned woman will want to stay with a smaller type of print or weave rather than a large bold print or weave. 

Choosing softer colors and pastels will minimize the look of aging skin.  Very dark or intense colors will accentuate any fine lines or wrinkles and make them stand out more.

Many people assume that black will make them appear slimmer.  However, when you are standing against a light colored wall, black or another very dark color will actually make you stand out more and appear larger. 

The other downside of wearing black is that it can drain color from your face making you seem paler than you are.  If you are a very pale person, you may want to reconsider wearing black.

A lot of people stay with only one certain color group and think that is the only color that they look good in. 

In fact, it is the shade of the color and not the color itself that will either flatter your skin tone and hair coloring or not.  Most people can wear almost any color as long as they choose the right shade of that color for their personal skin tone.

Another common mistake many women make is to try to alter their shades of makeup to match the outfit they are wearing.  You should keep your makeup consistently suited to your skin tone only and not change it according to your clothing selection for the day.

Have you ever looked at a photo of yourself, like maybe in a social situation, or at a really important event, or maybe even just at a family or friends event – that really makes your skin crawl? We’ve all been there. It’s the curse of the unflattering position. Or maybe you had a bad hair day, or you were just posed in a really unflattering position.

The right picture can make you look much younger, while the wrong angle can make you look years older, much more harsh, and generally just not as attractive as you might be in real life!  All the celebrities have been coached on how to photograph well. Why do you think you see all those pictures of Hollywood starlets posing to the side – rarely head on?

They all know that posing in certain ways can either make or break a photo op, that’s why!  So, one of the first rules of looking good in pictures, especially if it’s a full body shot, is to stand slightly angled. Never stand straight on, but always sort of stand so that you are tilted toward the other person in the picture. You may feel ridiculous doing this, I know I certainly do if I’m trying to “strike a pose” but it is supposed to make ya look better.

Another curious tip I recently read was to tilt your head slightly back and cast your eyes downward somewhat. I guess that’s just supposed to make you look more attractive. I don’t know about this one. It’s hard to do it without it looking contrived.

One important tip is to wear a little bit of lipstick too if you’re a woman. That way, you have some contrast on your face and you just look “prettier”.  Only a little blush-colored lipstick would be find, just enough to give your lips some life. Also, try to make sure facial oil is blotted. We’ve all been the “greasy face” in pictures before unless you happen to have really dry skin by nature.

I don’t know about you, but I really don’t like showing my legs in shorts or skirts of any kind in the summer if my legs are pale.  I’m not a huge fan of my legs to begin with. I think they are the least feminine and least attractive part of my body, and they do look better when they’re tan.

However, many women have a really hard time getting tan legs. The thought as to the reason is that there is not as much blood flow to the legs, and places that have more blood flow usually get tanner more easily.

A good example of an area of the body that gets tan pretty well is your stomach. This is because there is a lot of blood pumping activity in that area of the body. This is not true for your extremities, because they have less blood flow.  Therefore, the only really good way to guarantee tan legs is to put some self tanner on them and wait for them to develop.

Another reason you shouldn’t try to tan your legs in the sun is that you are also putting the rest of your body out in the sun for too long, since they take longer. Incidentally, the legs are the most common part of the body that turns up with cancerous growths. So, it’s safe to say to just try to stick to supplementing your sun time with a good self tanner to get your legs tan.

Another tip to baring your legs in the summer is to use a shave minimizer. You can find good hair removal products that will minimize your shaving time, and leave your legs a ton smoother in the summer.

This way, not only do you have to shave your legs less (something that all of us ladies love), but you are also minimizing the removal of any tan you have built up.  Shaving does help diminish your tan, even if it’s a self tanner, because it literally shaves off layers of your skin cells, which is where the tan is held, when you run the razor over your legs.

If you hate wearing shorts, like I do, especially the older I get, then get yourself a few pairs of cute capris. They’re cool in the summer, and you can buy materials that really flatter your shape , and minimize the leg you have to show.

I for one, feel like facials are more of a pampering, relaxation indulgence, than they are for any real benefit to the skin on your face looking much better or being healthier and less lined, smoother, or less prone to breakouts or redness. Especially when combined with the fact that the top spas will charge you up to a hundred bucks for a facial, it’s kind of hard to justify this price for something where you are not really getting anything highly therapeutic like microdermabrasion or an acid peel, something that really takes some layers off, reduces age spots, and increases collagen production.

