BellaSugar

Bella Brand: Amplify

BellaSugar — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 14:00:13 PST

I've just discovered Amplify, a product line from Matrix. It's been around for a few years, and five new products have just been added to the range. This hair care range features shampoos, conditioners and styling products that help create fuller and thicker locks.

The newest products I have just tried are from the Amplify Styling Collection and they're pretty fabulous. These products have been developed to increase the thickness and diameter of each hair strand.

The first time I ever heard of a product like this was when Frederic Fekkai came out with his MORE Hair Care System. The difference here is while Fekkai's product releases doses of niacin to your hair each day, it also tightens up the hair follicles to give hair the appearance of being fuller. In contrast, Amplify coats each hair to make it look thicker and more voluminous. The other difference is that Amplify costs much less.

View 5 Photos ›

To read more about each of the five products (three new items and two reformulates faves), read more

ThickLift Liquid Volumizer ($14.95) is a heat-activated complex that helps strengthen and thicken fine, thinning, limp hair.
Full Body Texturizer ($14.95) is a non-aerosol texturizing product that adds density, thickness, body and volume to the hair.
Color XL Conditioner ($13.95) is a weightless conditioner that helps create volume and shine. It's safe for color and chemically treated hair.
Foam Volumizer ($14.95) is an existing product that has been reformulated to provide hair with volume and hold.
Hairspray ($14.95) is a fine-mist hairspray that offers strong hold to hair. This is great for creating lots of full-bodied styles. It prevents hair from getting static-y, it shields hair from humidity and it leaves a hair looking healthy and shiny.

SAG Awards: Angelina Jolie

FabSugar — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:24:59 PST

Angelina Jolie brought the disco-inspired vixen to the SAG Awards in a slick, black, and draped halter-style Jenny Packham gown. It's a look that takes us back to Angelina's vampier days - and we loved every angle of this nostalgic throwback. Her pulled-back hair, megawatt lashes, and signature nude lip only amplified the look. To top it off, Angelina wore oversized gold-and-black vintage-inspired earrings, a gold bangle cuff, and a black envelope clutch. What's the verdict on this glamazon look?

Vote on all of our SAG Awards polls here!

The Mascara Equivalent of Optimus Prime

Miriam Lacey — Tue, 10 May 2011 05:00:00 PDT

Are you endlessly delighted with dial-a-lash type mascaras, rotating wands, vibrating brushes, and other novelty eyelash-enhancing miscellany? Then you should be delighted about the latest in mascara technology: Buxom Amplified Lash Mascara ($22).

"And why should I be making a run on Sephora for this stuff?" you may be asking. Because it transforms. That's right, the wand on this new product gets longer or shorter with a twist of the cap. I tested the wand at different lengths so you can see whether it really does make a difference, so to see the expandable brush in action, just keep reading.

Geek Tip: Use a Bowl as a Speaker in a Pinch

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:25:09 PST

Forget your portable speakers at home? No problem. If you have a common household item, that is. The geniuses at Real Simple know a thing or two about DIYing and repurposing an old item as something new, but this tip is just too easy.

Use a regular kitchen bowl as a smartphone speaker if you're without a plug-and-play version of your own. The concave shape of the bowl amplifies sound, helping your tunes reach more ears.

Do you have any "so-easy-why-didn't-I-think-of-that" geek tips of your own? Share them with us in the comments!

The 5 Worst Habits That Damage Your Immune System

Prevention — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 04:19:31 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

Kick these surprising habits to keep colds, flu and other bugs at bay.
By The Editors of Prevention.com

Staying healthy isn't just about using hand sanitizer and avoiding coughing co-workers. It turns out some pretty surprising daily habits - like how you fight with your husband or whether you stay up late for Letterman - can impact how well your body fends off colds, flu and other pesky bugs. Here's a list of science-backed tips to add to your stay-healthy arsenal today.

1. You Avoid the Water Cooler
Friendship may be Miracle-Gro for your immune system. Research shows that the fewer human connections we have at home, at work, and in the community, the likelier we are to get sick, flood our brains with anxiety-causing chemicals, and live shorter lives than our more sociable peers. In one study, researchers who monitored 276 people between the ages of 18 and 55 found that those who had six or more connections were four times better at fighting off the viruses that cause colds than those with fewer friends.

What to do: Don't let a jam-packed workday or hectic schedule get in the way of your friendships. Stop by a co-worker's office for a quick Monday morning catch-up, or e-mail/text your friends at night to stay in touch when you're too busy for phone calls.

7 Ways to Work Out at The Office

2. You Often Feel Tired
Scrimping on sleep has a powerfully detrimental effect on immunity. The perfect example: college students who get sick after pulling all-nighters cramming for exams. Poor sleep is associated with lower immune system function and reduced numbers of killer cells that fight germs. In fact, University of Chicago researchers found that men who had slept only four hours a night for one week produced half the amount of flu-fighting antibodies in their blood (jump-started by a flu shot) compared with those who slept 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 hours.

