RSSProduct Review : Paula’s Choice Resist Barrier Repair Moisturizer
October 19, 2009
This article may be better titled “The Language That Sells To Women”. It is not a review in the traditional sense. I apologize if I offend, that is not my intention.
Read moreBeyond Bean Salad
September 24, 2009
I’m not looking for mere survival here. I want supreme and excellent health. This is anti-aging from the inside. Anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, you name it. This is escape velocity in a bowl.
Read moreGreek Salad – Fast and Healthy
January 30, 2009
A child can assemble this if you do the slicing.
I make everything in huge amounts, but you can adjust accordingly. We seem to eat more than other families.
Ingredients
- 2 heads Romaine lettuce, torn – place in bottom of large bowl
- 4 tomatoes, cut in chunks – plop on the lettuce
- 2 English cucumbers (or field cucumbers in summer when they’re good) – on the tomatoes
- 1 500g tub Feta cheese ( this is one place where I don’t use low fat, it seems tasteless and waxy) – crumbled on the cukes
- 1 red onion, thin slices – on the cheese
- black olives – what, about 1 c., on the top, if you like them.
Dressing
- juice of 2 lemons
- 1/4 c. olive oil
- 1 package fresh oregano – soak the leaves in water, squeeze the clump of leaves out like a rag to get rid of most of the water, give a child a bowl and some kitchen shears and have them start snipping
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- salt, pepper to taste
Usually, I make the Romaine bed ahead of time. I have the dressing ready in a glass jar. I add the rest of the ingredients at the last minute and pour the dressing on then. I don’t even toss it before serving. Perfect for the buffet table.
Did you know that our Greek Salad is far from the authentic Greek Village Salad? As Lina and Susie explain, in the original, there is no lemon, garlic, or lettuce. So that leaves tomato, cucumber, feta cheese, onion, olives, and oil.
You’re using fresh oregano everywhere, right? Oregano has higher antioxidant activity than blueberries! than garlic!
Fresh herbs are cheap as chips and easy to work with. Dump tons of them in pasta sauces (kids will not detect basil or oregano in spaghetti sauce), lasagna, stir fries, stews.
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This Greek salad comes together in less than 15 minutes. You wash, get one child to assemble the salad, another to make the dressing, and you’re out the door.
Read moreBotox for Christmas
December 7, 2008
More women I know want this than anything else. Would they really do it? Or are there still too many unknowns… like how do you know a good doctor when you see one, where do they inject exactly, and is it REALLY safe? A thousand questions. Now you can find answers.
Photo by EverJean
In Gift Ideas For The Real World 4 (items 9&10), I told you about this fantastic website called Skin Tour. How excellent to have found an authority site on anti-aging treatments for skin that we can count on.
To tell the truth
Skin Tour is the website of Seattle dermatologist, Dr. Brandith Irwin. It is dedicated to providing consumers with the facts about anti-aging skin products that work, be they cream or injection. I’m always looking for that. This field is desperate for some reality.
We need voices that will plough through all the rubbish and gimmicks and tell us what’s true. Skin Tour is full of informative articles that whittle the topic down to what you need to know. Specific products are shown but the anti-aging focus is more about cosmetic and enhancing procedures like Botox, peels, fillers, and the various types of lasers.
Under Resources >> Menopause and Your Skin, there is the most clear, concise article on what the options are for improving the skin – and there are loads of options !!. Love the comment about the greater confidence and self-acceptance that we finally have found. Yes, we have.
A learning site
I have an impression that the opinion of dermatologists is that every one of us (with normally aging skin) should be using RetinA or Renova afer age 35 or so. I’m not certain if that’s correct but Dr. Irwin seems to support the belief. I haven’t cared enough yet to see a Derm to get some. I was thrilled (not too strong a word) to find Skin Medica Retinol Complex.
Terrific products are recommended, many that I’d never seen before. There are moisturizers, sunscreens (look at them when you go to the site; most interesting), antioxidants, both costly and affordable options. Look at the very neat Booster Packs while you’re there. Cute gifts, matched to a person’s activities.
Video treatments
Dr. Irwin has totally demystifyied Botox/Restlylane injections for me. I get this now. Watch the video blogs. See the questions that were asked, how comfortably the doctor could adapt to the face of each woman to produce a natural look, and how relaxed the patients are. What I can see for sure is that you need someone who can handle a needle.
After all, a needle is a knife. This is far and away my biggest fear. How do you know how smooth a doctor will be as an injector? It takes huge left brain- knowledge and right brain- artistry to be that proficient at using a needle and syringe. It’s really a form of surgery. Conservative taste and a great eye for the end result as part of the entire face go a long way too. These procedures are as much art form as science.
