Beauty Dos and Don'ts

Stila Shadow Pots More shimmer and glimmer

Spare the Trowel DON’T wear heavy eye makeup during the day. Over-application in bright light, indoors and out, has a way of making you look unsettling; like a creature from a George Romero movie. After all, makeup should enhance — not win for the Oscar for special effects. DO try greeting the day with a light touch from one of Stila’s Shadow Pots. A single layer on your lids adds a natural shimmery lustre around your eyes that won’t frighten little kids. Available in ten shades at Gloss.com.

Save the Pancake for Breakfast DON’T wear foundation when you don't need it. The trend is toward the fresh, natural look — the less spackle the better. DO use a product with a full range of coverage on those trouble spots and blend well. M.A.C.’s Studio Tech is a light, easy to apply base of water, emollients and powder that gives your skin a soft matte finish where you need a little extra help. At Gloss.com.

Studio Tech More sheer foundations

Professional Mini Heated Lash Curler More eyelash curlers

Lash Out DON’T overdo the mascara or (heaven forbid) wear false eyelashes. The Betty Boop look works best in cartoons. And besides, you’ll make raccoons jealous. DO curl your lashes. It opens the eye and makes them look larger without all that gunk. You can always add a hint of mascara later. The old school curlers are fine, but I like this new heated one at Sephora. It gives you just the right lift in 20-30 seconds with a lot less fuss.

Bearing Fruit DON’T be frugal with the fruit. No, an apple a day won’t make you look like Jennifer Lopez, but a hefty helping or two of fruit can help you reduce fat intake and lower your risk of cancer, heart disease and stroke. Some fruits are great sources of natural antioxidants that help protect your skin against free radical damage. DO see what a little pomegranate can do for your face. This dual-action treatment by Murad at Sephora helps stimulate healthy cell function and puts antioxidants directly to work where you need them most.

Energizing Pomegranate Treatment More pomegranate secrets

BORBA Aqua-Less Replenishing Powder More BORBA

Water Works DON’T forget to drink those eight glasses a day. Water will flush out toxins, hydrate your skin and even take the edge off your appetite. Can you think of a product that does more good than that — and is practically free? DO try the latest thing in skin care — skin-balancing waters like BORBA at Sephora. Just mix a packet into your water twice a day for extra hydration, clarification, smoothing and firming.

StriVectin-SD Eye Cream More eye creams

Sob Story DON’T cry. Okay, as someone who can’t even make it through the opening credits of Bambi without tearing up, I know that’s empty advice. But, don’t rub your eyes when you do. The tissue around your eyes is the most delicate skin on your face and thus, the most prone to bruising, puffiness and premature wrinkles. DO pamper those peepers with this rich eye cream at drugstore.com. It helps reduce fine lines, wrinkles, and dark circles. Apply it gently using your ring finger. That’s the one with the fewest nerve endings and the lightest touch.

Soft Touch DON’T scrub your skin with anything too abrasive, like those awful little shower puffs and gloves. That can irritate, break blood vessels and even spread infection. Leave the self-flagellation to the mystics and be gentle with yourself. DO treat your skin to non-abrasive exfoliants like these Dr. Brandt magnesium oxide crystals at NORDSTROM. They work quickly to smooth fine lines and wrinkles, reduce scars and clear acne-prone skin.

Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion in a Jar More microdermabrasion therapy

Bobbi Brown Sunless Tanning Gel More sunless tanning

Save Face DON’T fry. However tempting it may be to stretch out under the summer sun, remember — unless you want a face like a lizard skin purse, make sure you baste yourself liberally with a SPF 15 – 30 sunscreen. DO consider a fake bake instead. This gel from Bobbi Brown at Gloss.com even lets you pick your hue — light to medium for a healthy glow, or medium to dark for Baywatch bronze. No streaking and no weird tangerine tint.

Pluck Be a Lady DON’T over-tweeze your brows. Mercifully, the penciled on look is over and women can finally stop looking like they just arrived from another planet. Viva the natural eyebrow. DO give your brows a little shaping attention. The Groucho Marx look is not what you’re aiming for. Try this all-in-one kit by Anastasia at Sephora. You can work wonders with its After-Tweeze cream, tweezers, brow powder, four brow stencils, brow gel, highlighter and more.

