FASHION & STYLE

How do they do it? Well, if you too have a round face then the trick is to get a haircut that is flattering to the shape of your face. Your haircut should make your face appear leaner and longer than it actually is.

Therefore, your hair should have less volume, which means that the haircut should begin below your chin. Then ask your hairstylist to give you a long, layered look that removes focus from the fullness of your face. A tapered and wispy look to your hair will make your face look long and thin. If you like bangs then they should be long and brushed to one side of your face.

What about stars like Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Demi Moore: they all have pronounced jawlines, this makes their faces look angular and square. So what do they do to get a fuller face? All these stars will wear their hair in long layers and large curls. Some of them have short spikes and layers that start at the jaw and go all the way down.

You too should adopt this strategy if you have a strong jawline or a square cut face. Steer clear of single layers or chin length hair which will draw the eye towards your jawline.

Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba are lucky girls: they have oval shaped faces and if you too are blessed with such a face, then feel free to experiment with almost any shape or style you like. In fact, why not adopt a style that most people cannot afford to have: like a bob, cut at the chin or perhaps a fringe right across your forehead?

If you are also lucky enough to have distinct cheek bones then keep your hair short, cut in a single layer, right at the chin. If you have large expressive eyes then draw attention to them with a short, sharp fringe. Whatever hairstyle you select, it should suit your face. Avoid choosing hairstyles that other women have like long layers or long bangs for they are just too common.

The sun's light waves are categorized by their intensity. There are three categories of light waves. These are UVA, UVB and UVC. The UVA and UVB can both damage the hair in a variety of ways. The UVA rays can burn the hair cuticle which is the outer hair layer. The cuticle contains a web of tiny overlapping scales. Then the scales are damaged they can not lay flat, like they are supposed to, and will look lifeless, brittle and dry.

UVA rays can also burn and damage unprotected scalp. It is even possible to burn the part of your hair where scalp is unprotected. UVA rays can damage the skin on the scalp in many ways and activate free radicals which accelerate aging. Several sunburns on the scalp have even been known to cause some cases of hair loss.

Sun damage to the hair can manifest as faded hair color, brittle and dry hair shafts and split ends.Check out the following ways to prevent damage to your hair
• Start by avoiding trouble. Minimize your hair's exposure to the sun between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. when the rays are the most potent. If you must be out during those times, wear a cover-up to shield your strands from sun exposure.

• Start the summer season with a salon trip to eliminate split ends and handle hair repairs. If your hair normally dries out during summer months, consider having a preventive professional deep-conditioning treatment to ward off potential damage.

• Use of sun protection filters will protect the hair from UVA and UVB damage. Physical filters sit on the hair's surface and reflect, rather than absorb, ultraviolet rays. Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are some examples of physical filters used in most sunscreens. They repel radiation at all wavelengths (including infra-red waves), which is essential as burning and damage involves the interaction of all wavelengths at varying degrees. On the other hand, chemical Filters absorb ultraviolet light like a sponge and prevents the sun's rays from penetrating and attacking the hair. The fact that they can be mixed into any base, dissolved into gels, lotions, moisturizing cream bases and waterproof formulations making them cosmetically acceptable for use on the hair.

• Straw hats have always been a popular choice for beach-goers. You can even wear a scarf underneath the hat to ensure no sun exposure.

• When you are unexpectedly thrust into the sun without your favorite hair protection, comb a dollop of regular sunscreen with a minimum of 15 SPF through your hair. Apply to exposed scalp to prevent damage and/or sunburn. The sun breaks down the protective ingredients in sunscreens, so don't forget to reapply them every hour when swimming, sweating or playing sports.

 
Don't despair if you find yourself with damaged hair from salt, sun or chemicals. Select a product that can help with hair damage recovery by restoring, hydrating and lubricating hair exposed to damaging summer conditions. Consider using a detox or after-sun shampoo that is designed to remove salt, pool chemicals and damaging environmental toxins.

"I spy with my little eye" that many women have scant knowledge of how to apply their eye make-up correctly. Either they prefer to go nude all the time or they come away looking like raccoons, with heavy eyeliner highlighting dark circles. The trick, girls, is that less is always more. Apply less make-up but do so expertly, so that you come away with perfectly made-up eyes accentuating your best features.

If you have pretty coloured irises, you should draw attention to them. The smart way to do this is to smudge your eyeliner. Then apply eye shadow in a shade of your choice. It could be brown, black or grey. Add false lashes to make your eyes look bigger and prettier. Apply a few touches of mascara too. Then you are basically good to go!

However, the real trick lies in applying your eye make-up properly. For example, it is very off-putting to see lumps of mascara on your eye lashes or an inelegantly applied eyeliner.

