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Have you ever went to the salon, hairstyle magazine in hand, hoping to have your locks transformed into the latest trend featured on the front page only to have your stylist tell you that you do not have the right shaped face to wear the style, or, worse yet, your stylist puts that exact haircut on you, but you look nothing like the model wearing the cut in the magazine?

We’ve all had horrible experiences in the stylist chair. Most of the time they are not technical errors, but errors when it comes to choosing the right style to compliment our facial structure and build.

When choosing the perfect hairstyle for your unique look, stylists should take into account your build. For example, close cropped styles would not suit a person with a large frame, nor would a full-bodied style compliment a person with a small frame. Making sure that your style and frame balance is the key here.

Stylists also should look at your face shape when choosing the best look for you. There are five basic face shapes: oval, heart, round, square and triangular.

All of these shapes can be beautiful, but one is ideal: oval. No matter what shaped face you have, achieving the perfect look involves picking the right cut or style that will make your face appear more oval.

Oval face shapes are identified by the perfect symmetry of certain facial features, such as the distance from the hairline to the bridge of the nose (between the eyes), from the bridge of the nose to the lips, and from the lips to the bottom of the chin. If your face is oval shaped, you can consider yourself to be very lucky. This shape is the only one that is complimented by almost every hairstyle imaginable.

Heart shaped faces are usually broader through the forehead and taper to a point at the chin. You can make this shaped face appear more oval by positioning the weight of the haircut at chin level, or by wearing bangs in shorter styles. Keep in mind that the goal is to minimize the forehead and to bring prominence to the chin.

Round faces are just that: round. They have wide cheekbones and are usually smaller through the forehead and chin. The goal here is to minimize the cheekbones. Styles with height in the bang and sides cut toward the face usually work best.

Square faces have a bold forehead and an angular jaw line. Styles with soft edges, and a great deal of texture directed toward the face really suit this shape. The length should be kept longer than jaw length to draw attention away from the jaw, but, at the same time, that length should be layered. A straight, sleek style would only serve to accent the angular lines of the face.

Triangular shaped faces are angular at the jaw line, but narrow through the forehead. They can be treated much the same way that square faces are treated, with one exception; more height and fullness is needed throughout the crown and bang areas to make this section of the face appear larger.

Now that you know what your stylist knows, take this knowledge with you on your next salon visit. This time, when you thumb through the style books and magazines, you will be able to zero in on your perfect new cut. Good Luck!

Jenny is a hair expert, and the author of an incredible free minicourse, that explains how to find your unique style, how long or short you should have your hair, how to find the right hair color for you, how to find the right salon, and a lot more. Go to www.hairstylevillage.com/ now and get this amazing hair minicourse - absolutely free

Your hands are as obvious as any part of your body; you use them to emphasize points in a conversation and to do daily tasks, therefore they should look as well groomed as the rest of you. A good manicure is important to your appearance. Whether or not you use polish, your nails should be conservative, healthy, and always well manicured. To keep your hands attractive give yourself a weekly manicure.

Set aside about a half hour and have the following items before you start: emery board, cuticle scissors, nail buffer, a bowl of warm water, polish remover, nail brush, orangewood stick, cotton balls, base coat or nail hardener, nail polish and top coat.

1. Remove old polish with a cotton ball dampened with nail polish remover. Press the cotton ball firmly to the nail and hold until for a few seconds. Pull the cotton ball down the centre so the polish doesn’t smear on the skin around the nail. Use a clean cotton ball to remove any stubborn polish.

2. Holding it on a slant, use an emery board to shape nails. Use long strokes in one direction toward the centre of the nail (don’t go back and forth). Don’t file the nails away at the corners because it weakens the nails. Make the curve blunt and don’t file your nails into sharp points.

3. In a rotating motion use your thumb to massage cuticle cream into the rough skin at the sides and base of the nails.

4. Soak your nails in warm water for a few minutes to soften the cuticle. Clean your nails thoroughly using a nailbrush.

5. Wrap the end of the orangewood stick in cotton and apply cuticle remover to the blunt end. Use it to loosen dead skin from around the nails.

6. Use scissors on hangnails only. Never cut cuticles.

7. Make sure your nails are free from polish and are clean and dry. If you don’t wear polish, simply buff your nails lightly lengthwise from the base to the tip and you’re finished.
8. Wipe nails again with polish remover to make sure you get rid of any traces of oil moisture or soap.

9. For normal nails apply a clear base coat to the entire surface of each nail. If you have problem nails use nail hardener instead.

10. Apply nail polish using 3 strokes, one from the centre base to the tip and one on each side. Use only enough polish to do one nail at a time. Don’t redo while wet.

11. When the first coat is completely dry (about ten minutes) apply a second coat.

12. Finish with a coat of sealer for added protection and allow to dry for at least 30 minutes. Avoid contact with water until nails are completely dry.

© Copyright 2005 Sheila Dicks

Sheila Dicks is an Image and Wardrobe consultant who helps women dress to suit their body type and look fabulous. Visit her at http://www.sheilasfashionsense.com to download a copy of her ebook “Image Makeover” and get “How to Build a Wardrobe: free.

