For many Caribbean women, enduring the cycle of living,loving, having a career, getting married and raising children means that by a certain age we come to accept our physical flaws (including stretch marks, cellulite, dark circles) and just move on. Some women joke among themselves about the battle scars of motherhood even as they adjust to a thickening waist line that they try to cover up. Some even wear clothing that camouflage the rolls and jiggles.

However, there are those women who defy Mother Nature and Uncle Time, looking gorgeous in whatever they choose to wear, any day of the week...more

Dorraine Samuels - Broadcaster

An experienced broadcaster with close to thirty years in the media fraternity, Dorraine Samuels is a woman well versed in her profession, with the youthful appearance of a woman half her age. For Samuels, juggling work and family commitment has never been difficult as work is usually fun. "I like to incorporate my kids. My first daughter, Melissa, was my hand-bag when she was small, now my youngest, Morgan, is my shadow, and I have a son Russell in between. If I had a broadcast out-of-town, I'd make a fun weekend of it. In between work I do all the motherly duties of pick up and drop off, homework etc."

Down-time for Samuels usually means a day spent outdoors for the most part. "When I can get away I'm a beach person because I love sunning my buns. I also love a good action-packed movie or being able to curl up with a good espionage or action book, not some boring love story. I love comedies, as you get a real aerobic internal work out."...more

Alison Hinds - Soca Artiste

'Bajan sensation' and soca queen Alison Hinds has been blessed with 'ass-ets' that have made many Caribbean men take more than a second glance. She is equally blessed with a beautiful face and a winning personality that make her a crowd-favourite performer, regardless of which Caribbean country she visits.

As Hinds relates to BUZZZ, staying radiant is a conscious decision that sees her spending a lot of time putting in the work required. "Part of my strategy is making the gym my best friend. Whenever I'm home in Barbados, I'm there 5 days a week with my personal trainer, Perry the Punisher. I also try to be aware of what I eat. Im vegetarian so I try to keep my diet as balanced as possible, but I will admit, I have a terrible sweet tooth. Fighting my love of sweets is a constant challenge, but I do my best. Staying spiritually grounded helps with my overall outlook, because when you know that God's got your back, you feel more relaxed and are able to deal with stress better."

To aid her de-stress, nothing works like a good book. "When I'm home and have some free time I love to read. I'm an avid reader. Some of my favourite authors are Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Eric Jerome Dickey and Sophie Kinsella. I also like to play online games that challenge and exercise my brain. There's a site I go to called fi tbrains.com that has nothing but those games."

But playing games takes a back seat when daughter Saharan is around. "Raising her is a handful for my husband and me. We do our best to conduct ourselves in front of her the way we would like her to behave, so it's not just "do as I say"...more

Deon Silvera - Actress

Deon Silvera is not an easy woman to tie down. When BUZZZ finally caught up with her, she bore a small scar from a porridge mishap, and had just come from the hospital after practically helping to 'deliver' her niece's baby. Such is the life of one of Jamaica's finest actresses.

Now approaching 50, and not slowing down one bit, one wonders how Silvera fi nds the energy to juggle the daily demands of life. "Time management. Sometimes I run late, but I do try. I get up in the mornings and work with a little timetable; it doesn't necessarily work all the while, but it's good to try. The 'one hour before show time' rule does get bent a lot as with my hectic schedule I honestly don't always stick to it." ...more

Lady G - Artiste

If there is one woman who is the poster child foreveryouthful female, it is reggae and dancehall artiste Lady G. Beautiful and natural with flawless skin, she is the epitome of 'the girl next door' - with the only catch being that this 'girl' is a fully grown woman with an adult son. Born Janice Fyffe, Lady G has been in the music business for more than twenty years though she says she really "buss" around 1988. Currently she has a new album out dubbed Rated G, produced by herself and her brother Vincent 'Pancho' Wright on her 'G String' Label.

Between shows, tours and studio work, Lady G also has to fit in time for her three children: 23-year-old Courtney, 16-year-old Shanice and 10-year-old Maleka. "It's difficult but if you have to do something you just have to do it. I used to have a live-in helper, but now I do all the cooking and housework myself, which is tiresome, but someone has to do it."

