New photos by Mathew Wilson are now up on the Fashion section of rhiaamio.com! Check out some pics from behind the scenes here.

I'm itching to get creative and do more creatives...can't wait to see what 2010 will bring!

Creative Team
Photography: Mat Wilson
Make-up/Hair: Rhia Amio
Stylist: Emily Harris-Brandts
Model: Tara Elizabeth

Lisa's Toronto reception this past November was the perfect way to cap off a wonderful (and super busy!) year of weddings! Check out artistrhi.com for more pics of her day :)
NOTE:
p.s. Sorry for the lack of posts! I try to blog each weekday, so you can imagine I've been going through blog withdrawal! I took an impromptu break from blogging to catch up with my (amazing and supportive) family and friends over the holidays. Hope your holidays are being well spent with loved ones as well!!

A perfect pout always starts with smooth and moisturized lips...but with winter now officially upon us, a little more effort is necessary to get the lips soft and supple! The weather and environment around us tend to be overly dry in winter and that can instantly zap our lips of much-needed moisture.

Fortunately, there are many simple at-home remedies to keep lips looking their best! Other than a good lip balm, a key step to a perfect pout is exfoliating the lips to eliminate any dead skin cells. Try these exfoliating tips you can easily do at home to keep your lips soft and supple all year round:

1. Start off with clean lips. Use a make-up remover and tissue to gently clean the lips. (Always try to use a wet cloth or tissue when removing product off the lips. The product will come off easier if the tissue is soaked, and won't drag the skin on the lips and encourage dryness and irritation).

2. Add two teaspoons of sugar to a couple of teaspoons of either olive oil or honey. Mix the ingredients thoroughly until it reaches a paste-like consistency. Dab the homemade remedy on the lips and let it sit for about 1-2 minutes to soak in.

3. After a couple of minutes, use either your finger, a spare toothbrush or a wet washcloth to gently glide the exfoliating mixture back and forth across the lips. This acts as a scrub and will help to get rid of any dead skin cells so that smooth, supple lips can resurface!

4. Rinse well and apply a lip balm to hydrate the lips. (Apply a lip balm throughout the day as needed).

The homemade lip scrub is great to do at night so that in the morning, you'll wake up with perfect and kissable lips (please note: homemade lip scrub will result in soft lips, but does not necessarily eliminate morning breath). :)

You'll find that once you exfoliate your lips, your lipstick and lipgloss will glide on much smoother and last longer. Bonus - even those fine 'experience' lines of the lips will be less accentuated!

With the holiday season and the advent of festive red lips upon us, I certainly hope you find these tips helfpul!

Anyone who knows me knows that 1. the above is not a picture of me, but rather the gorgeous Camilla Belle and 2. I'm quite attached to my long hair (having had pretty much the same 'do for the past few years!). The most drastic thing I've done to my hair in the last 10 years is either highlight it or get my bangs cut, similar to Camilla's full-on fringe above. I know, i know - I'm quite the risk taker ;)

I'll admit there's something about bangs that does make me feel more youthful. Maybe it's nostalgia...and the fact that I spent the better part of my teenage years trying to emulate Shannen Doherty's character, Brenda, on 90210! LOL....oh my.

Either way, I love how bangs can instantly change the look of your hair without having to sacrifice length. Yes, it's a slight security blanket, but getting a full-on fringe has several other benefits for you to consider:

1. Bangs instantly make you look younger.
(...and we're not talking bowl-cut youthful either!) The phrase "bangs are the new botox" could be heard in many salons this year. At the end of the day, cutting your bangs to conceal those lines of 'experience' is waaay more affordable option than a botox appointment.

2. Eyebrows can grow..secretly.
Longer bangs are the perfect way to disguise eyebrows that are in transition. I'm a tweeze-a-holic, so it's hard for me to stop once I start. A full-on fringe lets my sparse and over-tweezed brows get their grow-on...out of sight, out of mind!

3. It doesn't take (me) as long to get ready!
A full-on fringe also draws immediate attention to the eyes and spares the time/effort I usually spend on eyeshadow application. You definitely still want to accentuate the eyes with strong eyeliner (either a liquid liner or even coloured eyeliners work beautifully in this case), and then finish the look with a bright pop of colour on the lips. Bangs = beauty made easy!

Bang on!

Check out my latest Q & A on Applying Mineral Foundation, now on wnetwork.com! :)