If you’ve been thinking of finding a dermatologist but aren’t sure what to look for in technique or bedside manner, this woman sets a high standard.
Recovery
I wish there were more After pictures on the site. I know exactly what the before issues are. I see them in the mirror every day. What I’d love to understand is what it looks like after. My inkling about Botox is the wooden look. Restylane? I haven’t a clue what that can do when it’s done well, though I can well imagine what done poorly looks like (lopsided and bumpy). It worries me greatly.
I also wish there were some idea given of how the recovery looks. Am I wrong or does Restylane appear to have serious bruising potential? I’m sure it’s covered in depth in the consultation and each woman is different, but I’d like to see the average reaction.
Note the AntiAging Tour
Definitely do take The AntiAging Tour. Scroll down and key in your areas of interest. Mouse over the dots that come up on the face and your options appear in a table on the screen. What smooth and effective use of the internet this is.
To teach and provide information consumers can depend on is the best of what this medium can do. The 13 year old sitting in front of me looking at street level satellite pictures of Paris and finding the pizza place nearest to the Eiffel Tower is illustrating the same thing in a whole different way.
You and I can’t tell what’s in a skin cream by the feel of it. We sure don’t know Restylane from Juvederm from the many new options flooding the market. The next 20 years will be crowded with this stuff, which I personally am quite pleased about.
Photo by Julianne.hide
Feel better
What impresses me most is the Doctor’s desire to just send something good out into the world. Though commission is made on the sale of products, it probably just pays for the site. The time and work seems to be a labor of love and a sincere desire to help people. Since every single molecule of good energy (and bad energy) you send out there boomerangs back to you, I would say there’s some good stuff coming her way.
So yeah. Pretty soon, the face on both sides of my nose will cave in enough and the lines will be so deep that I’ll be glad to have this option. I can almost imagine having these injections with no more worry than getting a hair color. In good hands, it looks like there’s little to fear, especially if you start with temporary treatments.
PS: The purchasing is redirected to Skin Care Rx. Let me tell you, they’re worth a look. Based in Utah, you’ll find an amazing list of hard-to-find brands. If you buy, do link to it from inside Skin Tour. We want to support that site. It’s going to help us a lot over the next 30 years.
I couldn’t link to Skin Care Rx directly or through Skin Tour. I don’t know if it’s a Mac thing because the 3 Windows XP IE7 systems I tried were fine. Oh, the stress! I finally had to place the order by phone. They have terrific tech support at Skin Care Rx and they helped me find a bypass way into the site with the Mac. Let me know if you have any issues.
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More women I know want this than anything else. Would they really do it? Or are there still too many unknowns… like how do you know a good doctor when you see one, where do they inject exactly, and is it REALLY safe? A thousand questions. Now you can find answers.
Read moreThis Month In Elle Canada November 2008 : Read Every Article
October 16, 2008
Thursday! Do you feel like this?
or this?
No need to write in. I can guess.
I bought a subscription to Elle Canada because it cost $6/year with a coupon in a Clinique bonus. It targets a much younger audience and I usually don’t relate. I was off to a better than usual start with this one, with the Editor’s letter. The rest of the issue was just as good.
But before that, on page 21, what DID they do to Nicole Kidman’s lips in the Omega ad?? I hope they’ve been Shopped, not shot up. That girl can look stunning or sick. If she could just leave her hair red and wavy, she’d go a long way.
Editor-in-chief, Rita Silvan, who has very good hair that I especially covet if the curl is her own, writes about fashion’s ridiculously high heels. She describes Julianne Moore, reduced to a teetering tottering woman who could barely make it to the stage to present an award. At that moment, even Julianne Moore made herself ridiculous. Did anyone hear a word she said once she finally conquered the stairs?
Heels that give little lift without losing solid grounding are great. Beyond that, when your walk is shaky, when your knees are oddly bent, when your concentration is on staying upright and alive, when you’re better off sitting politely than getting up and going somewhere, then fashion has made a woman its victim.
So Rita and I agree. When women allow themselves to be diminished by an industry’s fabrication and propaganda about how we should look, just so that industry can continue making money, I get prickly. And when we allow ourselves to be in pain (because stilettos hurt like..) , then we’re even bigger victims.
Natural Resources, on page 40, shows a selection of absolutely beautiful neutral makeup for a tone-on-tone look. The lipsticks are especially appealing. Laura Mercier Aurora will be worth a look; on the Mercier site, I noticed Caramel which I liked even better.
On page 176, Rose is the Beauty News Trend Of The Month. It counterbalances the neutral-to-warm-tones page above with some equally wonderful makeup for pink undertones. Here’s the face ; click the arrows to see the makeup.
Beautiful coats, jackets, boots, very clean lines – a lot of shopping done for you here. The entire issue outdoes itself in coats, bags, and price ranges.
