There's a zen koan that says if you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.

Now I don't know anything about meeting Buddha, but I can say that if you meet a model on the road who says she loves to eat, don't believe her -- especially if she's ex-reality TV-star Brittny Gastineau.

The raven-haired Gastineau recently told Jay Leno's "Ross the Intern" that she stayed thin through anorexia.

Was she kidding? Well, if you trace Gastineau's incredible weight loss over the past year (I don't -- I honestly didn't know who she was until thirty minutes ago), you'd probably conclude that she was speaking the truth. But still, the confession seems awfully weird.

One thing is certain, admitting to an eating disorder is not a good way to jump start a modeling career, which her friends say is the motivation behind her shrinking frame. Even though most agents and designers would be chomping at the bit to get a 5'11 girl who weighs just 105 pounds, I doubt anyone is willing to touch her now that she's publicly admitted she's an anorexic. The fashion industry can't continue to exist as it is without putting forth the illusion that models its healthy and naturally thin. The fact is once a model says she's sick, the gig's up.

Cleaning is a basic ritual for everyone, so why on earth would we need a lesson on how to wash and care for our own skin? You'd be surprised.

Allure magazine has compiled some expert tips on how to keep your skin clean and hydrated in the coming cold winter months.

1. Get clean: According to Allure ,showers and baths should be limited to 15 minutes with warm water. Any longer or hotter is damaging to the skin. The kind of soap you use this winter could also have adverse effects on your skin. Throw out your bar soap and opt for a body wash that cleans and moisturizer for best results.
2. Exfoliate: This is a step that a lot of us tend to leave out, but it is absolutely necessary. Dead skin cells need to be shed every two to three days; the method is your choice. Go with a natural fiber loofah or a salt or sugar scrub (I prefer the sugar scrub).
3. Hydrate: After the cleaning and scrubbing its time to hydrate your winter skin. Did you know you only have three minutes to halt the evaporation of water from the skin? That means you have to act fast. Each time you wash your body, face, and hands moisturizer should be applied. It is best to apply lotion to your body twice a day; once in the morning and again at night.

Over the weekend, Britney Spears was spotted heading into a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon's office. When she emerged later that day, it was obvious that something had gone terribly wrong since the pop princess walked to her car with hand covering her mouth. (Scandal!)

Rumors and photos suggest that Britney's lip injections left her mouth looking less like a pout and more like a trout.

Of course, Brit's lip injection disaster places her in good company. Lots of celebrities suffer from duck mouth, and to prove this point, I've assembled Styledash's official Celebrity Adventures in Bad Collagen. Enjoy!

One of the hardest parts of my morning routine is applying my liquid eyeliner. The right eye usually goes on with no problems, then I get to the left and all hell breaks loose. One line is shorter than the other, or it's too wide, or it's smudged. Whatever it is, it's always just plain wrong. I have gone to cosmetic counters asking for help and I still end up failing. Finally, there is a simple how-to I can work with from Allure.

In Allure's October issue, makeup artist Pat McGrath gives us the low down on how to apply liquid liner.

First things first, buy the good stuff. I happen to know from experience that this step is crucial. When looking for the perfect liquid liner make sure it dries fast (to avoid smudges) and has a nice rich color.

Once you have purchased your perfect liner, it's time to apply. According to McGrath, it's best to trace the upper lashes with an eye pencil. This step helps you achieve the perfect line before you commit to the liquid. After you have placed your line, trace over it with the liquid liner. To keep your hand steady, you may want to rest to you elbow on a table. If you still can't get it right and end up with a hideous smudge, take a cotton swab dipped in moisturizer to remove.

Voila! Your eyes are now beautiful. Remember with a dramatic eye you must keep your lips simple. Just dab on a bit of blush and lip gloss and you are good to go.

You like to think of yourself as a Goddess among mortal women, so why not dress the part on Halloween?

The beauty of dressing up as a Greek Goddess is that the costume is super easy to put together, and can be made sexy without compromising too much of your modesty. At least, not as much as you would, say, with any of those other costumes. Since "Grecian" was also a very trendy look this past spring and summer, you might even have a cute top or dress already (Rachel Pally has a great long Grecian dress available over at ShopBop)! All you need are the appropriate accessories -- something natural or golden in your upswept hair, gold rope around your waist (with tassles!), wide gold bangles as jewelry, and of course, you can't forget the requisite strappy gold sandals.

