You know what really gets me? When a product claims that it "helps straighten" or "fights frizz" and it actually does, like, the total opposite. Why would I want to waste my money and time on something that makes my hair look worse than it did to begin with?

Kim Kardashian had heads turning at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards when she revealed her new honey highlighted hair, a far departure from her signature jet-black waves.

Ah, Wal-Mart. Where else can you go and get patio furniture, a digital camera, and do all your grocery shopping using just the change found in your couch cushions?

Have you heard of the "Lipstick Index"? It's the idea that when the economy is bad, women buy more lipstick as a quick pick-me-up. It's proven true in the last few downturns, but now lipstick sales are down -- and eye makeup sales are up.

Celebrities change their hair all the time (well, unless they're on a TV show and forbidden to), so what's the big deal about these looks? Well, all of them had us talking around the office and had people all over blogging, Facebooking, Twittering, etc. To put it another way, these celeb hairstyle transformations were a step above the typical "she's blonde, she's brunette, she's added highlights!"

Paula Abdul's decision to leave American Idol has many fans shocked. But the dynamic dancer and singer, now known best as Idol's "nice" judge, has followed several career changes in her lifetime, and has sported even more hairstyles. Today we share Paula Abdul's beauty hits and misses, as we wait to see what her next career (and look) will be!

Do you ever feel out of the loop? I do sometimes, like at a dinner party when everyone starts raving about that movie I, uh, have never heard of, or at the nail salon when the technicians are talking away and I don't understand a word (I always think they're talking about me, am I alone in this?).

The first African-American model to grace the cover of mainstream women's magazines in 1968, Naomi Sims, has died of cancer at the age of 64. Naomi, on the covers of Ladies Home Journal, Life, Cosmopolitan and Essence magazines, showed the world that beauty is found in all colors thus changing the ideals of American beauty.

It's easy to talk about the fun side of beauty -- the makeup trends, hot hairstyles and new products -- but what about the less-than-scintillating side of beauty? You know, stuff like bacne, calluses and flaky skin. They're not as enjoyable, but when you're dealing with one of these issues, you want all the help you can get, right?

You might say we're a wee-bit celeb obsessed over at TotalBeauty.com. Not so much in a gossipy, "are they dating or was that canoodling just as friends?" kind of way, but more of a "oh my god I can't believe she wore that shade of lipstick with that eyeshadow, it's brilliant!" sort of way.