5 Ways to De-Stress Your Life

Are you stressed out? Sometimes the anxiety in your life can stop you from being productive. Take time to relax and refocus with these tips.

DIY Honey Sugar Facial and Body Scrub

It's a good idea to use natural beauty products whenever you can. Not only is it less expensive, but it's also better for your skin, and way more fun to use. This scrub will exfoliate your skin, removing dead skin cells that can clog your pores and make your face feel dull. The honey and sugar work together to moisturizer your skin without chemicals, giving you healthy, radiant skin.

Getting Fit While Having Fun

I am not good at sports, and I don't like exercise. What can I do to get active?

Watermelon Strawberry Lemonade Recipe

Looking for an easy, refreshing treat to beat the summer heat? Texas weather can be crazy hot, and this sounds super yummy right now. Strawberries, watermelon, sugar -- what's not to love?

6 Tips for Glowing Skin

Healthy, radiant skin? Yes please! Get your glow on no matter what the season with these tried-and-true tips.

Top 20 Summer Beauty Tips

Look your best this summer with our favorite sun-kissed beauty tips and tricks that will give you more time in the sun and less time in front of the mirror. Wondering what to do with your new free time? Check out our fun summer bucket list.

Can Smoking Give You Acne?

The news on smoking just keeps getting worse. You may have heard that smoking leads to premature death, lung cancer, and other problems. But did you know that it can also affect the way you look?
Smoking can give you dull skin and hair, early wrinkles, a deeper raspy voice, bad breath, and yellow teeth, but that's not all. A report in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology finds that smokers have more acne, which will continue into the adult years.
Of the adult women studied, a whopping 72.9% of acne sufferers were smokers. Even more interesting, researchers found a positive correlation between the number of cigarettes smoked and the severity of the acne.
If the health risks weren't enough, the toll on your looks is just another reason to steer cleer of cigarettes (and peers who might tempt you to try them).

Giant Pimple? Makeup Artists to the Rescue!

First and foremost, DO NOT attempt to pop a zit, says Dara Klein, a New York City makeup artist. "Squeezing and digging at it will only irritate the skin, making it harder to cover up the spot with makeup." If you can't book an emergency appointment with your dermatologist for a cortisone injection, try this quick fix: Wrap an ice cube in a thin dish towel and rest it on the bump for a few minutes to take down the swelling and redness. To cover the pimple, apply foundation, then use a synthetic brush to tap on concealer. Finish by setting everything in place with loose powder, says Klein.

Dear Melissa -- Lips & Sun

Just like the rest of your skin, your lips can get burned from being in the sun too long. The skin on your lips is very sensitive and actually burns easily, though you often don’t realize it. Keep your lips healthy and happy with a lip balm that contains 15 SPF (Sun Protection Factor) or greater. For the rest of your body, you should use a heavier-duty sunscreen.

Italian Natural Beauty Secrets

Italians know their stuff (after all, they invented pizza). I’m going to share with you 2 Italian beauty recipes that are all-natural and can be found right in your kitchen, plus a quick recipe idea to make with the leftovers. Let’s get started!

Roma Facial
Italian food would be nothing without juicy red tomatoes. Slice some tomatoes. Paint your face (except for your lips and eyes) with plain yogurt. Then cover your face with the sliced tomato. Finally, cover your eyes with cucumber slices. Relax for 10-15 minutes and throw the face food away. Rinse off the yogurt. Refreshed yet?
WHAT IT DOES:

- Plain yogurt moisturizes your skin
- Tomatoes soothe redness, irritation, and leave your skin feeling wonderful
- Cucumbers soothe puffy, swollen eyes and give your skin a cooling sensation

Mediterranean Moisturizer
Olive oil is another key ingredient in Italian food. I’ve shared this tip with you before, but it’s so good, I’ll share it again. Soak your hands and nails in a bowl of olive or vegetable oil for about 10 minutes. Remove hands and toss out used oil. Let the oil seep into your skin for about 5 minutes, then wash off any remaining oil. Your hands will be a bit greasy for a while, but the end result is soft, healthy hands and nails. Voila!
WHAT IT DOES:- Olive/vegetable oil is an intense natural moisturizer that soaks deep into your skin

Recipe Idea
Did you know that Mediterranean food is super healthy? Use the leftover ingredients  to whip up some Italian food for your family. You can make a refreshing, light salad with half-pieces of cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber, crumbled Feta cheese, and Italian salad dressing. Now how do you say "absolutely DELICIOUS" in Italian?

Beauty Tips for the Pool and Beach

Headed to the swimming pool or beach? Tired of dry, chlorinated hair or skin? Wondering how you should do your hair and makeup? Make a splash with our top tips for looking and feeling great in the water this summer.
Protection from Chlorine
Chlorine is a cleaning chemical found in pools which can do some major damage on your hair, leaving it dry and brittle.

• Rinse your hair with cool water before you get in the pool. Your hair will soak up this clean water instead of the pool water.
• Rinse your hair when you leave the pool. This time, use shampoo and conditioner as normal to wash out the chlorine.