If you want to go as a specific Greek goddess, try Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, or Athena.

Despite the advances of virtual realism in today's technology, our experience of the world in binary is still fairly, well, limited to zeros and ones. Sure, you can create a life-like avatar who can eviscerate its neighbor with disturbing accuracy or learn to dance like Justin Timberlake, but when it comes to the smells of real-life, our computers are very beta.

According to a Business Wire press release from May 2007, an innovative software company in Alabama has developed the technology to change what it is that we smell when we sit down to our computers. ScenTeck Technologies released its Scratch-N-Sniff Pro(TM) downloadable software that allows users to experience aromatherapy through their speakers.

Designed as a way to heighten the sensory experience of the computer, the Scratch-N-Sniff Pro (TM) software combines a proprietary "Scent Card" that responds to sound triggers in your hard drive. Translated in to plain English, the Scratch-N-Sniff Pro sends inaudible waves through your speakers that are translated as scents rather than sounds.

ScenTeck Technologies argues that its digital aromatherapy, which comes in scents like Mountain Breeze, Passion fruit, and Patchouli, enhances productivity. And that sounds, or rather, smells, like a great innovation if you can overlook the oddity of inhaling instead of hearing a sound.

But what do you think? Would you want to smell sounds from your computer or would that be just a little too Meet-the-Jetsons for you?

(Full Disclosure: Uh, if this is a viral marketing campaign and not a real product, consider me duped!)

Just how adorable is this cream-colored cable-knit sweater dress?

You'll think it's even more adorable when you find out that it's only $39.99!

This cotton/nylon/rayon/wool/angora blend sweater dress is so utterly perfect for fall that I can hardly stand it. Not only is it cream, which is a totally versatile, and trendy color for fall, the dress features a wide, open rounded neckline, ribbing at the neckline, hemline, and cuffs of the three-quarter-length sleeves, and of course, the cable-knit design that is always a classic for the cooler seasons.

Available from La Redoute Paris.

The highlight of LA Fashion Week for me was chatting with accessories designer Tarina Tarantino. I remember it like it was yesterday. There I was staring at the beautiful people when I saw this magnificent head of pink hair. It was Tarina.

If you aren't familiar with Tarina Tarantino, she is an LA-based jewelry designer who creates fun and girly accessories for the fashion-forward. She often draws inspiration from skulls, Barbie, Hello Kitty, and other adorable things. Celebrities like Hilary Duff, Paris Hilton, and Avril Lavigne are fans of her designs. I completely flip out for all of her designs, especially her Pink Head accessories (Hello Kitty with a head of pink hair).

Not to be a gushing fashionista stalker or anything, but Tarina is the nicest person ever. She showed me the ins and outs of her handbag, which she designed herself. The handbag she was carrying is part of her new handbag line that can be found in her boutiques or online.

My personal favorite is a limited edition clutch, pictured. The small clutch is made of pink vinyl, white leather and a Swarovksi crystal bow that doubles as a hand strap. The real kicker is the detachable chain that connects to a series of lucite bangles. Each bag comes with a certificate of authenticity and is designed with love from Tarina.

One of the best parts of going to Fashion Week is the "gift bag." It's shameful to admit such greed, but it's true.

Inside of the generous bag put together by the folks at Mercedes-Benz, I received a lip palette by Smashbox. I swear I will never have to buy another tube of lipstick again.

This ultra-thin palette contains 18 lip colors from nude shades to a stunning classic red. The kit even comes with a lip brush, and not just one of those tiny ones. This brush is full-sized.

So far, I have tested out the red, nude, and clear glitter color and have been pleased by the results. The lip color doesn't go on too heavy like a traditional lipstick and it isn't at all sticky like a lip gloss. The staying power isn't too shabby either; I had to re-apply about halfway through the workday.

You can buy this palette online for $39 (retails at $60). With a price like that you should definitely pick one up for yourself and another for a friend.

"Halloween. n. annual excuse for girls to dress like sluts and get away with it." - Urban Dictionary

Now, we're not going to say that we subscribe to this philosophy about Halloween, nor will we look down at it with disdain. We will simply admit that it is, good or bad, quite true.

