This cleverly marketed Will Ferrell Sunscreen comes with all sorts of jokes about streaking strength. But don’t worry, it’s the real deal.

Before you start kicking and screaming, notice that both bottles are SPF 30, so they’ve actually got you covered despite the goofy names. The formula is packed with UVA/UVB protection — and PABA free, alcohol free, mineral oil free, and fragrance free! — and it slips on better than the stranger-than-fiction names may imply.

At $12 a pop, bottles don’t come as cheap as a drugstore variety, but proceeds for this product go toward Cancer For College, a nonprofit offering scholarships for cancer survivors. I’m bewitched by the idea. Are you?

Million dollar smile. Not just any cute kid, but the cutest kid ever, my niece.

When I was a kid I did seriously dumb things. Take for example the time I stole $20 out of my dad’s wallet, because I had to have candy. When pulled aside and questioned, I didn’t deny it. I told him my dead grandmother returned from the grave and told me to steal it.

This was 1980, so I was 5, but if that makes me sound old, let’s pretend I wasn’t born until 1985, which would make me younger, not old, certainly not in my 30’s where I am spending endless days researching the latest greatest plastic surgery options that will be available to me when I need it. That’s right, plastic surgery will be a need someday, not a want.

But if I had known that my love for candy would leave me where I am today, if my father had told me what candy does to your teeth, if I had done the research back when I was 5, if, if if….

If only.

My dentist told me yesterday that I have 3 cavities that needed attention asap. As if, had she not said asap it would somehow seem less urgent. Oh, I get it. It’s either get the fillings now, or wait a year and lose my teeth.

I like my teeth, I think I’ll keep them.

While I brush and floss at least once a day, as oppose to say, my boyfriend with the Colgate smile that never flosses and somehow seem to never get cavities, I had three. *sigh*

The dentist wanted to examine my oral hygiene, which I admit, made me chuckle.

* I wake up and brush and use some teeth whitening thingy.
* After lunch, I brush.

Night time was questionable, and after further examination, we found a few issues here.

See, I don’t brush my teeth at nights unless I am sure I am done eating. In other words, food taste bad when mixed with toothpaste, so I don’t brush my teeth at nights because I don’t want have to stop eating. Or drinking wine. When Love Monkey* (*real name has been changed to protect identity) announces bed time, I get up from my computer, take my wine with me and place it on my night stand, just in case I want more. Oh, let’s not forget the Costco case size of Ferrero Rocher stocked in the refrigerator. I grab one too, because you know, wine pairs well with chocolate.

The first obvious, and rhetorical question was: how am I not fat? Oh yeah, I’m a meat-head gym rat. Do I drink too much? No, I don’t get drunk, nor do I have blackouts. Could the candy and wine have contributed to my three rotten teeth? Sadly, yes.

Unlike my dad who gave me a good beating for stealing, instead of say, educating on me what sugar would do to my teeth, I am here to share my tips (straight from the dentist), and how to preserve your pearly whites.

It’s your money, and your teeth… find a way to keep them both.

There is no denying the benefits of being beautiful.

I hear people say that having a “nice personality” is the first criteria of true beauty, but is that really true? I have a few words, words, people, stop it. Stop convincing yourself of this when it’s clearly not so.

I tested this theory and tried to set up my friends with mates that were very funny, engaging and smart, but they were, well, hard on the eyes. And guess what? No one fell in love. While it was a brief study, and yes, lacking in participants, it was enough to conclude my theory that the person who uttered the words “beauty is skin deep” was , *deep-breath*, he was blind.

As much as a good personality is desired, people are attracted to the goods: good body, good face, good skin, good teeth.

Far from being only skin deep, beauty appears to be an indicator of genetic and developmental health, and therefore of mate quality; beauty is a “health certification.”

More attractive people are healthier, have greater physical fitness, live longer. Bilateral symmetry measures beauty so accurately that there is now a computer program that can calculate someone’s facial symmetry from a scanned photograph of a face (by measuring the sizes of and distances between various facial parts) and assign a single score for physical attractiveness, which correlates highly with scores assigned by human judges.

Beauty therefore, is an objective and quantifiable attribute of individuals, like height or weight, both of which were more or less “in the eye of the beholder” before the invention of the yardstick and the scale.

I bristle when people play down vanity as if it’s a bad thing, as if saying wanting a really good looking person is a bad thing.

We humans are superficial. It is okay to be superficial.

Hypnôse—Custom Volume Mascara

When Lancôme dared me to go up to “6 times the volume” I couldn’t resist. At $24 a tube, this was a bit pricey for me, but I just *loved* it so much that a) I had to get another one, b) decide it’s totally worth the price, c) I’d write about it and see if they send me more for free. But even if they didn’t, this is one mascara worth the price.

