Give your butt a lift without surgery

Dear Rissa, 

My body shape is straight like a ruler. I don’t feel very shapely on both my bust area and my butt area. What can I wear to make myself look curvier?

Elise

If you have a thin body frame, you can easily experiment with layering. Layering builds more shape, and if you cinch it off with a big belt on the waist, you’ll give the illusion of a curvier figure. Belts provide an added allure to any frame. It contours the waist, creating an hourglass shape to your figure.

You can easily deceive the eye and appear bustier by opting for tops with romantic ruffles, ruching, wide collars, pockets, and flowing blouses and dresses. Keep in mind that pockets and other visual trimmings on the bust lend visual impact. You can also get away with light and bright colors and patterns without looking heavy. Always remember: Dark colors make heavy areas look smaller while light colors virtually increase size and give more emphasis. Like the world of magic, looking great is a world of illusions.

For curvier hips and a bigger booty, make Kashieca’s Butt Lift Jeans a staple in your wardrobe (only P899.75 at all Kashieca stores nationwide). These mid-rise skinny jeans are instant butt-lifters! No secret padding here. It’s all about smart engineering to give that behind an extra boost. The curvy pockets, special seams, and tight legs were designed and constructed to enhance your behind — without surgery! They instantly but naturally highlight women’s bottoms. Denim lovers will also love these jeans for their Bio-Rinse Wash, which gives the jeans a sexy raw look. Not only do they amp up your booty, they amp up your wardrobe mileage, too. The style, cut, and fabric allow you to wear them on different occasions and sexily take you from day to night!

Rissa

* * *

The Skinny On Acne

Hi, Regina!

Once more, with peeling: Glycopeel removes the top layer of the skin to encourage the production of new collagen. It is great for acne-prone skin. Photo from www.hautnah-hauser.de

My skin is usually really clear, but every now and then, I get a pimple. What do I do about it?

Leslie

The best way to prevent acne is good hygiene. Make sure your face is totally clean before going to bed. If you don’t need to have makeup on, don’t wear it. Take your makeup off as soon as you get home, and always try to go for beauty goods that are labeled non-comedogenic, meaning they don’t clog your pores. Products with up to two-percent salicylic acid (like facial cleansers) slough away dead skin cells, which helps prevent clogging. I personally like to go to the dermatologist for a monthly facial, just to extract the deep-seated dirt that regular cleansing never seems to get rid of. (Belo’s glycopeel facial is great for acne-prone skin.)

Of course, stress- and hormone-triggered acne is a little difficult to avoid. (They always say you should get more sleep and try to live a more healthy lifestyle, but it can be so hard!) If you feel a zit coming on, the best thing you can do is to apply an anti-bacterial acne treatment. Lots of benzoyl peroxide treatments (usually at around five percent or less) are available in drug stores. Follow the instruction pamphlet; using too much may damage your skin.

Above all, be patient! Zits pop up overnight, but they take quite a while longer than that to go away. Don’t pop any existing zits, or you risk getting an infection, and you may have to wait even longer for an ugly acne scar to fade. You definitely don’t want that!

Regina

* * *

Bright Red Lipstick Is So Right

Dear Lucy,

I often see you on TV wearing very bright colored lipstick. Can you please share tips on how to apply red lipstick flawlessly? It can be tricky, I’ve tried it before. What are your favorite brights? Can you share the brands?

Coleen

Yes, I am rediscovering happy-colored lipstick. It really brightens the face and you don’t have to do much with the eyes anymore because often, the lippie will be enough. First, you have to start with soft lips. Slather on lip balm, let it stay for a few minutes, and then slough off gently with a soft-bristled toothbrush. Now, you can start applying color. I like using my ring finger to apply the color. I feel it looks better. I pat it on all over and then I refine the edges with a lip liner in a similar shade. I blot and then repeat the process.

The reds I like include MAC Russian Red, MAC Ruby Woo, and MAC Chili. A wine red I like is MAC Rebel. L’Oreal has this lovely red called Ruby Explosion, and Avon has this shade called Charged Cherry.

If you like wearing red lipstick, you must also have a good lip liner, like the one from Stila in a shade called Passionate and MAC Chicory, Cranberry, or Red. Other bright-colored lipsticks you might want to try are: MAC Viva Glam Nicki, MAC Impassioned, Dior Addict Extreme 476, and Guerlain Rouge Automatique 165.

Hope that helps. Lipstick is such a happy thing!

Lucy

* * *

Send e-mail to Lucy Torres-Gomez at ltg@pldtdsl.com. E-mail Rissa Trillo at stylesos_rissa@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter @RissaMananquil. Send Regina Belmonte your questions at vivatregina.tumblr@gmail.com or tweet her @vivatregina.