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Fun & Funky

The way you dress, the jewelry you love, the perfect haircut -- all help create confidence, command respect and turn heads. Just ask these eight style-savvy women.

Shelly Bomb, 36, costume designer and a creative director for Anti-gravity, a performance group.

What does your look say about you? That....

What Is Pilates?

Pilates is one of the most popular forms of exercise today -- nearly 500 studios nationwide teach it. Compared with step aerobics, cardiokickboxing, or indoor cycling, Pilates relies less on "going for the burn" and more on gradual, methodical placement and movement. Instruction is provided by a trained teacher on a one-to-one basis or in very small groups. Because of the small student-teacher ratio, you can begin Pilates exercises at your own....

Age: 41

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 302

Body mass index: 44

Target weight: 220

I've made a promise to myself to get this weight off. I need to lose roughly 100 pounds.

So far, I've lost nine pounds in a little over two weeks. I want and need this for my health. People say they're going to lose weight for different reasons — for someone else, a class reunion. I'm doing this for me. I want to live past 50-years-old; I just turned 41. I'm tired of being exhausted and short of breath. Since I've starting working out, I feel better already.

Lifestyle change ....

Taking care of oily skin means starting a good skincare regimen and sticking with it. Wash your face every morning and night, but don’t overdo it. You may think you are doing yourself a favor by washing your face three or four times a day, but you are actually stripping your skin of its natural oils, which will actually cause your glands to secrete more oil.

Use a....

While willpower and determination play a large role in keeping those resolutions, being armed with the right knowledge and having a good support system is just as important.

That’s something Cliff and Roxanne Marsh are hoping to provide.

The Marshes are hosting free “StepFast” seminars at the Joy of Life Fellowship Church here every Saturday at 6:30 p.m. until March 5.

....

An eight year study of 150,000 women found those who get large amounts of the vitamin folate have a significantly lower risk of developing high blood pressure.

Results were most dramatic among women ages 27 to 44. Folate, a B vitamin, is found in oranges, dark green leafy vegetables and beans and legumes.

Answer: Unfortunately, there really are no hard and fast rules about the shelf life of makeup. No two brands are equal, and from eye shadow to lipstick, life spans vary. There are a variety of factors that can determine how long your cosmetics will last.

Like all that is good in life -- HoHo's, Snickers and Doritos, for example --preservatives are the key ingredients to prolonging the life of your makeup. Typically, the more expensive the cosmetic, the more the preservatives....

When you're trying to cram 27 hours' worth of work, play, and chores into 24, you have no time to feel tired. Although any type of exercise can give you a boost, these explosive power moves will give you the biggest payoff. The reason: Speed and jumping exercises train muscles to recover quickly so you'll feel less fatigued when you're on the go, says Joe Signorile, PhD, an exercise physiologist at the University of Miami who helped create this workout.

High-intensity moves also nudge up your calorie burn both during and after the workout,....

And now: Time for a brush-up on caring for the things that

matter, so they'll always look as new as the day you brought them home.

The first rule: Dry-clean. As expensive and hard on the environment as it is, professional care is key if a garment calls for it. Hand-washing usually doesn't work as well, and neither do those DIY dry-clean products (they don't let you immerse fabrics in a solvent....

Style is subtle. It’s the mode that makes you stand out in a crowd. If you have style, it doesn’t matter what’s in style. The clothes and accessories you wear will stand the test of time.

That means bypassing the racks of trendy clothes. You know how it goes: in one season, out of your closet the next.

Think of all the styles that have come and gone. If you closely examine the contents of your closet, do you find that most of your outfits are out of date?

Well, I’m going to....

They're the words most women long to hear. Who doesn't want to be complimented for a fabulous figure? Even if you haven’t reached your goal weight, you can still look slim and trim. The secret is using a bit of fashion sense, which is where I come in.

I've got the dressing dos and don’ts. You’ll appear sizes smaller … without ever shedding a pound. It’s as simple as knowing what’s flattering and what’s not. Because when it comes to fashion, a little flattery will get you everywhere.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled feature, your five free beauty....

Lasers...chemical peels...collagen shots...Botox. In the '90s, speedy face fixing concentrated on smoothing the skin's surface. But today, a new generation of wrinkle fillers goes deeper, plumping from within. Restylane and Hylaform, transparent gel-injectables, promise to replicate the fullness of a youthful complexion. Their chief use is minimizing furrows and deep wrinkles, not removing jowls or tightening sagging skin. Women from their 30s to 80s are trying them, even though full treatments start at around $400, and it's too soon to know long-term results.

Both Restylane and Hylaform received FDA approval in 2004 for use....

Over the years, finding a way to make lipstick last has been a daunting challenge for both women and makeup artists. Unfortunately there is no one specific method that works for everyone, but there are a few things you can try

First, make sure lips are moisturized. Chapped or flaky lips make lip color application difficult, and the color tends to flake or crack. Not a pretty picture. If you have a problem with dry lips, try buffing the lips....

Can looking good be hazardous to your health?

Cosmetics, for the most part, don’t really pose any significant dangers. However, there are certain products that you need to be....

1. Is there a cosmetic product that can make my eyelashes longer and thicker?

What you were born with, you were born with.....

And, hey, take your camera. Email us your before and after shots along with your name, age, address and the....

By Craig Stoltz and January W. Payne

Washington Post

In addressing the topic of aging well, we wanted to do a story not on the illnesses associated with aging, but with how to prevent those illnesses: heart disease, dementia, diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, osteoporosis and any number of cancers. We braced for a story exploring the leading edge of genomics, customized pharmaceuticals, advanced multidimensional imaging and, we figured, something or other about nanotechnology.

Alas, we were disappointed or disabused. A majority of the most conclusive research studies we found on prevention of age-related disease kept pointing....

Of course, that was before Botox and step aerobics and antioxidant face creams. It was before hair weaves and hair extensions and extra-hold mousse.

And it was definitely before country music queen Loretta Lynn sailed into her 70s with black hair falling decidedly below her strong shoulders, and author Toni Morrison accepted the 1993 Nobel Prize for literature (at age 62) with a wreath of silver dreadlocks gently gathered....

Have you ever told your hairstylist that you loved a cut when you really hated it? We all have hair horror stories. A light trim that turned out to be a six inch loss, ends so uneven your friends thought you cut them yourself. Or how about the stylist who gave you bangs without asking?

Some hairdressers really should have their scissors taken away, but more often than not, a bad haircut is caused by bad communication. What special powers do....