What If?

In a perfect world, you find just the right product for your hair, face, etc. the first time around. This is not a perfect world...

So, are you wondering what to do with the products you don't use or don't work for you? Get a box. No, you are not dumping them; you are going to have a party. Have a "Recycle, Reuse, Revive Yourself" get together! Invite your friends over and have them bring over any products that fit the bill. Enjoy a night together and swap products, and gossip if you fancy. In this mode, you and your friends will get a lot out of the deal and you will not feel like you are flushing your money.

Happy partying.

What Sarah Loves!

The fierce and fabulous Sarah V. responded with her list of "Must Haves" and, I gotta say, the girl has incredible taste! Obviously.... ;-)

Sarah wrote:
1. My Personal Eye Lash Magician's Box: I have lash-less lids, kinda like a lizard. I attempt to remedy this by applying prescription Lastisse every evening (lashes are now longer, but still sparse). By day, I never leave the house without Revelon's Stiletto Mascara in Very Black. By night, I ramp it up with Diorshow Blackout mascara.

2. The entire range of Moroccan Oil hair products, specifically the shampoo, conditioner, restorative masque, hair-enhancing cream, and the original can't-face-the-world without it Moroccan Oil Treatment. They smell wonderful, feel luxurious, are full of hair-healthy ingredients, and are the only team my wayward hair will pay attention to.

3. La Mer face cream at night. The original. I've been unfaithful time and time again, but I always return to La Mer. And she always forgives me. At a price.

4. Neutogena Sunblock SPF 45 with Helioplex for faces. It's gentle, unscented, effective, and just emollient enough to work as a day cream. LOVE IT.

5. Agent Provacateur fragrance. I have to pick and choose when it's appropriate...which is, quite frankly, whenever I SAY it's appropriate. Sex in a bottle. A sassy little bottle, at that!

To What are YOU Addicted?

At the advice of my sister, we are making a fan favorites list. What are 5 to 10 items that are your must haves? E-mail your responses to joyful_girl1981@yahoo.com and tell us why you love them so!!! Please put "Must Haves" in the subject line.

I look forward to seeing your responses! :-)

Hello, Sunshine

Finally! Sun!

So, many, many, many people are anti-sun. I am not one of them. I am sun-wise. I have thirteen tattoos (I always need to recount) so I put SPF 50+ on them whenever they will be exposed. My Bare Escentuals makeup has SPF 15 naturally. And, I love the new spray-on sunscreens. If you are wise, you can embrace the sun in doses. Avoid becoming leathery!!!

So, here is my sun routine: apply the moisturizer and makeup, add extra SPF under makeup as desired; rub SPF 50 on the tattoos or "easily burned" spots--like shoulders and back of the neck; spray on SPF 15 or SPF 30 all over; and get dressed. I always keep my sunscreen on me too, if I know I will be out and about. So many people forget to reapply. Do not be that person!!! Reapply every couple of hours, especially between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. when the sun is strongest and even more frequently if at the beach. By doing this, you will get a healthy, slow-building tan and avoid the burns. A caveat: you do need to scrub the spray-on stuff off so take a nice shower and exfoliate.

My hair loves the sun too. She will be whatever color she wants but, in the summer, she loves going a little golden. I still protect her though. When I go to the beach, I spray on Color Endure Spray by Joico and rub some oil or conditioner onto the ends. Then, I braid her or pull her back. If you part your hair, be wary of scalp burn! I have been known to rub a little sunscreen on my part but covering the part with hair, a scarf, a hat, etc. is just as protective.

Enjoy the nice weather. Just be smart about it. Oh, and see your dermatologist regularly.

P.S. If you like to ride with the windows down, sunscreen the exposed arm(s) and tie up your tresses to avoid knots. :-)

Don't Go to Bed Angry... Or With a Dirty Face

(I admit it: I am not always good about this rule. But, I can finagle around it by showering at night!)

Men and women out there: whether you wear no makeup or layer it on more than a Vegas showgirl, your face needs to be cleansed at least once a day, but preferably twice. By cleansing properly, we remove makeup, environmental toxins, oil buildup, dead skin cells, and so on. When we wash these things off, our faces are fresher and healthier. Your pores need to breathe, so let them.

The face washes I love most in this world are Neutrogena's Deep Clean, C.O. Bigelow's Vitamin Cleanser, Garnier Fructis's Nutri-Pure Daily Exfoliating Gel Cleanser, Bioelements's Decongestant Cleanser, and Bioelements's Flash Foaming Cleanser. I kind of live by Bioelements; they are pricey but last a really, really long time and they help me to support my local merchants (www.lauralanes.com).

When you purchase a cleanser, know your skin type. (Hint: if your cheeks get dry but your forehead and nose shiny, you are a combination.) The best cleansers for drier skin are cream-based and the ones for combination to oily skin are gels. Choose wisely! ... But, if you get frustrated or confused, see a skin professional (not talking dermatologist here) or swing by a department store. You know the Clinique counters? Remember the questionnaire sliders about your skin for their face care line? See where I am going with this?

As always, moisturize. A moisturized face is a happy face.

Don't Fight It

Between the apocalyptic rain and the sudden increase in temperature, my wavy-curly hair is now in ringlets. These are the times when we cannot fuss and fight our tresses. If you do, your hair will completely misbehave! So, go with it.

If you have curly hair, mix some frizz reducer and gel in your hands and rake through; I really like Herbal Essences's Totally Twisted Scrunching Gel for this. For the wavier girls, use the frizz reducer with a creme-gel and rake through; I recommend Joico's Curl Definer Creme/Gel here. And, straight haired ones, you should use a good leave-in conditioner, like Bumble and Bumble's Tonic, and frizz reducer. If you want to tame the straight mane a bit more, spray some hairspray in your hands (yes, in your hands) and gently swipe them over your hair; my favorite hairspray is MOP's because it is non-aerosol, not sticky, and long lasting.
As always, AIR DRY!!!

So, some of you probably noticed the phrase "rake through" and this is a simple thing that can be tricky to master, because we don't want product concentration. To properly rake, start with a smaller amount of product than usual and rub your hands together. Spread out your fingers and wiggle them down the hair on the underside of your hair, or under the canopy as it were. Repeat this, but more gently, with the upper layer of hair. A light shake of the strands afterwards will boost shape and curl pattern. If you have very thick hair, do this in sections. Keep practicing this and you will master the even distribution of product.

Let the hair down. Don't fight it.

Note to Self...

Do not fall asleep with wet hair, especially wet hair that has gel in it. Your hair will get matted and the oils will, for lack of a better phrase, congeal. This does not make for a good hair day!