However, this is Styledash, and we know there are fashionable, slightly less -- to use Urban Dictionary's term -- "slutty" ways to dress up for Halloween. From now until the big day, we're going to pick out some of our favorite costumes that are just as creative as any of those Naughty Fill-in-the-Blanks out there.

Naturally, our first choice is Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's. It's a good choice because more than likely, you already own some of the elements -- a black sleeveless shift dress, long black gloves, strand of pearls, oversized black sunglasses -- and even if you don't, now is the perfect time to pick up timeless, classic pieces that you can wear in your regular, non-Halloween life after! Pull your hair into an upsweep, and most importantly, you've got to don that Golightly attitude.

And if you just want to buy the entire ensemble in a bag, try the 5th Avenue Girl costume from Anytime Costumes.

Whenever I feel less than hot, I always grab my purse and head out to the mall because a new pair of shoes or a bag always seems to do the trick. Well, it looks like I can save myself some money because the key to being a "hot chick" can't be found at the mall.

The book How to Eat Like a Hot Chick teaches you how to look your best through what you put in your mouth. This book isn't your typical diet book; it's much more fun than that. The tone of book is like that of you and your girlfriends talking to one another. At one point in the book, I swore I wrote the darned thing.

There is nothing in this book the average girl can't handle because the rules are so basic. Did you overindulge with a big breakfast? Eat a pound of spinach for dinner to make up (or down, rather) for it. Going out for cocktails? Skip those sugary margaritas things and go for a 70 calories vodka and soda.

The book is light, funny and you can read it a matter of hours.

Now this is taking the Elements of Style literally. Literally.

If you're a word-whore like we bloggers are word-whores, you might appreciate a line of custom wall decals by Bliks. You can decorate the walls of your living space with words! Whether you choose to re-print a line of famous poetry, an inspirational paragraph from your favorite novel, or hell, use your own words, all you have to do is tell Bliks what you want, choose the font, color, and size, and they will create the self-adhesive surface graphics that you can stick on your walls. It's like wallpaper without the mess, and a lot more personality.

There are a few things in fashion that perplex me -- the immortality of Uggs, flat shoes, trashbags as purses -- and of course, the sleeveless turtleneck. A turtleneck is a cold-weather feature, meant to keep your neck warm, and yet if you're wearing it for cold weather, why would you go sleeveless?!?! Really, I never understood that.

The short-sleeve turtleneck, perhaps, is not as bad, particularly as a dress by Golden Cast. The black knit (almost) minidress is made from a comfortable 50/50 cotton/modal jersey and has a high waist. The gentle turtleneck takes you into fall, and yet its cap sleeves work for the not-as-of-yet chill weather.

The best of the dress, though? It's on sale at Active Endeavors for $75

LA Fashion Week street style is much different than, say, a New York Fashion Week's street style. In New York you would expect everyone to be impossibly thin, donning head-to-toe black, and to be very chic. In LA, the laid back style comes out to play, which often made me wonder if I was at Fashion Week or in line at nightclub Les Deux.

The eclectic style was somewhat refreshing and made people-watching that much more fun. I scanned the crowd while sipping my pomegranate cocktails to see if I could pick up on any emerging trends. One trend I picked up on was all of the man-candy rocking nerd glasses, which was so very hot.

It was clear that most of the guys sporting this trend were wearing fake glasses (how Bryant Gumbel of them), but it didn't matter because it looked really good. The frames I saw the most were black however I did see a pair of red frames that were very chic as well.

I think the best way for men to sport "nerd glasses" is to wear a very 1950s-esque suit with a slim tie. If you are good looking enough, jeans and a t-shirt will work, too.

Yes, we haven't even gotten through the tricks and treats of Halloween, so it may seem a little early to write about Christmas, but my Styledash friends, it's never too early for a Victoria's Secret fantasy.

Especially if you have to start your savings of $4.5 million.

Every year, lingerie mega-line Victoria's Secret puts out a "Fantasy" bra for the holidays. As if a million dollar bra and panty set just weren't enough, this year, Victoria's Secret added accessories to make it a complete (much more expensive) set. The diamond-encrusted bra and thong with holly detail also has a matching garter, cuff, and barrette.

Because you know you just have to have that matching poinsettia barrette or else this whole ensemble just won't do.