Her coping strategy? Exercise. "I love exercise. I have a time when my body tells me to go to the gym. I also love to laugh and smile and just be happy all the time." ...more

Carlene Davis-Cowan - Gospel Artiste

With a musical career that has spanned more than a quarter century, Carlene Davis-Cowan is an established artiste that has always been on top of her game in the industry, first as a successful secular singer and now as a musical messenger for Christ.

A mother of two, she confesses to raising many more, as the children of her husband's previous relationship were always a welcome part of the package. How then did this full-time singer make the transition into full-time mom and caregiver? "When I first started in music, I didn't have children so I could pour out myself in music, dress, vocal lessons etc. I attended seminars and got involved in organizations so that I could learn about copyright, song writing and just be versed on the business side of things," says Cowan. "By the time I started having children, I was able to balance as I was already making number one hits. I hired people to help me deal with the domestic side of things, but I made sure I deposited values in our children. We never left them up to a nanny or housekeeper who you ended up teaching how to empower you anyway. To this day I can draw or call on these women. During the summer time when school was out, the children were on tour with us or on the road...more

Sharon Marley - Educator

Educator and a member of reggae's royal family, Sharon Marley has been described by many simply as ageless. With a full-time business plus other commitments that consume a lot of her time, Marley feels that preserving a good relationship with her higher self is essential. "I say my prayers and meditate every morning before I get out of bed. When I don't, I make sure I take time out during the day to do it. This body I'm in is a vessel; it will look like anything you want it to look like. I do have a very strong spiritual sense of who I am, and I do work hard to keep that beautiful."

Career, work and home life, she notes, are now all the same to her. "I am what I do everywhere I go. I am a caregiver. After Melody Makers stopped touring together I went full-time into working with children. I have always considered myself a children's advocate so this sense of responsibility can't really be left at the office or at home even; it's always with me. My family understands this about me and so I'm the midwife/ paediatrician/ counsellor to the next generation of my own family. This is a blessing. My Day Care/Training Centre has been open, going on 12 years now, and I'm still very excited to go to work and about the possibilities of how I can affect the future of my country Jamaica, by working with the children."...more

Thalia Lyn - Entrepreneur

Everybody knows that the woman manning the most powerful 'grill' in Jamaica is one 'pintsized' dynamo. CEO of Island Grill and Honorary Consul General to the Royal Th ai Consulate, Thalia Lyn, is a super achiever who juggles work, family commitments and charity obligations, and yet manages to be effortlessly effervescent day in, day out. Blessed with a killer body, a smoking hot wardrobe and, yes, her ever-present Chinese fans, this tiny woman is a great, big ball of energy that still has it going on. When questioned about her strategies for her physical 'upkeep', Lyn, in her usual manner, downplays her 'fashion fierceness'.

"Don't know about 'beautiful' but I stay healthy by continuing to eat the yummy Jamaican fruits and veggies we have in such abundance, yam and green banana, walking and driving my trainer crazy." In her defiance of aging, Thalia says that an abundance of fruits and veggies, lots of water, exercise, eight hours of sleep, cucumbers over the eyes, regular massages and Genny Berry's monthly facial all do the trick. "It's Fort Clarence on Sundays with a large hat and SPF 100 on the face. I also avoid stress wherever I can."...more

Lorna Bennett - Lawyer, Singer

Lawyers are known for being tied up in court and wrapped up in the defence of their clients - a job that requires a tremendous amount of reading, research and preparation. For attorney-at-law Lorna Bennett, the work comes with the territory, but she ensures that when she takes off that black robe, she also discards the pressures of the profession.

Bennett's outlook on life seems to embrace the popular belief that what you get out of life is what you put into it. "I am a firm believer in the saying that you are what you eat, and certainly your lifestyle impacts greatly on your health and physical appearance. So for me, moderation is key, and physical fitness has, from my university days in the 1970's, been an integral part of my life. I was introduced to yoga then, and from thence I have always sought new ways to spice up my workout sessions so that I never become bored. My newest fascination is Turbo Jam. Last year it was P90x. So variety is essential so that you keep it interesting."...more