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Super Tuesday has come and gone with no apparent progress in the GOP presidential sweepstakes and barely a hint of drama — at least in comparison to the political excitement of a place like, say, Egypt.

If you haven't heard, that nation was rocked by a plastic surgery scandal earlier this week when a male member of parliament was busted by his own doctors for having a nose job and then lying about it. Anwar Al-Bulkimy, of the extreme Islamist Al-Nour party (seen above), checked in for the elective surgery, but claimed to the world outside that he had been beaten by masked gunmen. Supporters streamed to his bedside, until his surgeon called in to a popular TV show and offered the truth behind the politician's bandaged face. It turns out extreme Islamists look harshly on vanity procedures, and Al-Bulkimy was soon out of a job.

The moral of this story: don't lie to voters about something that's written all over your face. Critics have hounded Russia's Vladimir Putin for using Botox, and Italy's scandal-ridden ex-prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, whose hair plugs were visible from France, was cornered into admitting a "slight retouch" of his eyelids after disappearing for weeks in 2004 and returning with a boyish mien. Back in the 1990s, Argentine president Carlos Menem tried in vain to pass off work on his cheeks as swelling caused by a wasp bite.

Could it ever happen here? The pressure to look good is no doubt equally strong, and the faces of politicians such as John Kerry, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Nancy Pelosi have all come under scrutiny. But among the frontrunners of the current election cycle, there just doesn't seem to be the need. The only intervention incumbent Barack Obama could use is from a hair colorist to mask the gray, and likely Republican rival Mitt Romney is, at least by outward appearances, genetically perfect — with hair so thick it makes regular headlines.

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This weekend in Milan, bold lips got a feminine makeover thanks to makeup artist Peter Philips's saturated rose mouths at Jil Sander. "It's strong, but delicate at the same time," he said of the look backstage. To play up the color's ladylike appeal, Philips used a soft pink lip pencil to create "a classic shape" with the models' mouths. Then, he painted them with a rose-petal pink lipstick using a small fluffy brush. (Try tracing just inside the edge of the lips with Bobbi Brown Lip Liner in Rose before adding Giorgio Armani Rouge d'Armani in 508 on top.)

One more trick to pulling off the look: Keep skin looking matte and even-toned, says Philips, who used Chanel Vitalumière Aqua Ultra-Light Skin Perfecting Makeup SPF 15 foundation on the skin and skipped blush altogether.

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California health officials are going undercover to find the distributors of smuggled Mexican skin creams containing dangerous levels of mercury. The creams are mainly skin lighteners, since mercury removes pigment. The tainted cosmetics are brought into in the country illegally and sold surreptitiously at pharmacies, shops, and swap meets. To find out more about the dangers of these surreptitiously tainted creams, just keep reading.

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While their mile-long legs and racehorse metabolisms may be unattainable, there is one thing the rest of us can duplicate: model-perfect skin. We went backstage at New York Fashion Week to find the products and tricks that makeup artists are using to give models a runway-ready complexion. See their secrets now.

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The year is starting off with a bang ... er, lots of bangs. More and more celebs are taking a page from Zooey Deschanel's book, and stepping out in long, statement-making fringe. There's Jessica Biel's ultra-trendy thick bangs, Taylor Swift's wispy style, and Olivia Wilde's side-swept ones. If you want to get in on the trend, there's more to consider than just the inevitability of growing them out. Each style of bangs works best with a certain face shape — so before you head to the salon with a picture of your favorite actress, find your most flattering fringe using these guidelines.

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Every time a new image is released from The Hunger Games, fans react like it's a gift from their sponsor flying in by silver parachute. (If you don't know what that means, you still have 55 days to read the book before the premiere.

