It's Good To Shiver, Watch Out for Coral Lipstick and Dark Nail Polish

Some researchers have "...found indirect evidence that the body's response to cold, which consists of shivering and hormonal actions, plays a major role in energy expenditure. Regulation of body temperature, they say, is associated with weight."(Fiona Johnson, University College, London, 2011) Also, shivering burns about 400 calories an hour!  You may have heard the oft repeated advice to drink ice cold water since it takes more energy and burns more fat than drinking lukewarm water, but  supposedly even lowering the temperature in your home a few degrees will help with weight loss. Of course, where I live, all I have to do is go to the local grocery store where I swear they keep the temperature deliberately below 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

As you get older, your hands are one of the parts of your body that shows aging, and there hasn't been a lot that you can do about it.  One help though is to avoid very dark polishes or brown polishes which seem to accentuate wrinkles and make your skin look older.

Everywhere you will read that the hottest new lipstick color for Spring is coral.  But if you have less that white teeth, beware.  Coral is a color that will cause your teeth to look dingy - as will most red lipsticks that have a lot of orange in them.  Instead, go for a coral with a lot of pink in it rather than orange - or opt out of coral totally.

Essie's the Best!

I have a love/hate relationship with nail polish. On the one hand, I like how it looks and makes my hands look (and my hands do need help). On the other, there are not many things that look worse or that will downgrade your entire appearance more than having chipped nail polish. My new favorite": Essie. I first came across it when getting a manicure/pedicure in Arlington, Virginia. Then my daughter-in-law gave me some for Christmas. I can't find it here locally, but I buy it through amazon. com simply because I usually have other items to purchase at the same time. Essie goes on smoothly, dries remarkably quickly without any drying agent, and comes in quite a few delicious colours. My only caveat is that I bought a colour (I think that it was called Beach Party) a sort of ballerina slipper pink, that had no shine whatsoever - totally matte so that it looked as though I had messed up my nails in some way. Otherwise, dark colours and their light pinks (try No Pre-Nup) are fantastic and have lasted a week for me - an unbelievably long time!