“She is not fair to outward view As many maidens be;
Her loveliness I never knew Until she smiled on me;
Oh! Then I saw her eye was bright, A well of love, a spring of light. Hartley Coleridge

After failed plans to get into the city over the Labor Day holiday, we wound up spending the long weekend at home. Resting some on Labor Day Monday, we worked diligently on Saturday finishing up the basement (”The Dugout”); pulling weeds and shaping up our garden; catching up on art projects; and taking long bike rides through the mountainous terrain of Ridgefield and New York State.

It was after one of these long and glorious bike rides that my husband announced we were going to our neighborhood family restaurant, Dimitri’s, for a late lunch. For those of you living up here, you know Dimitri’s. We all know Dimitri’s. They just celebrated their ten year anniversary yesterday by inviting the entire town over for a party! It’s the best family diner in town. Very low-key. Very very casual. One of the owners is Greek; the other is Guatemalan. Most of the servers are from Mexico or South America…and we’re on a first-name basis with almost all of them. When they come to take our order, I always tell them I’d like”the usual,” and most of them know what I mean (its Cajun-grilled chicken Caesar salad with the best homemade dressing on the planet.) Going to Dimitri’s is not a big deal per se, although it’s something we look forward to every Sunday after church. Both the diner’s budget, as well as our own family’s, has a line item for the Fernandez’ Sunday lunch at Dimitri’s.

So it caught me as quite a surprise when Nick, our seventeen-year-old, looked at me, fresh from my hour-long-bike ride, and told me I was not going to Dimitri’s looking “like that.” I looked him in the eyerather incredulousand then looked at myself, starting at my waist and moving down to my shoes. I thought I looked rather, well, cute. I had adorable little hot pink athletic shorts on, which make my chubby thighs look kinda muscular; my navy blue polo shirt peeked out from under my favorite grey sweatshirt, which some would call “ratty,” but to me, it was more of a Ralph Lauren-meets-Lance Armstrong-meets Martha Stewart kind of a look. On top of that, I had on my brand-new hydro-engineered tech shoes, fabulous for mountain-biking as well as for hiking the rain forests of Costa Rica, for crying out loud! I was no frumpy biker!

But Nick silently looked at me looking at myself and then met my eyes again with a single “No. “

Then Cristina, our twelve-year-old-going-on-thirty-two, bounced down the stairs and looked at me and said, “Mom, you’re not going to Dimitri’s in that, are you?!?” Forever the fashion commentator, it took one twisted facial expression for me to read the signalloud and clearthat my “cute and casual” biker look was already embarrassing my kids to death.

Go figure.

These are the same kids that wear motley t-shirts hanging out of their shorts, jeans below their “natural waistline” (I could get cruder here but I won’t), tank tops with bra-straps showing through, and athletic socks waaaaay past their natural lifetimes. Oh please.

But I do make a bit of a brouhaha about looking your best when you go out in public, and so my kids did have a point. After all, impressions do mean a lot and first impressions mean even more, right? We should all make sure our faces are freshly scrubbed, deodorant and body spray (or cologne or perfume) are adequately spritzed on, teeth brushed, and clothing (and jewelry) looking cute and casual before stepping out into the world.

So are there exceptions? I mean, just where do you draw the line? Do we need to wear make-up when we drive the kids to school in the morning or meet the other moms at the bus stop? When we make a quick trip to the grocery to pick up the milk? Or run into the pharmacy to grab a readied prescription?

Only you can say. But whatever, here are four ROCKET MOM Quick Tips for getting ready to walk out the door, all doable in ten minutes flat:

• Scrub your face. Use olive oil soap and a loofah or washcloth for a fast exfoliation. Rinse with cold water and quickly apply a fabulous moisturizer. Your face will be radiant!

• Do mascara and lipstick. Use inexpensive brands (like Maybelline) that make lashes fuller or darker or longer…but use it to make your eyes sparkle a little brighter. And keep a handful of lipsticks in “ready position” by your vanity sink so you can grab one for an instant color pick-me-up.

• Spritz on something wonderful-smelling. Snatch something from your “perfume wardrobe,” even if it’s an inexpensive body splash from Bath and Bodyworks or Target. It’s just too fun not to….and it might hide unpleasant baby burble or kid dirt that you haven’t yet had time to shower off.

• Match your clothing. Even if you’re in scrubbies, make sure they coordinate. You may opt for that raggedy grey sweatshirt (as I often do!), but let’s face it: that vintage look can be very exciting, depending on what you match it with. If you woke up with very bad hair day and you don’t have time to shower, grab a baseball hat or a visor. No apologies and no guilt! And don’t forget to match your shoes to your whole look: it grounds you. (Remember: good mattresses, good books, good shoes)

Lastly, as far as the kids and their very insightful comments go: best to stand there and take them like a woman. Your kids will wind up saying the darndest things about you. And you just gotta laugh.

Carolina Fernandez earned an M.B.A. and worked at IBM and as a stockbroker at Merrill Lynch before coming home to work as a wife and mother of four. She totally re-invented herself along the way. Strong convictions were born about the role of the arts in child development; ten years of homeschooling and raising four kids provide fertile soil for devising creative parenting strategies. These are played out in ROCKET MOM! 7 Strategies To Blast You Into Brilliance. It is widely available online, in bookstores or through 888-476-2493. She writes extensively for a variety of parenting resources and teaches other moms via seminars, workshops, keynotes and monthly meetings of the ROCKET MOM SOCIETY, a sisterhood group she launched to “encourage, equip and empower moms for excellence.” Please visit http://www.rocketmom.com.