Top Tips On Hot New Biker Boots And What To Wear Them With

I have been a secret fan of these types of boots for a couple of years and already own a pair - because guess what, they are the greatest boots for wearing to music gigs. Perfectly comfortable, cool to look at and they offer you great protection from getting your tootsies stomped on in a mosh.

How To Wear Biker Boots

Biker boots have been the secret weapon for looking cool of - you've guessed it - bikers for ever, but now they have moved into the realms of high fashion. Biker boots look ultra cool, as shown by Kate Beckinsale, when worn with the right accessories. Great ways to wear them are:

• As in the photo, wear with leggings, furry gilet, t-shirt or jumper.
• Partner with opaque tights and a tunic dress and jacket or woolly cardigan.
  
• Wear them with your skinny jeans tucked in and a long sweater or top and boho scarf.
• Wearing your boots with black leggings or jeans, with a long lace finished black top would be perfect for the gothic look that is raging at the moment.

Traditional biker boots are 3/4 in length with a flat heel, but there are loads of variations available this autumn to choose from.

Recommended products:

• Biker Boots at Amazon.co.uk

What do you think of these boots - have you bought any and do you like them?

How To Have Beautiful Bright Eyes With No Dark Circles Underneath

Many of us have at some time suffered from dark circles under the eyes - these can be temporary when they result from late nights, too much partying, not enough sleep etc, or they can unfortunately be permanent when they are inherited through our family genes.

What Are The Causes Of Dark Shadows Under The Eyes?

• Ensure that you get enough sleep each night, burning the candle at both ends all week and then having one lie-in at the weekend is not good enough - each night you should aim for a rounded eight hours if possible.
• If you are drinking alcohol, make sure that you keep hyrdrated - one of the first signs of dehydration is dark circles under the eyes where the dehydration affects the eye area's thin and delicate skin first. Wine in particular can cause puffiness and dark circles because of the sulfites contained in the drink.
• Eating a poor diet, which contains a high amount of sugar and caffeine (lots of coffee and doughtnuts) and which lacks in the essential vitamins and minerals can cause dark eye circles amongst other skin complaints.

Remedies for Under Eye Shadows

• If you fancy trying a homemade and easy remedy slice up some peeled cucumber and chill it in the freezer for a few minutes before lying back and applying it to your eyes for five minutes - it will help to reduce puffiness and reduce the dark circles.
• If you are ready for a longer term solution it may be that your diet needs some tweaks, as above, reducing sugar and caffeine will help, as will introducing at least 30 grams of fibre into your diet each day and drinking water - lots of it i.e. at least two litres a day.

How To Hide Dark Shadows Under The Eyes Using Cosmetics

If you have tried all you can to free yourself of those dark shadows, or whilst you are improving your lifestyle, you may need to resort to using cosmetics to hide the shadows away. Here are some tips for applying makeup which will hide dark shadows under the eyes.

• First use a moisturiser specially designed for the eye area. Apply it in small dots all around the eye area and then blend it in around the eye, massaging gently from the centre to the outer corners of the eyes, but being careful not to pull the skin. Allow the moisturiser to soak into your skin.

• Next apply a concealer. It is a personal choice as to which you prefer as they are available in liquid, stick or pen form. Ideally the concealer should be the exact shade of your skin, however if this is not possible, the shade should be slightly lighter rather than darker than your own skin tone. My personal favourite and the one I always use is YSL Touche Eclat - it is expensive for a concealer, but it lasts for ages and it's brilliant not just for covering up imperfections, but also for little tricks like high-lighting the corners of your eyes where you might have laugh lines, turning them invisible.
• Dot the concealer along your eye socket line from the middle corner of your eye to below the middle of your eye. Using your finger or a makeup sponge if you prefer, gently blend the concealer into your skin.
• Once blended, you can now apply your normal foundation over the top. If you are still not happy with the effect, you can apply a tiny amount of concealer over the top of the foundation, but use a light hand as you don't want a caked effect around your eyes, as this will only settle into any creases in your skin.
• Finally dust with a light translucent powder to set the finished look.