But we have to admit, even we squealed a bit over this new picture, which shows Katniss before the chariot ride in the opening ceremonies. Her dress, which earns her the nickname "Girl on Fire," is amazing; but what we're really impressed with is the smoldering makeup. In the book, Katniss describes her face in this scene as "relatively clear of makeup, just a bit of highlighting here and there." But from the looks of the photo, makeup artist Ve Neill either didn't read the book (we're guessing probably not so likely) or took some creative license (and we don't mind!). Here's how she got the look:

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Sure, trendy manicures are fun. But not everyone works in an office where mint green fingertips are gonna fly. For a classic manicure that still grabs attention, there's nothing quite like red. We put dozens of fiery polishes to the test, and these are the ones we'll be wearing:

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Fans of the PBS blockbuster Downton Abbey don't need us to tell them that season two has arrived, ending a painfully long wait for the return of the period drama set in a spectacular English country house stuffed with spoiled aristos and scheming servants. How ever did we survive? One bright spot was the video parody that appeared on YouTube with Joanna Lumley, of Absolutely Fabulous fame, playing an Edwardian housekeeper with Sephora tastes.

"Is that lipstick you're wearing?," a butler asks disapprovingly.

"Just a bit of gloss," replies Lumley. "Her ladyship doesn't mind."

The joke left us wondering what the Crawley sisters of Downton might actually have have in their medicine cabinets; or rather at the mirrored vanities where they seem to linger for hours, as a loyal maid brushes out their hair and listens to their secrets. That part, as it happens, has the ring of truth: Edwardian ladies never (no, never) cut their hair, according to makeup artists who work on the show, which has an on-set historian to police every gesture and costume. Find out what they had to say about Edwardian beauty now.

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To start the new year off right, vow to stick to these three simple rules.

Wear SPF daily (and not just in the summer). People tend to apply sunscreen on days when they're in the sun most, but that strategy won't cut it, says Ranella Hirsch, a dermatologist in Boston. "You're not getting the bulk of your sun from that one day; you're actually getting about 85 percent of your sun just driving your car, walking to the subway, and sitting at your desk [if you're near a window]," she says. "Find a way to make applying sunscreen easy on yourself." Instead of adding a new step to their routine, Hirsch advises her patients to trade in basic moisturizer for one with SPF, such as Neutrogena Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizer SPF 50, and to apply once in the morning and then again if they've been sweating. Look for moisturizers with SPF 30 or higher.

Don't neglect your hands. Nothing gives away your age quite like they can—but you don't need to work too hard to help prevent the signs of aging. Simply rub the same moisturizer and anti-aging formulas that you use on your face on your hands. "Patients are used to being you told you need 14 products for morning, and 14 for night," says Hirsch. "But make it simple. If you're doing it on your face, just do it on your hands."

Take off your makeup before bed. After a long day, that's easier said then done—and it's okay to give yourself a little bit of leeway, says Heidi Waldorf, associate clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. "If you went to the gym or a party and have been sweating while wearing makeup, that's when it's most important [to remove it at night]," she says. If you're feeling lazy, use a makeup remover wipe—it's almost as good as washing your face with water, and a vast improvement over hitting the hay with a dirty face. Try Pond's Evening Soothe Wet Cleansing Towelettes with Chamomile & White Tea.

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If you spend most of the year wearing safe nudes or neutrals, a New Year's Eve bash is the perfect moment to throw caution (like confetti) to the wind. Here, a few last-minute tips on how to get eyes worthy of a year-end finale.

Add some shimmer. Look for metallic versions of your favorite shades. "That's always going to be a winner, no matter what the trends are," says makeup artist Gucci Westman. "Metallic burgundy, metallic chocolate, and a metallic pearly highlighter, those are really nice staples to have."

Think rich, saturated colors. "I'm really into gorgeous emerald green shadows paired with chocolate brown, gray, or black," Westman says. If bold colors make you nervous, draw a gutsy shadow along your lash line, rather than sweep it over your lids. It's a less intense way to try out adventurous shades.

Try a shimmery smoky eye. Makeup artist Romy Soleimani suggests rimming your top lids with a black gel liner, then drawing over it with a shimmery shadow to increase its longevity. "Even if the shadow on top fades throughout the night, the liner will stay," she says.

