To what extreme would you go to make yourself as beautiful as possible? If someone told you that attaching leeches to your face every night before you go to bed would eliminate wrinkles and blemishes, would you do it? Below are some of the strangest beauty treatments we’ve ever heard of. Keep in mind that we haven’t made any of these things up; all of these treatments are already being used with various degrees of success.

Double Eyelid Treatment

One of the strangest beauty treatments in the Asian world is the double eyelid treatment. Most Caucasian and African people have an extra flap of skin over the eye which gives the appearance of a second eyelid. Because Asians don’t typically have eye sockets deep enough to accommodate this extra flap of skin, they have what’s known as “single eyelids”. In order to change this, many use a glue or adhesive tape to attach the top of their eyelids to the upper portion of skin which essentially creates a double eyelid.

Dental Grills

If you were uncomfortable with the natural look of your teeth, would you cover them with something that looks like the front grill of a ’72 Chevy? Some people will. In fact, the dental grill has been invented just for them. These oral beauty devices are often made of gold or silver, and studded with jewels to make them look more attractive. Unfortunately, it doesn’t help. Dental grills simply make you look like the bad guy from a James Bond movie.

Scrotum Reduction

For many years society has made jokes about women who get breast implants. But now, we turn our humorous attentions toward the men; specifically those who are self-conscious about a sagging scrotum. Men who are afflicted with baggy baggage can now have plastic surgery to reduce the excess skin and once again firm up the scrotum to young teen levels. From our perspective this seems hardly worth the risk.

Neck Rings

In ancient Asian and African cultures neck rings used to be all the rage among the women. One or two rings were placed around the neck at a young age, in order to place upward pressure on the chin in the head. As the individual grew more rings were added to stretch the neck to unbelievable heights. While the practice is not nearly as prevalent as it used to be, it still exists in some remote parts of Thailand and Africa.

Rib Resection

In the old days it was not uncommon for women to wear extremely tight corsets in order to achieve that hourglass figure. Most sane people would say thank heavens the age of corsets is long over. But we kid you not when we tell you there is now something even worse on the market. It’s called “rib resection.” Believe it or not, some women are having their lower ribs removed surgically just to achieve the hourglass figure. Sort of makes you wonder what Adam looked like.

Written by Elizabeth James, who write for the natural skincare products company Maisondanu. Please visit their blog for more information and checkout their natural pregnancy skincare products

If you are seeking inspiration for your home, browse through any House Decoration Magazine and you will see countless variations on how to decorate a bedroom. It could go on forever, if you are hell bent on using highly fashionable materials as the trend changes as often as every season. The way to stay relevant to designers and current design themes without breaking the bank is to use a few clever design tips to create the boudoir that you have always dreamed of.

The first step to take is to look to create a mood board. This is a great way to start because it becomes obvious very quickly, which colours and styles work together. A large sheet of cardboard and some glue will help the project along. Next, start cutting out pictures of anything that you find inspirational. It could be as abstract as an egg yolk or even a flower. Swatches of fabric will help, as well as paints samples.

Also, begin to look at film set, stately homes art and magazines for inspirational designs.

A great way of creating a timeless room would be to paint the walls white and then add in the colours that you have put together on your mood board. For example, if you are inspired by the gentlemen smoking rooms that were found in stately homes, the answer would be to take elements of that theme to reproduce a distinct look. I would recommend heavy, dark velvet drapes, a gold coloured chandelier, one wall of book wallpaper, wooden flooring with a traditional rug and of course, an imposing wooden bed. All of the bedroom furniture should be stained a dark brown varnish or bought (auction houses sell a lot of this furniture at very reasonable prices). You could accessorise with some unusual Victorian pieces. If you can manage it, something with a taxidermy feel would suit the style, as well as, bell jars filled with curios. These are currently widely available in high street home ware shops and are a great investment as it is simple to change the display frequently.

A dark brown leather tub chair , or if you have room, a chesterfield suite will really give the room the wow factor. These could also be purchased in contemporary colours to give a hint of the theme but to update it.

As the bed will be the largest piece of furniture, make sure that it is a fabulous piece. It is relatively easy to trawl the high street and the auction rooms looking for the bed but do not forget the offers in the back of design magazines, as they often have great bargains. Ebay is also a great place to bag a bargain.

To continue with this theme, the bed should be dressed in high quality, luxury bed linen as any cheap fabrics will look really cheap when the room looks so well decorated.

Use white sheets and access0rise with deep velvet throws (make your own if it is too expensive to buy them).

Use this plan for all your different themes and designs – you will have an amazing bedroom in no time.