For my money, I’d always rather go for an actual treatment than a facial, but apparently there are some benefits to facials that I’ve been overlooking after I heard them from a dermatologist who really has nothing to gain by claiming there are benefits to facials and they are not just a total waste of money and time. While the benefits of relaxation and the feeling of self pampering are undeniable, as a facial definitely feels good when you’re having one, and many of the products and techniques they use certainly make your skin feel baby soft when done, there are also other benefits that will make you skin glow, and the appearance of your pores smaller.

Most experienced facialists are skilled at extracting blackheads and other pore imperfections, so you definitely may see some smaller, more clear looking pores after a facial, but you do want to make sure you go to someone who is reputable, as the wrong pore extraction can leave you with a hole that won’t close up instead of a clear pore, or it can even get infected and turn into something much worse looking than a blackhead. Not only that, you don’t want someone to be overzealous with your skin and over exfoliate if you have sensitive skin, so make sure you have a good conversation with the facialist before they start about your skin type and any sensitivities you may have.

There are many different kinds of facials these days. Some may even employ newer technologies, like oxygen or light therapy. These to me are more beneficial than just a straight facial where you aren’t really getting anything other than a mask and some thorough cleansing and soothing as well as any necessary extractions. They also may be more expensive though, so if you’re watching your wallet you may want to steer clear of these newer types unless you really want to indulge.

Everyone wants gorgeous, luminous, flawless skin.  That’s why makeup artists like to use a technique to apply cream foundation called stippling.  It is popular amongst television and movie makeup artists as well because it is known for giving better, more thorough coverage with a cream based foundation and cover up.  Note that it is not really the best to use liquid foundation for a good cover up job, because it does not provide the solid coverage of a cream based, thicker foundation, so for television, they usually use a heavier coverage foundation, and this stippling makes it go on much better and gives a more even coverage.

You could use this type of cream based foundation if you’re going for a night out on the town, however, it might feel a bit too heavy for the day time. Stippling is when you take a cream based foundation and take a wedge makeup sponge, preferably of high quality and not a cheap latex one which soaks up all your product, and you dab it over and over under the eyes and in the areas that need the  most coverage.  It’s great for if you have blemishes or age spots because of the superior coverage.

If you’ve ever seen any shows where someone’s face is being made up, you’ll notice that they do this repeated dabbing motion all the time, this is what stippling is, and it works great for getting the makeup evenly distributed and targeting those problem areas.  Now, you can also use a brush to stipple your foundation.  You can use this with liquid foundation.  One of the best places to get a professional brush for the proper technique is the MAC counter since they sell all sorts of professional brushes.

The show “What Not to Wear” has skyrocketed to popularity due to it’s campy hosts and the idea behind it, which is to make women feel like they’ve been renewed, and to take on “projects” which are women who have stuck to the same tired style or really need help with showing off their best assets in a sophisticated, stylish way.  Oh, and the fact that the participants get 5 grand to spend on clothes is just too much to stand.  I know I’ve never spent even close to that on clothing!

It’s sort of like watching a fairy tale unfold as you watch these shows, because you see a woman who usually dresses in dowdy or outrageous and unflattering clothes turn into a natural radiant, and seemingly effortless style maven in front of your eyes, all in a half hour.  What’s not to love?  The latest one I saw took a young mom, Misty, who tended to prefer clothes that were goth/punk that were black, combat boots, and jet black hair with severe makeup on her pale but perfect skin.

In the end, she truly evolved, and she really liked it.  She had her hair lifted, and came out with a wonderful warm brown color, which was ironically her original color.  She admitted that she had dyed her hair jet black on a whim years ago and just never went back because it would have taken too long and too much money to pull the color out.  Plus, the stripping of dark colors comes at the price of drying the hair out a lot, so that’s another reason it’s very hard to go from jet black to lighter color without jeopardizing the health of your hair.

The makeup ideas her makeup artist gave her were great.  She paired her light, porcelain peaches and cream complexion and green eyes with a nice natural taupe shadow, a shimmery light tan shadow from top to bottom, and a nice brown shimmery eyeliner on the top and bottom lids to bring out her eyes in a look that could have been worn for either day or night.  She looked like a new woman, and she looked absolutely beautiful.  She also did away with her bright, blue hued red lipstick and picked up a peachy red that complemented her skin tone wonderfully.  Talk about a Cinderella story!

