Hey guys!

Thinking of slimming down but don't want to spend your cash? Here are 10 exercise tips you can do at home for free!
                                     
1. Squats
Stand with your feet planted around shoulder-width and lower your hips (if it helps, pretend that you're about to sit on a chair). Make sure your knees don't go over your toes and keep your chest up whilst looking straight ahead. Stand back up and repeat.

Squats are known to build up leg muscles (quads, hamstrings and calves)

2. Triceps Push-ups
Place hands on floor and keep them under your shoulders. Keep your body straight and slowly bend your elbows towards your body. Lower your chest between your arms and push back up to starting position. If you want to raise the intensity of the exercise, try placing your feet on top of stairs.

Push-ups are known to tone your body as well as strengthen your core. It's good for working out muscles in the chest, arms, shoulders, triceps, back and neck.

3. Skaters/ Leaps
Start in a semi-squat position and leap sideways on your right foot. Push off in the opposite direction on your left foot. This should be performed consistently.

These tend to work out your quads and adductors, particularly the hamstrings, abductors, calves and glutes.

4. Plank Crawl
Begin in a push-up position and lower yourself down to a plank position with your forearms against the ground. Push back up into a push-up position on one arm and alternate the arm you start with, keeping your body straight. If this is too difficult to perform in the beginning, you can place your knees onto the floor.

These are particularly good for toning your stomach as it works out your core, including your rectus abdominis (the sick pack muscles), transverse abdominis, internal and external obliques, hips and back.

5. Walking Lunge
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and keep your arms to your side. Step forward with your right foot and lower your left knee towards the floor. Ensure that your left knee is in a 90 degree angle and that your knee does not touch the floor. Your right knee should not go beyond your toes. After maintaining the position, alternate feet.

Walking lunges work out your lower body, targeting your glutes, calf muscles, hamstrings and quads as well as your back muscles.

6. Single Leg Balance Stick
Balance on your right foot with your left foot behind you. Slowly stretch out your left foot towards the ceiling whilst leaning forward. Keep your position straight. Maintain your balance and avoid arching your back. Return to starting position and alternate sides.

7. Bird Dog
Begin on all fours, with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips (downward dog position). Slowly stretch out your right leg behind you and extend your right arm forward in a straight line. Hold your balance and then alternate. Make sure your back is not arching during the exercise.

Bird dogs work out your sick-pack area and back.

8. Side Plank Hip Drops
Being by lying on your right side with your right elbow in line under your shoulder. Keep your feet on the floor and slowly lift up your hips, supporting your body with your forearm. Maintain position for three seconds and then lower your hips slowly back to the ground. Alternate and repeat.

Side planks strengthen your abdominal and back muscles.

9. Bridge
Lay on your back with your arms to your side. Bend your knees whilst keeping your feet flat on the ground. Keep your back straight, raise your hips up to a straight line. Hold the position for three seconds and lower your hips back to the ground. Repeat.

The bridge works out the rectus abdominis and the gluteus maximus.

10. Superman Back Extension
Lay on your stomach and stretch your arms forward. Raise your legs and upper body off the ground whilst keeping your head straight. Maintain position for three seconds and then repeat.

The Superman exercise targets the three long muscles that surround the spine. It's effective for strengthening back muscle and endurance.

When you're doing these exercises, it's important to pace yourselves at a rate that's efficient for you. Make sure to drink plenty of water and if you get hungry, fruity snacks are the go to.

Until next time,
Cindy

Reference: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/12/14/exercises-at-home_n_2287898.html

Hey Guys, There is no doubt every individual watches some sort of media whether it be on the television, in a newspaper, online or on the radio. Of course this affects our minds and the way we interpret things or our views of certain topics. For example if a teenage girl was watching a television program and an advertisement came on, whether it is an advertisement for a perfume or an advertisement for a car, there will no doubt be a woman wearing lots of makeup and is most likely thin. This will influence the young girl watching and affect her opinion on what beauty is and even make judgement on her appearance by comparing herself with the woman in the advertisement. The media portrays the ideal woman as thin, white blonde and a tall height.

Men are also pressured by the media although it is not really talked about. Men are expected to have big biceps, abs and masculine jaw lines to be considered good looking. Women will always be pressured to look a certain way which is the way in which celebrities present themselves. If you are not as skinny as a victorias Secret Model, are you not skinny enough? People will always be judged and there is no way of stopping this, all we can do is do our best to ignore what others have to say about our appearance and ensure we have self confidence. 

