CHA, Yudu and Eyebrow Threading

Wow! Have you been checking out the bloggers that had the priviledge of going to CHA this week? Looks like there's a lot of new scrapbooking goodies to devour. One of my favorite bloggers has been Craft Critique . Not only do they have great pictures, but they also have cool videos of the goings on (check out the Paris Hilton videos at CHA!). Also, check out Scrapbook Update for more awesome photos and reviews then link to ScrapNancy's Flickr site to see even more CHA photos.


I have a terrible addiction to collecting scrapbooking supplies with high hopes of actually using all of them. Anyway, my favorite findings on some of these blogs are the Provocraft Yudu screen printing machine. I saw this on HSN yesterday and it looked like loads of fun. Check out Provocraft's page for videos on this baby.

I was also impressed with Heidi Swapp's Invisibles and all the Maya Road goodies. Not to mention the trusted lines such as Cosmo Cricket, K&Co, Prima, Fancy Pants, Basic Grey, Tim Holz, etc, etc.

So, on to another subject. Have you heard of eyebrow threading? It's a hair removal technique done with thread. Looks like this:

(Photo courtesy of Eyebrow Threading Class.com). It was not completely painless; you can feel a little pinching as the hairs are removed, but it's not as painful as waxing. And the lady that did it for me was quick. It probably took 3 minutes tops. The only downside I found was my eyebrow area was a little swollen and red for a while afterwards. I just put some aloe vera gel on it and it was back to normal in a couple of hours. I am pleased with the results and will do it again. Here's my results.

Give it a try sometime. A friend of a friend did it for me but I've seen threading kiosks at the mall offering the service. The service is very affordable too around $10-$15.

Well, that's all I have for today. Have a great weekend!

Oprah & Dr. Oz Strike Out on Beauty Tips

This week's Oprah Show with Dr. Oz was a huge disappointment for me. For a week the commercials led me to believe that we would learn about new and wonderful tips for looking young, and having clearer skin. Well, I was so excited to see this episode that I made sure I would have uninterrupted time to watch it. However that excitement ended after about 15 minutes into the show.
Most of the hour was spent looking at audience members skin through a Visia Skin Analysis System. Not only was that boring, but showing the Visia did not accomplish anything other than show us the damage that was already there and supposedly is going to surface in the future. That was all well and good to demonstrate once, but over and over....booooring! They were so busy analyzing the ladies' skin for 10 minutes or so and not telling us the solutions or tips needed to correct the problem. So he gave some tips on using vitamins and antioxidants and niacin, so what! That's nothing new. His last tip was to see a dermatologist for other treatments. Whatever! Do you know how much it costs just to have the analysis done with that stupid machine?! Let alone the office appointment and the prescription meds. And most of it is not even covered by insurance! In this economy, not very practical.

Another loser part of the show was the lady with acne. My word, has that lady been living under a rock or something? Did you see her beauty routine?! She is 40 years old and uses hand soap to wash her face with a body puff and uses neosporin and ponds heavy cream to moisturize her skin! I was, as the English say, gobsmacked! Why in the world would you use that stuff on your face with all the acne products and information in the marketplace today? She was causing her own acne! As a lifelong acne sufferer myself, I was totally insulted by her ignorance and the fact that they would show her as an example to the millions of acne suffers out there. Being a skin care specialist I would not insult my clients in that manner. I would assume they were intelligent and knowledgeable about most of the options out there today. Needless to say Dr. Oz did not offer any advice on how to treat it. Another let down.

The only applause I give the show is Paula Begoun. I have her book and check out her website Beautypedia and suggest you do the same. There is more useful information there.

A final note: I love Dr. Oz and love watching him on Oprah. I have learned so much about health and our bodies from him. I just hope he doesn't disappoint us like this again.

Ugh! So many grays!

Okay, so I've been giving my hair a break and not coloring right now but it's been a horrifying reality check. I'm about 75-85% gray! Talk about a wake up call. I know I'm getting older (late 30s) but this puts it into perspective. Wow!

So, on top of the fact that I have naturally curly, unruly hair, now I have to keep up with my haircolor! Does it ever end?!!