It’s the holidays again, and that means lots of holiday parties where you have the opportunity to glam up your makeup choices a bit without feeling like you’re overdoing it.  You also get to pile on a little more sparkly jewelry than usual without feeling like you’ve been “blinged” out as lots of women normally would if they have too many pieces of jewelry on or if they’ve chosen brighter, more sparkly pieces than they usually would. 

As far as your eyes go, the holidays are the time to get a little more dramatic and a little more bold with your color choices if it’s something you’re comfortable with.  Heck, even if it’s a little out of your comfort zone, go for it anyways, you never know when a little experimentation will lead to a new favorite color of a new favorite application technique. 

What kinds of colors can you expect to see in your local Sephoras and drugstore makeup sections?  Well, there seems to be a lot of greens showing up on shelves near me.  Greens are a great color choice, because depending on your coloring, you can choose earthier tones to make a more understated statement, or you can go with a bit brighter of a color of green, but you have to be careful with this because this may only look good on the cooler skin tones.

I’ve seen a lot of bold golds too.  Golds are usually only good for women who have warmer skin tones, so I would avoid golds, if like me, you are fair skinned and have a cooler skin tone.  However, if you really must try it and are cooler toned, then look for a light gold, and one with some hints of white or silver in it to offset the glittery gold color. 

Purples are a fun and festive option too.  Sure, they’re not really your traditional holiday color, but they can be festive when paired with the right accessories and outfit, and you can wear purples whether you have cooler skin tones, or warmer, because purples come in so many different shades that are suitable for both.  You can also choose to pair it with a dark brown eyeliner or a black one, but I choose a lighter charcoal hinted black because you don’t want to overly state the eyeliner when pairing with purples – at least that’s my opinion, so that the purple stands out a bit more.

Today is my day off.  And what did I do as far as my little self indulgent beauty treatment? Why, I exfoliated of course, which I try to do once a  week.  It doesn’t always work out that way, especially if we’re travelling on the weekend, but this week it did get to work out. 

I used my home microdermabrasion product, which is on and off my face in about one minute since you don’t want to over do it with these microderm products or you may over irritate your skin or remove TOO MANY dead skin cells, which can leave your face wide open to damaging environmental factors such as UV rays and pollution.

After I gently exfoliated, I decided to forego that typical second step since I’d be getting in the sauna and didn’t want my skin to be too exposed, which is the light acid peel I do on my face after the microderm.  This usually leaves your skin looking red and irritated, but it looks really smooth and radiant a few days later, like you have new skin – because you do!

After gently patting my skin dry and rinsing it with ice cold water to seal the pores shut again, I got on my sauna clothes which consist of shorts and a tank top – yes, even in the winter that’s what you have to wear in a sauna, and went downstairs to the basement where we keep our infrared sauna.  I baked in it for about 45 minutes, reading a good book, and then fell asleep (yes, more pampering) for a bit before waking up feeling refreshed and relaxed. 

My skin was a bit pink when I got out, but it looked healthy and felt really smooth and almost wrinkle free.  They say that infrared saunas help increase the circulation in your skin, but there is also speculation that the deep heating of the infrared heat helps to regenerate collagen production again.  Not sure how much validity there is to that, but I do know that the thermage technique is supposed to regenerate collagen using deep heating too, so who knows. 

Today I had the pleasure of having to shower in an unfamiliar shower and get ready where I didn’t have all my beauty stuff at my fingertips and it drove me nuts.  It’s amazing how you can get so used to having everything exactly as you like it, where you know it’s going to be, and it’s there when you need it.  And then when you pack to get ready somewhere else and go through your whole getting ready routine, you feel lost without something or other, it’s inevtiable.

Today I had to shower at the gym where I work because we’ve been out of power for three days at our house due to high winds and widespread power outages.  I thought I had packed all my necessities for my hair and my face, but lo and behold I did forget something important for my hair.  While I remembered all the right makeup, I forgot to bring my round brush for blowing out my hair, and boy could you tell when I blew my hair out!

I also wasn’t happy because I had to set my whole bag with my makeup in it on a bench in the same room that I took a shower in, separated only by a flimsy curtain, and my makeup pad got moist just from being exposed to that little bit of steam from my hot shower.  Oh and the hot water ran out on me at one point too, and I dropped my expensive Sedu hair dryer and thought I broke it but I didn’t.  Our power’s back on and I couldn’t be happier.  I’m going to take a bath in our new bathtub and soak – ah, the luxuries of getting back the necessities!