Do you watch “Oprah”? If you do watch “Oprah”, by now, you already recognize one of the authors’ names, right? Yes, I’m talking about Dr. Oz, Oprah’s favorite doctor who is soon to have his own talk show. To me, I tuned in whenever Dr. Oz appeared on “Oprah”. He has a simple way to explain diseases and symptoms so everybody can understand without reading the New England Journal of Medicine (which, by the way, is one of the most prestigious medical journal.) So, I was thrilled to pick up “YOU: Being Beautiful” because I thought I may pick up some makeup tips from these very influential doctors.
Silly me for thinking that way! Instead of being disappointed, I went for (probably) one of the most hilarious joyrides ever caused by reading the book. If you have ever read “YOU: The Owner’s Manual”, the first book of the series, you will soon realize this book follows the same format. The two doctors give you straight talks and humors on various topics ranging from skin, hair, and nails to sex, love, and happiness. Sounds good, right?
“YOU: Being Beautiful” is divided into three parts with a quiz to measure your “YOU-Q” at the beginning. The quiz is a tool to gauge your perception on your own inner and outer beauty. Then, with the results in mind, the book helps you to navigate to the aspects you need to improve.
The three parts are “Looking Beautiful”, “Feeling Beautiful”, and “Being Beautiful”. Part 1 covers topics on skin, hair, mouth and teeth, hands and feet, and the shape of your body. While it has some anatomy vocabulary, this part as well as the rest of the book has some really interesting (and sometimes, funny) illustrations. Again, please do not expect any makeup tips here. This is a strict (and funny, and excellent) health reference book.
The illustration on skin exfoliation :)Part 2 talks about ways to energize and revitalize your body, manage aches and pains, maintain your mood, and balance your job and money issues. This is probably the most serious chapter in this book and it took me much longer to go through than the other chapters. Drs. Roizen and Oz wrote this chapter with a lot of good and direct information.
Part 3 is the shortest section of this book and covers two main aspects: relationships and happiness. I have to give it to them for delivering the information with good clean humor. When talking about sex, even in the most clinical way, it is very hard to walk a straight line between information and pornography. Yet, they managed! (For a good illustration of the anatomy of sex, please turn to page 295. I decided not to take a picture of this illustration for the sake of the young-uns!)
At the end of this book, there are two workouts and other information on vitamin deficiencies and various plastic surgery procedures (for those who may consider them.) Overall, “YOU: Being Beautiful” is a great reference book worth keeping in your bookshelf. It may seem like a strange choice of book review for a makeup blog but I believe in beauty from within. No matter how much makeup you apply on the outside can mask your unhappiness inside yourself. Also, it does not hurt to know more about your body and how it works. I highly recommend you to check it out when you go to your local library or bookstore.
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Thanks for the review of this book!! I've seen the 1st one around and just haven't been interested enough to actually look through it, but probably will now.
ReplyDeleteBtw, you ever notice whoever Oprah likes, they get on a bestseller list or get their own talk show?! Just saying how powerful Oprah is... GO OPRAH!!!
Hi Crystal,
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Oprah has strong influence to the public. This book is really funny and well-written, I hope you will enjoy it for years to come. But don't read it in one sitting though, it can be quite overwhelming.