When the heat gets going, the only thing I need is...

This month has been one of the hottest months on record her in the Mid Atlantic. As a Shine Beauty Guru, each month we are given an assignment to write on concerning beauty topics. This month is: What is your summer beauty secret?

Well.... when it's as hot as it's been lately and the only secret I can come up with concerning beauty is ICE!

When your face is melting off and your can barely breath from the humidity either take yourself inside an air conditioned room and sit or you can take a plastic baggie and fill it with ice. Wrap it in a thin towel and place at the nape of your kneck. When your body is cool, you can back to looking your best.

A couple of other secrets I do to keep cool:

• A Fan


• A Personal Mister


• A Parasol

Beat the heat by beating that smell: Ways to stay cool and fresh

For the last couple of days, summer has reared her ugliest head. The sticky, hot feeling that humid air leaves on your skin makes it nearly impossible to smell lovely for more than a mere moment. It seems as soon as you exit the shower, you are met with a thick haze hovering in the air. A clean body helps for a moment, but the moisture in the air turns it sour quicker than Paris Hilton can adopt another animal. Body odor seems to pick up quite a bit in the summer months and it's not coming up roses.

My college roommate from years ago came and visited my family over the weekend. We decided to brave the weather and headed to the local theme park. With temperatures hitting one-hundred degrees, enjoying outside has its limits. All the while enjoying the park, we drank water to hydrate and wore light clothing and flip flops to help not overheat the body. It was still quite warm. Waiting in line at rides while confined into tight spots with masses of sweating, dripping people can turn smelly quickly. What can be done about this smelly problem? Preparedness it the number one answer.

• Take a shower: Please! During the summer months you sweat more, please clean the body more often. A quick dip in the shower or rinsing off with a wet washcloth can help detour smells.


• Change clothing often: Cotton is the best fabric to mop up sweat other than any synthetic which holds onto the smelly sweat and keeps it near your body. It's almost like farting and instead of releasing into the air, the smell hangs around with you. Eww!!


• Apply a deodorant or an antiperspirant: As easy as this is, many people seem to miss this concept. If you are one that has an excessive sweating problem, applying baking soda under the arms can help enormously. If you don't believe in deodorant, read the next suggestion. Apply underarms.


• Fragrance splashes: These can work for men too. A light spritz of fragrance can help anyone smell better. Tote in your purse or bag for those times when you feel gooey. They can also be sprayed towards other smelly people (make sure they are not allergic first).


• Hydrate: Drinking lots of water will help dilute anything in your system. From alcohol to garlic, consumption of certain foods and spices allows your skin to smell a certain way. If you drink more water, this will help flush the body of these toxins.


• Ice Packs and Parasols: If you know you are going to be out in the heat for an extended amount of time, ice packs and parasols can help you beat the heat and beat the smell. Pack up a cooler with your water and ice packs. When you become warm, place the ice pack behind your neck or at the small of your back. This will help cool down the body. At the same time, a parasol or an umbrella can shield the skin from the rays of the sun and help the body not sweat as fast.


• Personal Misting Fans: With a squirt of this, water and a breeze can help cool off your sweating face or body. You can also squirt others that are hot. You will become the favorite at any event!

Body odor does not smell good. It doesn't. Body odor is like trash that you empty into a trash can to be taken away. If you personally do not help control the smell, no one will.

How do I get more help cleaning my house?

With summer here and the kids always here, my house has turned into a war zone. Remnants of the snack eaten after lunch litter the family room carpet. Barbie houses designed by the girls fill the downstairs den and could never be thought of being picked up because "It took so long to put it together". Puzzles that have been put together are not allowed back in their boxes because they want to enjoy looking at their hard work in physical form. Clothing that has been dirtied from outside play waits in line by the washing machine that never seems empty. Wet towels from the beach or the pool need to be constantly washed and dried. Pens, pencils and colors that were missed when the girls "cleaned up" seem to find their way into your bare feet while making the beds or when carrying a load of laundry.

I've had it!

My mother always had a day of the week when we cleaned: a time to dust, a time to fold, a time to empty the dishwasher. Although it was only her and I for many of the years of my childhood and not much mess ensued, we did our duty to keep the house as clean as we could find time for.

Last night, as it tried to relax on my back porch, my youngest daughter wanted to play cards. As I look around at the shambles my house had become since summer vacation began, my blood pressure started to rise. From somewhere deep down, a fire was beginning to burn and at some point my voice was destined to get loud-- real loud. I tried to calm myself down by getting up out of the chair I just settled into, after cleaning up some mess destined to be in my sight, and began busying myself again. Attacking the mound of books sitting on the kitchen table, she came at me again.

"Mommy, will you play cards with me." This is all it took for me to snap!

I had enough. While every other person in the house watched TV, made a paper craft with glitter, or found a way to stain the carpet in the den by some new, different way, it came. My voice had found its volume and the attention in the house was all on mom. By the time the cleaning extravaganza was over and my notebook was in front of me, I asked myself a question.

Why didn't we have one day of the week we cleaned the house? This would be the best option in getting everyone involved in the clean-up of process in the home we all shared. This could lessen my load, I thought. As I sat with my notebook, I became interested in what chores other parents have for their children.

I have tried allowing my oldest to unload the dishwasher and something always seems to get broken. Folding clothes is another chore that never seems to find a bidder. How about putting the clothes away? I feel as if it's more difficult to get this job done than pulling teeth.

What's your cleaning routine at your house? Is this a weekly things, need by need basis or maybe it never gets done?

How about your children's ages? How does this affect what they can and cannot do?

Help!!

Tell the truth now: Are you still tanning?

We know we shouldn't but so many of us still do: TAN. This past weekend I was at the beach with the family. With all of the information out there telling people not to tan because it can cause skin cancer and aging of the skin, I have to tell you that as much as I can see, people are still tanning.

I admit I still lather up with oil with the small SPF of 4 and glisten in the sun. I do make sure to heavily arm my face, neck and especially my nose with SPF of 50 before heading out to hang with the sun. I love the sun though, it's calming. I can read, listen to my iPod or do nothing if I want and be perfectly happy lying in the sun.

With magazines, bloggers and scientific research proving that sun can lead to skin cancer, why do we submit ourselves to the possibility of exposing ourselves to something deadly?

Are you still tanning?