Recommended Products:

• YSL Touche Eclat
• Self Heating Green Tea Mask with Revitalising Cucumber Eye Pads
  

If you have your own tips for avoiding dark shadows under your eyes or more makeup tips such as the products you use to hide any unwanted blemishes send your comments to us.

How To Dress For The Office But Still Look Stylish

The days of "power dressing" for the office has long gone along with those big square shoulderpads thank goodness and most offices today offer the "business casual" option. This certainly operates in many of the offices I have been in, but in a way its almost a shame as a lot of office workers use it as an excuse to be slightly... well scruffy almost. I like to think that part of the "fun" of working in an office where maybe day-to-day life isn't that exciting is that at least you can dress for the part. Here are some tips for brightening up that office day existance.

The Bag (No not your boss!)

• Many of us cart around a large array of items day-to-day including items such as umbrellas, books, iPods, phones, makeup, lunches, purses, notepads etc etc, which means either a substantial hand or shoulder bag or at worst two separate bags. I recommend opting for the larger hand or shoulder bag - which should be smartly styled and in winter be of leather or similar and for summer a lighter design in fabrics of your favourite summer colours. A great bag can make any outfit - if you go to work in a plain skirt and sweater - a smart and stylish bag over your shoulder can definitely brighten up your day.

Trousers

• Trousers are definately one of the most popular items of clothing for the office for many women now. Nothing looks smarter than a trouser suit with a stylish cut - for which my favourite colour is black. This can be matched with a feminine blouse (very in for the latest season), or even just a plain t-shirt which can be accessorised with a colourful pendant or necklace. A suit like this looks super stylish with a set of heels.

Tights...

• If you are a fan of above the knee skirts, unless you are lucky enough to have gorgeous legs like Cameron Diaz then I recommend tights as its not so nice to sit and look at a colleague's white and pudgy knees. Seriously, a great pair of tights can make legs super shapely, and there are some great opaque tights both plain and patterned which look great with shoes like Mary-Janes. If you don't like wearing tights, a skirt suit with leather knee boots with heels also looks very smart for winter.

...And Tight Tops

• I'm not a great fan of tight lycra tops in the office, mostly because offices can be quite warm or alternatively quite cold if air-conditioned and both of these climates have their disadvantages in a tight top - I'll leave that to your imagination. Also sitting at a desk all day is not great for your posture, and unless you have a supermodel slim figure a tight top is probably not the most flattering garment and I'd save it for a night out.

Jewellery

• The office is not generally the place for piles of diamante or sparkly jewellery, but I recently had a meeting with one of our European colleagues, she was actually Italian. She was dressed all in black - tailored black trousers and a fine knit black round neck sweater. What made her outfit super stylish but still formal enough for the meeting was the chunky silver jewellery she had teamed with her outfit, including a large silver ring, watch and bold silver pendant.

I'm still a fan of dressing for the office - if you feel and look good, your day will be much brighter in my opinion. You may or may not agree or you might not be able to wear what you want to work - so let us hear about it.

Recommended products:

• Per Una Speziale Valentina Jacket Suit
• White Leather Hobo Purse
• Ferroni Silver Jewellery
  

How To Apply Self Tan For A Perfect Finish

Applying a fake tan which doesn't look false or streaky has been discussed time and again, but there really are some tips which must be followed to create a natural and golden tanned appearance. How much more sensible is it to apply a self tanning cream and save yourself from the ageing effects of a real tan? Also if you haven't been lucky enough to visit any sunnier shores for a while, its pretty unlikely with this year's grey skies that you will be able to achieve that desirable all over golden glow.

When Is The Best Time To Apply A Self Tan?

• The best time to plan a self tan application is a quiet mid week evening - that way you will have a great tan for the weekend if you are going out and it will allow time for the tan to dry if you are chilling at home.

What Is The Best Way To Prepare Your Skin For Self Tanning?

