Cosmo Life Recap 6.2.11

On Cosmo Life last week:

Cutler Salon Senior Stylist Ryan Cunningham (www.CutlerSalon.com) joined us to give some pointers on figuring out the right Up Do for the shape of your face. With Wedding season upon us and some of us having to suffer through being a bridesmaid, it's great to be able to look your best (even if you're stuck in a hideous dress!)

-Day-old hair is best for up do's because clean hair is harder to shape
-Use hair bungees (available at any beauty supply store and possibly Sephora) instead of hair bands because they are easier to wrap around your pony tail without messing it upDeshonica Green from www.DesignEssentials.com joined us to share tips for growing out African American hair as well as taking it "all Natural". Her tips included:
- Moisturize and condition at least every 7 days
- Blow it out, and flat iron
- Use the Design Essentials Naturals line that are free from detergents and chemicals to keep hair smooth
- Always use a sulfate-free shampoo that gently cleanses and revitalizes while de-tangling
-Ryan likes to use Redken Natures Rescue as a styling product-Tilt your head back while doing your pony tail to avoid that bump in the back near the occipital bone 
-Use a High ponytail or Up Do to elongate a Round face
-Use Low buns, ponytails and sidebraids for Long faces
-Use a side part for bigger foreheads
-Never pull hair straight back, it's way too severe for most people!
- As a general rule, never shampoo every day

We kicked off a series called "Movies Guys Wish Girls Would Watch" with Actor and Film Critic, Dave Juskow. He covered some Action and Sci-Fi movies that guys love that he believes Cosmo Girls will also enjoy. His list included:

-Spiderman 2 (Dave argues it's one of the best superhero movies ever) 
-Casino Royale (Dave argued this is the best Bond Movie ever, and he's a big Bond fan)
-Star Trek IV (Dave swear by this one, saying it's actually a comedy)
-The Professional (Starring a young Natalie Portman) 
- North by Northwest (Old Hitchcock, but a classic)
-The Matrix (The first one only)
- Mission Impossible 3 (Dave says the first two were really bad)

We'll be continuing the series with Kenny's Comedy Picks, along with the Best Sports Movies that girls will actually love! 

Celeb Party Planner and frequent TV Guest, Liza Utter joined us to share the Top 5 items every Cosmo Girl should always have on hand to throw a last-minute party

1. Whole Wheat Tortillas (you can store them in your freezer!)    

Whole wheat tortillas are the perfect foundation for any sophisticated pizza!  Keep them in the freezer and when it's time to entertain, pre-heat your oven to 500 (similar to a pizza oven) slather on some olive oil and the toppings of your choice:  tomatoes, pasta sauce, goat cheese, leeks, olives, parsley, mushrooms, cheese, prosciutto...whatever's in your fridge and you have a delicious, fun and healthy hors d'oeuvres in an instant! The best part is if the rest of your house isn't in the best shape your guests will be more than happy hanging out in the kitchen while they watch you whip it up!

2.  good olive oil - Drizzle it on chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, or even apple with a little S&P, garlic, parsley, oregano, basil, herbs - whatever you choose from your spice drawer serve with crackers or toasted bread for a quick bruschetta.

3. a decent bottle of wine or champagne - Having a bottle on hand and ready to go makes people feels as though you were always expecting them!  Nice :)

4. Playlist of upbeat background music - Nothing like tunes to help set the mood - being a great host is all about creating an experience.  Pick music that has either no vocals - like world music, or pepper in the songs with vocals with instrumental - whatever you choose, keep the music fun and you'll have a fun party.

5. Box of votive candles - Candle light is not just for when the sun goes down.  Votive candles dropped in glass holders with a little water in them provide ambient glow when set in clusters around the food and wine....creating an instant special occasion!

* Top 5 tips for being the perfect host (this should apply in any situation and really incorporate your message about being yourself, etc.)

1.  To be the best host - present the best of who YOU are.  Being yourself is the key in not only having a good time yourself but takes the pressure off of being someone you're not.  This is where many 

hosts fall into the inevitable trap of trying so hard to please    

others...and they end up miserable themselves.  Remember;  The success of a party starts with a happy host!

2.  Get in touch with the true meaning of your event - why are you having a party?  To celebrate yes, but you need to go deeper?  This is going to be your compass as to how you plan your event.  By identifying the 'heart' of the affair, ie a birthday party  "showing grandma  how much we treasure her" this keeps you focused  on the person and your party message more powerful.  Remember, it's people that make the party not the stuff!

3.  Pick something you love and build around that - If you love truffles, If you have a knack for telling great stories, if you have a beautiful garden....take the things that inspire you and weave them into your event.  This will not only be fun for you but it will help you sustain your fun energy throughout your party.  When you are doing something you love to do it doesn't feel like work!

4.  Go for quality over quantity!   Keep it simple & delicious as much 

as you can.  Spend your money wisely - It's better to offer two fabulous choices than 10 of something mediocre.

5.   It's not about perfection it's about having fun -   That means ask for help, get help and  don't go beyond your means .  If you don't feel confident pulling off an event by yourself don't stress, make it as easy on yourself as you possibly can.  If you are worried about everything being 'perfect' - you may indeed have the perfect setting but your guests will feel your anxiety and that is what they'll remember!

Cosmo Life Recap 5.19.11

Wow, what a full and busy show we had today on Cosmo Life! Bikini Bootcamp was in full swing and we continued our 360 approach to getting bikini-ready by Summer.


**We started out with renowned Plastic Surgeon Dr. Gerald Imber whose skincare line Youth Corridor and companion book The New Youth Corridor are both garnering rave reviews from magazine editors. His book is on target to become every girl's beauty bible and for good reason. Everything you need to know about anti-aging in 140 pages! Procedures, treatments, the science stuff (that actually makes sense to non-scientists) and the future of anti-aging is all here and for $9.99 it belongs on every woman's night table. "The New Youth Corridor" is available at bookstores everywhere and online. Gift yourself and your girlfriends with it (well, only the friends you really love, you don't want a frenemy looking TOO good, right?)


Dr. Imber shared some of his DO's and DON'T's of anti-aging:

Don’t…..

Don’t  Smoke – The result is loss of elasticity, sagging and wrinkles.

Don’t gain or lose weight repeatedly.  Skin that does not respond to weight loss by shrinking looks loose, empty and haggard. The older you are or the more weight you need to lose, the more likely this problem will arise. Avoid significant weight gain (more than 10lbs), lose slowly and, above all, find your optimal weight and maintain it..

Don’t get too thin – Hollow cheeks and thin skin makes an adult look frail, weak and old.

Don’t Run – At least don’t be a long-term, long-distance jogger.  The loss of fat padding in the cheeks as well as constant rising and pounding down which lifts and pulls the facial skin away from the underlying muscles and bones causes the skin to sag.  These things have a negative effect on one’s appearance. 

Don’t do Facial exercises – They cause wrinkles. 

Avoid the Sun – It’s the primary accelerator of loosening and wrinkling of the skin.  It causes pigment changes, sunspots and other unsightly eruptions.  

Don’t Passively Stretch Skin – When you prop your hand on your cheek or wash and apply products in a downward motion, you are passively stretching your skin.

Do…

Cleanse, use anti-oxidants and moisturizers.

Towel off briskly for exfoliation.  It helps remove heaped-up dead skin cells and allows healthy young cells to reach the surface. Always go from the down to up direction to avoid stretching the skin downward to help gravity.  Be gentle and do not apply much pressure.

Apply skin treatments and serums to clean, dry skin.

Use a product with Vitamin C.  Vitamin C is crucial for healthy, beautiful skin, but if it can’t get into the skin, it can’t work its magic.  Dr. Imber created Youth Corridor Antioxidant Boost Skin Serum with 10% Vitamin C, E and Melatonin to allow a larger dose of antioxidants to penetrate through the keratinized layer of the skin due to melatonin’s lipophillic nature.   

Moisturizers with a sun screen are a must to protect skin from the sun.  If a sunscreen is used separately it should be applied before the moisturizer so it can penetrate.

For more info on Dr. Imber's skincare line visit http://www.youthcorridor.com/ and be sure to pick up a copy of his book "The New Youth Corridor"


**LORAC lead make-up artist Dean Fournier returned to Cosmo Life to share their new selfTANtalizer Body Bronzing Gradual Self-Tanner. The tanner smells like a vanilla caramel birthday cake (it really smells great for a self-tanner) and it comes with a little mitt that protects your hands as you apply it in circles. Dean did my left arm and I can't wait to do the rest of me when I get home! Check out the whole line of Bronzers at http://www.loraccosmetics.com/


**Celeb Nutritionist Oz Garcia made his debut on the show today but he will most definitely be back again! Oz shared his best bikini-ready advice and some of his tips really surprised me because they defy the conventional "Dieting" way of thinking. Check him out at www.OzGarcia.com and on Facebook as well!

Here are some of Oz's best diet tips to get yourself in bikini-ready condition:

-Only shop the outer perimeters at your grocery store: think about that, it means you'll only be buying the freshest foods in the store...all the lean proteins, vegetables and starches. Stay away from the inner parts of the store as far as food goes, that's where all the hi-salt, hi-sugar, hi-fat, processed junk foods and sodas are.  

To get yourself in bikini shape here are some foods Oz recommends eating:

-Eliminate coffee from your diet because he says it almost always makes people eat more than they should eventually plus it activates your stress hormones in your body which makes you store fat

-Only use Stevia, Agave Nectar or raw honey as sweeteners. He says artificial sweeteners and even regular sugar (white or raw) have been linked in studies to various cancers

-Swap out potatoes for sweet potatoes and yams

-Forget about eating only the whites of eggs because a hard-boiled egg is what he called "the perfect food" and has the right amount of healthy fat

-If you want to eliminate bloat stop eating Wheat...no wheat bread, wheat pasta, etc. Nothing with Gluten either. Oz recommends Brown Rice Pasta, Buckwheat Soba Noodles (no actual wheat in Buckwheat!)

-Use plain old white rice as a starch (he cited visiting Japan for 1 week, eating sushi with white rice everyday and he dropped 6 lbs! Stear clear of the soy sauce (even the low sodium) but beef up on the wasabi and the ginger! 

-Eating plenty of salmon, tuna (even in a can packed in OIL not water) and sardines...think about the Mediterranean Diet

-Get your good fats from Nuts, Avocados, and good oils like Olive Oil

-Oz also mentioned the power of Resveratrol (which Cosmo Lifers learned about from Dr. Lindsey Duncan and his www.GenesisToday.com juice drink "4Resveratrol") as a powerful anti-aging component that helps both the inside and outer appearance of the body

Oz's Daily Meal Plan example for getting bikini-ready:

Breakfast: Fat-free or lowfat Greek yogurt with fresh berries and almonds OR two-egg omelet with a side of fresh fruit
Mid-morning snack: Handful of nuts or a Hard-boiled egg
Lunch: Salad Nicoise with tuna
Snack: Fruit, nuts, etc
Dinner: lean protein (chicken, fish, turkey) with vegetables like sweet potatoes or yams

Drink: Dandelion Tea to eliminate Bloat (even PMS bloat) as well as what Oz calls "Cranberry Water" which is the pure concentrated cranberry juice that's unsweetened from the health food store and dilute about 4-6oz with water and sweeten with Stevia, Agave or raw honey. Drink that up to a few times a day to also help with bloat

**Desiree Chmura from Desire Perfection Med Spa and Laser Center in Ronkonkoma, Long Island, NY stopped by to share some of her favorite spa treatments to help us get bikini-ready. Desiree says seaweed wraps CAN actually take inches off your problem areas that have cellulite and the effect lasts about 1-2 weeks. She says although the results aren't permanent after repeated seaweed wraps it can eventually help you eliminate cellulite. Desiree also does a lot of "Back Facials" for her clients who are getting ready for Summer and she and I both shared the same tip to keep your back clear of blemishes: Make sure you always wash your back and shoulders AFTER you rinse out your conditioner! (It worked like a charm for me when I read that tip in Cosmo a while back) 

**TRESsemme stylist Tyler Laswell closed out the show with frizz and humidity-fighting hair styling tips using the new Climate Control collection from TRESsemme. Available at drugstores everywhere. 

Next week on Cosmo Life we wrap up our Bikini Bootcamp with Cosmo's Favorite Celeb-inspired Bikinis, Shoshanna's tips on finding the right Bikini for your body, Celebrity Colorist Rita Hazan's tips for going lighter with your hair color for the Summer season and a new fitness program called Kinected that combines yoga and pilates! Also, we're getting ready for Memorial Day Weekend! Paula Deen's sons, Jamie and Bobby, share their best grilling tips from their new cookbook "Get Fired Up" and celeb party planner Liza Utter tells us 5 things we need to have in our house at all times to throw the perfect last-minute party!