What I'm Sweet On: Must-have Mascara

Fairydrops Platinum Mascara - Film Type

What I'm Sweet On: Flattering Dark Lipstick, A Perfect Hair Color

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Black Cherry

Blair Waldorf's chocolatey-brown hair color

Great great great pic... "Sakura season in Kyoto" via @lonelyplanet

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How to remove your Google Web Data History - Yahoo! News

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8 Homemade Beauty Recipes that Really Work

— Yahoo! Shine —

Brown Sugar and Honey Facial Scrub. The brown sugar exfoliates, scrubbing off dead skin cells and unclogging pores, while honey (a natural antibacterial) cleans skin.

Lemon Sugar Hand and Foot Scrub. Lemon has many amazing properties, including lightening, exfoliating, cleaning, toning, and brightening skin. This lemon scrub is made with granulated sugar, almond oil, and a heavy helping of lemon.

The Miracle Mask. Nutmeg, honey, and cinnamon work as natural anti-inflammatories and exfoliators ... coming together to create a calming, soothing face mask.

Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch Scrub. This homemade body scrub uses simple ingredients that couldn't be more accessible, including: brown sugar, honey, extra virgin olive oil, and lemon juice.

Mellow Yellow Nail Rinse. If your nails are turning yellow from either sun exposure or excessive nail polish, all you need is some lemon for cleaner-looking nails.

Beer Rinse. Ah, the magical properties of beer. Did you know that beer's yeast and hops actually plump the hair shaft and cuticles (naturally adding volume), while the beer's acidity removes any product build-up? Bottoms up!

Avocado Hair Mask. The ladies in the SELF beauty department claim that the cucumber and aloe in this mask cools and soothes, while the avocado nourishes the scalp and gives a healthy shine to your hair.

Aloe Vera Eye Cream. This is a must-try recipe for any girl who finds her eyes wishing they had a couple more hours of sleep.

Get the recipes at Yahoo! Shine

Ever looked at your ex and wondered “Was I drunk the entire relationship?”

— 9gag.com —

'Lucky' foods during Chinese New Year

Our personal quirks to ensure good fortune and luck!

As the festive feasting gets underway, learn what food is considered lucky during CNY.

Melon seeds, or gua zi in Mandarin, imply not only "many sons" but also "multiple coins". When pronounced in Cantonese, also gua zi, it means “to be in constant thought of someone." These days it comes in flavours like plum, spice and cream, which are added during the stir-frying process.

Bottle gourd, or “hu lu”, sounds like “fu lu”, which means good fortune and prosperity.

You zi (pomelo) symbolises abundance as its Chinese name sounds like the word for "to have". There are two types: the red flesh that is sweeter but more expensive and the white flesh that is affordable but sour. Most Chinese prefer the sweetened one.

Nian gao, which literally means "year cake", is a Chinese New Year staple. It also symbolises "a steady progression", be it in one's education, career or life in general. Nian gao is also used to tempt the “heaven invigilators” so that they won’t report the bad things that one has done to the god of heaven. While it used to be wrapped in banana leaves, nian gao now comes in plastic packaging so that both the customers and shopkeepers do not have to get their hands sticky.

Sunflower seeds have a similar, auspicious meaning to melon seeds. They both imply family continuity. However, compared to melon seed that requires one to peel the shell, this is much easier to eat.

Macadamia has also joined the array of nuts eaten during the New Year celebration. The abalone flavoured ones can be read as assurance (bao) of a surplus (yu) in the year ahead.

Chinese oranges, or tangerines, have become the most popular gift during this period. They are called kam in Cantonese which also means "gold" in the same dialect. In Mandarin, they sound like ji or "lucky" and mean "gifts of good omen". The oranges are given in even numbers for good luck when visiting friends and relatives.

Raw lettuce or sheng cai imply "to grow money". It is usually eaten with braised abalone. Chinese leek or da suan, which sounds like "counting", is served by the Teochews with other dishes to make a combination symbolising auspicious abundance. Mixed with cuttlefish, or you yu in Mandarin, it means "counting continual abundance; if cooked with prawns, or har in Cantonese, it becomes "counting with laughter". The Hokkiens serve leeks during the reunion dinner. Leeks are sometimes hung for good luck during this season.

The Chinese are also very particular about fish served during this occasion. The Mandarin word for fish “yu” is a homophone for the Mandarin word “abundance”. During the reunion dinner, it is customary to serve a fish at the end of the evening meal as it is an auspicious sign for more abundance and prosperity in the New Year. Fish is also served whole, with head and tail, this signifies a whole year’s worth of prosperity, from beginning to the end.

The Northern Chinese will eat jiaozi (dumplings) for breakfast during Chinese New Year as the shape of the dumpling resembles the gold ingots used in Ancient China. Eating dumplings represents a hope for financial abundance in the coming year.

