Roberto Cavalli at H and M collection

Roberto Cavalli is one of those designers who is not afraid of pushing the envelope, of trying what has never been done before, and of course, he designs beautiful clothes. No wonder then that Hollywood celebrities like Madonna, Beyoncé, Gwyneth Paltrow, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Lopez, Sharon Stone, Gong Li, Victoria Beckham, Lenny Kravitz and Adrien Boyd are devoted fans.

While his designer clothes are obviously expensive, he is now collaborating with our favorite store H&M to bring the 'Roberto Cavalli at H&M' collection. Halle Berry and Sharon Stone are two celebrities that will be promoting the collection.

"Roberto Cavalli is one of my personal favorites. His clothes are sexy, and he is always on the edge and changes before other designers. I think the collaboration with H&M is great because now all women can wear his designs," says Halle Berry.

"I think the collaboration with H&M is a great idea. The clothes look great and the ads are beautiful. Roberto Cavalli is a wonderful designer who knows how to make both chic and sexy," says Sharon Stone.

At the launch party in Rome's Salone delle Fontane, models Erin Wasson and Jessica Stam showed his famous animal print dresses made of silk chiffon, a fabulous red carpet dress made of pleated gold lame, a mini sheath with sequins and pearls and shapely tuxedo style jackets and trousers. Watch some of these dresses in the video below:

Yoga for beginners

You have probably heard all the wonderful things about yoga. Maybe your friends rave about it. You might have watched all the celebrities attribute their good looks to youth to peace of mind to yoga. I do not want to say that yoga can cure all the problems that we have, but it is true that people who practice yoga regularly do enjoy better health and can experience inner peace. While yoga has become a big business now with fees for instructors, videos, apparel, and accessories, you do not need any of these unless you want to. Just wear comfortable clothing, put a mat on the floor, and you are all set to go. Tara Stiles, a model, shows you in this simple video how to get started with yoga.

Heidi Klum makeup

Heidi Klum has managed to thrive in the world of lingerie modeling despite being a mom and being much older than many other models that are in their teens and 20s. She has also launched a highly successful program "Project Runway" in which along with famous fashion designer Michael Kors, Tim Gunn, and editor Nina Garcia, they select a designer. In other words, Heidi knows how to look good on the runway and on the red carpet, and of course, going about your daily lives with little kids. She has now launched a makeup line that borrows tricks used by makeup artists who work on models and celebrities before a big event. With her makeup products you can try to create the look at home by yourself. She has created the makeup line with Linda Hay, makeup artist at Victoria's Secret.

Beauty of Sophia Loren

If there is one woman in the world who can exemplify eternal beauty, it is Sophia Loren. In one of those rare instances, as she gets older, she looks beautiful in her own way. I have never seen any signs of her trying to look younger. She just looks right for her own age. And that is what the strategy should be for all of us. Many of us often look older than our age because we have not taken care of ourselves or have not kept up with fashion and style or have simply lost that enthusiasm for living. To do this you do not need designer clothes or plastic surgery or expensive makeup - you just need to think that you are beautiful and take care of minor things like wardrobe, skincare, and makeup.

Sex and the City fashion

For those of us who are fans of New York City, its energetic lifestyle, fashion, and entertainment options, watching Sex & The City was a window to discovering even more. Yes, the plot was interesting and the bold and so was fashions. That is why I cannot wait for the movie to come.

The shooting for the film has already begun and as you will see from the photos below, the fashion is going to better than ever. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristen Davis, Kim Catrall, and Cynthia Nixon are all going to give us some very new ideas on fashion.

Petra Nemcova evening bag

Petra Nemcova is a chic girl, not quiet a style icon yet, but she has potential. I really liked the stone-studded dress that she wore to the "Heart of Gold Ball" at the Wall Street location of Cipriani. The matching evening bag also looks good with that gorgeous dress.

Product review: Annique Rooibos ResQue Crème

The Annique line is a South African cosmetics company. Most of their products are based on the use of Rooibos tea as a key ingredient. As you may know, Rooibos tea is a drink from South Africa rich in antioxidants and it has good flavor too.

The creator of Annique uses the same ingredient for skin care due to its antioxidant content. One of the products is the ResQue crème. I got to know the skin care line years ago at a skin care trade show in NYC. A few months later I tried the ResQue Crème.

According to its description, it provides relief for many every day skin conditions such as itchy skin, dry and cracked skin, minor scratches, heat rash, pimples, eczema, insect bites and everyday chafing and skin irritations. I used the crème while traveling to India, it helped to keep my skin hydrated during the long flight and also during the trip.

It has a thick consistency and that makes it difficult to apply, but it really helps to soften dry areas and calms the skin. This is a cream worth having at home.

It is not easy to get it in the United States, not even online. There are some sellers in Canada.

