Quiz: How Sun Smart Are You?

Get a perfect score and you'll be on your way to a skin cancer-free life

Sure, you may dutifully apply your SPF 30 when heading to the beach each summer... but how protected is your skin on a daily basis? Here, we test your sun knowledge to see how much you really know about sunscreen and sun safety. Take the quiz

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20 Best Heat-Styling Creams, Mousses and Sprays

Don't use a blow-dryer or flatiron before applying one of these products

Stop damaging your hair! If you heat style often you must use a product that protects your hair. Try these gels, sprays and creams that our readers say keep their hair healthy. See products

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Dabur Amla hair oil:Review

I have used Dabur Vatika many times before; it’s an excellent hair oil. (Read review). In addition to coconut oil as the base oil, it has several herbs in it and it nourishes the strands very well. Knowing about the goodness of amla, I even tried their Amla Hair Oil. It’s a lighter shade of dark green and has an overpowering smell, which is a bit of downside. But that’s fine with me as I always massage hair oils at night and wash my hair the very next morning. It could however mess your sheets and make your pillow case to stink, so make sure you are not using brand new or expensive ones. Other than that, it’s a good product – it’s very cooling and it did impart luster and sheen to my hair.

Ingredient list: Mineral oil, veg.oil (sesame oil, canola oil, peanut oil, cottonsead oil, palmolein oil, oil extract of amla (indian gooseberry), colours & perfume and antioxidant.

Dabur Amla Hair Oil

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Dieting makes you look older?

Plump cheeks and soft features make us appear younger

If you have resorted to drastic methods, like yo-yo dieting to lose weight, then be aware that while it may make you look slender, it may also make you look much older. Research shows that being thin is what ages us most, with plump cheeks and soft features making us appear younger. So strong is the link that the loss of 10lb - around a dress size - can age a woman by four years, adds Mr Grover, a consultant plastic surgeon at King Edward VII Hospital in London. He goes on to say that while most people will find their cheeks start to lose their plumpness from around the age of 38, extreme dieters have the most to worry about. He further adds: “People who are trying to stay stick-thin lose weight from their face sooner than they would otherwise and this is extremely ageing. Yo-yo dieting not only creates volume loss, but also stretching of the facial supporting ligaments due to repeated facial volume gain and loss, which causes deeper nose-to-mouth lines and jowls. The more fat that is preserved in the face, particularly the cheeks, the more you will preserve the facial proportions of youth.”

Even exercise can make you lose weight from the face. Read this post to know more.

See also:

Facial exercises for a youthful look- part 1 and part -2

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Medimix Ayurvedic Soap: Review

One of my favourites among natural and Ayurvedic soaps is Medimix Ayurvedic Soap. Its ingredient list includes 18 awesome herbs that are extremely soothing to the skin. The first time I tried it, I could sense that immediate difference; my skin felt so soft and clean. It’s good for acne-prone skin too; during the days that I had used it my skin was quite clear and it’s such a mild and gentle soap that my skin seemed to love it. It’s a great product to be used in summer months, especially, as it helps fight prickly heat rashes as well. I use it every now and then and definitely recommend it.

Medimix Ayurvedic Soap 125g - New Large Size

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Beauty quotes

Here’s another collection of beauty quotes, some lucidly expressed thoughts and views of great minds. Enjoy!
Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.
- Ashley Smith
The beautiful things of the earth become more dear as they elude pursuit.
- Thomas Hardy
Love built on beauty, soon as beauty, dies.
- John Donne
It is foolish to wish for beauty. Sensible people never either desire it for themselves or care about it in others. If the mind be but well cultivated, and the heart well disposed, no one ever cares for the exterior.
- Anne Bronte
The only beautiful thing in the world whose beauty lasts for ever is a pure, fair soul.
- Bram Stoker
The perfection of her face created a sense of emptiness--like a house with no curtains in the window.
- Black Jack Point
Ne'er boast; for beauty is a dream that fades.
- Theocritius
Beauty soon grows familiar to the lover, Fades in his eye, and palls upon the sense.
- Joseph Addison

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The 22 Best Sephora Buys

Consider this the ultimate buying guide to your favorite beauty store

Sephora really is the beauty junkies' paradise. There are so many products to play with, you could spend days sampling and still not try everything. But, since most of us don't have days, or even hours, to spend in the store, we rounded up these TotalBeauty.com reader reviews and ratings for you. Now you'll know exactly which products at Sephora are worth your precious time and money. See products

No. 22: Beautyblender Sponge, $18.50

TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 9.1*

Why it's great: "This is such a wonderful tool. The broad base of the sponge is..."

No. 21: CARGO Bronzer, $25

TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 9.1*

Why it's great: "CARGO's bronzer is a great find and beauty bag staple. CARGO didn't leave us pale..."

No. 20: Nars Blush, $25

TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 4.6*

Why it's great: "I have the award winning shade, orgasm. I was a little apprehensive..."

Want to see what's #1? Click here!

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