I suffer from tight, dry facial skin that often flakes around my nose and cheek area. Indoor heating and the dry Seattle air don’t help, which is why a recent trip to humid Hong Kong did wonders for my skin. It looked and felt great.

Now that I’m back, the change of weather has made my skin flake more than ever. The eight hour a day cream that I usually use to combat this problem has not helped, and neither has a facial, regular exfoliation, an alpha hydroxyl peel and super rich hydrating moisturizers.

Having reached the height of desperation, I’ve taken to using pure, extra-virgin olive oil on my nose and cheek area twice a day for the last week. I may smell like a Greek buffet, but it has worked beautifully. My skin finally feels hydrated and adequately moisturized (no more flaking). Am I crazy to apply the same olive oil that I use for cooking to my face? Is this risk-free? I’d love your input.

I have a good chuckle on Nordstrom.com when their models sport a “bird’s nest” up-do. These hairstyles crack me up. If it were stylish sporting our hair this way, we’d never have a bad hair day again. Bad hair would be fab hair.

Bird’s nest hairstyles for dramatic catwalk appeal and costume parties? Absolutely. Other than that, I don’t think so. My head would feel itchy all the time. Not to mention how dreadfully unpolished I’d feel and look.

If you are in the USA, we at YLF wish you a happy Labor Day. Enjoy the long weekend and good luck getting the kids off to a great start back at school.

These hairstyles often accompany the creative and edgy Marc Jacobs prêt-a-porter collection.

Say goodbye to excessive underarm perspiration with Certain Dri Anti-Perspirant. It’s an underarm formula that is applied at night and is supposed to last for 72 hours. I haven’t tested its ability to work this long (I’m paranoid about underarm odor), but I’ve been using it for the past week and it works brilliantly over a single day. No armpit perspiration and no need for deodorant. The effectiveness of the product blows me away.

I don’t know whether it is harmful to stop underarm perspiration completely. But you might like to use Certain Dri on days when you’re wearing a top or dress that is prone to showing underarm perspiration, or on days when you expect to get a little more anxious but would like to look cool, calm and collected.

It really works Betsy. Thank you for the recommendation!

Don’t let perspiration puddles put a damper on your day. Get Certain Dri for $5.95 at any drug store

I suffer from dry skin, especially around my nose, chin and cheek area. Winter’s harsh dry air and central heating left me feeling under-hydrated, no matter what I applied. I tried everything my esthetician suggested. I even tried good old Vaseline. I was this close to bathing in olive oil.

Then it dawned on me that my late Mum had the same problem and she used “Eight Hour Cream” from Australian cosmetic house Elizabeth Arden. I bought some and started applying it liberally to my nose, chin and cheeks twice a day with my moisturizer. Voila! The positive effect was noticeable almost immediately. I also apply the cream to my chapped lips because nothing else works.

Eight Hour Cream seems to sooth minor skin irritations and any part of your skin that is peeling and flaking. I have very sensitive skin and normally can’t put anything on my face, so I’m relieved to have found a gentle, effective and affordable solution. A tube costs $17 and lasts forever because a little goes along way. I can’t wait to tell my esthetician how clever my Mother was.

Dry cuticles, ashy elbows and knees, dry heels and scraped knuckles are all in a day’s work for Arden’s Eight Hour Cream. It’s fabulous.

Your eyebrows frame your face and it’s imperative that taking care of them is part of your daily grooming regime. Some women need to shape, dye and fill their brows, while others require brow waxing and trimming. And there are also women, like actresses Kiera Knightly and Jennifer Connelly, who get away with dark bushy brows. Much like some hairstyles, this look is not for everyone.

If you have naturally thick brows and you’d like to sport an alternative full brow look, here’s what you do:

1. Grow them out for two to four weeks. It can be just as frustrating as growing out a hairstyle, so hang in there.
2. Pluck away the strays. You’ll want to encourage the natural shape of your brow to grow back, but you’ll want to eliminate the hairs that fall outside your natural shape.
3. Create an arch. The full brow look is still shaped. You need to create an arch to frame your face.
4. Trim if necessary. If the length of your eyebrow hair gets too long and heavy, trim them with brow scissors.
5. Finish with gel. Applying eyebrow gel once in the morning keeps the hairs straight and in one direction.