• Preferably have a shower rather than a bath as you will need to exfoliate which is much more effective in the shower where you can use a body polish, body buff or scrub to sluice away all those nasty dry skin cells which are going to ruin your smooth golden finish if not removed.
• Next when your skin is towel dried but still slightly damp from the shower, apply your favourite body moisturiser, using one which will soak into your skin rather than a richer, greasier type which will stay in a layer on your skin's surface. Make sure you pay attention to (working your way up) your heels, ankles, the front of your shins, knees, backs of hands, and elbows, ie anywhere your skin is likely to be dryer than the rest.

Applying Your Self Tan Product

• Next is the fun part - applying your fake tan. As well as many different brands in different price ranges, there are also a number of different varieties of self tanning products such as tanning lotions, mousses and sprays.  All of these are also available in tinted versions to help you see where you have applied the product.
• Whichever is your preference, working your way up apply your tanning product as evenly as your can all over yourself - if you are going to apply self tan to your back you will either need a friend to help you, use one of the applicator sponges which are available with a long handle or use a spray which will work at any angle.  The any angle sprays are pretty good, but you need to be careful you don't end up tanning your bathroom walls.
• If you are using a facial tanning product this also needs to be applied at this time, avoiding your hairline and eyebrows. Also be wary of applying it in the creases around your nose as this is a place excess tanning product can gather - any excess can be wiped away using a cotton-bud.

Make Sure You Remove Any Excess Product

• Once you are happy that you have applied everywhere, ensure that you wash the palms of your hands, including around your cuticles and also between your fingers.
• Using a damp flannel (only damp and not soaking wet) wipe any excess self tan from your toes, around the soles of your feet (brown soles look extremely odd), and from the creases in your elbows and under your arms. This will prevent tanning lotion gathering in these areas and creating darker brown areas.

Finishing Off

• Then ... relax - all the hard work is done and once your tanning product is dry I recommend dressing in some loose cotton clothing such as pyjamas which can be washed easily and chill.

The next day you should wake up with a healthy golden glow, which after another shower and application of moisturiser will look absolutely gorgeous.

Selected Self Tanning Products

If you have any fake tanning tips - or even disasters - it would be great to hear them.

Some Great Tips For Looking Fantastic In Photographs

Isn't it a shame when sometimes on holiday or at a wedding party we have gone to great efforts with our hair, makeup and outfit to realise afterwards that we have taken a bad picture. It could be that we were slouching, our faces are shiny, we look like we've suddenly developed a double-chin ... that special pic that we wanted to keep to remind ourselves of the happy occasion just gets thrown into the darkest recesses of our desk not to surface again. There are, however, some simple tips that many photographers use which can vastly improve our photos and create a picture fit to be framed and not hidden away.

Posture

• Stand with your feet pointed 45 degrees away from the camera and then turn towards it - this gives a great slimming effect to your body profile and it is a trick that many celebrities use. Alternatively, stand and look back over your shoulder with your head towards the camera. Watch closely the next time you see a red carpet event on TV and you will see this is a very popular and flattering pose.
  
• If you are worried that your arms are a bit on the plump side, hold them slightly away from your body, especially if the picture is taken from the side as this has a brilliant toning effect.

Faces

• If you are having a portrait taken, stretch out and elongate your neck whilst holding your chin down - this has the effect of widening your eyes and also ridding you of any double chin creases.
• Remember if it's a warm day to ensure that your nose is powdered nicely or you use a tissue to dab away any excess oil on your skin as this will be sure to shine out either in a sunny daylight picture or if using flash photography.
• I would suggest for girls wearing a little bit of makeup - preferably foundation which matches your natural skin colour - just to even out your skin tones. This can be done using Photoshop afterwards but all professional photography studios will apply full makeup before a photoshoot.

Outfits and Mood

• Accentuate your best feature, if you have gorgeous shoulders wear a strappy or sleeveless top - think about which item of clothing suits you best and is one that you feel great in.
• If you are having a professional photoshoot remember to have a giggle, play some music and try not to feel self conscious and if you are at an event just remember some of the tips above, have a great time and your pictures will come out great too.