Protection from the Sun
While you're soaking up some Vitamin D, make sure you're staying safe from early wrinkles, sunburns, and skin cancer.

• After swimming, sprinkle clean water over your skin, focusing on your arms. Use gentle body spray or lotion in your favorite scent to replenish the moisture lost to the sun or chlorine.
• Use sunblock of at least 30 SPF and reapply every hour.
• Oversize sunglasses are not only chic, but they protect the sensitive skin around your eyes from the sun's harmful rays.
• Your lips can get burned, too, so slather on some lip balm with SPF.
• A big floppy sunhat will shield your face and hair. (It's super stylish, too.)
• If you get a sunburn, use aloe vera to soothe your skin.

Makeup
When you're at the pool or beach, you should focus on having fun and not on your makeup. But if you feel like you need a little extra coverage in the water, here are some easy tips.

• Use waterproof mascara only when you're near water because it can dry out your lashes.
• Use a tinted moisturizer with SPF to even out your skin tone.
• If you must wear blush, opt for the cream variety -- they won't wash away as quickly.
• A pretty lip balm or gloss with SPF gives you a perfect poolside pout.

Hair
You can leave your hair down, or pull it away from your face with these ideas.

• A simple ponytail is a classic poolside look.
• Beachy waves are super low-maintenance.
• A side braid is unexpectedly stylish.
• A quick bun or updo is great when you plan on keeping your hair dry.

Eat Your Way to Great Skin

This is not a diet plan -- it's a great way to get great skin and a healthy body. Check out our quick guide to get your vitamins -- and look and feel like a million bucks.

Vitamin A
What it is: a powerful antioxidant
What it does: produces kerain (strengthens skin cells, maximizing protective role) and proteins that regenerate cells
I need more if: your skin is drier and flakier than normal
Where to get it: juices with Beta-carotene (good eyesight is a bonus), orange fruits and veggies like carrots, peaches, pumpkin, sweet potatoes

Vitamin C
What it is: food for collagen, which is one of the most important substances of your skin (keeps it firm and toned)
What it does: kills collagen enemies and rejuvenates collagen
I need more if: have low energy, unhealthy skin
Where to get it: kiwis, oranges, red peppers, blueberries, melon (YUM!)
Beauty Bonus: One kiwi holds the minimum recommended daily dose of vitamin C -- pop 4 or 5 in your mouth and you'll dramatically boost your skin's health

Iron
What it is: a mineral
What it does: give blood more oxygen
I need more if: my skin is pale, my eyes have dark or puffy circles under them
Where to get it: lean red meat, plenty of dark green leafy veggies

Zinc
What it is: a mineral for anyone wanting to get rid of acne!
What it does: heals skin and reduces acne
I need more if: my skin is oily and acne-prone, broken out, scratched, cut, or scarred
Where to get it: shellfish, hard crumbly cheeses, nuts, seeds

Essential Fatty Acids
What it is: fatty acids =]
What it does: smooths your skin and boosts overall appearance
I need more if: I'm on a low-fat diet, have flaky, dry, or scaly skin
Where to get it: oily fish, nuts, seeds (which also contain Vitamin E, a skin boost)

Water
What it is: essential substance for life, most important thing on earth besides oxygen
What it does: flushes out complexion, glows skin, clears face (reduces acne!), cleans your guts and makes you healthier!
I need more if: I get sick a lot, get stomaches or headaches, have trouble breathing in hot weather, my skin is dry or dull, I feel lazy or just plain icky
Aim for: 6-8 glasses a day -- but don't guzzle them at once. Drink 1 glass an hour

What you DON'T Need:

• Salty foods. These are high in iodine, which is believed to trigger acne.
• Caffeine. Every cup of coffee needs 3 cups of water to flush it through your system -- and this water is often taken from your skin. Caffeine increases stress hormones, which leads to poor health.
• Hydrogenated fats. Margarines and almost all processed food generate free radicals which eat away at your skin and leave it damaged and sick.

PRINT IT OUT! Print this information out so you'll have a simple, easy skin guidline to help you eat your way to healthier, prettier skin. Keep track of what you eat normally, and try to replace some of the bad stuff with the good stuff mentioned above, like Zinc, Water, and Vitamin C.

Zit-Zapping Toothpaste Facial

Remember when I told you about how baking soda whitens the teeth? I promised you a bit about a toothpaste facial, believe it or not, and I'm going to give it to you.

It may seem crazy, since the world is all for the organic, "natural" stuff. Toothpaste on your face? Yuck!

Have you ever gotten toothpaste around your mouth or on your hand? It was pretty drying, huh? That's exactly it! If you're a teen with oily or acne-prone skin, this is a quick-fix for your zits.

Steps:

• cleanse face with facial cleanser containing benzoyl perokide or salicyic acid
• wash off cleanser
• put a half-pea sized amount of non-gel toothpaste on your zits, especially whiteheads
• leave on overnight
• in the morning, wash face again, making sure you get off the toothpaste
• repeat following nights until whiteheads are gone

It's that simple!