Anastasia Seven-Item Brow Kit More eyebrow shapers

Fresh Rice Sake Bath More sake

You Booze, You Lose DON’T over-pour. Besides what it can do to your liver, drinking too much alcohol dehydrates your skin and puts stress on your capillaries. Gin blossoms are no substitute for artfully applied blush. DO add a little sake to your bath. Saks offers this heavenly potion that’s 50% sake, with ginger and pine extracts. A tot in your tub relaxes your muscles, softens your skin and increases circulation.

The 7 Biggest Muscle Myths

We deflate the lies and inflate your biceps

MYTH #1

Lifting incredibly slowly builds incredibly big muscles. Lifting super slowly produces superlong workouts—and that's it. University of Alabama researchers recently studied two groups of lifters doing a 29-minute workout. One group performed exercises using a 5-second up phase and a 10-second down phase, the other a more traditional approach of 1 second up and 1 second down. The faster group burned 71 percent more calories and lifted 250 percent more weight than the superslow lifters.

The real expert says: "The best increases in strength are achieved by doing the up phase as rapidly as possible," says Gary Hunter, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., the lead study author. "Lower the weight more slowly and under control." There's greater potential for growth during the lowering phase, and when you lower with control, there's less chance of injury.

MYTH #2

If you eat more protein, you'll build more muscle. To a point, sure. But put down the shake for a sec. Protein promotes the muscle-building process, called protein synthesis, "but you don't need exorbitant amounts to do this," says John Ivy, Ph.D., coauthor of Nutrient Timing. If you're working out hard, consuming more than 0.9 to 1.25 grams of protein per pound of body weight is a waste. Excess protein breaks down into amino acids and nitrogen, which are either excreted or converted into carbohydrates and stored.

The real expert says: More important is when you consume protein, and that you have the right balance of carbohydrates with it. Have a postworkout shake of three parts carbohydrates and one part protein. Eat a meal several hours later, and then reverse that ratio in your snack after another few hours, says Ivy. "This will keep protein synthesis going by maintaining high amino acid concentrations in the blood."

MYTH #3

Leg extensions are safer for your knees than squats. And cotton swabs are dangerous when you push them too far into your ears. It's a matter of knowing what you're doing. A recent study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that "open-chain" exercises—those in which a single joint is activated, such as the leg extension—are potentially more dangerous than closed-chain moves—those that engage multiple joints, such as the squat and the leg press. The study found that leg extensions activate your quadriceps muscles slightly independently of each other, and just a 5-millisecond difference in activation causes uneven compression between the patella (kneecap) and thighbone, says Anki Stensdotter, the lead study author.

The real expert says: "The knee joint is controlled by the quadriceps and the hamstrings. Balanced muscle activity keeps the patella in place and appears to be more easily attained in closed-chain exercises," says Stensdotter. To squat safely, hold your back as upright as possible and lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor (or at least as far as you can go without discomfort in your knees). Try front squats if you find yourself leaning forward. Although it's a more advanced move, the weight rests on the fronts of your shoulders, helping to keep your back upright, Stensdotter says.

MYTH #4

Never exercise a sore muscle. Before you skip that workout, determine how sore you really are. "If your muscle is sore to the touch or the soreness limits your range of motion, it's best that you give the muscle at least another day of rest," says Alan Mikesky, Ph.D., director of the human performance and biomechanics laboratory at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. In less severe instances, an "active rest" involving light aerobic activity and stretching, and even light lifting, can help alleviate some of the soreness. "Light activity stimulates bloodflow through the muscles, which removes waste products to help in the repair process," says David Docherty, Ph.D., a professor of exercise science at the University of Victoria in Canada.

The real expert says: If you're not sore to the touch and you have your full range of motion, go to the gym. Start with 10 minutes of cycling, then exercise the achy muscle by performing no more than three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions using a weight that's no heavier than 30 percent of your one-rep maximum, says Docherty.