However, some foods are just not favoured during a Chinese New Year dinner. Bitter gourd, or anything known to be bitter is banned from the dining table. This is because Chinese believe that if you eat bitter foods (the Mandarin words for bitter has the same sound as the Mandarin word for suffering), your life in the coming year will be full of trials and tribulations.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Chinese Zodiac Allies and Secret Friend

Zodiac	Allies	Secret Friend	Enemy
	Dragon, Monkey	Ox	Horse
	Snake, Rooster	Rat	Sheep
	Horse, Dog	Pig	Monkey
	Sheep, Pig	Dog	Rooster
	Monkey, Rat	Rooster	Dog
	Rooster, Ox	Monkey	Pig
	Dog, Tiger	Sheep	Rat
	Pig, Rabbit	Horse	Ox
	Rat, Dragon	Snake	Tiger
	Ox, Snake	Dragon	Rabbit
	Tiger, Horse	Rabbit	Dragon
	Rabbit, Sheep	Tiger	Snake

Best days to buy plane tickets: It's all about timing.

— Yahoo! Finance —

Ticket prices are highest on weekends. Tuesday is when sales are most often in place. Wednesday has good and occasionally better ticket prices.

Many seat sales are launched Monday night. Competitors typically match the lower prices Tuesday morning.

The day you depart can more heavily influence the fare than the day you buy. Travel on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday.

How far in advance you buy still impacts pricing. To get tickets before the cheapest seats sell out, buy a month or two in advance.

See Jordan's dinner table

Kewlness! Michael Jordan's dining room table has 32,292 holes. The artist who designed it plugged a hole into the table for each of the points MJ scored during his NBA career.

(Photos: Michael Sirvet)

How to retire before you're 50

— Forbes.com —

there are ways to retire before 50 without winning the lottery or having valuable options to cash out. Savvy investing, smart spending and very strict saving can lay the road to find a way to live the dream.

Start your own business. If you can start a successful business, you'll have plenty of funds to retire young. One option is to sell your business and retire with the money you collect. Or you can opt to build up your business enough so that you can hire employees to run it for you.

Live below your means. Don't just earn money, save it. Be frugal. This means not buying nice things just because you can afford them or for the image they create, but because they are actually worth it. Dismiss the keeping-up-with-the-Joneses mentality.

Invest the maximum amount into company-sponsored retirement plans. Compound interest will take you a long way toward early retirement.

Work for the government. Get a government job, such as a police officer, teacher or firefighter. Most likely, you'll participate in a pension plan that will continue to pay a percent of your wages even if you retire. In most cases, these pensions kick in after 10 to 20 years of service.

Don't have children. Children are a major financial strain and could be a deciding factor on whether or not you can retire early. If you are willing to sacrifice money for the experience of raising children, be honest with yourself how many you can really afford without working into old age.

Marry someone who shares your retirement goal. Your spouse may or may not be your "better half" in helping you reach your retirement goals. Unless you can convince your spouse to continue going to the office while you garden all day, keep in mind that you'll need to save enough money so both of you can retire comfortably.

Put your money in long-term, low-risk investments like indexes and mutual funds. Don't try to beat the market. If you want to retire before your peers, you can't sacrifice your savings by betting on risky investments.

Find a way to have an urban income with a suburban cost of living. Cutting living expenses is an important savings tool. In most cases, city living is more expensive than suburban. However, the average income in a major metropolitan area is going to be more.

Don't own a car. There are many costly factors to owning a car, from gas to maintenance to insurance. Opting out of auto ownership could save you a huge amount of money over your lifetime.

Don't eat out. Consider cutting out one meal eaten outside the home a day and brown-bagging it.

Don't go on vacation. With the ridiculous cost of airline tickets these days, vacations are out of the question if you want to enjoy that endless escape at age 50. Instead of hitting the slopes of Aspen, visit grandma.

Don't pay for higher education. If you think having a higher education will up your salary in the future, find a job at a company that will not only keep you employed while you go to school, but pay for it as well.

Don't go into debt. Saving is one of the most important steps in retiring young. Avoid going into debt. It's a waste of money to continue paying a lender in interest rather than using that money to stash away for yourself in the future.

Don't smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol. Avoid spending on unnecessary items.

Die young. Let's face it. The less time you plan on living after retirement, the less money you'll have to save.

The Difference Between a Thief and a Politician

— The Koncrete Pigs Webcomic —

Bye Paul

— Yahoo! News —

BERLIN (AFP) – Paul the octopus, who shot to fame during this year's football World Cup in South Africa for correctly predicting the outcome of games, has died, his aquarium in Germany said Tuesday.