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A new Yale study has found that tanning beds cause increased rates of early-onset basal cell carcinoma, the most common skin cancer. Tanning bed use increased the rates of BCC by 69 percent. This follows a University of Minnesota study that found that tanning bed users were 74 percent more likely to develop melanoma, the most deadly skin cancer. So it's not really a matter of whether you'll get cancer from using a tanning bed, but more like, "Which cancer will you get?"

Now, the results of these studies come as no surprise to anyone who has read beauty news in the last decade. So what I find shocking is that scientists are able to find people who still use a tanning bed. Seriously, who is STILL DOING THIS? Being pale is not that bad (trust me, I know first hand). And with self-tanners and spray-tans, there are better ways to get the glow. Yet, the World Health Organization estimates that 30 million Americans still use indoor tanning beds.

Have you ever used indoor tanning? And if you still go tanning, I'd love to hear why.

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After countless forgettable trims, I finally worked up the courage the to get an actual haircut this past weekend. I walked into my salon with long waves and walked out with choppy layers, wispy bangs, and tears welling up in my eyes. (I did manage to wait until my train ride home before letting the waterworks flow.) Rather than give in to the urge to shave my head like Britney circa 2007, I asked Ruben Colon, stylist at Sally Hershberger Downtown what to do when you hate your new cut.

Wait it out. Not sure if “hate” is too strong a word? You have more time than you think to let the salon know. Colon recommends clients wait at least a week or two to see if they like the cut—this gives you a chance to wash and style your hair on your own. “Clients usually go into shock, it takes that much time to settle down with the hair and see how it feels to live with it.”

See more tips.

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Did you know that children smile a whopping 400 times a day, while one third of adults smile just 20 times a day? We learned this and plenty more from Ron Gutman's fascinating TED talk on the power of cracking a smile. Gutman, an entrepreneur and writer, has turned his research into a new digital TED Book, Smile: The Astonishing Powers of a Simple Act. We spoke to him about the meaning of smiles — both real and phony — and how smiling broadly may help us live longer. See what he had to say below.

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Looking for a party-worthy hairstyle that doesn't involve disco-ball accessories or spending so much time fussing with top of your head that your biceps start to cramp? Try moving your usual ponytail or bun down. "Wearing your hair at the nape of the neck looks smart and chic," says hairstylist Andy Lecompte of the Andy Lecompte Salon in Los Angeles. (Bonus: this look is very on trend. Spring runways including Carolina Herrera, Chanel, and Ralph Lauren all featured low-lying hairstyles.) We asked Lecompte for his tips on how to perfect the look. To see how, just keep reading.

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Turns out eating well won't just make you feel better in some abstract, "brown rice is healthy so I'll feel virtuous if I eat it" kind of a way. A diet that is specifically designed to reduce inflammation may boost your mood. Recently, inflammation has been implicated in nearly every physical woe, from blemishes to the biggies like heart disease and Alzheimer's. Here at Allure, we've reported on how anti-inflammatories benefit the skin: topical antioxidants, and certain foods and supplements may all reduce acne, signs of aging, and skin cancer. Now Dr. Andrew Weil, health guru and author of the new book, Spontaneous Happiness, argues that eating certain foods won't just make us look better; it could actually keep the blues away. "It looks as if depression is another manifestation of inflammation," says Weil. He outlines a diet that will suppress harmful inflammation throughout your body when you keep reading.

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Ladies, this one is about your inner pretty: A recent UCLA brain-imaging study suggests that helping others is beneficial to the helper and can even reduce stress. In research involving 20 happy couples, when women supported their boyfriends as the men were zapped with an electrical current, the reward centers in the women's brains lit up and they reportedly felt more connected to their partners. Other women who were not allowed to reach out and touch their suffering significant others, squeezed stress balls, and their brains exhibited more stress activity than women supporting their partners.

