Personal Grooming: Career Essential

Looking your best for work is very important for a woman and a man in today’s business world. The way you look and the way you act determines what people think about you. The objective of personal grooming is to display the level of professionalism in order for you to be the BEST YOU at work.

Why can’t you take Personal Grooming for granted?

Personal Grooming means Personal Hygiene

Do keep in mind that personal hygiene is important no matter what field of work you are in. Being clean and neat speaks how you treat your body and the environment around you.

A businesswoman needs to complete her personal grooming to impress investors, clients and most importantly her boss. Showing proper personal grooming is letting everyone knows that she is serious about her job.

What are Personal Grooming areas that require attention?

HAIR

Personal Grooming for hair means hair should be clean, neat, tidy and elegantly styled. You should wash your hair every other day. A businesswoman should always have a hair style that is neat and very conservative. Hair should be neatly off of the face.

NAILS

Personal Grooming for nails means they should always be clean and shaped. Shape enough to be non-distracting because your hands get the most attention in a work day. Whether nails should be short or long depends on your lifestyle. Nails can be painted in conservative colors such as clear or a color that will match the outfit. Remember those presentations requires lots of handy work.

Don’t forget your toenails.

SKIN

Keep the makeup simple, elegant, stay away from glitter or to much eyeshades. Make sure that you keep it conservative and not be distracting. Don’t wear heavy colognes, perfumes, sprays, hairsprays and all those sort. You should not smell like cigarette. Jewelry must be conservative and match the outfit.

These are just few simple rules for proper personal grooming. Personal Grooming is not about vanity. It is about presenting yourself elegantly and appropriately.

COSMETICS & CANCER: WHAT'S THE TRUTH?

Panicked by all the scare stories about harmful chemicals lurking in your make-up bag? Here's what you really need to know (clue: it's not as bad as you think...)

The Claim: Absorbing chemicals through your skin is more dangerous than swallowing them
The Truth: Not true. If anything, the skin has an incredible capacity to keep chemicals out. In fact, the pharmaceutical industry would love to avoid prescribing medicines in tablet form and start using more medicated patches, but the skin is so good at keeping chemicals out, it's almost impossible to achieve.

The Claim: Each year, make-up wearers absorb 2.5kgs of chemicals from products
The Truth: It's possible, but even if they do, the chemicals don't stay in the body. And remember: over the course of a year, your body will also absorb up to a ton of chemicals are absorbed, broken down and then passed through.

The Claim: Parabens can cause cancer
The Truth: There is no scientific evidence. Most of the scare stories come from one study that showed evidence of parabens (chemicals used as preservatives in beauty products) within breast cancer tissue. But experts now say that the study was so poorly conducted, no real scientific conclusions could be drawn. Most parabens are unable to mimic oestrogen (which is where the breast cancer risk comes from) and at any rate, contraceptive pills contain hundreds of times the dose of oestrogens that any beauty products contain. The CTPA classes parabens are 'extremely safe'.

The Claim: 60% of the chemicals you put on your skin will be absorbed
The Truth: Not true. One of the leading expert on drug delivery through the skin, says, "In my experience, I have not found a compound where anywhere near 60% gets through. We are looking at more like one or two % at the most and, even then, only with a very few specific molecules."

The Claim: Out-of-date beauty products can cause infections
The Truth: Theoritically it is possible, particularly with eye products and mascaras. Most make-up companies say a mascara should only last around three months - you should also make sure you close the tube after use and not share your mascara with anyone else. If a product is seriously contaminated, you'll see and smell and noticeable difference.

HOW TO GET 'THE RUSSIAN DOLL' LOOK

Backstage of every fashion show, make-up artists chose each model's blusher by matching it to the natural tones of their skin. Go for pinky shade if you flush easily, or more of a peach if you have golden-toned skin.

Bright eyes
A slick of white eyeliner is the beauty insiders' anti-ageing secret, and has really made a comeback. Make-up artists used it instead of the traditional mascara-and-black-eyeliner combo to define and whiten models' eyes - plus, it gives that flattering Russian 'frozen' look, too.

Big Brows
If you've been cultivating last season's bushy brows, you'll be pleased to know they're still bang on trend. Define brows with a shadow one shade darker than your natural colour and brush upwards into a slightly spiky shape (this actually works as a mini instant facelift, too!).

Rosebud Lips
Full but not pouty is the way forward for doll-like lips. Nourish them daily with lip balm.

IS YOUR MAKE-UP MAKING YOU OLD?

When it comes to your anti-angeing routine; the wrong blusher can add five years, while the right lipstick can take off 10. Get ready to learn the most useful maths of your life.

1) You finally get your foundation right: Subtract 10 years (and be top of the class): We all know the wrong shade of foundation is unflattering, but the bad news is that the wrong texture is also ageing. The reason? "When the skin doesn't look moist, it 'reads' as dull and it's hard for the light ti pick up on it," explains top make-up artist. And the more light you can reflect, the more of a youthful glow you create.