Applying Eyebrow Powder Properly First brush your eyebrows with an eye brow brush. This will help settle the fine hair. Dip the brush into some eyebrow powder. And here is the trick: reduce the amount of powder by tapping the brush smartly. Or wipe with some tissue paper to make the excess powder fall off. Apply the powder sparingly and then brush your eyebrows again to soften the effect and distribute the powder evenly across the eyebrows.

Perfectly Applied Eye Shadow Always use powder, as cream will settle into the creases of your eyes. If you must use cream, mix a bit of eye shadow powder in with it. This will prevent the cream from creasing. But before using this, apply some foundation to the area to smoothe out the skin and to prevent skin oils from smudging the eye shadow.

For Sparkling Eyes
Splash ice cold water on and pat it off with a soft towel. Alternatively, apply cold cucumber peels for fifteen minutes. Do pranayama and yoga to stimulate your blood supply to the eye area. Just before going to a party, apply hydrating drops. The night before, use an eye mask to hydrate the area.

Prevent Raccoon Eyes
The only way to do this is to dust some face powder on your eyes. Then brush it off in downward motions. Apply your eye shadow, eyeliner, and the rest, and walk away with beautiful, glamorous eyes.

Every woman dreams of kissing a frog and turning him into Prince Charming. But think about it from the frog's perspective: rough, chapped lips puckering up, ugly lines criss-crossing the lips, coming in close to plant a smacker on the mouth. Yuck! If you want to kiss your Prince Charming then you need to be sure your lips are like a Princess's? Do your lips look so soft and luscious that men are drawn irresistibly to them?

The chances are your lips will always have room for improvement. So, in order to make them look prettier you need to do a few simple things. First, begin by cleaning them with a gentle cleanser. Then, exfoliate them in order to remove embedded gunk and dirt. Thereafter, take a soft bristled brush and rub it, gently, all over your lips, paying special attention to the corners, the lower lip and the bow tip of the arch.

This helps scrub off dead cells and reveals the fresher, newer skin that is hidden below. Once you are done, you will notice that your lips look visibly cleaner and softer. Apply a lip balm to them to lock in the moisture and you are good to go.

If you wish to apply make-up, and you must, then begin by applying foundation to your lips, just the way you apply it to the rest of the face. Your lips should be clean, free of dead cells and freshly moisturised. The foundation will help iron out the wrinkles and will conceal the different shades of lip colour: for example, the inner lip is always lighter in colour than the edges and so on.

Then apply face powder and brush off the excess with your face brush. This will help ensure that your lipstick stays put for a longer period of time.

After you have applied foundation and powder, apply a lip liner. The shade of your lip liner should be darker than your lipstick. Apply it to the outer edges of the lips.

If you want to play it smart, then you can make fat lips look slightly thinner by applying the lip liner a tad inside the boundaries of the lips. Don't put it too far inside or it will look unnatural. If you want to make thin lips look more pouty; then apply the lip liner slightly outside the boundaries of the lips.

Now, apply the lipstick. It could be made from cream or powder and the rule of thumb is this: fat lips should not be coloured with very dark shades or they will appear larger. To draw attention away from them, use neutral pinks or creams. To make thinner lips appear plumper, feel free to use the darkest shades you dare.

Shiny lips might look too garish during daylight and in the office. To subdue the shade and to get a "matt" effect, dust down the lips with powder. Then, kiss a piece of tissue paper and slip it between your lips too; this will help remove excess lipstick that would probably have stained your teeth later.

Working women often don't have the time or the energy to look after their nails. Maintaining long nails, polishing them, manicures, pedicures etc. often become too tiresome for women who work, look after their families and their children. For such women, short, ugly nails are the only option.

However, it is possible to have attractive well-groomed hands without getting into a tedious cycle of nail care that is expensive and time consuming. For example, nails do not have to be long and shapely in order to look pretty. It is possible to have short but neatly manicured nails all the time.

Your Daily Nail Care Routine
Begin by establishing a regular nail care routine. Just as you don't fall asleep without removing your make-up and without brushing your teeth, similarly, add another to-do to this list. Always wash your hands with a gentle or herbal hand-wash. This washes off the grime and dirt that collects under the nails throughout the day.

Then, just before slipping under the covers, apply generous dollops of hand moisturiser. This keeps the skin looking young and hydrated and prevents the formation of wrinkles. This should become a habit with you and soon enough, you will see that your hands and nails start looking prettier.

If you can, rub some Vaseline or petroleum jelly in to your nails every night. This strengthens them and locks in the moisture that you have applied for a good eight hours. Soon enough, your nails will grow longer and stronger.