MYTH #5

Stretching prevents injuries. Maybe if you're a figure skater. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed more than 350 studies and articles examining the relationship between stretching and injuries and concluded that stretching during a warmup has little effect on injury prevention. "Stretching increases flexibility, but most injuries occur within the normal range of motion," says Julie Gilchrist, M.D., one of the study's researchers. "Stretching and warming up have just gone together for decades. It's simply what's done, and it hasn't been approached through rigorous science."

The real expert says: Warming up is what prevents injury, by slowly increasing your bloodflow and giving your muscles a chance to prepare for the upcoming activity. To this end, Dr. Gilchrist suggests a thorough warmup, as well as conditioning for your particular sport. Of course, flexibility is a good thing. If you need to increase yours so it's in the normal range (touching your toes without bending your knees, for instance), do your stretching when your muscles are already warm.

MYTH #6

You need a Swiss ball to build a stronger chest and shoulders. Don't abandon your trusty bench for exercises like the chest press and shoulder press if your goal is strength and size. "The reason people are using the ball and getting gains is because they're weak as kittens to begin with," says Craig Ballantyne, C.S.C.S. You have to reduce the weight in order to press on a Swiss ball, and this means you get less out of the exercise, he says.

The real expert says: A Swiss ball is great for variety, but center your chest and shoulder routines on exercises that are performed on a stable surface, Ballantyne says. Then use the ball to work your abs.

MYTH #7

Always work out with free weights. Sometimes machines can build muscle better—for instance, when you need to isolate specific muscles after an injury, or when you're too inexperienced to perform a free-weight exercise. If you can't complete a pullup, you won't build your back muscles. So do lat pulldowns to develop strength in this range of motion, says Greg Haff, Ph.D., director of the strength research laboratory at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.

The real expert says: "Initially, novice athletes will see benefits with either machines or free weights, but as you become more trained, free weights should make up the major portion of your training program," says Haff. Free-weight exercises mimic athletic moves and generally activate more muscle mass. If you're a seasoned lifter, free weights are your best tools to build strength or burn fat.

Rule of the hunt

Dating in NYC is an exercise in primitive psychology

DATING IN NEW YORK CITY

is not about a meeting of two people who are attracted to each other. It's more of a compulsion that people seem to enjoy about as much as a bulimic enjoys scoffing the contents of the fridge at 4 a.m.

Going on a date is like being interviewed for the job of potential husband. New York seems to be full of men trying to evade marriage and women trying to marry them - or, worse, women who think men are trying to evade marriage and men who think women are trying to marry them.

Add to this the fact that in New York everyone says they are doing "just great!" even if their mum just died that morning and the cat fell off the terraces the night before and they just got fired from their job. No one wants to admit that they're not a success; it's no wonder dating is such a nightmare.

It's so bad, in fact, that many women can't get by without instructions manuals like " The Rules" - the book that exhorts women not to agree to weekend dates if the man calls after Wednesday, to screen calls, to get off the phone first (and within 10 minutes) and never to pay for dinner.

Follow strategy

Dating here is a game is strategy. Every date is a blind date. Every time you meet someone new it's like moving to a new town. You can be a different person.

Odd, then, that most of the men I meet are so similar. I sometimes wonder if they have all taken a course in what women want to hear ( I have seen these courses advertised). If I meet another man who enjoys gourmet cook, for example, I am going to run screaming from the room. Or one who loves his mother. Or "really respects women." Or any of the other things someone has clearly told them that women like. But in New York your learn not to go by what someone says but by how they behave.

Great expectations

In New York, to impress the woman is of such vital importance that you invariably find yourself at dinner sitting across from a man delivering a fast-paced monologue on his attributes and interests. You practically expect the guy to back flip his way to the bathroom.

And at the end of the evening, the men all but hand you a resume, their last girlfriend - well, they would if there were still speaking to her. They usually aren't, however, because relationships between two people who have done everything in their power to hide who they are rarely end well.

Very occasionally I come across a man who has clearly been trained - or has perhaps read somewhere - that he is supposed to ask you questions. However, he usually is lagging behind in the actually-listening-to-the-answer department.

Then again, why should he since you will probably be lying anyway? This is perhaps why the focus on physical beauty ( admittedly currency the world over, but taken to new levels here) is so huge in New York.

Happy World Water Day!!