Most people don't realize that the cosmetics industry is not regulated by the FDA. Cosmetic products have to list all ingredients but companies don't have to evaluate their safety. Check out a great overview of 15 cosmetic ingredients you might want to avoid.

One of them is called phthalates and is used mainly in nail polish. Phatalates have been a hot topic of discussion because they disrupt the endocrine system which can cause reproductive and neurological side effects in men and women. Although most famous for their use in baby teethers and bottles, it is also used in nail polish and a few other cosmetics. It is not very easy to spot this on labels, but look for names such as DBP (di-n-butyl phthalate) and DEP (diethyl phthalate).

A TV series is seeking high-achieving women in their 20's who would like to go on TV to tell everyone about their deep dark secret habits and their double lives. Whether your habit is excessive shopping, food, sex or an obsession with plastic surgery they would like you to apply for their casting call. Check them out at cwsecrets.com.

I just listened to a great podcast on NPR's Fresh Air interviewing Mellisa Febos. Febos has just published her memoirs Whip Smart about working as a dominatrix in Manhattan for four years. Here's the Publishers Weekly blurb about the book;

Febos's candid, hard-slogging debut about her four years working as a dominatrix at a midtown Manhattan dungeon cuts a sharp line between prurience and feminist manifesto. Having grown up on Cape Cod, Mass., then dropped out of high school before moving to New York City and enrolling in the New School in the fall of 1999, Febos slipped into drug use and needed a way to finance it. An attractive law-school graduate neighbor in her Brooklyn apartment building mentioned that she worked as a domme, and Febos decided to give it a go. She spanked grown men, professionals, fathers, and rabbis, sometimes inserted enemas, sodomized them with dildos, and otherwise verbally humiliated them, all for $75 an hour, plus tips. At first, Febos managed the grueling, unsavory work while high on heroin and cocaine, and gained a tremendous sense of confidence, even invincibility at being able to justify her livelihood as one of the few well-paid acting gigs in this city. In time, she also became addicted to her job; she eventually joined AA to help get clean of drugs, but kicking her addiction to sadomasochism was harder, and in this emotionally stark, excoriating work, Febos mines the darkest, most troubling aspects of human interaction.

Check out the audio interview here.

Dulce Cosmetics is a very affordable makeup brand. Many of their products range from $2 to $10 dollars. Here's a great YouTube video look at their product line and a sponsored review of the makeup.

The New York Times has an interesting article today about the rise of non-ammonia based hair dyes in recent years.

PERMANENTLY dyeing hair goes hand in hand with damaging it. The process dries out hair and leaves it jagged. Ammonia — used to open the hair fiber so that dye molecules can nestle in — is as delicate as a can opener. It also smells horrid and sets delicate scalps afire.

So it’s not surprising that makers of lasting hair color have long sought an ammonia-free alternative that offers thorough gray coverage and a less unpleasant experience. Now, L’Oréal Professionnel is touting INOA, which stands for Innovation No Ammonia, as that game-changer, one on par, they say, with the advent of DVD’s or GPS.

Read the rest of this story here.

Aside from L'Oreal's new ammonia-free hair color products, the Organic Color Ssytems products have been around for a few years now. Below is their promotional video aimed at hairdresses and salon owners.

And here is L'Oreal's INOA commercial;

The recent gossip is that both Carla Bruni, age 42 and her husband, French president Sarkozy, age 55, are in the midst of extramarital affairs, even though their marriage is only two years old. In the video below, Bruni denies affairs and talks about the fairy tale of marriage.

Here's a great tutorial on how to fill in your sparse or overplucked eyebrows.

via bebexo

What do credit cards and cosmetic surgery have in common? They're both plastic. In the video below, Heidi Montag discusses her plastic surgeries and how paying for surgeries and other luxuries with a credit card can multiply costs. This is a public service ad for credit card reform.

Shorter, more affordable and versatile dresses are the trend for prom season 2010. Strapless and halter dresses will be very popular. The halter dress can flatter a plus-sized or top-heavy figure.

Pictured here is the Scala N17006 Short Prom Dress (about $160).

About eight million high school students will attend prom in 2010 and the prom dress industry generates about $1 billion each year.

Check out the video below featuring dozens of beautiful prom dress ideas;

Here's a good three minute video about the eight secrets to success.

Der Spiegel has an interesting interview today with a kid in Russia who is only 17 years old but has created a video chat site called "Chatroulette" that has the potential to turn him into a billionaire very quickly.

What's amazing is that he just developed the first version of this site last fall - in under one week.

Andrey Ternovskiy has some firm views. He does not intend to ever sell his site, and he does not see the value of going to school. He visits Wikipedia when he wants to learn about something and he taught himself everything he knows about programming.

Check out the fun interview here.

It seems that something that can be created in such a short time could be easily copied by the big dating or social media companies. It's probably unlikely he can stay in the lead for long in social video chat.

Check out America's youngest billionaires list according to Forbes.

Tonight is Oscar night. This YouTube video below shows all the actresses who won the Best Actress award at the Oscars from 1927 through to 2008.

