Love your body.

Watching a size zero Kareena Kapoor, slim and sizzling Katrina, stunning Shilpa Shetty or even a friend or colleague who’s a fitness freak can make a woman’s confidence plummet.

A negative body image is directly related to your self-esteem, say psychologists and fitness experts. The more negatively you perceive your body the worse you feel about yourself. Fashion magazines, spilling over with photo-shopped models and stars don’t help either. A study found that three minutes spent looking at such images caused 70 per cent of women to feel depressed, guilty, and ashamed. In fact, the average size of the ‘ideal’ woman has become progressively thinner over the last few years

• Be honest with yourself and practice self-acceptance. Due to genetics and body types, all of us can't be thin but we can all be healthy. Instead of comparing yourself to a model on the cover of a magazine, look in the mirror to find your own standard of beauty. Ask yourself if you are feeding your body nutritious foods and exercising regularly.
  
• Love yourself, love your body. Instead of falling into depression learn to feel good about yourself and to take care of yourself. Pamper your body. Treat yourself to a facial, a manicure, or a pedicure. Indulge in a long, hot bubble bath. Wear a wonderful fragrance.
  
• Don't punish your body by playing mind games with food. Food is not the enemy. Eat healthy but don't obsess. Eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly.
  
• Learn the basics of exercise and nutrition and set realistic goals. Be the star of your own fitness program. Walk, run, bike, or do aerobics. Exercise makes you feel good about your body. Your focus should always be on your health. Indulge your body in fun, feel-good activities often.
  
• Dress up your self-esteem by taking care of your appearance. Wear clothes that are flattering to your figure no matter what size you wear. Stop waiting until you lose a "little more weight" before feeling good about yourself.
  

Lip care.

When you come across someone, the first thing that catches your attention is the face. Soft healthy pink lips usually draw attention. They lend a fresh invigorating look to your face. Lips are the most sensitive part of our body and therefore require constant nurturing. Thus, it is of prime importance to pay attention to your lips. Dry chapped lips spoil the whole look and make your face appear dull, pale and unattractive. Well, in this article, we will present you with a couple of tips on how to take care of your lips, so read on.

• The common lips problems are:
  Dark Lips
  Cracked lips
  
  Dark Lips
  You will be surprised to know that our lips unlike most part of our body do not have any melanin pigment to protect them. Lips are covered on the outside by a thin layer of skin and on the inside by virtually transparent mucous membranes. Therefore it is necessary to take care of our lips and to eat well-balanced food and lots of fruits.
  
  If you have dark lips you have to do the following:
• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.
• Stop smoking.
• Avoid lipstick.
• Apply a layer of oil and leave it on for several hours. Best apply before going to bed.
• Mix coconut oil and almond oil in equal quantity. Apply a coat of this on the lips and leave on overnight. This has to be done daily for at least two weeks for best results.
• Massage lips: Every night with a mixture of 1/2 tsp. Glycerine and 1/2 tsp. Castor oil with 1/2 tsp. Lemon juice and leave overnight.
• Apply cream from curds with saffron on your lips.
  
  Cracked Lips
  Lips do not produce oil like our skin, because they have no oil producing glands. The skin on our lips is actually mucous membrane, so for them to remain smooth and chap free is a bit of a challenge. The most common cause of cracked lips are allergic reaction to cosmetics, skin infections, extreme weather conditions like excess sun and wind exposure, biting of the lips or a vitamin B deficiency.
  
  If you have cracked lips you have to do the following:
• Protect the lips from weather by applying heavy plain cream.
• Avoid licking your lips.
• To cure dry chapped lips apply peanut butter or coco butter to your lips before going to bed.
• Grind rose petals with cream on the top of milk and apply on lips to cure the cracked lips
  Take vitamin B, C foods in diet.
• Mix 2 drops of glycerine with 1 tsp of cream on the top of milk and apply to lips to cure the chapped lips and keep overnight to get smooth and shiny lips.
• Mix equal quantities of nutmeg, turmeric, and fresh butter and apply to lips.
• Hot water fomentation, followed by a mixture of Vaseline and honey applied on the lips at least thrice a week will prevent lips from chapping.
• Lips should be moisturized and exfoliated. Exfoliate lips with your gentle facial scrub using a toothbrush or just the tips of your fingers. You can make a paste using baking soda and water to exfoliate lips as well. Work it for a minute and then rinse with lukewarm water.
  
  General Care for lips
• Apply cold cream or moisturizer or lip balm before applying lipstick.
• To get natural pink lips apply beetroot juice before bed.
• Grind rose petals and apply on lips to get smooth pink lips
• Apply menthol based lip balm and take an old brush and brush gently on lips (don't rub too hard, because lip are very sensitive) to get rid off chapped lips.