What Works January/February 2008 Column is up--along with a fantastic new contest!

Happy New Year! I am pleased to announce that the Advice Sister's first What Works Beauty Cosmetics & Fashion review column of 2008 (January/February 2008) is now up at: http://www.advicesisters.net/whatworkscol3.html . To see all the previous columns going back to 1999 visit our archives at: http://www.advicesisters.net/WWarchives/wwarcindex.htmlThis January/February column focuses on Winter skin solutions and Valentine's Day, but we are already hard at work, reviewing products for the March/April column, which will feature new, trendy categories for Spring 2008.

NEW ADVICE SISTERS CONTEST FOR 2008: WHAT'S YOUR #1 NEW YEARS RESOLUTION? SHARE IT, AND YOU CAN WIN A FABULOUS COLLECTION OF CHAMPION SPORTSWEAR WORTH OVER $200!

What's your #1 New Years resolution for 2008? Whether it's a traditional goal such as losing weight, being more communicative at work, reducing stress, being more considerate or more charitable, or something totally different, the AdviceSisters want to give you extra incentive to stick to it and be the champion we know you are. So, we're giving away a fantastic collection of Champion Sportswear! All you have to do to win is tell us your top New Years Resolution for 2008 with a brief explanation of how you intend to reach your goal. If you win, you will receive a women's Super Hoodie, sports pant and sports bra along with a bonus goodie: a Men's Hoodie! Go the the CONTEST PAGE read the Official Rules at: http://www.advicesisters.net/newyearscontest.html, and then complete the ENTRY FORM at: http://www.advicesisters.net/newyears.html *now through March 1st, 2008. The winning entry will receive a Champion sportswear collection for women, plus a bonus Hoodie for men worth (a $65.00 value). If you can't wait to win, purchase your own set of Champion Sportswear online now at: www.ChampionUSA.com

Where is Your Copy of the Advice Sisters Enews?

you are a subscriber to the bi-monthly, free newsletter, the Advice Sisters Enews, you already received the information below and more, with live links!

This time, I'm not going to put the entire Enews online in this blog. If you want to information in the Enews, I hope you will subscribe. The Advice Sisters Enews is free, delivered to your in-box bi-monthly. It features Advice Sisters news, tips, reviews, expert advice,the latest in style and culture, and more. It isn't too late to get your own subscription, and get the Late Winter, 2007 Advice Sisters Enews delivered right to your in-box. Here are just a few of the highlights:


"The Devil (and You) Wear Prada, Contest: Five lucky people have won more than $1,000 worth of ultra-luxe products from Benefit, Dior, and Z. Bigatti. *sorry, you have to be a subscriber to the Advice Sisters Enews to get the link

Fair Game on NPR with Faith Saile: At precisely 22.30 minutes into the 50-minute+ Valetine's Day "Fair Game" show Black Holes, Neuroscience, and Michael Jackson you will hear a segment about what couples should and should not do behind closed doors. *sorry, you have to be a subscriber to the Advice Sisters Enews to get the link

What Works Beauty, Cosmetics & Fashion Review March 2007 is focused primarily on color cosmetics to add new life to your Spring fashions, along with new fragrances, skin and body-care products, kits and gifts, nail, hair and men's products. *sorry, you have to be a subscriber to the Advice Sisters Enews to get the link


THE ADVICE SISTERS "ABOUT TOWN"


MERCEDES BENZ FASHION WEEK Fashion Week for Fall, 2007, was a busy one, thanks to my colleagues, who facilitated backstage access for me at some of the hottest shows Here are the links to all the posts I created for Fashion Week Fall 2007: Alice Ritter, Akiko Ogawa, Gustavo Arrango *backstage coverage , Alice Roi *backstage coverage , Venexiana, Alexandre Herchovitch *backstage coverage , Araks *backstage coverage, Ellen Tracy *backstage coverage , Vanidades Fashion Lounge, Bill Blass *backstage coverage, Cynthia Rowley Hair & Makeup and Runway Show (& the Cynthia Rowley/Jillian Dempsey Makeup Collection for Fall 2007 for Avon) , Carmen Marc Valvo *backstage coverage, Zang Toi , Alison's Fashion Week "must-haves" *sorry, you have to be a subscriber to the Advice Sisters Enews to get the links

Book Reviews: These non-fiction books are some of the latest titles from major publishing companies. From secrets, to starvation, to sex, they'll educate, inspire, and entertain you *sorry, you have to be a subscriber to the Advice Sisters Enews to get the full reviews. Sign up now: http://www.advicesisters.net/thankyou.html

Write about what you know" is the advice that is often given to beginner authors. Amanda Kerlin obviously listened, and it's for that reason that Secrets of the Model Dorm by Amanda Kerlin and Phil Oh (Atria Books, 2007) succeeds. Ms. Kerlin is a statuesque and beautiful young woman who has "been there and done that" when it comes to modeling....