-Suzannah

In our last post, Emily talked about the benefits of chemical exfoliation, AHAs versus BHAs and some tips for application. So in this post I will be talking about exfoliating for different skin types!

Oily Skin:
People with oily skin have a thick Epidermis and are quite prone to acne because their skin produces an excessive amount of sebum. So it is important to exfoliate to remove the dead skin cells, grease and impurities. It is recommended to exfoliate twice a week!

Mature Skin (40 years +):

As we age our skin's regeneration and renewal abilities become less active. This means that dead skin cells remain where they are! Thus exfoliation is highly recommended to help remove the dead skin cells on the surface of our skin to reveal younger looking skin! 

Normal Skin:

Exfoliating may not be the biggest concern for those with normal skin, however exfoliating does have a brightening and rejuvenating effect as dead skin cells are removed. Thus it is recommended that those with normal skins choose a mild or gentle exfoliant. It is recommended to exfoliate once a week. 

Combination Skin: 

Combination skin types means that your skin may be dry or normal in some areas but oily in others! It is common for those with combination skin to be oily in the T-zone area. Thus exfoliating is important as those areas are prone to blackheads and acne. It is also recommended to exfoliate once to twice a week, depending on how your skin reacts. 

Dry Skin: 

So for those with dry skin exfoliating is not recommended. But if you wish to exfoliate, it is recommended that you keep exfoliation to once a week only! This is because your skin needs the natural sebum to retain moisture. 

More Exfoliating Tips!

• Use warm water when exfoliating
• Best to exfoliate at night as the need to apply other products in the day such as make- up is not recommended 
• Do not exfoliate after shaving facial hair!
• If you choose to exfoliate twice a week, leave a gap between these days to allow skin regeneration
• Exfoliation is not recommended for sensitive skin or blemished skin 
• You can test products on the back of your hand before purchasing!

Have fun exfoliating to unveil more radiant skin! -Tina 

Reference: http://www.lovelyish.com/2009/02/15/exfoliation-everything-you-need-to-know/

Let's talk about...Exfoliation: The removal of the oldest dead skin cells from the skin's outermost surface. Insufficient exfoliation may result in problems such as: dull, dry, or flaky skin; clogged, enlarged pores; plus bumps, wrinkles, loss of firmness, and uneven skin tone.

This is where chemical exfoliation comes into play.

Chemical exfoliation, in particular, is better than scrubs and cleansing brushes which can aggravate skin by being too abrasive.

AHA: Alpha Hydroxyl Acid. Ingredients in this category include lactic acid from milk and glycolic acid from sugar cane as well as a whole host of other ingredients.
BHA: Beta Hydroxyl Acid (Salicylic acid). These work harder than AHAs, and really penetrate your pores to help to clear them out.

So when do you apply AHA or BHA?

• AHAs are best if rough skin and loss of firmness are your concerns. It is especially helpful for addressing advanced signs of aging and dry skin.
• BHA is ideal if you are dealing with clogged pores, blackheads, blemishes, or enlarged pores.

Tips when applying:

• You do not need to wait for your AHA or BHA to dry—you can apply any other product in your skincare routine immediately afterwards.
• Experiment with different strengths of AHA and BHA to see which concentration gives you the best results.  
• How often you should exfoliate depends on your skin type and skin concerns.

 -Emily

Reference: http://www.paulaschoice.com/expert-advice/anti-aging/_/how-to-exfoliate-skin

Hey guys,

Every woman in the world wants to have a younger-looking and flawless skin (I want flawless skin for sure). BUT as you know flawless skin cannot be made in one day!

                                         Here are some tips for flawless skin

•  Don’t touch your face with hands, keep your phone screen clean-> How many times do you touch your face with your hands? Between grabbing train pole, pushing lift button and touching phone screen, our hands come in contact with millions of germs! Try not to touch your face with hands, it can worsen your acne. As I touch many things outside, I always clean my phone using alcohol swab when I come home. Keep your phone clean for your skin.

• Drink lots of water-> Human body is composed of 75% of water. Human cannot live without water and water helps keep skin hydrated. Always take a water bottle when you go outside!