1927-28 Janet Gaynor- Sunrise, Seventh Heaven & Street Angel
1928-29 Mary Pickford- Coquette
1929-30 Norma Shearer- The Divorcee
1930-31 Marie Dressler- Min And Bill
1931-32 Helen Hayes- The Sin Of madelon Claudet
1932-33 Katharine Hepburn- Morning Glory
1934 Claudette Colbert- It Happened One Might
1935 Bette Davis- Dangerous
1936 Luise Rainer- The Great Ziegfeld
1937 Luise Rainer- The Good Earth
1938 Bette Davis- Jezebel
1939 Vivien Leigh- Gone With The Wind
1940 Ginger Rogers- Kitty Foyle
1941 Joan Fontaine- Suspicion
1942 Greer Garson- Mrs. Miniver
1943 Jennifer Jones- The Song Of Bernadette
1944 Ingrid Berman- Gaslight
1945 Joan Crawford- Mildred Pierce
1946 Olivia De Havilland- To Each His Own
1947 Loretta Young- The Farmer's Daughter
1948 Jane Wyman- Johnny Belinda
1949 Olivia De Havilland- The Heiress
1950 Judy Holliday- Born Yesterday
1951 Vivien Leigh- A Streetcar Named Desire
1952 Shirley Booth- Cmoe Back, Little Sheba
1953 Audrey Hepburn- Roman Holiday
1954 Grace Kelly- The Country Girl
1955 Anna Magnani- The Rose Tatto
1956 Ingrid Bergman- Anastacia
1957 Joanne Woodward- The Three Faces Of Eve
1958 Susan Hayward- I Want To Live!
1959 Simone Signoret- Room At The Top
1960 Elizabeth Taylor- Butterfield 8
1961 Sophia Loren- La Ciociara
1962 Anne Bancroft- The Miracle Worker
1963 Patricia Neal- Hud
1964 Julie Andrews- Mary Poppins
1965 Julie Christie- Darling
1966 Elizabeth Tayñor- Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?
1967 Katharine Hepburn- Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?
1968 Babra Streisand- Funny Girl
1968 Katharine Hepburn- The Lion In Winter
1969 Maggie Smith- The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie
1970 Glenda Jackson- Women In Love
1971 Jane Fonda- Klute
1972 Liza Minnelli- Cabaret
1973 Glenda ackson- A touch Of Class
1974 Ellen Burstyn- Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
1975 Louise Fletcher- One Flew Over The Cuckoo's nest
1976 Faye Dunaway- Network
1977 Diane Keaton- Annie Hall
1978 Jane Fonda- Coming Home
1979 Sally Field- Norma Rae
1980 Sissy Spacek- Coal Miner's Daughter
1981 Katharine Hepburn- On Golden Pond
1982 Meryl Streep- Sophie's Choice
1983 Shirley MacLaine- Terms Of Endearment
1984 Sally Field- Places In The Heart
1985 Geraldine Page- The Trip To Bountiful
1986 Marlee Matlin- Children Of A Lesser God
1987 Cher- Moonstruck
1988 Jodie Foster- The Accused
1989 Jessica Tandy- Driving Miss Daisy
1990 Kathy Bates- Misery
1991 Jodie Foster- The Silence Of The Lambs
1992 Emma Thompsom- Howards End
1993 Holly Hunter- The Piano
1994 Jessica Lange- Blue Sky
1995 Susan Sarandon- Dead Man Walking
1996 Frances McDormand- Fargo
1997 Helen Hunt- As Good As It Gets
1998 Gwyneth Paltrow- Shakespeare In LOve
1999 Hilary Swank- Boys Don't Cry
2000 Julia Roberts- Erin Brockovich
2001 Halle Berry- Monster ball
2002 Nicole Kidman-The Hours
2003 Charlize Theron- Monster
2004 Hilary Swank- Million Dollar Baby
2005 Reese Witherspoon- Walk The Line
2006 Helen Mirren- The Queen
2007 Marion Cotillard- La Môme
2008 Kate Winslet- The Reader

To see more on these movies, check out the Classic Starsvideos at Amazon.

A reader sent us this note recently.

Just 3 days ago, I had smartlipo done on my lower belly, sides, upper belly, flanks, and bra rolls. I originally only wanted my 'muffin top' removed, and maybe some sculpting done in my lower back and lower belly, as I have always been kind of 'boxey'. I am at my perfect weight of 135 lbs and 5'9", so I am quite thin and like my body, just always annoyed at the thickness of my waist particularly because I teach 18 classes a week of yoga and am exceptionally fit.

please help? regretful in florida

See other reader comments about smartlipo recovery time.

Confidential Magazine was the first really successful and scandalous celebrity gossip magazine. It debuted in 1952 and came out on the stands every two weeks. It was the fastest growing magazine ever and soon reached a circulation of five million copies per issue.

Henry Scott has just written a juicy book about the mag and the two key men behind it;
Shocking True Story: The Rise and Fall of Confidential, "America's Most Scandalous Scandal Magazine"

Listen to a fun interview with Henry Scott discussing Confidential at NPR's Fresh Air here.

See a slideshow of Confidential magazine covers here.

In the video below Dr. Larry Klein of St. Petersburg Florida answers the question; What kind of annual income do dentists make?

He says it varies greatly depending on the location, clientele and the type of work that is performed. A starting dentist working as an associate in another dentists office can expect to make about $90,000 to $100,000 a year. An established dentist can expect to make between $175,000 to $275,000 a year. And those dentists that specialize in cosmetic dentistry take home the most money. They average around $300,000 to $400,000 a year.