Synergy Beauty

Ladies, I had a minor incident this morning on the beauty home front.

I was plucking my brows and found my very first white eyebrow hair.

yea… huzzah…

While this stone cold reminder of my trek through my 30s was a bit traumatic, I tried to look on the bright side: at least the hair was dainty and kinda cute.

If it had been super long and wiry like the hair on a Jack Russel Terrier, I would be singing another tune. That, and I’d have to start getting REALLY creative with all the close-up eye photos on this blog, LOL!

Speaking of close-up eye photos, here’s one of my new favorite cream eyeshadow, Bobbi Brown’s Heather ($22). And no, you won’t be able to find that white hair in this pic. It has been vanquished!

Heather’s a matte mauve confection from Bobbi’s recent Platinum Collection, and to steal a tune from J-Timberlake in those McDonald’s commercials, “Bah-dah-dah-dah-daaah… I’m lovin’ it!”

The 1983 flick The Hunger is known more for being a cult classic than a cinematic masterpiece. But when you figure it stars Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie as a vampire couple--surely the most stylish monsters to ever hit the screen--it's not that surprising that it's started coming up as a major makeup inspiration. Specifically, the perfect shade of blood red splashed throughout the horror flick.

Backstage at the Alexander McQueen fall show in Paris, makeup artist Peter Philips showed me a photo of Deneuve from the film with blood dripping down her chin. "Alexander gave it to me as a reference for the color of red he wants on the models' lips," said Philips--though the image seemed to also inspire how he applied the crimson color, which bled (no pun intended) far out past the models' lips and down their chins. A week later, back in New York, I received a set of six classic nail polish shades from Nars, all discontinued colors that the brand is bringing back for a limited time in June. The standout color in the collection? A bright, perfect-for-summer-toes tomato red called--you guessed it--The Hunger, named after the movie.

Liposuction is generally considered to be an old, safe and tested procedure. It doesn’t mean though that it’s a procedure for everybody. If you’re thinking of getting a lipo, you better get yourself informed first.

What Liposuction Is

Designed to remove localized fat, liposuction is considered an invasive surgical procedure. Areas that may be subjected to lipo include hips, face, neck, abdomen, thighs, calves, arms, buttocks and back. Although it is primarily a surgical procedure, it is also considered a cosmetic procedure since the objective of liposuction is to make a person look better. It is not however a procedure recommended for weight loss and is used simply to shape the body. Since liposuction involves localized areas, it may sometimes be used for the removal of cellulite. New techniques under this surgical procedure now include tumescent method, super wet technique and ultrasound assisted lipoplasty.

Candidates

Although liposuction is generally a safe procedure, it is not for everyone. The surgeon will usually conduct an assessment first to determine the fitness of a lipo candidate. A candidate should have localized fat but may have more than one area with localized fat. He should also be of normal or close to the normal or ideal weight for his age and height and is physically and psychologically healthy and stable.

Another factor which must be considered is the age. Younger people are deemed better candidates since most young people have elastic skins. Older people and people with inelastic skins are not good candidates for liposuction. Those who have diabetes, poor blood circulation, heart ailments and other serious medical conditions may also be excluded from the list of qualified candidates.

Procedure

The procedure is done by making a small incision wherein a cannula or a hollow tube is inserted. The tube is then moved around to break fat and suction it out. A vacuum pump is used for suctioning. Fluids may be removed along with the fats too so a patient should be provided with fluid replacements during liposuction. Local anesthesia may be used if only a very small amount of fat is to be removed. General anesthesia may be recommended though for more serious cases. Individuals may be sedated during the procedure to maintain calmness and relaxation.

Post Surgery

After the surgery, one may experience a little bruising, swelling, pain, numbness and sometimes, even a little bleeding. Depending on your capacity to recuperate, you may be able to get back to light work after a few days. Complete recovery however may take at least two weeks to one month. In some people, swelling may still be apparent even after a few months.

Individuals are often counseled not to have ideal or excessive expectations. Sometimes, even months after lipo, some areas may still have fat deposits. In some cases, additional sessions are needed. The scar may not be so obvious but some people may not develop perfectly smooth surfaces.

With the right candidate and the right doctor, a liposuction is generally considered to be a safe medical procedure. Make sure that you are under the care of a qualified and competent surgeon.

Liposuction has its share of risks and dangers. Though considered as minimally invasive, one should also take note of the dangers of liposuction. The risk would be minimized if a experienced and qualified surgeon would perform the operation, using tumescent anesthesia in an outpatient setting. Even though these conditions may be met, there is still a small margin of error, so accidents are still possible. One should be aware of these before undergoing such a procedure.

Here are some of the risks and dangers of liposuction:

1. Liposuctions have side effects. One will surely experience some soreness, fluid drainage, swelling, bruising, pain as well as numbness on the affected area. This depends on the kind of procedure involved, as well as the person’s own capability to recover. One might endure this for a few weeks to several months. This is normal and not life threatening though.

2. One may experience other complications such as infection on the affected area. This might happen during or after the operation. Bacteria may enter through the open punctures and spread throughout the skin. Skin discoloration, tenderness as well as redness are the common results. Other patients may have fever and vomiting.

3. Embolism is one of the more potent dangers of liposuction. This is when the fat cells enter into the bloodstream through damaged blood vessels. These fat cells can go up to the lungs and brain. When one experiences shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing after the operation(this is most likely to happen within 3 days after the procedure), seek medical help immediately.

4. Organ failure is another possible side effect of liposuction. Sometimes the surgeon may not be aware that the cannula used for the suctioning is too close to an organ. This is often happening in the stomach liposuction, where the intestines might be punctured by the cannula.

5. There might be fluid imbalance after the operation. In some procedures, fluids are injected into the body so as to reduce fluid loss. This might result into some serious complications such as pulmonary edema, or fluid in the lungs, or other problems in the kidney.

6. Individuals who have gone through liposuction should also be careful about licodaine overdose. When there is too much lidocaine, the patient may suffer convulsions, shivering and even heart problems.

7. Persons who have undergone liposuction surgery have higher risk of failing with succeeding surgical procedures. Some have other procedures in order to repair the damage done after liposuction. This is usually the case for people who have sagging skin, since liposuction may cause the skin to sag, which is very unsightly. This will lead to longer recovery times and higher risks in developing complications.

Before going through liposuction, the doctor will give you the benefits as well as the dangers of liposuction. The decision is still in your hands, as you weigh these things, so make the best decision.

A new study from Holland is getting tons of hype. It suggests that Botox may lead to depression—not because there's something wrong with the substance, but because freezing the expressive muscles on your face can cause you to internalize too many emotions. In the study, 30 people were shown gruesome images. Half were asked to keep their faces neutral, the others were instructed to show their feelings. The ones who stayed expressionless had more negative, depressive outlooks. One thing worth mentioning: no Botox was used in the study. It's just conjecture.

It seems clear to us that this subject needs more investigating. Not only because of the nature of that study, but also because Allure has reported in the past that Botox can lift moods for the very same reason! Either way, there is one universal take-home message that any good derm or doctor would agree with: Botox shouldn't make you entirely expressionless.

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