In a Red Sea of gowns at last night’s Oscars, there was one star who out shown the rest—literally. Gwyneth Paltrow’s dress was sparkly in all the right places. However, the 38 year old Glee-ful superstar’s best accessory wasn’t her sleek, glittering Calvin Klein sheath dress, it was her radiant skin.  The glow was almost more reflective than her dress!

Last week one of our Facebook fans, Samantha Krygier, asked:

“What is the best facial to get glowing skin?”

Looks like Gwyn showed off her dewy complexion at the perfect time. With skin so bright, we know Gwyn’s been hitting the spa just as hard as she (obviously) hits the gym.  There are a few different facial additives that we common folk can try at the spa to get the same healthy, natural looking skin.

1. Hyperbaric Oxygen

Oxygen infused facials plump skin and stimulates collagen production. Try: The Rejuvenating Oxygen Facial using Intracueticals at Perricone MD Flagship Facial Salon in NYC

2. Alpha Hydroxy Acids

No matter your age, a facial rich in  AHAs and peptides will boost elasticity, promote new cell turn over and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Hello fountain of youth! Try: The Un-Wrinkle Facial at Facelogic-Encinitas in San Diego, CA

3. Vitamin C

Don’t spill your orange juice on your face just yet… but Vitamin C in your facial will help fight signs of aging, repair UV damage, and leave your skin noticeably brighter. Try: The 80 Min Hylunia Vitamin C Facial at the Golden Door Spa at The Boulders Resort in Carefree, AZ

And for the Oscar Gold treatment try:

4. 24k Gold

This royal mineral leaves skin feeling taught while combating free radicals. Try: 24k Gold Leaf Facial at Spa Martier NYC

Now that you and Samantha have the inside scoop on the spa treatments that will get you beaming skin, go register for those #50dollartreatments April 11-17 so you can one-up Gwyneth’s glamorous glow.

Photos Courtesy of The Huffington Post.

Predictions flew like wild birds over the past few weeks that stars would walk the red carpet in their most daring looks ever. Many predicted the zany outfits worn at the Grammys would influence the gown selections at the Oscars. After all, boring doesn’t make headlines. While we waited in vain for someone to give Helena Bonhman Carter a run for her money or atleast top January Jones electric blue Versace from last year, our favorites teased and went traditional in sophisticated red gowns.

Could true glamour finally be making its highly anticipated return to the red carpet? It felt like a fashion de ja vu, back at New York Fashion Week’s Heart Truth Red Dress runway show where beauties like Dita Von Teese and Juliana Hough wore red dresses which complimented their personal styles.

Sure there were the standout looks like Halle Berry’s blush tulle Marchesa and Mila Kunis‘ plunging lilac lace Elie Saab, but it was the red dresses that commanded all the attention for the night. Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Scar-Jo, and Jennifer Lawrence collectively stole the show.

Jennifer Lawrence in Calvin Klein

20-year old Jennifer Lawrence was one of the first red hot starlets to hit the red carpet last night. She wore a body-hugging Calvin Klein gown with accompanied by a small sparkly clutch and va-va voom voluminous hair.

Anne Hathaway in Valentino

James Franco’s co-host for the evening went all old Hollywood glamour in a gorgeous 2002 Valentino Couture. Anne Hathaway‘s look was complete with a simple diamond necklace and a bright red lip.

Scarlett Johansson in Dolce & Gabbana

Slightly straying from the traditional red, Scarlett Johansson showed up in a deep wine colored lace Dolce & Gabbana column gown. She showed off her matching smoky eye added depth to her new choppy layers.

Jennifer Hudson in Ateliar Versace

It’s safe to say a collective “wow” was heard across America when Jennifer Hudson took her strut  down the red carpet. Proud of her new body, she bravely wore a classic plunging halter style dress from Ateliar Versace.

Sandra Bullock in Vera Wang

The competition was steep, but Sandra Bullock ran away with the title for Best Dressed in Red in this stunning Vera Wang. Sandra’s soft skin seemed to melt into the curves of the dress. She was confident with hair pulled back into a low bun, minimal diamond stud earrings and a powerful red lip.

Red Carpet Images via Zimbio

Guest contributor: Kavita Jhaveri-Patel

I was getting lunch the other day and I ordered a salad, and the lady behind the counter, making my salad, asked me if I’d like low fat or regular dressing. I sat there for a moment, knowing what low-fat meant, and replied “I will have the real stuff, give me the regular.”

It dawned on me in that moment when I saw 4 other women order the low fat dressing that I had to reveal the truth to you about low fat, low calorie, and non-fat crap.

Have you ever wondered how they make it low fat, low calorie, and non-fat? I mean the reality is, real food has calories and certain fats. The definition of calorie straight from wikipedia (the ultimate source, obviously) is a metric of energy. I left out some of the complicated math stuff. But basically it is a unit of energy.

Of course it is energy—that is why we eat food in the first place!