Product review: La Roche-Posay Nutritic

I got a sample of this cream at CVS. It is a moisturizing cream for dry skin and it comes in 2 concentrations: 2.5% and 5%. I tried the 5% concentration and this is what we found out:

My skin is not very dry and it tends to break out, but I was feeling it to be dry at the end of winter, so I tried the cream since I love to try new creams and cosmetics. I was pleasantly surprised by this moisturizer.

Most creams for dry skin are heavy or leave residues on the skin, but not this one. It is rich, but it gets absorbed fast and it leaves the skin fresh and hydrated. Besides that it helped my skin feel and look better. The cream has an ingredient that I do not like: Petrolatum. It may block the pores and cause pimples in people with acne tendencies. My skin tends to develop pimples and the cream did not cause them. Petrolatum (petroleum jelly or Vaseline) is a common ingredient in many creams, but with the growing tendency toward natural ingredients, its use is declining.

This is a good moisturizer for dry skin at a reasonable price of about $26.

Coats for the fall and the cold

During the cold months the coats are only indispensable to keep warm, but they also are the first piece of clothes people see. For that reason it is important to have a good coat. While some people go for utilitarian coats, other make a fashion statement with them. I like to have a nice warm coat that flatters my figure. This season I have done my window-shopping and these are some of my findings:

I loved the coats that Spaniard store Zara has for this season. They are mainly inspired in the 50s and in many colors. I want to get one of each, but I know that’s is not a good idea, I think I will get a red or off-white coat to look fashionable during the season. Zara’s prices are moderate from $69 to close to $200, but most of them are low one hundred.

I also saw a great coat in Neiman Marcus it was a lot pricier than the coats in Zara at $650.00 or so. It was a classical coat that exudes quality and style. This type of coats can be used for many years and they always look fashionable.

I also saw some coats in Marshals. Even though they were from well-known designers they did not look good. The cut was not right and I am not sure about the material. In TJ Max I saw some great coats from Via Spiga and other brands, these were good and stylish coats that will flatter most figures.

The Natick Collection

Natick, Massachusetts had a good-sized mall, but a couple of weeks ago it doubled. The size does matter when it comes to malls, but even better, the completely renovated and expanded mall is now called the Natick Collection (AKA Natick mall). It has some very exclusive stores such as Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom. Beside these giants, they also got a Zara, Louis Vuitton, Anthropologie, Lush, Burberry, and many others.

Nordstrom and Neiman carry all the fashionable brands such as Jimmy Choo, Prada, Manolo Blahnik, etc. In clothes and bags the names are equally impressive. I was there for the grand opening and the Nordstrom cosmetic tailgate party. I got my makeup done with Smash Box. There was so much excitement I could not believe how many women got up early to go to the mall.

Even more surprising for me was the fact that most people were dressed up! I never have seen the mall with so many beautiful people – I started to wonder where were these people hiding. The following day was the same way and people were buying luxury goods as if they have been deprived of shopping for long time. A lot of people were carrying bags from exclusive shops. It is not that Natick did not have shops – after all it is minutes away from Boston where all shops have been opened for years (except Nordstrom).

A couple of weeks later the excitement is still there, but people are back to normal mall clothes, the heels and chic are gone. If you live in the area I recommend to visit this mall it is exciting.

Sixties fashion in the millennium

As you know the current fashion has many dresses inspired by the sixties and seventies, including the geometrical patterns and the loose dresses and baby dolls style. While charming and “cute,” this fashion is perhaps not the best option for many women, especially for those with a few extra pounds.

The loose cut of the dresses can hide the figure, but they can also make the person look without shape. I have seen people who look pregnant or bigger with those dresses. Even young skinny girls can look bad if they do not wear the dresses with the right attitude, I have seen college students in New York looking as potato sacks while others look great.

In most cases everyone can find the right dress in any style. It requires trying many dresses and looking for good cuts and the right textiles. Personally, I prefer to see women with curves showing them to look sexy and feminine, but if you are curvy and want to look good in these baggy clothes, you can just look for a great cut and try many of them to find the best one for you. Also pair the dress with the right shoes and accessories.

As you know in fashion there are many option and it changes every season.

Style lessons with Tim Gunn

I have been reading "A Guide to Quality and taste" by Tim Gunn. As you know Tim is the elegant Director of Fashion at the prestigious Parsons School of Design and he also appears in Project Runway and in his own show "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style."

He has all the credentials to have a book with that title. I found that the book has very good information and it is written in an elegant, but easy style. It has humor and good information. If you have seen Tim on TV, as you read the pages of this book, you will hear his voice.

The book does not have long lists and pictures telling you what type of pants to wear (that is what he does on his show too - he lets people pick their own clothes but gives them broad guidelines on how to shop and also provides them with a list of items that they need to buy after examining their wardrobe). It has detailed explanations on how to make your own selections. Quality, taste and style is his mantra or his other mantraafter "make it work."

The book has chapters on "who are you," "posture," selecting accessories, and others. The accessories' chapter recommends "say no to the it bag." It is a different book about style, fashion and dressing. The advice is deep, but very practical.