Fragrantly Beautiful

Looking good: Face it, beauty starts with the skin

Dermatologists are increasingly jumping into the cosmetics game. Here are some products sold or endorsed by notable docs:

Cellulite is the latest battlefront for Dr. Howard Murad, who launched his trail-blazing skin-care line in 1989. The “Cellulite Solution” package includes book, Firm and Tone Dietary Supplement Pack, and Firm and Tone Serum (sephora.com, www.murad.com).

Pioneer beauty dermatologist Fredric Brandt aims to approximate office procedures at home with skin-polishing Microdermabrasion in a Jar and wrinkle-minimizing Crease Release (sephora.com, www.drbrandtskincare.com).

Courtney Cox-endorsed Kinerase Lotion and Cream (available through dermatologists, sephora.com and www.kinerase.com) boost moisture in even the most sensitive skins with the plant-growth hormone N6-Furfuryladenine, or Kinetin.

DALLAS MORNING NEWS
INTO GEAR

Weightlifting without the weights
You’re crunched for time and the gym is jammed. You’ll never get in a full workout if you have to wait for machines and share free weights.

Don’t bag your workout. Try a body-weight circuit. You’ll burn calories and stay motivated by the novelty of doing something different, and you won’t have to wait for the weights. Here’s the circuit:
20 step-ups on each leg on a bench
15 pushups — on your toes if you can
8-10 pull-ups — modified for most women and full for most men
25-30 knee-ins on a bench
15 triceps dips
Rest
30 plie squats
25 leg raises
10 inverted rows
50 reps walking lunge
15 pushups
Rest, then repeat the circuit

NANCY COLE, KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
INNER WORKOUT
Feeding conversation
So you’re having stimulating dinner-table conversation:
“Pass the peas.”
“Elbows off the table.”
“How was your day?”
No wonder nobody stays very long. Next meal, try Recipes for Living: Food for Talk. It looks like a recipe box, but instead of 100 ways to cook chicken, it offers 200 conversation-starters such as “If you could talk to any person in history (famous or not), who would it be and what would you ask them?” and “What qualities make a good friend?” See the potential? So did former radio personality and TV news anchor Julienne Smith, who started the cards.

The cards will make for more interesting conversation, sure. But research shows long-term bonuses are even better: Children and teens who eat dinner with their families are likelier to get better grades and have healthier eating habits. Cost is $15.95 at bookstores and online.

LESLIE GARCIA, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

posted by Cheryl Levesque @ 1:44 PM