•  Exercise regularly-> exercising helps to release stress and it increases blood flow, so that exercise helps nourish skin cells and keep them vital.

•  Put sunscreen everyday-> protect your skin from sunlight and putting sunscreen protects you from skin cancer.                                                                                                                            

      Posted by Irene

Hey dear onlookers, 

What is the first thought that floats through your head when you hear the word "beauty"? For me, it's the idealistic curvy and toned women and the men who ooze masculinity. The Adonis-like figures you see on tv, on computers, on advertisements plastered around almost every store; incredible eye-candy (yes I agree, as shallow as that sounds) and incredibly enviable of. 

Now, another question for you: Have you ever contemplated the health effects media has on individuals?

From the period of World War II, media has increasingly upheld the ideal of slim bodies for women and toned muscles for men, with this trend carrying on into our modern times. Statistically speaking in movies, television shows and commercials, female appearances (regardless of age) are the most commented on by female characters: 58% in movies, 28% television and 26% of advertisements predominantly focus on the female appearance. It is statistically less for males with: 24% in movies, 10% in television shows and 7% in commercials. In terms of health impact, the National Institute of Mental Health further estimates that disorders affect more than 8 million individuals in America alone, with 90% being women.

Although beauty is such a large aspect of our every day lives, it is important to realise that ideals are simply what they are and that everything you see on media is not entirely the truth. As the saying goes: “Love yourself before you love others”.

Until next time,

Cindy

Reference: 
http://depts.washington.edu/thmedia/view.cgi?section=bodyimage&page=fastfacts

Hey Followers, 

Each year, there is a new trend and a new perspective on what is considered beautiful. For example, platform shoes became in style in the 70's as the ‘height-giving sexiness’ made everyone love them. In 2015, lace-up fronts were in trend especially for women who were into Kim and Kanye, this trend was known for being ‘sexy’ and extended into dresses and even swimwear but the most popular is the top-as-bodysuit. In the past decade a few of the biggest fashion trends that existed were cargo pants, shearling boots, boyfriend blazers, skinny jeans and ballet flats.

So why do certain fashion items, beauty products or ways of presenting ourselves become popular? Why do people become so infused with wanting to be in trend? People will always follow what’s in the media, and what is in the media is famous icons, actors/actresses, singers and all celebrities. These are the were the origin of new trends come from. People will always feel the need to follow others in what they wear, how they act and what they look like. This is natural human behavior and no matter how much we try we will always want to ‘fit in’ and follow the crowd. 

Stay tuned for our next post!
Suzannah

Since we are doing a blog on beauty, we decided it was important to make a post explaining why beauty is such a hot topic before getting to the trends of the world.
Dictionary.com defined beauty as "the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest)."

Although this is just one of many definitions, it already seems a very broad description. But there is one consistency in this, beauty in respect to an individual. Yes, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Basically, what is beautiful is very subjective and differences in these ideas/ opinions of "beauty" creates a lot of heat. For example in Asia a slim body may be the ideal but in America curvaceous may be seen as beautiful.

But this isn't the only reason why beauty is so controversial. It's the obsession with this concept that takes the world by storm. Beauty privilege, does it exist? In our opinion it does and it affects everyone regardless of race, gender, age and even profession. This is a concern as some may go to extremes to match the beauty advertised by magazines, models and social media.
In this beauty blog we are not trying to force any ideas on this topic but just provide our opinions in a light-hearted way. So what is beauty to us? Beauty is a very broad concept and although many are fixated on the exterior, as sappy as this may be beauty is also comes from within. So as an ending note,true beauty starts on the inside.

Tina

Reference: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/beauty

Welcome to the most aesthetic blog you will ever visit. From the latest fashion trends to the newest makeup techniques, we deliver constant posts. From the craziest to the most eye dropping, gorgeous designs, you ask for it, we got it. Why is beauty so important you ask? Beauty controls the world (controversial, yes). In today's society, aesthetics has become such an important aspect of every day life. How many times do you look in the mirror and wonder, "mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most beautiful of all?". It's you. Beauty is also a very subjective and controversial topic. What's hot and what's not?

Keep an eye out for our first blog.

Authored by five passionate girls Cindy, Irene, Emily, Suzannah and Tina...the pioneers of beauty today.