"Management and staff at the Oberhausen Sea Life Centre were devastated to discover that oracle octopus Paul, who achieved global renown during the recent World Cup, had passed away overnight," the aquarium said in a sombre statement.

READ MORE >>

Kitchen Beauty Treatments

— Yahoo! Shine —

White Sugar. According to Dr. Patricia Wexler, exfoliating is one of the most important things we can do for the health of our skin. Best-selling author and makeup artist Carmindy reveals that plain old white sugar is one of the best exfoliators around. Keep a jar of it in your shower. Take a handful and gently massage your entire body with it, using a soft washcloth. Rinse and the sugar crystals simply melt away down the drain. So much better than eating it!

Olive Oil. The ancient Romans knew what they were doing when they slathered olive oil on every part of their bodies, saving a little for their hair. Keep a plastic ketchup bottle (the kind you see in old diners) filled with olive oil in your bathroom. Add a few drops of lavender oil (or whatever fragrance you prefer). After exfoliating, pat your skin until it’s almost dry, then massage a small amount of oil all over your body. Result? Skin like velvet. After your hair is dry, massage a few drops of oil in your palms and, bending over, scrunch a bit of it into the ends.

Honey. Who knew that honey is equally effective for treating colds and improving your looks? Applying honey all over your face is beneficial, since it contains vitamins and moisturizes. It's also a natural antibiotic that can kill bacteria. Add a little white sugar and exfoliate with it in the shower, too.

Lemon Juice. There are so many things you can do with lemon juice (preferably freshly squeezed). Soak your nails in them (without polish) to reduce yellowing, and brush your teeth with a mixture of baking soda and lemon juice for whiter teeth. And best of all, take a tablespoon or two of freshly squeezed lemon juice and mix into a tall glass of warm water. Drink it before ingesting anything else, first thing in the morning. It’s a great way to hydrate and jump-start your system.

Crisco (or some other vegetable shortening). Crisco is a surprisingly effective makeup remover, and it’s also highly effective in treating eczema. Apply the shortening to infected areas, and let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes. Rinse, and apply a little olive oil.

Yogurt. Yogurt is a highly effective treatment for the common skin condition rosacea. It has the ability to soften the skin while calming the redness — especially after eating something spicy or enjoying a little too much heart-healthy red wine. Simply apply it as a mask, and leave on for about 15 minutes. Rinse, and apply a light layer of olive oil.

Parsley and Mint. Bad breath is common, and usually avoidable. Steer clear of the store-bought mouth rinses and gargles, as they tend to make matters worse. Simply brush your tongue when you brush your teeth, drink lots of water to keep your mouth hydrated and chew on a few sprigs of parsley or mint, since studies have shown that these freshen breath instantly. Keep a plastic bag filled with the sprigs in your purse at all times.

Green Tea Bags. Green tea is one of the best things you can drink (along with lots of water, and red wine in moderation). For a great de-puffing eye treatment, try soaking a few bags in water and sticking them in the freezer. Place on your eyes, lower the lights and ... relax.

Apple Cider Vinegar. Exfoliating is one of the best things we can do for our skin. Chemical peels done at your dermatologist's office are highly effective, though often expensive. But a simple application of apple cider vinegar works, too. Soak a cotton ball in it and apply all over the face, keeping away from the eyes; leave on for at least 45 minutes. After you rinse, follow with a light application of olive oil.

Christian The Lion

Love, love, love.

GITEX countdown: T minus 5

Berry good news

— 7days.ae —

The race is on for UAE retailers to cash in on the cancellation of the BlackBerry ban and pick up new users, following the Telecoms Regulatory Authority’s (TRA) weekend announcement.

The head of a major UAE retailer told 7DAYS that his company plans to sell the BlackBerry Torch and Pearl models at GITEX after recent Dubai launch parties of the smartphones were “postponed indefinitely” as the ban loomed. “It is going to be a GITEX launch and the timing has worked well for that... In the back of my mind I was always hoping it would be resolved,” said Ashish Panjabi, CEO of Jacky’s Electronics.

The TRA released a statement on Friday, three days before the ban deadline, that said “all Blackberry services in the UAE will continue to operate as normal and no suspension of service will occur” and that “Blackberry services are now compliant with the UAE’s telecoms regulatory framework”.

No details were given on any agreement BlackBerry maker, Research In Motion (RIM) had reached with the TRA.

Milan Sallaba, a UAE-based telecoms expert, said it is most likely the TRA has been granted access to RIM’s encryption - similar to resolutions found in other countries.

He added however, that there is also a possibility the UAE “has backed down and has said let’s continue as it was, although that is somewhat unlikely”.

New 'Harry Potter' film will be released only in 2D

— Yahoo! Movies —

Warner Bros. has scuttled plans to release the new "Harry Potter" in 3D.