I love full brows on the right face. It’s an instantly eye catching, strong feature. Experiment with the look if you feel like it might work for you.

The 60’s fringe (or “bangs”) is back with a vengeance. This hairstyle trend started coming through last year and who better to sport it so perfectly than Reese Witherspoon at last year’s Golden Globes. Katie Holmes created her fringe a few months ago and celebrities like Heidi Klum, Liv Tyler, Agnes Deyn and Kate Moss have followed suit.

I love this look. I think it’s a refreshing change from the bouncy longer layers we’ve been seeing for years. It’s modern, practical and pretty. I think straightish hair works well with this style, but I’m unsure which face shape is best. I’ve always thought that my forehead was too small and my head the wrong shape for bangs, but I recently added a fringe to my short crop and it seems to work for me.

I say give bangs a bash if you dare. You might be surprised with how nice they look. In the worst case scenario you grow out your fringe. It’s a painful thought, I know, but perhaps worth the risk.

Heidi, Reese and Katie from the celebrity pages. Follow the thumbnails to fullsize images.

My feet feel dry and rough a lot of the time. I don’t like to have pedicures, which makes keeping them soft and pretty a tall order. So after years of trying foot product after foot product, I’ve finally stumbled across a brand that works well for me. It’s Nexcare’s “advanced foot cream” and it starts to work its magic after about one week of use. I apply it once a day (twice if I can remember) and it has softened the heels and soles of my feet beautifully. It’s fast absorbing, non-greasy, ultra moisturizing and dirt cheap at $11.

You’ll find Nexcare’s advanced foot cream at most drugstores.

Katie Holmes is not a celebrity whose sense of style catches my eye, but her new hairdo grabbed my attention. Over the past 3 years, she’s gone from here, to here and now to here. A retro 70’s bob with thick fringe (bangs) looks chic, new and fairly easy to maintain with the help of a flat iron. The most recent chop might set a new trend, much like Jennifer Aniston’s “Rachel” did in the ’90’s.  I think that the new do is fab. What do you think?

Katie’s evolution (click on the thumbnails to see larger images on E! Online and MSN Entertainment)

Have you ever considered donating your hair to women who have lost theirs during chemotherapy? Well, you can. Pantene’s new beautiful lengths program has a downloadable kit with instructions. Cutting off your locks for a cause is the easy part; meeting the requirements to donate hair is a little more tricky. Here are the requirements:

• Donated hair must be a minimum of 8 inches long (measure hair from just above the elastic band of the ponytail to the ends).
• Wavy/curly hair texture is fine (you may straighten hair to measure).
• The hair should be freshly washed and completely dry, without any styling products.
• The hair may be colored with vegetable dyes, rinses and semi-permanent dyes. It cannot be bleached, permanently colored or chemically treated.
• The hair must not be more than five percent gray.

Consider being socially responsible if you are contemplating a shorter style. You have the power to help a woman during the greatest fight of her life.

Dermatologists will tell you that there is no such thing as a safe tan: any hint of colour is a sign of sun damage. This in turn causes freckles, moles, wrinkles and, potentially, skin cancer. Foundations and facial powders generally contain low doses of SPF (between 4 and 15), but whether this is sufficient protection for your skin type is something only your dermatologiest will know for sure.

But being fair-skinned, I know that I’m particularly prone to harmful UV rays which is why I top up with a strong sunscreen every day. It took a while to find a couple of options that aren’t sticky. They are expensive, but I’ve been thrilled with them for years. Both products are smooth, odourless, long lasting and oil free (you won’t notice that you have them on).

• Clarins: UV Plus protective sun screen with SPF 40
• Shiseido: Ultimate sun protection lotion with SPF 55

I can’t think of a better cosmetic invesment than effective sunscreen. Remember to also apply liberally to your neck and the back of your hands, because other than your face, this is where aging is most visible.

Shiseido Sun Protection Lotion ($37) and Clarins UV Plus ($38) are available at Sephora and most department stores.