Keep reading to learn how to keep your immune system strong after the break.

4 Easy Steps to Covering Up a Gargantuan Pimple

Jaime Richards — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 05:06:52 PDT

We've all been there before: you wake up one day to what appears to be Mt. Vesuvius erupting on your face. "Depending on how big a pimple is, it can create almost a shadow underneath it," explains L'Oréal consulting makeup artist Collier Strong.

And if our foolproof steps to covering up pimples just aren't cutting it, don't give up hope. A few optical illusion-style makeup techniques can make the oversized spot less noticeable. See four steps on how to do it when you read more.

Fact: You Wear Perfume to Make Your BO Even Stronger

Miriam Lacey — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:22:36 PDT

Ever wondered why other people are so bad at picking out perfume for you, or how you just instinctively know when a scent is "right"? New research from Charles University in Prague suggests that we pick scents to amplify our body odor, not cover it up. And since every person's BO is unique (like a grimy, noisome snowflake), other people tend to do a bad job of picking scents for us, while we almost immediately know which ones will work.

Why on earth are we doing this in the first place, though? To find the right mate, of course. Our sweat broadcasts a bunch of signals about everything from our health to what kind of immune protections we have. People with different-but-not-too-different immune complexes produce the healthiest babies, so we're always trying to sniff out that special someone who has everything we need: good health, a great smile, and that bubonic plague immunity gene we're missing.

Pound Away Calories in Equinox's New Drumming Fitness Class

Susi May — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 01:27:48 PDT

Dance aerobics may be experiencing a renaissance, but the next trend may be classes where you create your own soundtrack. Earlier this year Crunch debuted its Glee fitness class, based on the musical TV show of the same name, where participants are encouraged to sing while dancing. And now Equinox clubs around the nation are rolling out the group fitness class Pound, with the tag line: "Rockout. Workout." Best described as a blend of both the musical phenomenon Stomp and Pilates, with a pair of weighted drumsticks thrown into the mix, this class is definitely a boredom buster.

In Pound, traditional sculpting moves are paired with simple drumming patterns, which not only distract you from your quivering muscles but also add to the work. Similar to how the percussive arm motion of the Pilates 100 forces your abs to work harder to stabilize your torso, beating the sticks all around your body during Pound's four-minute ab series amplifies the work. This class is more than just core work though; tired moves like lunges and squats feel refreshed once you're holding drumsticks. In order to drum the floor during the booty-busting routine, you're forced to get your bum closer to the floor. And the lower you go, the harder you work.

I was amazed at how sweaty and sore this class made me. Pound is less dancy than Zumba, but way more fun than a traditional sculpting session and a great way to release your inner rock star. If you like loud music and a party atmosphere for getting your sweat on, this is a class is for you. Pound should be coming to gym near you soon!

Contagion: Feverishly Entertaining

Shannon Vestal — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 09:28:50 PDT

In Contagion, we watch as a deadly new disease wreaks havoc on the world - a premise that's terrifying for obvious reasons. Hopefully that fear doesn't keep people from seeing it, because director Steven Soderbergh delivers an entertaining, fast-paced film that mines disaster for thrills. Matt Damon tops a vast ensemble cast of other acting heavyweights, such as Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Laurence Fishburne. Each character has a thread pertinent to the crisis, starting with Damon's Midwestern everyman whose wife (Paltrow) is one of the first patients to fall victim to the disease. The rest make up a slate of doctors, scientists, and bystanders who are all trying to make sense of the devastating infection.

The tension of the film is amplified by the mystery of how quickly the infection is spread, and what its origins are. Contagion inspires double-pronged fear: what's worse, the fatal virus threatening to wipe out the population, or the hysteria and paranoia that inspires the living to turn against each other? Soderbergh provides a strong case for both as he explores a fictional outbreak that, alarmingly, feels like it could happen. To find out more, just keep reading

Texas Wants to Ban Groping as a Prerequisite For Air Travel

Annie Scudder — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:03:01 PDT

Ever since full-body scans became the norm at most US airports last Fall, I've opted for the extensive pat down instead. The thought of someone seeing under my clothes doesn't bother me as much as the potential radiation risks amplified by regular exposure to the scanners. And while the pat down is intrusive and slightly embarrassing, especially when they go inside the top of your pants, I guess I feel relieved that I have an option to avoid the scanner.

The Texas House of Representatives doesn't think we should have to pick between two intrusive evils. Last month it approved a bill that would ban any pat down that "touches the anus, sexual organ, buttocks, or breast of another person including through the clothing, or touches the other person in a manner that would be offensive to a reasonable person." There's also a parallel bill that would ban scanners that allow people to be seen naked. The bill has stalled in the state senate after federal officials threatened to shut down any flights out of Texas due to security concerns.

Today the Republican sponsor of the bill David Simpson defended it in the New York Times. Find out what he said when you keep reading.