The Honeymoon's Over by Andrea Chapin and Sally Wofford-Girand (Warner Books, February 2007) is a book of original essays by female writers about love, marriage and divorce. Most of these are short, and well-written, but while they are amusing as stories, the book's main attraction is the way it connects women to women, with powerful emotions that most of us have felt in some way or another, at some time or another. .........


Gaining by Aimee Liu (Warner Books, February 2007) is an attention-grabbing, often intimate look at the life and mindset of Ms. Liu , a recovering anorexic, and the primarily women (a few men too) who she has followed up with after a hiatus of a few decades. Her first book, "Solitare," was about her battle with anorexia, but this one is more like a Part 2, or a sequel.....

Satisfaction: Women, Sex, and the Quest for Intimacy by Anita H. Clayton with Robin Cantor-Cooke (Ballantine Books), could have been a dry discourse on female sexuality, but it is a surprisingly entertaining and empowering book about how why women settle for lackluster sex lives, even though they may be high-powered in all other aspects of their lives.....


Sex on the Brain by Daniel G. Amen, M.d. (Harmony Books, 2007)takes a more cerebral approach to the subject of better sex, with a serious, if somewhat clinical view on the subject matter, but it is no less interesting. The information is irresistible.....


A Perfect Mess by Eric Abrahamson and David H. Freedman (Little Brown 2006) will not give you the secrets to a tidy desk, but it might make you re-think the costs and benefits of organization......

Welcome to Your Crisis by Laura Day (Little Brown 2006) confirms what I've been told most of my life, that out of adversity, comes opportunity. As it states on the back cover: "The moment your life falls, apart, it is also the moment your new life begins." ....

American Idol, idle waste of time?

Tonight we watched the entire show of American Idol. I'd never watched previous seasons, but when I was flipping channels and saw the show, I decided to devote some time to watching it. I have always wondered why this show makes some people so besotted that they'll hold all their calls until the show is over and they will even pay money to "vote" for their favorite contestants.

After watching, I'm confused. I still am not sure what it is that draws people. My husband got bored and started working on his computer, and I had to strain to stay focused when man after man got up, sang, and was criticized. You didn't even get to learn who the audience was voting for, or who Simon Cowell and the other judges think should go home. Mostly, all you could take away from this is a mixed message that out of all the talent in America (at least those willing to endure the audition process) this is the best of the best, and they're still just "so-so."

I am not sure what draws a crowd here. It is just "bread and circuses," the proverbial Christians being fed to the lions in a modern version? Do we just want a fired waiter, or a mechanic down on his luck, or a new father who wants his newborn baby to be proud of him, to "win" big so we can say that you really don't need just looks or money or brains to be something special?

What I do know is that both the 12 men and the 12 women selected for the finals look eerily like clones of themselves, and other "pop stars." The untucked shirts, the curls for girls, the scary-white smiles.

Something did stike me as odd: the supposedly-nasty Simon Cowell (and he was just nasty enough that if i were up there, my lip would at least tremble) kept saying that he didn't see anything special in the men in this group, even though they sung their hearts out. Actually, I agree (and I think his "honesty" is a bit much, but I liked it better than the faux flattery and artificial, goony audience reactions). But Simon...didn't you and your cohort-judges pick these people? So I'm not sure...not sure at all why out of literally thousands of people who tried out, the judges could only come up with a group of so-so contestants.

Most of the guys were nothing special, but at the very least, the show could redeem itself if it were a fair fight. I'm hoping that the songsters with the chemically whitened smiles, the good hair, and the buff bodies shape up their vocal chords and come up with something special that really entertains. Or, barring that, I hope that the ones with the better voices who aren't so cute or buff or slick (at least not yet) make it through and show that talent, really still does count and you can only get so far on your looks in this world. Show me something that hooks me instead of an endless round of bland songs by bland people with bland talent. Then I might have a reason to stick it out for more shows.


To be sure, I couldn't get up and sing as well as any of these people, although I do have perfect pitch and would make a decent judge. Simon Cowell said he didn't want to patronize the viewers at home, but isn't that just what this show does? I'm still not sure...not sure why I'd bother to watch the young, thin, predictably cute (with the exceptional of a few overweight, wacky singers) continue to strut their stuff, the SAME stuff...singing the same sort of sappy, unosphisticated songs I could hear in a bad piano bar, more than once? Worse, if Mr. Cowell doesn't want to patronize us, why not put together a show where the audience actually matters and where we can do more than just value celebrity, season after season, putting our hopes on strangers.

I am not sure about a lot of things, but I am certain that I will not be watching American Idol very often....ok....maybe the final, final, final round.