This article was first posted by April Alisa Marquette in 2010. Although it's 5 years later, the information is still relevant to your beauty regimen today. I thought I'd share it with you again since it still makes sense. Enjoy !!

Written by Charla Krupp, the book How Not To Look Old is chock full of fast and effortless ways to look 10 years younger, 10 pounds lighter, and 10 times better -- exactly what it says on the cover. This two hundred twenty four page guide begins with an introduction on how to age gracefully -- not. Here, the author speaks candidly about how aging can be a hard pill to swallow. She speaks of how women can discover things that seemingly pop up overnight, like age spots, crow's feet, chin hair, sagging bazooms, and bunions. Then she proposes that we can do something about these and a host of other things. She also suggests that we can look great doing so.

So there I was reading, and I realized that the author was proposing a plan of attack on aging. Then I became even more interested. I read that we would also not join the legions of women who have had entirely too many surgical procedures. Caught in the author's silken web of words I read on to see that she tested goo gobs of beauty products, many that were on prominent magazine's 'best of' lists. However, there was a catch. For the author to recommend any item, it had to deliver results, be easy to use, and not exorbitantly priced.

Therefore, gung ho, I began turning pages. I read all nineteen chapters -- which by the way, have great simple, often quirky titles like 'Unmatch Your Wardrobe' or 'Follow the Three-Bling Rule...' I must tell you, there were times when I simply laughed out loud! This author, one time Shop, Etc. executive editor, and motivational guru tells it like it is. Without sugarcoating issues that we all face, she offers the old ways of achieving a look versus the new way -- often her way.

I read a review of hers written by someone who after reading, seemed disillusioned, and believed Ms. Krupp advised readers to put themselves in categories, low, high, or no maintenance, and then spend accordingly. That is not what I took away from this book. I took away something similar to what another reader/reviewer did. I feel that most of the suggestions offered are things that one most likely already knows, but may not be putting into practice. For example, ridged, filthy or even discolored fingernails need care. They, like stained teeth, are not viewed as attractive, and can diminish aspects of our appearance.

Beautiful, if you want to laugh, if you want entertainment and fun while getting some really good tips from someone who has been here and there in the beauty industry, then you'll want to read this book. There are a heap of full-color photos -- some of celebrities of differing ethnicities, and offered are little anecdotes. There are size guides, retail and at-home tips, and suggestions on shopping for just about anything female.

Ethnic Beauties, in desiring to bring you truthfulness, I always look for the pros as well as the cons. Yet with this book I found nothing that I would change, nothing negative. I simply thank the author and her staff for their time; as an author myself, I know that book writing is no simple task. I am grateful for the finished product. I give this book five rings -- the highest a book can get in my rating system. I thank my library, for initially loaning the hardcover to me. I also thank the bookseller who later sold it to me -- and perhaps one day soon...you too may thank one or all of these people.

That's it for this week,

Dedicated to Your Beauty

Juliette's Website
http://www.nyrajuskincare.com