Anne Hathaway, made up to look more interesting than I’ve ever seen her, makes a point about not deciding what you want others to like about you. I’d never really thought about it in that way before. Do we decide “I am funny” or “I am nurturing” or “I am clever” and then work it till it overshadows our other traits? More I think of it, more she might have a point.
The Beckhams have a new his/hers scent. What do these two discuss at the supper table, do you think? The media would have us believe that they do nothing but get photographed and have enviably successful sex by any standard.
I read every horoscope except my own, to prove that they’re interchangeable. You know, my own (Libra) really was the best match, almost the only match.
25 Beauty Steals… I’m always a sucker for those. There were some things I’ll look at (though less than I’d hoped).
I am all about using food as medicine. Until you’ve got that figured out, you can take all the pills you like. They’ll never work as well as when the diet is there to support them. A full page for each topic is devoted to Foods to Fight Stress, Colds, and Fatigue, as well as Antioxidant and Detox best choices.
Much more I haven’t mentioned. There was a lot of diversion packed into this $4 magazine.
On the final page, designer Michelle Lowe-Holder is interviewed. Her opinion of celebrity is most apt, particularly from someone in her line of work. You simply must visit Michelle’s favorite fashion blog at www.stylebubble.typepad.com. For this woman who looks out her windows and sees corn fields, it was time travel.
-->I bought a subscription to Elle Canada because it cost $6/year with a coupon in a Clinique bonus. It targets a much younger audience and I usually don’t relate. I was off to a better than usual start with this one, with the Editor’s letter. The rest of the issue was just as good.
Read moreUnrivaled Products 3 : Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum
October 10, 2008
If I had to pick the one product that I most credit for allowing the age and behavior of my skin to proceed more gently, it would be this. Of the three Paula’s Choice products presented in this Unrivaled Products series (see the previous articles on Beta Hydroxy Acid Gel and Hydrating Treatment Cream), this one appears for its unbelievable ability to improve the look of skin.
Several companies now make serums and some of them are probably pretty decent. But do you know one that is remarkable and costs $22 per tube? I did look but couldn’t find a reason to jump this ship.
Skin Recovery and Skin Balancing
There is a version of the serum for Normal/Dry skin called Skin Recovery. I apply it around my eyes, and to throat, forearms/hands, and upper chest. Why, yes, I do buy 3 tubes at a time.
The Normal/Oily product version is called Skin Balancing and I apply it to my face. The Balancing version contains some mattifying ingredients so you could wear it under makeup. It is equally fabulous. On truly oily skin, it could serve as moisturizer as well as serum.
For me, both serums go on at night after cleansing and toning. Then I read for 10 minutes, and follow with moisturizer : Skin Recovery Moisturizer everywhere the serum of the same name went and Hydrating Treatment Cream right on top of the Skin Balancing serum.
There is a third serum called Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum . It lives somewhere between the other two. You can read about it at Product FAQ. That’s oddly buried under Contact Us in the left column on the Paula’s Choice website. Click FAQ, then the >> PRODUCTS >> Skin care >>Super Antioxidant Serums breadcrumbs. The information will help you find the right one for you.
Across the horizontal bar at the top, follow the Learn >>Skin Care Facts >> Basics and Beyond >> Antioxidants and Free Radical Damage trail to find a more detailed explanation.
What I absolutely love about the ingredient list (available for every product), like this one for Skin Balancing Serum is that the list includes not just the ingredient but also its purpose in the final composition. Somehow, they even managed to get the list printed on the back of the tube. The variety of oils and antioxidants makes this an unrivaled product and that’s before we discuss the price.
Read the product reviews below the ingredient list. Those women said it all and I corroborate every word.
Prepare to be amazed. These serums are that good. If you don’t like them, you can always return them. But I don’t think you will.
-->If I had to pick the one product that I most credit for allowing the age of my skin to proceed more gently, it would be this.Several companies now make serums and some of them are probably pretty decent. But do you know one that is remarkable and costs $22 per tube? I did look but couldn’t find a reason to jump this ship.
Read moreThe Healthiest Smoothie
September 16, 2008
300 days of the year, this is lunch, with a plate of steamed green vegetables. The other 65 days are a bit of a letdown, but you can’t be near a blender with your well-stocked kitchen all the time.
Sometimes, I see the food I eat through the eyes of my white-bread-and-Cheez-Whiz husband and I realize it’s funny. It looks like a chemistry experiment.
Oh well. I learned 10 years ago that I cannot eat what my family eats and look, feel, or think the way I want to. For some, that will just sound like too much extra cooking.
But that’s not the case. Mostly, it’s just more stuff in the fridge. Like everything else you set your mind to, everyone else will get used to it. Give them, and yourself, time to learn.
