I am still struggling to lose the extra weight gained during the holidays and can always use some motivation. I stumbled upon a great website on weight loss tips which also has a section on Weight Loss Success Stories showing before and after photos as well. It is always inspiring to read such stories and I am sure you will find a lot of motivation from them.

Check out all the latest trends for the coming spring on my favorite website that tells you all without beating about the bush:

http://www.RamptoStore.com

Absolute Essential Oils are oils that are obtained from solvent extraction of the plants, this process creates a natural mixture of fats, essential oils, waxes & other plant materials. Alcohol is then used to extract the absolute. These methods are used to extract the "Essence" from the flower petals where normal distillation would distort the delicate natural perfume of the plant.

3 Absolute essential oils are generally used in aromatherapy, these are Rose, jasmine & Orange Blossom(Neroli) while the other absolutes are often used in the high quality perfume industry to create all those sought after designer perfumes that you can create yourself using these fine Absolute oils.

Absolute essential oils differ from distilled essential oils because they are well known to hold extremely high perfuming or therapeutic power and therefore need to be used in very low concentrations. Absolute oils are generally thicker than distilled essential oils and rose absolute can actually solidify in the bottle at room temperature's, yet also quickly liquefies when held in the hand for a short time. Using these pure absolute oils you will achieve a powerful concentrated perfume and natural aroma coupled with the therapeutic benefits of using pure absolute essential oils to use in your aromatherapy home fragrance or perfume making blends.

This essential oil is extracted from the flowers by steam distillation.

Known as 'flower of flowers', this exotic, sensual oil soothes, relaxes and uplifts the spirit.

Excellent skincare oil suitable for all skin types.

Use at night before peaceful sleep.

Also has sensual properties.

Usage: bath; massage; vaporisation; skin and beauty care; and perfume.

What you eat today shows up on your skin later. That makes proper eating habits the easiest way to ensure a glowing skin. Here are some foods you should include in your diet to get a healthy glow:

1. Water - lots of it

2. Fish

3. Carrots

4. Tomatoes

5. Cucumber

6. Sweet Potatoes

7. Broccoli

8. Spinach

9. Foodgrains rich in Vitamin E

10. Hazelnuts

11. Almonds

12. Coconut

Winter does it to all of us but you need not buy expensive foot care products to cure cracked heels. Here are my favorite remedies for cracked heels:

1. A daily moisturizing regime. Every night before going to bed, I soak my feet in luke warm water for 10 minutes while I read another chapter of the book in hand. Then I generously slather a good hand and body cream on my feet (especially well on the heels) and go to bed.

2. Oils help! Any vegetable oil or olive oil massaged well over cracked heels daily helps immensely. Pull over a pair of socks and leave overnight.

3. Exfoliate and Moisturize. After soaking feet in water, use a foot scrub to gently rub and remove dead skin. Then moisturize and leave overnight for soft feet next morning.

White eyeliner keeps appearing at almost all fashion shows and I even see a lot of it at discos and parties. A little bit of white makes your eyes look bright. Some tips to keep in mind while applying white eyeliner:

1. Whiteliner can be used to line the lower lid in the sixties fashion.

2. Don't apply and re-apply liner to make it more hard. Stark white tends to look scary and you can save that one for the next Halloween party.

3. In fact, even 'not-too-overdone' white liner may look too bright and scary. Go for an off white color instead.

4. A white pencil is enough to do the trick.

5. Soften the liner with a swab of cotton.

6. If you just need to brighten your eyes without any dramatic effects, just touch up with a white pencil on the inner corner of your lower lid.

7. Create more highlights for a nighttime party by using a soft touch on the brow line and dabbing with cotton.

8. For more drama, extend the white liner to the outer corner of the eye as opposed to the inner corner.

Some good choices for white eyeliner are:

Shiseido The Makeup Eyeliner Pencil in White
Estée Lauder Artist's Eye Pencil in White
Giorgio Armani Smooth Silk Eye Pencil
Yves Saint Laurent Long Lasting Eye Pencil No. 2 Glacier White
KHOL White - Soft Smudge Eye Liner Pencil/Shaper KK-36

The beautiful French braid is easy to do if you are willing to do some practice.

Here's a step by step how to make a French braid:

1. Comb hair well and if hair is too flyaway, dampen it or use mousse or gel.

2. Take a section of hair forming half a circle from the center of the forehead by back-combing.

3. Divide this section of hair into 3 parts and start braiding as a simple braid.

4. Everytime you use the left side section to braid, use a tail comb to identify another smaller section from near the left side of the half circle section to add to the left side hair section. See pic.

5. Similarly, everytime you use the right side of the hair, add a section of the hair from the right side of the half circle section to add to the right side hair section in your hand.

So, in a nutshell, to make a French braid, you need to make a simple braid starting from the top of your head and adding little equal-sized sections of hair from the remaining hair (except the section you separated at the beginning) every time you braid.

'Sugar and Spice' Shampoo from VO5 - Cinnamon and Gingerbread and everything nice! I managed to get a bottle of VO5's limited edition Christmas shampoo which I missed last year when it was launched.

I must say it made me feel sooooo Christmassy. The trademark slender shaped bottle filled with thick red shampoo with little gingerbread men and stars all over were enough to bring in the festive spirit when I turned the bottle over to read this:

"Mrs. Claus lovingly selected from her kitchen just the right ingredients for this deliciously fragrant holiday shampoo with essences of Cinnamon and Gingerbread."

And on applying the shampoo I found it to be as festive as it looked. My hair smelled of all the lovely smells coming from my Christmas pantry and felt really great. The shampoo had gentle cleansing properties and even added more volume to my fine hair. A great, great gift idea for the holidays which is unfortunately already a rare thing to obtain. Let's hope for another special edition from VO5 next Christmas!

P.S. And not to forget some more fine print:

"This product is not tested on reindeer or other animals."

and

"Recyclable at the North Pole if facilities exist".

Sequins have given way to shiny and shimmery fabrics for the upcoming Spring/Summer season. Gold, silver, foil embelishments, sparkling shirts and sheeny fabrics and flats are the new trend.

Accessorize with an oversized shoulder bag!

Dress up top to bottom in bright yellow this Spring Summer and radiate energy. Many designers including Valentino showcased yellow outfits in recent fashion shows which included single dresses, tops and skirts both yellow, tops and pants etc. with the yellow ranging from nright to golden hued.

Valentino showcased a beautiful golden/mustard outfit with the top having lacy layers at the bottom and pants with lace at the bottom.