What companies do to market low calorie and low fat products, to you, is they substitute the fat for corn syrup or sugar and they substitute real sugar with artificial sweeteners to make it low or no calorie. Hence, they add chemicals or sugar, so you feel like you won’t gain weight. But the reality is that it can have the opposite effect because you are now eating something not from nature but man made, so who knows how your body is going to react.

Let’s take ranch dressing as an example, they took out vegetable oil and replaced it with corn syrup and other chemicalized sugars to make the Fat Free version.

So, now your body will experience a blood sugar spike, which by the way is the biggest contributor to weight gain. When your blood sugar levels go up and down, your body thinks it is in emergency mode and stores fat.

Another example is Quaker Oatmeal, which you would think is good for you. However look at the ingredients, what they did to make it Lower Sugar is added sucralose, an artificial sweetener which naturally has no calories because it is totally fake.

I will dedicate an entire post to artificial sweetener, but I have to tell you right now if you eat Equal, Sweet n Low, Splenda, or NutraSweet, stop now! This is not from nature to say the least, and additives like this have proven in studies to cause weight gain.

Also look out for these ingredients in packaged foods, such as aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium.

Okay to sum things up, avoid Fat Free, Low Fat and Low Cal crap. Eat the regular stuff; your weight will thank you for it. You will be more satisfied, and your body will know what to do with the real ingredients that you are consuming.

NOTE: Indicated only the first 10 ingredients.

Regular Ranch Dressing:

Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil and/or Soybean Oil), Egg Yolk, Sugar, Salt, Cultured Nonfat Buttermilk, Natural Flavor, Spices, less than 1% of Garlic (Dried), Onion, Vinegar

Fat Free Ranch Dressing:

Water, Corn Syrup, Maltoexrin Sugar, Modified Food Starch, Buttermilk (Adds A Trivial Amount of Cholesterol), Salt, less than 2% of Vinegar, Garlic Puree, Onion, Garlic (Dried), Green Onion (Dried)

Quaker Instant Oatmeal Lower Sugar Maple & Brown Sugar:

Whole Grain Rolled Oats (With Oat Bran), Sugar, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Guar Gum, Caramel Color, Sucralose (Splenda Brand)

Body confidence expert and health and lifestyle speaker Kavita Jhaveri-Patel. She has been featured in Time Out New York, Healthy Style NY, and has been mentioned on FoxLive News. Receive her free report 7 Mistakes Most Women Make When Trying to Lose Weight and How to Avoid Them by clicking here.

Guest Contributor: Healing Lifestyles & Spas

Forget age spots, smile lines, and crow’s feet—they’re not the biggest spoilers in our quest to hide our true age.

What’s really at fault? Those dry and sometimes wrinkly sun-damaged hands!

A study published in the journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons found that people can most accurately tell a person’s age by looking at their hands. Your face may look youthful, but one handshake and the jig is up.

Follow our below tips on how to take care of your hands now so you’ll keep looking youthful later. Once you’ve taken care of your hands, we are going to help show you how to protect the second most age revealing part of your body— HINT: Keep your chin up!

Back to the hands…

1. Wear gloves. Investing in a few pairs of pretty gloves will protect your hands from damage. And you can apply this rule to dishwashing as well: hot water is dehydrating, so keep a pair of rubber gloves handy.

2. Slather on that SPF lotion. Keep a good hand cream in your purse, at your desk, and on your night stand. And get one that offers sun protection! We love Badger SPF 15 for Face & Body for its natural blend of olive oil, jojoba oil, and shea and cocoa butters—plus broad-spectrum SPF from zinc oxide.

3. Erase damage naturally. Botanical anti-agers like rosehip oil can help you turn back the clock with impressive results. Try Trilogy’s Rose Hand Cream, an intensive repair formula.

Now to your neck! Did you know the skin on your neck is as delicate as the skin around your eyes. Again, follow these 3 tips to keep your neck line more youthful.

This week’s giveaway roundup is best fit for someone with a genuine appreciation for all things old school. Such as the lingering scent of a rich fragrance, demure frocks sprung from a classic boutique or a shimmering powder reminiscent of those used in a 1950s boudoir.

<– Win a $25 Apothica Gift Card from Painted Ladies

Dress in style for the spring when you enter to win a $100 ShopBop Giftcard from O So Chic and shop through the many vintage-inspired pieces.

Win $75 worth of clothes, shoes, and accessories  from Old Gold Boutique on The Clothes Horse

Enter the Tarte Provocateur Amazonian Clay Shimmering Powder Giveaway Contest on Best Things in Beauty

For those not so old school with a taste for modern technology, Enter to Win TMobile’s Sleek HTC HD7 Phone from Beauty Sweet Spot

Don’t Forget! LIKE US and We’ll <3 You Back To Win Over $3,000 in Prizes… and last chance to win the Seven Springs Couple’s Fling Giveaway