All you’ve gotta do is turn on the TV for a minute, and you’ll see tons of beautiful mascara ads promising you intense, fake lash drama. I suffer from sparse lash–let’s just say if you meet me, you’d never walk away thinking nice lashes. Blink blink.

What I loved about this product

So run out to Sephora and grab a tube. It’s totally worth the money!

My newest thing that I have decided I *can’t* live without is Brazilian Hair Straightening.

If you have curly hair (and dream of waking up with straight asian hair), then the Brazilian Hair Straightening is YOUR dream come true. I have fine hair, but it’s super curly and can be a real pain in the ass to deal with. If I touch it, it frizzes up, the wind blows, it frizzes up, if I think too much, it frizzes up. There was way too much frizz and not enough manageability. Thank God those clever Brazilians who brought us the solution for no-hair-down-there, has found the answer to making the hair-up-there look super gorgeous! Let it be known, signed-sealed-delivered that I love everything Brazilian. I mean, what’s not to love?

So what is the Brazilian Hair Straightening?

Approximately 90% of human hair is made up of a complex natural protein called keratin which is responsible for the hair’s strength, resistance to wear and tear, elasticity, flexibility and shine.

Hair keratin is damaged by straighteners, colors, perms, blow-drying, the sun, pollution, pool chemicals and even everyday brushing. This can make the hair feel coarse and look out of condition, dull and lifeless, as well as making it difficult to manage. Under an electron microscope this damage can be recognized in the form of cracks, splits and craters in the hair, as can be seen in this highly magnified hair strand.

The Brazilian Keratin promised to reverse all that damage, make your frizz-free, soft, incredibly shiny and guess what? It delivered! I walked in a skeptic and walked out a believer.

What you should know about the treatment

I threw away my flat irons. All 7 of them.

When I left the salon, my hair was pin straight and flat, and no amount of humidity could make it frizz.

I usually spend half-hour in the shower trying to detangle my hair but now I barely have a knot.

If I use the hair-dryer, it takes 5 minutes for straight hair, not 30 minutes.

Air drying my hair gives me a full-bodied “bend”, (think beach hair), with no frizz.

Brazilian Keratin gives us girls with unruly hair, soft manageable hair so we can free up our time for more important things.

Last fall I thought I needed whiter teeth and decided to try Crest White Strips. Breathing through my mouth was excruciating as the cool air hit my sensitive teeth. Do you know what would have probably felt better? Someone punching me in the mouth repeatedly. My teeth were so sensitive that I thought I was gonna die. But I didn’t. It took me about 6 months and lots of Sensodyne Toothpaste to get back to normal. So let’s talk about teeth whitening and hear from the experts before you start trying this at home.

Light Activated Bleaching
What it is: In-office whitening treatments, like Zoom! and BriteSmile, use peroxide (the same bleaching agent in drugstore kits). Lip and tongue retractors hold your mouth open, and a wax is painted over your gums, fillings, and any spots the peroxide might irritate. Next, a bleaching gel is applied to the teeth and a blue light activates it for about an hour.

Best for: Those who want instant results and who have sensitive teeth. “Because we cover the areas where the nerves might be exposed, patients are much less likely to experience sensitivity than with other whitening options,” says Jeff Golub-Evans, DDS, in New York City, who practices cosmetic dentistry.

Does it work? Yes. It may be slightly uncomfortable to sit in the chair for an hour with your mouth held open, but the procedure can remove about 10 years’ worth of staining, says Golub-Evans. As with all whitening treatments, you can’t eat or drink anything deeply pigmented, such as berries, soy sauce, red wine, or coffee, for at least 48 hours. “The bleaching agent opens pores in the teeth, which makes them ultra-absorbent to color,” says Pia Lieb, DDS, clinical assistant professor at New York University College of Dentistry. Results last a couple of years if you brush and floss regularly.

Cost: $300 to $600.

Tray Bleaching
em>What it is: The dentist makes a mold of your teeth to create thin plastic trays that fit like mouth guards. You fill the trays with bleaching gel and wear them for three days, an hour a day, every three months. Steven Fox, DDS, a New York City dentist who has done extensive research in the field of remineralizing teeth, recommends tray bleaching for a few days every two to three months as a good way to maintain the results of an in-office bleaching treatment.

Best for: Maintenance after an in-office whitening treatment.

Does it work? Yes. Because the trays are made specifically to fit your mouth, the peroxide spreads evenly on teeth. But beware of overbleaching: Peroxide can dissolve the calcium in tooth enamel (the outer layer), which exposes the nerves, resulting in sensitivity. Calcium depletion can also cause decay, says Fox. Though teeth can be remineralized with a paste or a fluoride treatment, you shouldn’t wear the trays more than four to six times per year.

Cost: $400 to $800.

