Fancy A Makeover

Archive for November, 2008

As we are going into the recession full swing should we really be tightening our purse strings? Apart from things we really need essential to life like food should you hold out on buying fashionable clothes?

The online shopping industry is booming in comparison to the high street. With temperatures also plummeting this is also another reason many people are choosing to stay indoors. From the comfort of your own home you can purchase anything you want at the click of a button, you can even use comparison websites to get an even better deal.

Many retailers are enticing customers with good offers such as 10%, 20% and up to 70% off branded goods. With so many great offers it’s not hard to see why we are so easily swayed. Most retailers are also doing free delivery or when spending the minimum delivery is free.

A year ago I signed up to a few websites that notify you when there will be a sale so you can be one of the first ones in. Since joining I have bought some pretty good bargains. Anything from clothes, shoes, handbags and even some home accessories. You can even sign up to high street shops via their website and they’ll notify you when there’ll be a sale and with most of them you even purchase clothes online. As the market stands now, if you see something you like I’d advise you wait a few weeks, I can guarantee the price will come down.

Online shopping safety tips

When purchasing from an online store you’ll find that their products are relatively cheaper from products bought in store, this is because they don’t have any overheads thus passing on savings to the consumer.

If you do decide to purchase things online remember to look for the security padlock in the bottom right corner of the screen, this tells you it is a secured connection for payment.

If you are purchasing anything over £100 I would advise you use a credit card as it provides better security if anything should go wrong.

Try to shop at recommended online websites via family, friends or colleagues and check that it looks professional with no grammatical errors as you find a lot of amateurs don’t seem to be able to spell properly. 

Wishroom, a Japanese company, has recently launched a new range for men – The Man Bra. Although, this may sound funny and weird, they are selling the man bra at such a fast rate that they are finding it difficult to cope with the orders.

The bra for men is sold at around £12 and is available in black, white and pink. It is custom-made and has a leather look but is probably made of nylon.

The reason for men purchasing this bra is still not very clear. Some people think it is to cover up man boobs, moobs as it is called, to give more confidence to men having saggy flesh on the chest area. Others think it more of a fetish thing for cross-dresser designed to be classier and tailored for men tastes.

Of course not all the men are happy about this new invention. Having moobs and letting them loose is generally a sign of the middle-aged man who lives on junk food and too lazy for some regular exercise. There is no reason for a man bra as this would hurt the manhood and give in to weak testosterone.

That being said, some men who have been wearing bras (not the man bra but normal bras) for a while now said they were frequently complimented by their female counterparts as the push-up it gives them shows a more appealing physique.

The man bra is also supposed to help men suffering from gynecomastia, a medical condition that causes enlarged breasts in men.

The bottom line is to be comfortable with your body and yourself and if the man bra will give you some more confidence, then why not?

Feel free to discuss & share your views and reviews on the man bra!

With celebrities such as Tom Cruise and Shaznay Lewis from All Saints having braces in their older years we explore different ways to achieving straighter teeth. There are many people who are born with natural straight teeth and some who are born with crooked teeth. The opposite can also happen, when people who were born with straight teeth end up with crooked teeth due to movement and loss of teeth in the mouth as you get older.

There are many options to achieving straighter teeth for all budgets we have a look at some of them.

Porcelain veneers

Porcelain veneers don’t straighten teeth they just create the illusion of straighter teeth.  Though porcelain veneers won’t last forever and will need replacing after some time, they are often referred to as an ‘instant fix’. The disadvantage to having porcelain veneers is you will need to have some of your natural teeth structure removed do that the porcelain veneers can sit on top. Straighter teeth can be achieved in as little as a single visit to the dentist.

6 month smile

The 6 month smile is still a relatively new treatment, instead of moving all teeth the dentist will focus on teeth seen when you smile. Tooth coloured brackets are used with wires but only on some teeth. What would take 18 months to 2 years to complete can be achieved in as little as 6 months. So if you don’t have any severe crooked teeth it may be worth concentrating on the ones on show to get a nicer smile.

Lingual braces

Lingual braces are very similar to the wire braces but these are fitted to the inside surfaces of your teeth, so they can’t be seen from the front when you talk. They are very uncomfortable and may take some time to getting used to but are a great alternative if you don’t want anyone to notice them. Lingual braces cannot correct severe crooked teeth.

Invisalign

Invisalign is becoming very popular with adults as a method of straightening teeth without anyone knowing. It works by having a custom made mould of your teeth that looks like a transparent gum shield. This is placed on your teeth and changed every two weeks so that the teeth are slowly moved to their desired position. Invisalign can also be removed when you clean your teeth and eat, unlike fixed orthodontic braces that stay in place for the duration of treatment.

Fixed orthodontic braces

Orthodontic braces work by having brackets on each tooth with a metal wire running through them, every 6 weeks or so (depending on the severity of the teeth) the wires are tightened at the back to make them straighter. Now you can get coloured elastics to fit round the bracket and wires. The time of which it takes to get straighter teeth depends on each case but in most cases it can take up to two years.

Orthodontic braces are more traditional and are still mostly used to treat younger children, although times are changing and there are other ways to treat crooked teeth, fixed orthodontic braces are still the most common. This may be due to the fact that orthodontic braces are free up until the age of 18; other types of treatment may incur a charge, as it’s not available on the NHS so you may have to go private.

With rising food prices it’s easy to see why many families are struggling to cook a healthy meal. It’s much easier and cheaper to buy chips and put them in the oven rather than sitting down to a nutritious meal. Saying this many new mothers are very concerned about what they give their children to eat, 70% of baby food is now organic.

Organic food is much smaller in comparison to non-organic food because they are pumped with growth hormones to make them grow bigger and faster. Although there is no scientific evidence to say that organic food tastes better and is more nutritious, it’s more of a lifestyle choice. There are some foods that have shown to produce more mineral and antioxidants such as vitamin C, these are potatoes, kiwi, carrots, lettuce, spinach and cabbage.

How much does organic food cost?

Organic food is expensive; it costs about 10 – 40% more than non-organic food. You pay more because the food contains no artificial colours, flavouring or growth hormones, more care and time is taken on organic produce to make sure that it is chemical free. Natural methods are used for pest control unlike pellets that can harm small pets if eaten.

Just because organic foods cost more don’t be put off by the price. There are ways to make most food last longer organic or not. Put vegetables in the drawer of the fridge to make them last longer, wrap herbs in newspaper and also put in the fridge drawer. Put potatoes in a lined basket of newspaper to make them last longer. Most importantly, only buy what you need, make a weekly food plan so food isn’t wasted.

Grow your own organic food

If buying organic food is still too expensive, with careful planning you can grow your own. There are ways to grow your own vegetables even if you have a courtyard style garden. Many places now sell grow bags that have natural fertilisers that allow you to plant in the bag without the need to transfer into pots or the soil. You can even make your own grow bags by using leftover food as compost, the natural minerals and antioxidants in food will help fruit and vegetables grow naturally.  Potatoes are the easiest to grow as they grow under the soil and you can dig them up after just a few months.

There’s nothing more satisfying than growing your own organic food, it’s cheap, easy and tastes much better too, give it a try and share your tips with the growing organic conscious community.