The basic idea behind birthstones is that there is a specific gemstone for every month or zodiac sign. This list of birthstones and their corresponding meanings and significance will help you determine the stone to use in your jewelry. Birthstone jewelries also make excellent birthday presents especially when the receiver is aware of the stone’s meaning.
January: Garnet. Probably because of its famous dark red color, garnet is associated with the blood. It is interesting to learn however that garnet is also available in all colors except blue. Garnet can act as an illuminant and is able to protect one from nightmares. It is also associated with luck and self confidence and can boost one’s physical, mental and emotional health.
February: Amethyst. Since it comes in varying shades of purple, amethyst is almost always present in the royal crown jewels of ancient Greece and Egypt and even in modern day Britain. Amethyst is associated with sobriety, protection and peace, and is believed to release tension and stress.
March: Aquamarine. The wearers of this stone are believed to have increased stamina. It also symbolizes love, hope and health. Because of its sea blue color, it is associated with the protection of seafarers.
April: Diamond. By tradition, diamond symbolizes undying love, evident in its popularity of use in engagement rings.
May: Emerald. Emerald symbolizes friendship but according to legends, it has more practical uses. It is believed to cure a variety of illnesses and gives its wearer the ability of foretelling the future.
June: Pearl. This stone symbolizes modesty and chastity and is said to contribute to a happy marriage. Many people believe that the pearl also has antibiotic properties.
July: Ruby. With its enchantingly red color, ruby symbolizes love. It is also said to protect its wearers and owners from harm and enables them to live in peace with their neighbors.
August: Peridot. Peridot is associated with friendship and protection in the dark. It is believed that ancient medicine men created drinking cups out of peridot in order to amplify the effect of medicinal drugs.
September: Sapphire. Sapphire is associated with faithfulness and innocence and the ability to see into the future. When the gem’s brilliance grows faint, it is a sign of unfaithfulness and evildoing.
October: Opal. An opal is believed to grant its owner the fulfillment of his desires. It is also associated with protection, hope, purity and innocence. It is also believed to enable its wearer to become invisible in times of emergency.
November: Topaz. A symbol of self confidence, topaz is surrounded by folklore telling of its ability to heal a wide range of ailments. It also changes color in the presence of poison and is widely used when poison rings were still popular.
December: Turquoise. Captivating in its sky blue color, turquoise is believed to grant its owner luck, protection and happiness.
Our skin covers the entire part of our body and it’s fitting for us to care for it. Whatever you do, there will always be a part of you that will involve the skin. You may already know it, but we often ignore our skin just because it’s just there without any significant movement compared to your eyes, ears and nose. That’s why before we know it, we are affected by rashes on our body, but we just go back to healing them and the cycle starts all over again.
There’s a way to stop this bad cycle for your skin. It will only take three steps to make it work. In writing this, it sounds very easy, but some would have a hard time following this especially if you have sensitive skin. However, you just have to remember that the best cure for any bad health issue is preventing it. Skin diseases should be neutralized as much as possible before they occur. If you have regular skin, consider yourself lucky, and all you will need is these three steps. For those who have sensitive skin, you can always go ahead and ask your dermatologist about what you can do to treat it.
The first step that you can do to protect your skin is to clean it everyday. The pores on your skin need to be cleansed so that the sweat and the bad toxins in your body can just go out with less effort. You can also consider cleaning your skin to prevent the bad toxins from going into your body. You can do this by using milk soap to give your skin a baby bath - this may be too soft but consider the care that you give to the small kids, as it will also also be great for you. There are also milk soaps that are sold for adults, and you can consider these as well.
The next step you should do is to tone your skin. Skin toning is closing the pores in your skin to prevent them from coming in. There are so many products out there that you can use as toners, but just to be sure which one is best for you, consult your dermatologist and they can give you the toner that is best for your skin.
Lastly is to moisturize or hydrate your skin. Now this part is quite easy, all you need to do is to cleanse your skin by dinking water. Water is the ultimate cleanser. When you drink water, it will naturally run through your body, but when it leaves your body, your skin will really look well without even knowing it - all because of water. You can also consider moisturizing lotions that are just as effective as drinking water.
These three steps are very easy to follow. Sensitive skin or not, you can always follow these steps to have better skin. But if you think you have sensitive skin, go talk to your dermatologist first about the best creams you can use.
A study claims that the fashion industry nowadays is ignoring the changing shapes of women’s bodies. The designers and manufacturers still insist on making clothes that fit the traditional hourglass figure where in fact the women’s shape today are more likely to be top-heavy, rectangular or pear-shaped.
The research disclosed that though only 8 percent of women now have that hourglass figure flaunted by curvaceous 1950’s movie stars, designers and manufacturers still continued to make clothes to fit a slim-line version of that figure.
Of about 6,000 women’s body shapes being analyzed, 46 percent were described as rectangular, having a waist less than nine inches smaller than the hips or bust. However, over 20 percent of women were bottom-heavy or usually called as “spoons,†having a hip that is two inches larger than busts or more. On the other hand, almost 14 percent were “inverted triangles” - women whose busts were three or more inches bigger than their hips.
The study of North Carolina State University was based on data from a two-year study of American body types, Size USA. It was specially made by Alva Products, a manufacturer of designers’ mannequins purposely to force the industry to design clothes for the majority rather than the minority of women.
According to Janice Wang, the firm’s chief executive, the majority of retailers are designing clothes for people with an hourglass figure. Therefore the industry standards for size measurements were out of date. Thus, they need to change their designs if they want to serve the markets they currently aren’t reaching, she added. In addition, Ms. Wang said that although the study concentrated on American women, its implications were relevant for British women as well since eating habits and lifestyle meant the shapes of women in the two societies.
Moreover, British fashion designer Katherine Hamnett agreed that women who did not measure up to slim size 10 continued to be ignored by fashion. This only shows that the fashion industry has disregarded the true size of women at its peril. Furthermore, Hamnett believed that the stupidity on the side of fashion designers and manufacturers is the result of adhering unthinkingly to a tradition.
On the other hand, the idea that larger women are not the ideal to design for is a myth, said Hamnett. In fact, she was able to measure movie stars who have 42 inch hips but are still getting a lot of work. Therefore, it is not how fat or how slim you are that matters, it’s the aptness of what you wear.
Comments