Drugstore Whitening Kits
What they are: Clear strips coated with peroxide gel that you apply to your teeth for five to 30 minutes, depending on the intensity of the peroxide on the strip.

Best for: People with mild staining and plenty of tooth enamel. “Don’t use these kits if you grind your teeth, have recessed gums, or think you might have a cavity, because the peroxide has a propensity to seep into sensitive areas caused by recession or grinding,” says Michael Apa, DDS, founder of New York University’s Aesthetics Dental Society.

Do they work? Not as well as in-office bleaching. Drugstore whitening kits simply aren’t able to achieve the kind of bleaching you can get in the dentist’s office or with trays, says Robert Reiss, DDS, who has a private practice in New York City. At-home kits will lighten teeth, but you have to be committed and patient; it can take several weeks or more of daily applications to see results, and your teeth may become temporarily sensitive in the process. A common complaint is that the strips are either too narrow and short to fit large teeth, so they don’t bleach evenly, or they’re so big that they irritate the gums, says Lieb.

Q: My hair is dull; I’d like to try a gloss or a glaze. What’s the difference?

Such an innocent question. It seems so simple: Gloss, glaze, which is which? Well, start here: a gloss is a bit more permanent than a glaze. It adds shine and adjusts the tone (say, if your highlights are too bright or brassy, a gloss will subdue them). A gloss penetrates the hair’s cuticle, so it lasts two to four weeks. A glaze, on the other hand, simply coats the shaft with shine and semipermanent color; it’s like putting a top coat of polish on your hair, and it lasts a week or two. But here’s the problem: Haircare companies use “gloss” and “glaze” interchangeably. A glaze added shine and deposited semipermanent color, and a gloss added only shine, but the word “gloss” was added to dye products because it’s appealing to people who are coloring their hair.

Bottom line: If you want just shine, look for a “clear” gloss or glaze (like Frédéric Fekkai Salon Glaze Clear Shine Rinse, $28). If you’re looking to boost your color or bump up your highlights, choose a gloss or glaze with “semipermanent” color (like John Frieda Luminous Color Glaze, $10).

If you’re like me—a head full of kinky, fragile curls, then you probably understand that the most important thing when caring for your hair is moisture! Here are a few ways I maintain my beautiful curls.

Cleansing
Research shows that simply scrubbing your hair with your fingertips provides enough friction to clean away dirt. If you must use shampoo, use a tiny amount and make sure it is diluted by rubbing it on your hands and putting it under the water before rubbing your scalp (target your scalp only).

Conditioning
Us curly girls need loads of conditioner for our hair to be properly moisturized (depending on how much hair you have). In order for you to know whether your hair has been properly moisturized you have to feel its texture. If you have enough conditioner in your hair, it will feel very slippery or like seaweed. The best conditioners to use are all natural and don’t have “cones” in them. Silicones are products that many companies put in hair care products to tame curly hair and make it shiny. It works, but the only way to get out silicones it by using harsh sulfate detergents since overtime they create buildup. Sulfates dry out the hair, and curly hair is already naturally prone to being dry since it is harder for oils to travel from the scalp through the hair.

Styling
In order to keep my hair properly moisturized, after washing thoroughly with conditioner (known as co-washing) I keep a bit of conditioner in my hair. In other words, I don’t completely rinse it out. I will then add a natural moisturizer or a tiny bit of gel. The most important thing to note when styling your curly hair is to leave it alone! Style it quickly and simply and then let it be. I allow my hair to air-dry, but if you don’t have time for that you can try out a diffuser. A diffuser is an attachment that can be bought and put on a blow-dryer to limit the airflow that you subject your hair to when blow drying. It helps curls dry in place and without too much frizz, if done correctly. Also one can purpose a microfiber towel and allow their hair to dry in that for a little while.

Un-tangling Curly Hair
This is best done in the shower with lots of conditioner. It’s best to buy very cheap conditioners from the store with moisturizing properties. Many choose to use Suave since it has no cones and many are very moisturizing, best of all it’s pretty cheap. After you have applied all of the conditioner on your wet hair, take reasonably sized sections and use a shower comb to comb from the bottom of your hair up to your root. Do not start at the root of your hair. This will cause unnecessary tangling and make this process a lot harder than it needs to be! If your hair is prone to tangles, do this everyday. If you do this on a regular basis (everyday) especially with a good conditioner you will rarely suffer from matted hair.

The belief that skin is the outer reflection of a person’s inner being may explain why Americans spend millions of dollars on moisturizers and other cosmetics.

Ordinary dry skin, known as xerosis, usually isn’t serious. But it can be uncomfortable and unsightly, turning plump cells into shriveled ones and creating fine lines and wrinkles long before you’re due.

Although it may not be possible to achieve flawless skin, these suggestions from the Mayo Clinic can help keep your skin moist and healthy: