"The Doctors" - Variety Show Review

For years now, I have been bombarded with strange tidbits of information regarding the daytime show "The Doctors" which airs all over North America on CBS. This show is a monster-baby of the long-running, recently ended "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "Dr. Phil". I caved after many years of avoidance, and due to utter lack of willpower to find the remote and change the channel, and watched my very first episode today in its entirety.

The main host seems to be Dr. Travis Stork, who is a bootleg version of a Brad Pitt-esque leading man. There are numerous other co-hosts, I think I counted up to five of them, each of which has a different 'specialty'. One is a plastic surgeon, who obviously thinks that the solution to every problem is going under the knife for one of supposedly "simple" procedures (of which they never explain the full spectrum of side-effects). Another doctor who seems to be the most genuine of the bunch is an OB-GYN who speaks in a more matter-of-fact way. On top of that they even have Jillian Michaels who is a fitness-guru, constantly sporting her spanx, as if she doesn't go anywhere in regular clothing. Now that I think about it, none of them ever seem to be wearing regular clothes, the doctors are usually wearing lab-coats or scrubs, except for the plastic surgeon who dresses like a mob boss. These so-called doctors are extremely hard to trust because of their appearance, they are so overly made-up that you cannot see a pore on their skin and they don't come across as having a shred of humanity. They are cold, concrete and downright seem like they don't care at all about the information they're dispelling or the people on the show. Also, can you trust a host who first came into notoriety through participating as a love interest on "The Bachelor" TV series? That's a rhetorical question because you can't.

This show has the makings of a reality soap-opera with a Gray's Anatomy fragmented plot. Basically each segment is a story about how one viewer or another has a medical issue and these doctors/hosts either defer to colleague or attempt to diagnose these very simple and obvious cases themselves. The majority of the information that is given on this show is extremely diluted for the audience and does not inform the public in a proper and intelligent way. Rather, after you've finished watching an episode you wonder if you've learned anything at all. You're definitely better off reading the Wikipedia article on a disease, or better yet, visit your doctor!

From the episode I watched, what I retained as information was that if you're unhappy with the way your face is sagging you should have plastic surgery, albeit you may even want to consider not even going under for the procedure (that's a disgusting thought, isn't it?). I also learned that if you have cankles, where there is no clear definition between your calf and your ankle, you should have liposuction to remove it or make your calf muscles bigger by bouncing up and down with really heavy dumbbells. What kind of advice is this? Am I dreaming? How can they actually be advising people to have plastic surgery when they haven't explored any other options? Why not focus on diet, water retention and sodium intake, why not focus on skin-care through natural means? This show exhibits little to no common sense.

Even if there's any shred of truth in this show, it is counter-balanced by the absolute recklessness of advising an entire demographic of what I assume to be mostly stay-at-home moms that they can be better looking and healthier through very little actual inconvenience by performing surgeries. Now I know a thing or two about surgeries, and if there's one piece of advice I can impart on my appreciated fellow readers, it is not to take any surgery lightly. The risks of secondary infection, scarring, drug addiction and a myriad of other factors are so large that I can assure you, you are much better off trying to diet and control your insignificant aesthetic problems naturally. Nobody needs a panel of uppity doctors to yell at them through the TV screen with sob-stories of people who have let their problems go on too long without ever visiting a real doctor. This show is one paternity test away from being Jerry Springer or The Maury Show.

Getting Thicker and Fuller Eyelashes

As we age, we inevitably lose a lot of our youthful allure, and along with this comes the thinning out of eyelashes. In a society that covets beauty and eyelashes that touch the sky, most women are highly concerned with keeping the drapes of your eyes beautiful. Eyelash loss can occur from aging because your lashes will shorten and wear at the ends and grow more sparsely, appearing thinner. Some people have allergic reactions or trichotrillomania where they inadvertently pull out their eyelashes because it feels good to them. Allergic reactions can be to various chemicals in the makeup you're wearing (specifically in mascara, eye pencils and eye shadows). One way to avoid makeup reactions is that Sometimes we have to be conscious of the fact that even the creams and cleansers we are using to keep ourselves looking 'young' may be causing hair loss due to allergy. Certain medical conditions, such as the reaction to chemotherapy for cancer treatment, alopecia (systemic hair loss due to autoimmune condition whereby the immune system attacks the host) and hypothyroidism can result in losing your eyelashes and all over the body.

Obviously if you are playing with your eyelashes, try to keep that down to a minimum or do not touch your eyes at all, if it can be helped. If there are products that you suspect are inhibiting the growth of your lashes, stop from using them. Make sure to stop using your mascara after every 3 months, replace it immediately. If you use the same exact one every day, you will probably want to replace it every month even if the bottle is not finished because there are contaminants on the brush and you don't want to be passing bacteria. You never, ever want to share your makeup with anybody under any conditions because eye infections and other diseases are highly transferable this way. If you suspect that you have a serious medical condition and that is why your eyelashes are falling out, make sure you visit your doctor and do a thorough investigation.

How to fake longer lashes

There are some beauty tips and tricks to use if you quickly want your lashes to look longer and fuller. Make sure you use a lengthening mascara with false fibers and volume that will add to what you naturally have. Apply your eye liner very close to the base of your lashes to give the appearance of fullness and to frame your eyes. You could place false lashes on your eyes if you feel comfortable with it, and if not, you can visit a cosmetologist to do it for you.

What can you do aside from wearing false eyelashes on a daily basis or tons of coats of mascara? These options are much more difficult and unnatural-looking than just having naturally beautiful eyelashes. So let's review the options for how to grow our own eyelashes more plentifully.

Natural remedies
First you may want to try applying Vaseline on your lash line while you're sleeping as the petroleum jelly may promote moisture in the environment and increase lash growth. Olive oil and vitamin E oil can have the same effect, just make sure you don't get it into your eye during application. Remember to remove anything you apply to your eyelashes at night during the morning before you apply your makeup. Brushing your lashes with a designated lash comb can improve circulation and promote hair growth, so do this as often as possible if you know that you do not have a rash or skin problem. Improving what you eat  and your overall nutrition can affect your body's vitamin balance which will promote hair growth. A deficiency can lead to thinning of hair all over your body and not just your lashes.

Versace for H&M Collection Review

Fashion on a budget took a new turn when Donatella Versace and H&M decided to pair up for a Versace Designer H&M collection. Does this mean the clothes will be inexpensive? Well, not really. The clothes will be much higher priced than H&M's usual line but they will be less than couture-priced. The look-book for all of the styles can be found here. While a pink studded-mini dress will run you $205, arguably steep for H&M's usual shopper, they must be expecting to gain shoppers who don't regularly frequent their racks. With this Versace collection, I suspect that H&M is attempting to tap into a market that will bring them more income, this upon recent news that their sales have been at an all-time low due to the recession in Europe (which, they claim, is their largest market still). Nonetheless, this line is supposedly marketed to the average woman with the average budget.

What then, do you suppose, is the logical branding step for this collection? Putting clothes on normal women with non-waif figures of all shapes and sizes, this is what H&M had in mind. To me, this seems like an ingenious way to make a stiff, small-market brand much more approachable and practical. However, Donatella Versace has other plans in mind. The diva showed up at the photo-shoot for the collection and cancelled the entire thing because she was too unhappy with the way the models looked. Apparently, she can't get over her obsession with anemic, size 0 models donning her apparel and refuses to brand the clothes on regular ladies (and I'm sure these 'regular' models were more like 'slender' according to popular opinion). With this misstep, Donatella Versace has proven that she does not believe in equality for all women of all shapes and sizes and does not respect her audience enough to let them decide whether the clothes can speak for themselves or not. You don't have to use every trick in the book to make your clothes look good, if they are well tailored they should fit any body. Maybe take a note from Jessica Simpson's Collection, Donatella, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But who am I kidding, what would bleach-blonde, entirely too skinny woman who looks like she's been doing hardcore drugs for the past 30 years know about beauty? If beauty to her means getting every plastic surgery in her surgeon's repertoire, she's certainly achieved it.

Being as honest and objective as I can be, I can admit that there are pieces I would try on, but there are others which are absolutely god-awful in this collection. Either way, I think the price point is too high for a store like H&M, where people shop to get away from overpriced frocks, and I would not pay the arbitrary price tags Versace and H&M have agreed upon. Undoubtedly this collection will sell out, since people get so overtaken by the 'designer' label that they will forget about balancing their checkbooks and splurge on whatever is most hyped in the media. I'm not entirely sure what the 'inspiration' was for this collection but the colors used are extremely saturated and loud. The men's clothing line, in particular, is absolutely unwearable. If loud is your style, then you would be in heaven with this collection, as there is no room to hide in Versace's patterns.

Nicki Minaj in Versace for H&M outfit

Is this clothing modern art or just some random fabrics thrown together in a haphazard way to imitate art? You decide for yourself. While some pieces are undoubtedly classy (particularly solid colored dresses for women) others seem to be a complete miss (the ridiculous outfit Nicki Minaj is wearing). This collection is a mix-bag of oriental, tropical and rock influences with Andy Warhol's aesthetic and Betsey Johnson's taste in prints amplified to the extreme. It really is out there. Some of the hits are high, much nicer than H&M's usual clothing, and appears to be well-tailored. However, this judgement is purely from look-book photos, I cannot be truthful about the crafting of these clothes until I see them in person. I don't think Versace is revolutionizing fashion with this collection, they don't manage to push the boundaries in the right way like Alexander McQueen did, but it is a blast from all kinds of pasts that will either revoke fond memories or remind you of your old basement's terrible wallpaper.



I'm really not a fan of Versace's usage of print, so underneath are the clothes that I would consider the downfall of the collection, and they are quite predominant in the collection (which houses 81 individual pieces). You should, however, check out some of their accessories, because some of them seem interesting in photos (earrings, necklaces, bracelets, etc) but their bag collection is absolutely gross (yes, they're overly studded and covered in those same disgusting prints).

The dresses underneath are what I classify as 'the good' of the collection - the racerback and asymmetry are a nice touch to make classy silhouettes a little more fresh and modern.