How To Have Beautiful, Smooth Elbows Which Don't Give Away Your Age.

It's amazing how much attention we pay to moisturising our faces, the skin around the eyes, the neck, the decollete, but how often have you gone out to purposely buy an elbow cream? Yes, I am being silly, but believe me there are some out there, in fact Avon make one (well it's a foot and elbow cream - 2 for 1 - what a bargain!).

Anyway, as Spring is well on the way, pretty soon our elbows will be on show after being hidden away under long sleeves all winter, and there is nothing so unattractive as a rough skinned and untended elbow. As well as showing that you don't really take care of yourself, a crinkled, dry elbow can also be pretty ageing. So, here are some tips on how to get rid of the rough skin, dark patches and wrinkles and anti-age your elbows for Spring.

How To Get Rid Of Rough Skin On Your Elbows

• Use a body exfoliating cream in the shower and scrub away at those elbow areas (be careful not to make them sore), and then apply a rich moisturiser. This is best done in the evening, and a moisturiser such as E45 or an aqueous cream should be applied and then sleep in a loose long sleeved cotton top to allow the moisturiser to do its work.
• If you think an exfoliating cream is not going to do the job, look for something called a "Buf-Puf" which is a re-usable exfoliating sponge to be used with a foaming cleanser, which can be applied to your elbows - Boots do one in their own brand section.
• If you have a microdermabrasion kit for your face, think about using it on your elbows. They are normally supplied with a rich moisturiser in the pack which can be applied.
• If you need something of industrial strength to sort out the dry skin on your elbows, it might be worth visiting a beautician who can apply an acid peel, and this will loosen the top layers of dead skin, revealing new youthful skin underneath. This can cause temporary redness, so be prepared to wear long sleeves for a few days.
• Glycolic and lactic acid preparations can be purchased for home use, and these are safe to use to remove dead skin layers from your elbows, making sure that you follow all the manufacturer's guidelines.

How To Brighten The Skin On Your Elbows

• Regularly rub your elbows with lemon juice which smoothes and softens skin and also mildly bleaches it.
• If you use fake tanning creams ensure that you either moisturise your elbows before applying the tanning product, or you use a baby wipe and run it over your elbows (and anywhere else you might experience dry skin such as your knuckles) to remove the tanning product after application as it develops much more prominently on these dry skinned areas and your elbows will appear darker than the rest of your arms.

Using Anti-Wrinkle Cream On Your Elbows

• Yes, you can use anti-wrinkle cream on your elbows if you consider they are becoming a bit saggy - it will have as much effect as it would do applied anywhere else, such as your face. I will leave that one with you - the effectiveness will be related to the quality of the product you use.

Cosmetic Surgery For Elbows?

• Yes, this would seem pretty drastic to me as well - the only person I have heard rumoured to have had it was Demi Moore, but I'm not sure at all. The general cosmetic surgical operation for the arms is the fix for what we commonly call "bingo wings" - or in proper surgical terms arm lift or brachioplasty. This tightens up the top of the arms rather than the elbow skin. In fact with the elbow being such a flexible joint plastic surgery would seem improbable - and you would have to be severely worried about your sagging elbows to go to such lengths.

My tips are:- exfoliate regularly which is easily done whilst showering and then apply a rich moisturiser. Once or twice a week rub lemon juice over your elbows and occasionally apply a rich foot cream for dry, rough skin to your elbows, such as Flexitol Foot Cream for Dry Skin.

Have You Ever Wished You Looked Taller - Choosing The Right Shoe Can Give You Inches!

Many of us have looked at photos of ourselves and wondered why we weren't the ones born with legs up to our armpits (or maybe slightly longer legs anyway). Sometimes, we are just petite all around, or some ladies are longer in the body relative to their leg length. However, there are ways, particularly by choosing the right shoe style, where we can visually increase our leg length. There are also styles of shoes we should avoid as well, so here are some "do's and don'ts" which will get you the long, lovely pins you desire.

Don't choose shoes which have..

• Ankle straps or are gladiator sandals as this visually cuts your leg off at the ankle.
• Straps which lace up and tie around the leg - visually cutting even more of your leg away.
• Heavy, chunky heels or square toes, which blunt the shape of the leg.
• Heels which are far too high for you - have you ever seen anything less desirable than a tiny girl tottering around in six inch heels - not a good look.
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Do choose shoes which have..