Florida boasts the US’s longest coastline, so when looking for the perfect road trip, it would be a shame to miss out this beauty. US Highway 1 might not seem like an obvious choice for scenery (it was once labelled by Life magazine as the “ugliest road in America”) but you’d be surprised how many stunning seaside views it enjoys. You’ll take in famous areas such as Miami Beach and the Everglades, and can even take a small diversion inland to visit Little Havana. Sure Highway 1 might have its share of seedy city stops (not to mention billboards and neon signs) but you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth. And when you round the corner to see the ocean out before you, the drive will take on a life of its own.
Speaking of the Everglades, the National Park itself is a one-of-a-kind attraction; the US’s largest subtropical wildness. Not only is the park full of routes guaranteed to give you an amazing driving experience, but how often do you get to see an endangered species from the passenger seat of your car? Starting at the East entrance, an 80 mile round route to Flamingo and back proves the perfect choice to take in these unique regional sights. Endless forest, wildlife and wilderness wait, all on paved roads, guaranteeing a pleasurable drive. Remember to take some time when you get to Flamingo; it might be your half-way point, but the village-on-stilts is a sight to see!

For a scenic trip through Florida’s farmland, try the 20 miles from Gainesville to High Springs. You drive through acres upon acres of forest, rolling hills and pastures. Lucky drivers get a mix of wetlands, uplands and woodlands (and erm, any other kind of lands you could want, we’re sure.) If you fancy pulling the car over there’s fishing and hunting as well as scuba diving & snorkelling. This amazing drive provides a scenic view, a place to stretch your legs and plenty of activities to enjoy while your tendons relax.

Not got the time to commit to a long drive? Well don’t worry; sometimes short is sweet and the dozen miles between New Smyrna Beach and Canaveral National Seashore is certainly that. Your drive will prove an amazing chance experience, as you watch sea life and birds pass you by, as well as giving you the chance to pass through some untouched Florida coastline.

So whatever your time and budget; whether you’re renting your dream car or taking old-faithful for a pin; try out one of these routes. Florida has a wide array of amazing drives, from farmland to subtropical wilderness. From 80 mile trips through the forest, to a dozen miles down the coast; Florida’s your oyster.

Written by Dali Sweetface who blogs for erentals.co.uk

This entry was posted in Lifestyle by Sam.

In general cats are a lot less costly to buy and to care for. For this reason owners commonly have more than one cat with some pet lovers having a houseful. Just like dogs there are numerous breeds of cat each with their own characteristics and care requirements. The Persian cat is one of the most popular breeds and is easily recognisable. They are known for long fluffy hair which can grow to a length of up to 3 inches. Persians also have a range of beautiful colours ranging from white to black grey and even orange with combinations also possible. Persian cats can be quite high maintenance compared to other cats due to the length of their hair. They require regular grooming and comfortable living environments to feel secure.

Almost equally as popular and distinctive are Siamese cats. Siamese cats have markings in their hair making them stand out from other cat breeds. Highly affectionate Siamese always want to be the centre of attention and can take a lot of caring.

Basic Essential for Cats

Whatever breed of cat you choose you need to be aware of the pet care requirements in advance so that you are prepared to look after your new cat. The basic essentials include food bowl, water bowl, litter and litter box. The food type and frequency of feeding depends on both the age and breed of cat. Young kittens require feeding up to several times a day while older cats can be fed twice or even just once a day. Cat food comes in both wet and dry form. While dry food tends to maintain dental hygiene wet canned food is evidently most popular with almost all cats. If you are feeding your cat on dry food make sure they have sufficient water to compensate. Always ensure that your cat’s bowls are washed and clean before serving. There are numerous cat food brands readily available but check nutritional contents before buying. Some generic offerings may not contain enough nutrients for your cat.

Kittens have more specialised dietary requirements. Kitten food contains extra nutrients to promote growth. Adult food should not be used. While cats may love milk it should be given sparingly if at all. Milk causes cats diarrhoea. The same goes with cat treats, keep to a minimum or they may cause digestive problems and will make your cat fat. Cats can be fed human food but this should only be done occasionally and can be mixed with the regular cat food.

Cats may be a low maintenance pet and the pet care required may seem relatively simple. However, it is always important to retain sufficient stocks of food and supplies and ensure regular checks at the vets. In return you have a loving pet who will keep you company for many years.

This is a guest post by John Broom, who is a blogger for Nutrecare Pet Supplies.

Build a website or a blog – Earning money from a website can be a good learning experience, as it requires a small investment initially, but can turn into a profitable venture, given one takes some time off to design the layout carefully and puts in the effort to post genuine and interesting content on it. Affiliate marketing, or selling someone’s products on your website for a commission or sales percentage can be good idea for starters, as it brings in a steady flow of income, apart from giving you an idea about the expectations of the customers, which would help you when you are ready to sell your own products on your website. Similarly, blogs can be good startup business investment, and one can monetize it easily with the help of affiliate marketing and Adsense.

