Oscars 2009 - Whose Dress Would You Rather Be Wearing - Jennifer's or Angelina's?

Many of the blogs and sites that I have been scanning for fashion news of the Oscars have reported that they were rather disappointed at the lack of glamour displayed on the red carpet this year. However, the dress which was worn by Kate Winslet has been described as making her look like a "dominatrix" by a well known UK newspaper, which could I suppose be called glamourous in an ever so slightly seedy kind of way? It was actually a black one strap gown by Yves Saint Laurent which did make her look quite statuesque and stunning.

Two of our favourite stars were of course at the Oscars and were really head-lining the event this year. As has been widely reported, this is the first time that Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie have crossed paths and been in the same room since Jennifer found out that Angelina admitted falling in love with gorgeous Brad whilst they were filming Mr and Mrs Smith, which is when Jennifer labelled the lovely Angelina as "uncool". Hmm ... well as can be seen from the pictures here, as well as disagreeing over various issues in their personal lives, their styles and dress sense are very different. I know which one I personally prefer, and in a few lines their differences and styles are listed below:

Angelina

• Angelina dresses in long and lean curves which accentuate her fantastic figure.
• Her outfits involve a lot of silks, satins and leather.
• Casual wear involves well fitting jeans and clingy tops, which are usually accessorised with luxury ethnic style jewellery and belts.
• When younger, Angelina's style was pretty gothic and there are echoes of this in the dress by Elie Saab she chose for the Oscars this year, which was brightened out of it's severity by a pair of huge emerald jewelled earrings and matching ring.

Jennifer

• Jennifer has been crowned as "The Best Dressed Star In Hollywood" in the past and her style and popularity has in no way wained.
• Jen dressed for the Oscars in a metallic Valentino strapless gown, accessorised with sparkling Fred Leighton jewels and Jimmy Choo “Jag” satin sandals.
• For casual wear Jennifer likes to wear jeans, t-shirts and blazers, she dresses like the original "girl next door" and looks fantastic and not overdressed like many other Hollywood actresses.
  
• Like Angelina, Jennifer wears a lot of black, but mixes this with browns, greys and beiges for casual wear, to creams and silvers for formal dresses, which accentuates her normally golden tan.

Which one of these golden girls' style do you prefer, leave your comments ...

How To Look After Your Nails and Tips On How To Stop Them Breaking, Splitting And Cracking

It's a nightmare isn't it when you have been carefully looking after your nails, feeling proud that you are the only one of your mates who hasn't resorted to falsies or acrylics, when one of your beautifully manicured nail tips splits or breaks. This can happen when nails are too dry or weak, but there are things that can be done to make this disaster a lot less likely to happen.

• Flaking nails can be inherited unfortunately, but if you have them them there are a few things you can do to help the situation such as brushing on Solar Oil each day. Solar Oil is a blend of naturally light oils and Vitamin E, designed to deeply penetrate and protect skin and nails.
• Flaking can also be held at bay by using a buffer on the free edge of your nails and buffing in the tip to cuticle direction will help to seal the nail layers together and make them less likely to flake.
• To help stop general breakage of weak nails that bend and split, use a nail strengthener such as Sally Hansen Hard as Nails. They do call it the orignal nail clinic in a bottle, which does seem to be more than marketing blurb, as it will definitely help prevent chipping, splitting and cracking. It seals the nails with a smooth surface that helps strengthen and smooth the nail and seals nail edges. Your nails should grow if you use this product as directed.
• Diet is important for nails. Eating a varied balanced daily with lots of fruit and vegetables helps to keep your nails as well as your hair and skin healthy. Foods such as brazil nuts contain selenium, avocados and flaxseed have essential fatty acids, broccoli, fish and seaweed contain silicon and brewer's yeast (available from chemists), brown rice and soybeans are high in biotin.
• The old favourite - drink lots of water - if you are dehydrated then there are less nutrients circulated to the nails and they will dry out and grow more slowly.
• If you are applying polish (and not using a nail strengthener) then make sure you use a base coat. This will protect your nails from staining if you are using a bright coloured polish, and some base coats also contain nutrients such as Vitamin E to strengthen the nail.

What To Look For This Spring In Floral Designs - Flower Power Is Still Number One!

Floral patterns from pretty rosebuds to oversize bright flowery designs are still new and fresh for this spring as can be seen from the new season lines that are shooting up in the high-street stores - and which were preceded by the spring-summer fashion shows.

However, after several months of winter dressing, sometimes a helping hand is needed for the transition to spring-wear, especially where bright colours and vivid patterns are involved. No worries, however, as following a few simple tips will help you easily build colour and freshness into your wardrobe.

• The easiest way to bring colour to your life is to look for a blouse or top that you love in a frilled, floral design, and then team this with some really casual jeans and sandals for a laid-back look.
• The prettiest way to wear floral is either a sun-dress or tea-dress in a retro floral fabric. Wear this with tiny pearl beads at the neck and wrist and wedge sandals or espadrilles and look super-girly.
• Look for pretty fabric corsages that can be pinned to a vest or t-shirt, which match one of your other accessories or garments for a quick and easy floral-girly hit.
• Similarly, flower jewellery adds a feminine touch to even a plain outfit, look for sterling silver and semi-precious or murano glass flower jewellery.
• Shoulder bags can be glammed-up and brighten up a spring outfit when made from fabrics which incorporate floral patterns and designs.
• Hair accessories are great - use combs or slides decorated with flowers to pin up your hair into a super cool chignon.

What's your favourite floral item and why do you like it - let us know.