Bonding Over Beauty: Helping Tweens and Teens Navigate Beauty and Self Esteem

I've been checking out a book that I've decided is a must buy for the parent of any girl. Bonding Over Beauty was written by Erika Katz, a former model with experience working at Seventeen. The book is great for everyone, from the most girly of moms trying to connect with their daughters, to single dads trying to deal with a growing girl.

The book is divided into different sections such as unwanted hair, hair and nails, makeup and brows. Included in each section are great tips such as guidelines for deciding that your daughter is ready for a certain step, suggested ground rules for using different items and straight forward explanations for when, how and why to use certain products. The discussion about different topics is fantastic and takes into account development and entering puberty. For example, the discussion about allowing your daughter to start shaving mentions what other kids are doing at school, how much (and what color) your daughter's hair is and then even how you know if she's old enough to start using the razor. At the end of each chapter are great ideas for bonding activities such as going out for manicures together or making your own facial scrubs.

While the bonding activities are great, the real meat of the book is in the discussions of beauty and hygiene issues faced by teens and tweens. Fitting in with the crowd is a large part of self confidence at this critical stage, but keeping things appropriate for age and development is also important. Check out this book if your daughter is nearing tween-dom soon!

Bonding Over Beauty

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Book to Check Out: Linda Mason's Makeup for Ageless Beauty

I feel horrible because I've had this book sitting on my coffee table for over a month, just waiting to write about it. In the meantime it's been checked out by my mom and mother in law, both agreed it was helpful.

Linda Mason is a very well known makeup artist, working for magazines like Vogue, Glamour and designers like Gaultier, Galliano and Armani. She's worked with nearly every "major" model and her career has spanned over 3 decades. Now she's written a book that fills the gap I'm asked about so often: flattering makeup for women over 40.

Honestly, I don't think that the name is right for this book. Linda does an amazing job of showing you exactly how to apply makeup for certain features that you either want to emphasize or diminish. Eyes closely set? No problem, she has a chart showing you where to put eye shadows. Have sinking eyes or lines around your mouth? Here's how you de-emphasize those as well.

I think my favorite part of this book is the diagrams. Rather than saying "put the darker shadow in the crease" she has a pic showing you exactly which part of the lid she means. Love it!

Linda Mason's Makeup for Ageless Beauty on Amazon
Linda Mason

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Can You Get Hooked On Lip Balm? The Beauty Brains Answer

The Beauty Brains is one of my favorite beauty sites. They're amazing for learning how different products work, why you should (or should not) believe what a company claims and especially for finding great product tips. The site is written by a group of cosmetic scientists (who often don't write under their real names to remain anonymous), and I love hearing their point of view on product ingredients.

I consider The Beauty Brains site a must read, and their new book is a great resource. This isn't exactly a book you sit down to read. Instead it is divided into topics based upon reader questions (just like the site), usually about 1 page or so in length. If I was a guy I'd say this is perfect for reading in the bathroom. But I'm not. So, quick little moments here and there... wherever they happen to be. (For me this really is all the time I get to read since my newborn demands a lot of attention.)

This book isn't afraid to tackle even the most controversial of topics, such as parabens (a topic that I've been working on for a few months. I agree with everything they say.) and they even tackle specific companies and their claims. Overall, I think this book is definitely worth picking up!

The Beauty Brains
Can You Get Hooked On Lip Balm? at Amazon

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Nature's Beauty Secrets: Create Your Own Natural Beauty

I know that a lot of people are looking to go more natural in their skin care and beauty routines, and what could be easier than doing so yourself with items found already in your own kitchen? The only issue is that after a while you want to go beyond the typical yogurt facial.

Luckily Dawn Gallagher, a healthy lifestyle expert and former model is coming to the rescue with a great book, Nature's Beauty Secrets. Dawn has gone to the best spas in the world (places like the Four Seasons Resort Maui) to find recipes that you can duplicate at home using healthy ingredients from your own kitchen—such as avocado, banana, olive oil, and yogurt—at a fraction of the price. The book is a collection of ancient and modern beauty secrets and lifestyle tips from exotic locations in Arabia, the Caribbean, the Far East, India, South Africa, and the Indian Ocean islands.

The book will be released in March, but you do have a chance to win one of your own! 3 winners will be chosen, enter in the widget below. Open to those in the US only please.



Dawn Gallagher

The prizes have been provided by the company.

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Lost Your Mojo? Booty Parlor Can Help!