Ingredients Every Day
-1 banana, not too ripe (unless you love ripeness; I find them mushy, sweet, and have a higher glycemic load)
- 1/2c berries (straw, rasp, blue, mixed) (I buy the 2kg bags of frozen mixed berries, keep them in the freezer, and scoop the amount I want each day)
- ½ scoop natural protein powder (I use unflavored whey powder ; you could use soy protein powder too ; if you like the flavored ones, try to avoid real or fake sugar just because we don’t need more of either one)
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1-2 Tbsp psyllium fiber
- 2 Tbsp raw wheat germ
- 1 Tbsp fresh ground flax seed
- a few scrapes of lemon zest, maybe ¼-1/2 teaspoon
- 1c O.J. Not From Concentrate Extra Pulp (want to use milk? works fine) (use less if you like it thicker)
- 1/2c Pomegranate juice (I like the POM brand)
Ingredients Even Days
- 1 c. (or what looks like 1c.) chunks raw fresh pineapple
- 125g silken or soft plain tofu
Ingredients Odd Days
- 1 small (or half a large) mango, peeled and chunked (a steak knife will slice it off right to the stone)
- 1c plain 2% organic yogurt ( I like the taste of organic yogurt; it’s less watery, tastes more like a cream cheese/sour cream blend; I’ve also read that the live bacterial cultures are preserved better)
Ingredients When I Have Them
- ¼ c. fresh or frozen cranberries (buy the bags of fresh berries at Thanksgiving or Christmas for about $1.50 each; fire them into the freezer as is; use them all year)
- 1 Tbsp. extra virgin organic coconut oil (twice a week) ( set it in a warm place to liquefy and pour it into the blender while it’s running; otherwise, you’ll have little flakes of solid oil which will be esthetically not ideal)
Technique
Toss in blender. Buzz. Thank you very much, it was nothing.
An anti-oxidant bonanza, an anti-cancer festival, an anti-aging free-for-all.
Why Psyllium?
This powdery stuff comes from the husk of a seed. It contains both soluble fiber (like oat bran and legumes) to slow the rate at which sugar leaks into the bloodstream and so stabilizing insulin levels which is important for weight control and to lower cholesterol , and insoluble fiber (like AllBran) to promote regularity.
There’s some good info about it here.
You won’t even know it’s there.
Why freshly ground flax?
The excellent and important book, Cooking With Foods That Fight Cancer ( reviewed in the articles Book Review : Foods That Fight Cancer – One Book Everyone Must Read and Book Review : Cooking With Foods That Fight Cancer) contains an entire chapter on the wonders of flax seeds. They fight the types of cancers that are influenced by too much estrogen, breast cancer being the most familiar. Because they reduce inflammation, they have a general protective activity against many other cancers too.
It has to be ground flax seed to work its magic, and ground less than 2 weeks ago, and stored airtight in the fridge. I just grind a tablespoon as I need it. It’s much easier. My fridge is full of kale and Cheez Whiz.
I grind the flax seed in a Braun coffee grinder that is used only for that purpose. It works perfectly. It’s a little loud but you could pre-grind a week’s supply and keep it in the fridge. The coffee grinder comes in black also and costs about $20. You won’t be able to taste it. It adds a little grainy texture, as does the wheat germ but it’s a minor thing.
Your body is going to be so happy.
-->300 days of the year, this is lunch, with a plate of steamed green vegetables. The other 65 days are a bit of a letdown, but you can’t be near a blender with your well-stocked kitchen all the time.
An anti-oxidant bonanza, an anti-cancer festival, an anti-aging free-for-all.
This Month In Allure July 2008 : Sex Again!
July 15, 2008
If it had been on the cover of any other magazine, I would not have bought it. Last month, I didn’t buy Vogue because the cover said “Let’s Talk About Sex” in reference to the movie, Sex In The City. I don’t care or believe what media tells me about sexiness. Actually, I disagree with most of it.
But it was Allure! It’s my gift to myself each month. I had to buy it and I’m glad I did.
15% Off All SPF Products At Paula’s Choice
June 5, 2008
Does everyone know that sun products are on sale at Paula’s Choice for the month of June ? That includes any product with an SPF, not just sunscreens. We’re talking foundations, pressed powders, and one of the lip products.
Not only that, each order includes 15 free sample packets. 15 !! My kind of sale.
BOOK REVIEW : DON’T GO TO THE COSMETICS COUNTER WITHOUT ME, 7th ed, PART 1
January 20, 2008
When Paula Begoun published the last edition of this book in 2002, she said it would be the last time. I tell you truthfully that my heart skipped a few beats when I read that. Thank heavens, she changed her mind.
If we ever meet, I’m going to take her out for salad, dessert, and Diet [...]
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