2) If you over-apply your fragrance: Add 3 years. It's a strange thing, but leaving behind a vapour-trail of perfume wherever you go is incredibly ageing. Even the cleanest, most modern scent comes across as a bit 'blousy' and middle-aged if it's spritzed on too liberally. Keep things clean and clear with a veil of scented body lotion, or try that old trick of spraying a cloud of frangrance in front of you and walking into it.

3) You're still using the same Brown Eyeshadow: Add 4 years. According to make-up artist, brown eyeshadow, unless placed in expert hands, will drain all the colour out of your face. If you can't give up your brown palette, at least go for one with added sparkle to liven things up a bit.

4) Get to Grips with Concealer: Subtract 4 years: The trick with anti-ageing make-up is to eliminate all shadows so that there's nothing to drag you down. But, concealers that are too thick and drying can draw attention to shadows rather hide them. "Ideally, you need two concealers: a thick, highly pigmented one for covering blemishes, and a lighter one for hiding dark circles and shadows.

5) You invest in Eyelash Curlers: Subtract 3 years: You should'nt rely too heavily on eyelash curlers (and it's not a good idea to use them everyday), because over-zealous curling can weaken lashes and cause them to breack. However, most beauty experts say that if you curl lashes gently rather than clamp them, you'll be fine - plus you'll open up your eyes and generally look sparklier and more 'awake'.

6) Regularly seek Professional Advice: Subtract 3 years: Sometimes it takes a third party to get out of your comfort zone - and it's particularly true of make-up. "Sometimes all it takes is a fresh pair of eyes to recommend a new lipstick or a change of foundation". The trick is finding someone whose advice you trust.

7) You switch to a Perkier Blusher: Subtract 7 years: Blusher, the unsung hero of the make-up world, can give a youthful glow in seconds. Go for a product that contains several different shades, then use a large brush to swirl all over it, thereby ensuring you get a variety of tones in one.

8) Your brows look too thin: Add five years: Brows naturally get thinnier as you get older, so one of the quickest ways to restore the impression of youth is to re-define them.Using brow powders rather then pencils because they give a softer effect.

9) Ditch the caramel lip gloss: Given that most women have a couple of toffee-coloured lip glosses floating around in their bag, it's surprising how little it actually does for your complexion: not only does it deaden your skin, it also makes your teeth look yellow. Neutral lips should, in fact, be dusky pink. If your lip colour looks good enough to eat, don't put it anywhere near your mouth!

10) You wear eyeliner on your lower lash line: Add 5 years: Finally, when it comes to applying youthful-looking make-up, think upwards not downwards. Never do anything that drags you down. So, as you age, avoid eyeliner on your lower lash line and only apply mascara to your upper lashes. It's gravity-defying, see?

SKIN ALERT

Skin is made up of several molecules that regenerate and sometimes destroy themselves. A healthy diet, sufficient sleep, regular exercise and a comprehensive beauty regime are all essential to maintaining flawless skin. But with life the way it is-leaving us with very little time to ourselves, not to mention the longer hours at work, the longer hours in traffic going to and from work, it's no surprise that we often take shortcuts.

Therefore it is essential that you adopt the following guidelines into your daily routine to protect your skin from the harmful radiation of the sun:

--> Avoid excessive exposure to the sun between 10am and 3pm when the radiation of the sun is intense.

--> When you are in the sun, wear protective clothing such as hats and long sleeves.

--> It's not advised to use tanning beds as they are increasingly becoming a source of skin damage and ageing.

--> Use a sunscreen that has Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 15 or greater.

--> Apply the sunscreen liberally and half an hour before you go out in the sun so that the sunscreen is well absorbed into your skin.

But you won't be in the clear just yet. Moisturising is the most important part of daily skin care. Follow up your shower with moisturising body wash to help hydrate your skin in the shower, and end this regime with moisturising lotion while your skin is still damp to the touch.

MASCARA VOLUME GLAMOUR ULTRA CURL

Give height to your lashes!

Bourjois launches Volume Glamour Ultra Curl Mascara. The new addition to the best selling Volume Glamour range. For ultra curly and ultra volume lashes at the twist of a brush, Volume Glamour Ultra Curl is the answer!

A gaze twice as glamorous!

Lashes are lifted and curled with the formula enriched with a volume complex to build lashes in an instant. Natural waxes and silicon gum covers lashes and adds to the volume. Its new curved volume-forming brush lifts and fans lashes for a striking wide-eye look. Its creamy texture makes the application of Volume Glamour Ultra Curl mascara very easy. It glides onto your lashes effortlessly and in just a few seconds, your lashes are thickened and curled.

An ultra feminine mascara!

The smart black packaging is topped by a shiny pink, metallic cap, making it easy to identify in the range.