I just had to mention this because I'm reminded of Austin Powers. Mojo Makeover is being released tomorrow. It's written by Dana B. Myers, the founder of Booty Parlor, and promises to fix your mojo in 4 easy weeks.

It's divided up into different categories, Pleasure Virgin, Frustrated Fox, Adventure Seeker, Busy Mommy or Late Bloomer. There are great tips for each type!

I think this is a great Valentine's Day gift, for yourself or a friend.

Booty Parlor

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Ellen Marmur's Simple Skin Beauty

At first glance this book from Dermatologist Dr. Ellen Marmur does appear to be a bit dense. There are pages and pages of text, not many images or breaks. Not exactly what you usually see when looking for a book on beauty. But, once you start reading it, you'll notice that the book isn't actually all that different from my blog (though, she's likely better edited and she's definitely more formal than I am).

Dr. Marmur addresses virtually every skin issue a woman can have, and I love how she explains in easy, straight forward language what to look for, what to avoid and how things work. Her anti-aging chapter in particular seemed very familiar to me, it seems she's as skeptical as I am and takes a very balanced view. I couldn't find a single statement I disagreed with (which isn't always the case with skin care books, I think some of the dermatologists that write these books get a bit too wrapped up in the hype of new products, not so with Dr. Marmur).

If you're looking for a great skin care book, I highly recommend checking out Dr. Marmur's book!

Ellen Marmur's Simple Skin Beauty

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Dr. Paul Friedman's Beautiful Skin Revealed

I'm really into new skin care and beauty books lately, and this is a pretty amazing one. Dr. Friedman is a cosmetic dermatologist, and I love his easy, straight forward way of explaining things. He talks about everything in cosmetic dermatology, from acne to stretch marks, a brief explanation about why things happen, and then he briefly describes the things that can be done to help. He tells you what types of lasers will help, which topical ingredients, how much things cost and even mentions expected recovery time and experience.

I don't think that this is a book for those that are trying to do things at home on their own. So, if you have acne and are looking for some help, I don't think this book has enough info for you. Rather, this is the book to turn to if you are considering a little freshening up, have a port wine stain or something similar, and you're thinking of visiting a cosmetic dermatologist for something a bit more invasive than just another lotion. Thinking about lasering those acne scars? Want to get rid of those ugly leg veins? Info is presented on different treatment options and their pros and cons. This is a great place to start reading before you go to the doctor. In addition, there is a nice section at the back about products and what to look for (similar in complexity to what I usually offer on this blog).

Approachable and matter of fact, this book feels more like reading a well informed magazine than an intense medical book.

Dr. Friedman
Beautiful Skin Revealed at Amazon

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Must Read: Carmindy's Crazy Busy Beautiful

It can be a bit hard reading and reviewing beauty books. I get a lot of books presented to me, and I only check out the ones that are actually interesting to me. I want them to be interesting content-wise, but also entertaining and I want there to be some pictures.

I think by now we all know who Carmindy is. The woman is all over television, she's written a few books, not to mention the collection of makeup with Sally Hansen. Truthfully, it just always surprises me that she's the makeup artist and not the model, she always looks amazing!

Anyways, her new book is Crazy Busy Beautiful, and if a book was ever perfect for me to review on 15 Minute Beauty Fanatic, this is it! Starting with your skin routine, Carmindy offers tips on pretty much every step of your makeup routine.

Some of my favorite tips:
• To test products for sensitivity, apply to your inner elbow and wait to see if you have a reaction. The skin here is pretty similar to your face, it's much easier to hide a reaction here than on your cheek!
• Put a small bottle of a light, inexpensive olive oil in your shower. Really! Mix in a few drops of essential oil to scent it however you want. Apply it lightly to your body at the end of your shower, rinse quickly and pat dry. Follow with lotion for incredibly soft skin!
• Create your perfect tinted moisturizer by mixing a few drops of your foundation into your daily SPF moisturizer.

I literally could go on and on. Carmindy has a ton of amazing tips in this book, and I really loved it. It's definitely a must read! I'll be sharing more Carmindy tips for the next week or so, stay tuned!


Lucky for 15 Minute Beauty Fanatic readers, the publisher has offered to giveaway a copy of the book! Enter below, open to residents of the US.


As well, Carmindy is currently serving as a judge in the AIR OPTIX AQUA “Surprise Your Eyes” contest! You enter by submitting your best photo or video tip for keeping your eyes healthy and beautiful. Two grand prize winners will receive a $5,000 cash prize and a spa day with a friend.

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