What really surprised the researchers was that the women's brains showed fewer signs of stress when they were supporting their boyfriends through pain than they did when the women were touching their partners when the men were not being shocked. So in theory, helping someone through a tough time has more positive effects than just being together in a nonstressful situation. Fascinating stuff. But I really wish this study involved more. Namely, that the ladies were zapped too and their supportive boyfriends' reward centers monitored. As of now, the results only support the idea that women benefit from helping others. I'd also be curious to know whether the fried boyfriends felt closer to their hands-on partners.

Do you find that you feel closer to others when you help them? Do you feel less stressed when you're able to offer care and affection someone in need?

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Getting facial treatments with extractions may reduce premenstrual acne, but the timing seems to be important, according to a report in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science. When performing comedone extraction (steaming and gently pressing on the skin around blocked pores to remove dirt, oil, and debris), "I observed that when I did this with my clients midcycle, just after ovulation, they had less acne prior to their periods," says study author Katerina Steventon, a cosmetologist in the United Kingdom.

Her hypothesis: Such facials should be done around ovulation, because pore size decreases afterward, and because the skin becomes more oily and vulnerable to bacteria before menstruation; all these conditions may make extraction less efficient in preventing premenstrual acne. This needs to be tested in a clinical study, she adds.

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With a successful lipstick line under her belt, as well as collaborations with Kate Spade and J.Crew, Poppy King is reminding us why she calls herself the Lipstick Queen. This month, Boots No7 will release a collection — The Magic of Lipstick — which King created for the company. Almost a year in the making, it consists of seven lipsticks and seven matching glosses. "The texture is moisturizing, yet has traction," King explains.

King, who has been a fan of Boots No7 for years, says she discovered the brand during her travels to London. While designing the line, King went through the company's archives, drawing much of her inspiration from the 1930s. "I wanted to use the silver that was on the Boots packaging then, and the shape and styling of the number '7' reminiscent of the '30s," she said. She also hoped to capture the era's enthusiasm for lip color. "I wanted to ease women back into lipstick — the Boots' customer needs something that works, something that is elegant, and something that is low maintenance." The colors are inspired by the seven reasons why lipstick is "magical." To see those reasons and more, just keep reading.

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Last week, I found myself in an uncomfortable situation while getting eyelash extensions. It wasn't the pads and glue stuck to my face, sealing my eyes shut; it was the complimentary leg rub that almost had me squirming off the table.

For someone with extremely ticklish knees, the rubdown was more grueling than soothing. Having endured a few unpleasant beauty treatments in my time at Allure, I always try to remember beauty news editor Heather Muir's advice: "If you're uncomfortable, speak up!" But sometimes on that massage table it's a little hard to express your discomfort without feeling rude or awkward. We asked experts from Bliss and Red Door Spa how to avoid suffering in silence. To see their advice, just keep reading.

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I recently discovered eShave, a luxury brand dedicated to scraping the whiskers off men's faces in style. And while their shaving creams are impressively thick and the razors artfully sculpted, the product that really got my heart racing was—of all things—a classic shaving brush.

I have always been fascinated by these sophisticated throwbacks, also known as badger brushes, probably because they're about as far as you can get from the unglamorous, clunky can of shaving cream and pink disposable razor. But when I told the brand’s founder I had never tried one before, she sent me this sexy little black number immediately, swearing that plenty of women are ordering them for themselves.

Following her instructions, I dipped the brush into a jar of the almond-scented shaving cream and lathered up my legs. I was relieved to find the brush felt soft against my skin, nothing like I expected from the porcupine-looking bristles. The brush produced a rich, dense lather that left me smooth, without my usual bumpy patches. I have no idea if it really does exfoliates your skin to prevent irritation and ingrown hairs, as the company promises, but it definitely gave me a closer shave. Although it takes a few extra minutes the shower (I normally use a razor with a built-in block of shaving cream), I'm now hooked on this most traditional male of all beauty products. What do you think—would you ever try a badger brush or any other “boys only” beauty products?

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