In a statement released Friday, the studio said that when "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1" arrives in theaters on Nov. 19, it will be in 2D, playing both conventional theaters and IMAX, but that "we will not have a completed 3D version of the film within our release date window."

The statement continued: "Despite everyone's best efforts, we were unable to convert the film in its entirety and meet the highest standards of quality. We do not want to disappoint fans who have long-anticipated the conclusion of this extraordinary journey."

Director David Yates adds: "This decision, which we completely support, underscores the fact that Warner Bros. has always put quality first."

Recent 2D-to-3D conversion have been controversial, with many fans and critics complaining about the look of the studio's "Clash of the Titans," which underwent a similar conversion and was released earlier this year.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2" is still scheduled to be released in 2D and 3D on July 15th, 2011."Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2" is still scheduled to be released in 2D and 3D on July 15th, 2011.

BlackBerry services will continue beyond October 11- TRA

— gulfnews.com —

Dubai: BlackBerry services are now compliant with the UAE's regulatory framework and will not be suspended on October 11, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) said Friday.

"All BlackBerry services in the UAE will continue to operate as normal and no suspension of service will occur on October 11, 2010," it said in a statement.

TRA said that it reached the decision after "positive engagement and collaboration" with the manufacturer of the smartphone, Research In Motion (RIM), without revealing details of the agreement.

Data servers

A security expert based in Dubai said on condition of anonymity that resolution of the dispute "most likely" followed an agreement to place data servers within the UAE, allowing local authorities to access information.

"The whole point of placing servers in the country is that legal interception is done locally by police, CID or state security, if they want to access data of specific individuals," he said.

He said that technology provides a "slight window of opportunity" to get access to data locally before it moves to RIM's servers in Canada.

Lindsey McDonald, a telecom consultant at Frost & Sullivan, told Gulf News: "The situation follows from Saudi Arabia and India [reaching agreements with RIM], either through local servers or access to international servers.

"Concerns have been raised about privacy issues. I don't think that's the case. It's just another medium that government departments feel the need to monitor as part of an overall strategy for security reasons," she said.

The suspension deadline was announced more than two months ago.

READ MORE >>

5 Surprising Health Benefits of Beer

— Yahoo! Shine —

With Oktoberfest celebrations already in full swing, it’s a perfect time to justify all the beer drinking you may be doing in the coming weeks. While the health benefits of red wine have been frequently reported, the plus-sides to beer aren’t as widely known. So, crack open a cold one and check out these five reasons to imbibe — in moderation, of course.

Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease
According to several studies, including one done at the Institute of Epidemiology at the University of Muenster, moderate beer drinking reduces the risk of coronary heart disease. The reasons are simple: Alcohol can increase HDL—or “good” cholesterol—levels and reduces the chances of hardening of the arteries and thickening of the blood—two main contributors to heart attacks.

Drink Your Vitamins
Years ago, Guinness used the slogan “Guinness is Good for You.” It looks like they might have been right. According to a Dutch study conducted at the TNO Nutrition and Food Research Institute, beer drinkers had 30% higher levels of vitamin B6 in their blood than non-beer-drinkers—twice the amount of red-wine drinkers.

Avoid Kidney Stones
According to a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, risk of kidney stones was decreased 40% in middle-aged beer-drinking men, as compared to non-beer-drinkers. While the researchers couldn’t determine which component of the beverage was responsible for the drop, the evidence of benefit was impressive.

Help Women Age Better
A Harvard study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed moderate alcohol consumption assisted in preserving the mental faculties of older women, while a Tufts University study concluded alcohol can help preserve bone density, a frequent health issue for aging females. Additionally, some bioflavonoids found in hops (a major ingredient in beer) have similar properties as oestrogens, which may serve as a natural form of hormone replacement therapy in post-menopausal women.

Prevent Cancer
While research is just beginning to explore the potential cancer-fighting agents in beer, early studies show xanthohumol, a compound found in hops, may help inhibit certain enzymes that can trigger cancer and aid the body in breaking down carcinogens. The compound is current being tested in hopes of creating a preventative treatment for prostate and colon cancers.

44 Confidence Boosters

 — allure.com —

Who couldn't use a bump in self-assurance? Check out these ways to feel great about yourself.

1. Smile.
2. Take the compliment already.
3. Forget stereotypes.
4. Stop waffling.
5. Improve your skin.
6. Learn something.
7. Meditate.
8. Stop apologizing.
9. Smell something crisp.
10. Give your skin a rest.
11. Step away from the mirror.
12. Straighten up.
13. Reward yourself. A lot.
14. Give yourself some color.
15. Dump the junk.
16. Recover from failure.
17. Brighten up.
18. Work out.
19. Change your hair color.
20. Don't freak out about your mistakes.

See all 44 Confidence Boosters at allure.com