Once a week, soak your hands in some hot water. Then, file down the nail growth so that the edges are rounded, but not sharp. You don't want talons, do you? After that, apply two coats of an invisible nail color. This prevents your nails from looking yellow and unattractive. The invisible nail colour also helps strengthen your nails and this prevents accidental chipping and breakage.

Apply a coloured nail polish only if you can touch it up after two or three days. If you don't have the time, then keep the invisible nail colour on. If it chips then your nails will still look good.

Always keep a set of false nails ready for when you are about to go to a party, apply them over your existing nails. This way, you will always have pretty nails and lovely, shapely hands when you are out with friends.

Some girls go for metrosexual types, some women prefer rough and rugged traits in their ideal male; either way there are a few stinky, scruffy no-go zones few modern ladies can tolerate.

None of it's rocket science, but if you're aiming to make progress in the art of love then consider these revelations as essential reading.

Here we reveal the dirty truth about the 10 most serious infractions sure to put a woman off your otherwise tempting offer.

It sounds obvious. It IS obvious. And yet there are plenty of perpetrators out there. If ever a single hair escapes from your nostril and snakes its way into the big, wide world, then get a trimmer immediately.

Consider that first hair an early warning detection system; there will be others seeking to follow in his path.

  
Eventually you might elevate trimming to become part of the daily routine, especially if your hair is dark and nose hair particularly vigorous.

There's just no excuse. No matter how handsome you are, remember that eyesight cannot fully overcome the woman's astute sense of smell.

Brush often, especially if you drink coffee or smoke; floss daily or use a toothpick or disposable plastic flosser to dislodge your dinner; treat mouthwash as an essential not a luxury; and if you have a cold, brush your tongue too so phlegm doesn't fester in the back of the throat.

Flakes are not your fault, it's true - but we still can't help noticing them. 

Here's what you can do to help: use special shampoo and brush your dry hair once a day. Yes, it sounds silly - but it lets you free those flakes from your scalp before they jump to your shoulders of their own accord.

Better to scatter them in your bathroom than all over yourself when you're out and about. And if snow continues to fall, at least do yourself the favour of wearing light-coloured shirts so we can't tell.

When you run out, there are several reasons it's really not advisable to nick our shampoo/shower gel/hair goop/razor. First of all, you will smell like a lady. Second of all, imagine the awkwardness when your thieving ways are discovered. Third, it's just never a good idea to stand between a woman and her beauty regime.

If you should happen to - ahem - sense the presence of some foul air after using the smallest room in the house, then you'd better strike a match or risk our wrath.

It's just not polite to stink up our toilet; it's not really polite to stink up yours either if we happen to be around. While toxic smelliness can no doubt be amusing in all-male company, remember it's disgusting as long as you're in ours.

You can get away with a certain amount of mess in a bachelor flat. For plenty of girls it's gratifying to land in a lad's pad and realise it's in need of a woman's touch. An empty pizza box here or unopened post there only reinforces the fact that you could use some love and attention.

But don't expect any member of the female species to stay over if your shower is growing science experiments. If you never learned to scrub, then invest in Method Tub N Tile spray (www.methodproducts.co.uk), and stick fabric shower curtains in the washing machine at the first sign of mildew or mould.

Boys, your mother changed your linen once a week for a reason; leave it any longer and a permanent fug settles over the bedchamber. This is not a recipe for romance.

 
So wash your sheets, invest in fabric softener, air the pillows and duvet outside when you can, and if you don't have a full set of bed linens, ask Mum to send some (she'll jump at the chance). The higher the thread count the better the quality, and don't even dream of getting anything with synthetic fibres - this is just an invitation for your stink to settle.

It could be easy to spend so much attention on your outer appearance that you neglect what lies beneath. Don't make this mistake. When it comes to pants, remember that cleanliness is next to sex godliness. Never mind about the brand - get rid of anything that's dingy, baggy, scruffy or just plain bad.

Old-man toenails

There is no quicker way to sink a woman's heart than to reveal disgusting toenails. A girl doesn't have to have a foot fetish to attach a lot of importance to these little things.

It's like unwrapping a gorgeous present and peeling back layers of lovely wrapping - only to discover decay and disease underneath.

You absolutely must keep toe talons in trim, straight across to avoid ingrown nails that lead to infection. And if you notice yellow or green discolouration, get to a GP in case you've contracted a fungus.

If you are a classical guitar player, then ignore this rule. If you aren't a classical guitar player, keep your nails in check please.

When found on an object of our affection, long nails make us think of womanhood in general and witches in particular.

Chances are, this is not the look you're cultivating. If your cuticles are getting particularly crazy, get a man manicure. Successful men the world over do so, and there's no reason you can't too.