Flip Websites – Flipping of websites refers to the process of buying and selling domain names for a profit. If you have a hectic full-time job, then this option of making easy money online is just for you, for it requires smaller investments and few minutes of one’s time , albeit with some patience and potentially long waiting time between purchase and sales. Purchase domain names, build a website around it with appropriate content and attractive design and layout, acquire visitors and loyal fans, and keep the website alive and interesting with continuous posting. One can also decide to opt for advertisements through Google Adsense and affiliate marketing, which brings in additional income while bringing up the page rank of the website at the same time. You can make a good income by selling the domain and website to an interested party, while taking a commission on each sale of theirs, or through revenue sharing.

Building an online forum or community – A forum or community serving the common interests or points of discussion for several individuals could be a great idea for earning money in several ways. The topic of discussion can be anything in which you have considerable knowledge and interest, from fashion to healthy lifestyle, which will evoke a lot of interest from the visitors and members. One can choose to charge a membership fee from the members on a monthly basis. The continuous updates would serve to attract the attention of different search engine spiders, resulting in high page rank. The high PR of the forum can in turn attract the online marketers, and you would be able to charge them for an advertisement space or affiliate marketing on the forum webpage.

Crowd sourcing success depends entirely on the commitment from the contributing public, therefore maintaining the loyalty and attention of the public is of utmost importance. One way you can do this is by having a reward system, like prizespay, some form of public recognition, or a combination of these. Also, create a little competitiveness as this will push the contributors to provide the highest quality results imaginable, and make things fun and interesting. Remember to keep your topic somewhat general, because an overly specific or complicated project may result in only a handful of people making submissions, which in turn means you are more likely to receive less than satisfying results. Another concept is to offer a permanent position in your company for a winning contributor or team of contributors, if your company has such resources. This is a win-win situation if you are looking to fill those positions, as your crowd sourcing project just turned into a job competition and you can use those brilliant, creative and resourceful minds again and again

Some other important things to keep in mind is how to organize and operate your project. Communication is something that is often taken for granted in crowd sourcing, but has enough influence to turn the project either towards success or a colossal and embarrassing failure. To avoid communication failure, clearly describe your project in detail so the contributors know what they are getting involved with. Also be sure to stress the importance of communication both ways, setting up mile markers, or specific times for meetings. Be sure everyone has a clear task, and that they know what that task is, and make them feel as involved as possible as crowd sourcing on your end is more about social skills and leadership than anything as everyone desires a clear headed and organized leader.

In conclusion, remember the importance of the commitment and loyalty from the public and good communication, as well as the significant impact that your leadership and creativity has on the outcome of your crowd sourcing project. Keep in mind that some of the most successful crowd sourcing projects were clearly and strictly organized though allowing flexibility for out-of-the-box thinking and creative expressions. The most important thing is to allow the contributing public to enjoy themselves, and as a good leader you should lead by example, so have fun as well!

Now you should be ready to form a plan of action. If your business offers a replicating website for your sign ups then you probably have a built in chat line so you can stay in communication with your own down-line. Make use of this tool in your affiliate marketing tool box if you have it as it is invaluable when working with a team of people and so much better than teleconferencing or email campaigns. They work very similar to posting on Twitter, MySpace or Facebook and are easy to use.

Where would affiliate marketing be today without the revenue sharing that is now used by some of the largest companies on the web like Ebay and Amazon. Amazon has affiliates that sign up to advertise products through Amazon on there websites that compliment their sites in exchange for a percentage of the sales. This is also called placing a widget on your website. This is a good affiliate marketing tool to have and it will help your site get more traffic which in turn offers your business more exposure. Createspace is a sister company to Amazon that markets books, CD’s, music, DVD’s etc and the products are marketed through Createspace and also through Amazon. Amazon takes a percentage of any sales. Better to sell a slice of the pie than end up not selling any of it.

Affiliate marketing normally would include some form of a traffic exchange or crowd sourcing as part of its marketing plan. A website is no good to anyone if no one ever sees it. The traditional traffic exchange can be a free site where you are allowed to post your website as long as you agree to surf the websites of other members as well. This may sound like a waste of time and money but you can find sites that would tie nicely in with your website and try to exchange traffic with banner ads. In some cases you can even find a product that you may want to add to your own product site and can sign up under another website as an affiliate. You may even get sign ups for your own website by others who are surfing the traffic exchange. The challenge of affiliate marketing are finding the right mix that works for you.