• Peep toes, as they elongate the foot and look dainty and pretty, with the benefit of showing off a perfectly painted pedicure.
• Slingback straps - particularly where the strap stretches in a "v" shape from around the ankle to the front of the shoe as this again elongates the foot. Look for narrow straps rather than wide ones.
• Kitten heels - especially in a mule style, ie with a strap just across the front of the foot. Kitten heels are not very high themselves, but they display your ankles perfectly on a pretty, curved heel.
• Pointed toes - if you are looking for flats or pumps. Pointed toes elongate the foot again, rather than a rounded toe, and a "v" shaped opening in the shoe or a peep-toe flat will also add length.
• Classic pump heels - a pretty pump with a low cut front, a peep-toe and a mid sized heel will elongate legs, make calves more shapely and generally add height.

These tips are ideal now it's Spring as there are some beautiful floral skirts and dresses out there begging to be paired up with a lovely pair of new shoes.

Sarah's recommended read - Every shoe you need to get you through the season at www.handbag.com

Baby Pink Nails - How To Create The Perfect Pink Polish

Just the thing for Spring - perfect baby pink nails. Ideally nails should be finished with a short square or slightly rounded manicure.

How To Choose The Correct Shade Of Pink Polish For You

• English rose complexions suit baby pink polishes.
• Olive toned complexions look lovely with pink based nude colours.
• Darker complexions are lucky and look beautiful in any shade of pink.
• A quick way to check whether you are wearing the wrong shade for you is to look at your cuticles - if they look yellow then the shade is the wrong tone for you.

The Benefits Of Wearing Pale Pink and Nude Coloured Polish

• Light colours minimise any flaws in your nails.
• Pinks are pretty rather than dramatic and are perfect for both day wear and evenings or special occasions.
• Light coloured polishes are less likely to show last minute dramas when you are on your way out such as a chip or a smudge.

How To Get Naturally Pink Nails

• Use a nail buffer which will give your nails a natural shine, increase the blood flow to the nail which will make them grow faster and also stop them from splitting and breaking.

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Have You Started A New Year Fitness Plan For A New You ... But In your Old Clothes?

Hopefully those who started a New Year Fitness plan are still sticking to it ... and even better are now getting fit and healthy and not embarrassing themselves too much by puffing and panting around the running track or in the gym. Yep, I have been out pounding the streets after work and at the weekend, trying to revert to my former relatively fit state when I ran in the London Marathon. However, too much sitting on my comfy sofa or tapping away at my laptop keyboard in the evenings has left me with some catching up to do. I did go out this evening however, and as you do, caught site of myself in bus-stop window. Oh dear, I thought, who is that scruff in the old woolly hat and mis-matched tracky top and bottoms - it didn't help that it was also pee-ing down at that point as well.

Yes, even when coming to then end of a 5K run, I am still sad enough to worry about meeting friends or acquaintances from my village, who will no doubt look at me askance when they see me back in my "normal" attire after seeing a lunatic in soggy pink hat and baggy trackies plodding towards them along the pavement, yelling "Hi!". Thinking on this as I made my way back home, I decided to put together a list of essential and funky items that help you keep your street credibility from falling into the gutter.

Essential Cool Items For A Fashion Conscious (But Also Health Conscious) Girl:

• Whatever you wish to start with go for a colour scheme - if your favourite colour is pink then go for it - you don't have to be pink from head to foot. (For some reason I just thought of someone such as Paris Hilton in a pink glitzy jogging suit - eeeeugh - enough of that!) But pink mixed with black or grey, or grey and black will look stylish.
• It's better to choose more than one colour as you can build up layers which are important for working out whether indoors or out, as when you commence your workout you will need more layers which can be removed as you warm up and put back on as you cool down to keep muscles from getting stiff and injured.
• Look for jogging pants and tops in a fabric with wicking which means that the clothing will move sweat away from the skin to the outer surface of the fabric, where it evaporates. This is far more comfortable than an old cotton t-shirt which sticks clamily to you. Plus, running tops are in brilliant styles and colours and also cut to be flattering as well as comfortable.
• If you are addicted to wearing a hat to either keep your hair from your face, keep your head warm or to stop your iPod earphones falling out of your ears you might fancy a change to a fleece headband such as skiers wear. These are great, they look brilliant, come in designer brands at reasonable prices, and can be adjusted to fit different sizes.
• Running or gym shoes - it would be pretty stupid to choose these on looks alone - go to a specialist fitness shoe store and they will advise you on the best style for you, and even put you on a running machine and video you to assess your "gait"!. But it doesn't mean that you have to be running around in a pair of ridiculous dayglo shoes - there are plenty of styles to choose from.

Yes, the above may not seem important to some as they pound the treadmills and tracks, and running or exercise is definitely not all about looks ... but looking good and also feeling good will just help in a teeny-weeny way to motivate some of us who might be teetering on the brink of "I really can't be bothered/I'm too tired to go out tonight - I'll go tomorrow instead". Plus, if you keep it up there's plenty of opportunity to get a picture of yourself running over a finishing line in a race ... wouldn't you rather see youself looking smart!