Morning Ritual

There is nothing like getting yourself off on the right foot in the morning.  Personally, I am a morning person... I like the solitude of the morning.  So it is important to me to get started with a good feeling and I achieve that by following my morning ritual.  For those of you that have read my blog titled "My Miracle Product",  you already know that I have a night time skin care regimen that puts me ahead of the game  by the time I wake up.  Thank goodness for my Maracuja Oil because I wake up feeling soft and supple.  But, just as it is extremely important to take your makeup off at night - it is equally important to wash and prep your skin in the morning.  The canvas needs to be clean and prepared for what you are about to paint on it.  If you don't wear makeup it's still important to give your skin a bath and prep it to battle against anything that may just be floating around the air. Wash at night and wash in the morning... trust me, you'll be glad you did...

So, my first recommendation is of course a cleanser... afterall this is your first step in the morning.  Here is the deal.... I know that a lot of you out there are probably sticklers on picking a cleanser based on the type of skin you have; dry or oily.  I used to be all over oily so I picked those products that swore to rid me of this pesty condition.  What happened?  Well they sucked all of the oil out of my face and put my oil glands into overdrive!  Think about it - we all know that dry skin shows wrinkles more than oily skin.  But sucking the life out of your skin is only going to give you yet another problem to take care of.  Now, some of you out there may really need help with over oily or over dry skin - but I'm willing to bet that you have been brainwashed into thinking that if you show a little shine you have oily skin or if you feel a little tight, you have dry skin - just so you will buy products to cure these problems.  Do yourself a favor and try using products for normal or combination skin - they are just more gentle on your face.  Another important factor to remember is that great skin starts on the inside.  DRINK WATER - it is the best medicine for your skin.

Clarins Gentle Cleansing Foam with Cottonseed.  It is the god of skin cleansers.  At night it removes all of my makeup to include my eye makeup and in the morning it gently cleanses my face to give me a fresh start.

Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser with Cottonseed

Use only about the size of your thumbnail and massage gently on your skin (don't forget your neck!) and rinse.  It leaves no oily residue nor is it drying - it's just right!  Now, remember, don't rub your face with a towel to dry it - pat - GENTLY.  Time for your moisturizer.  

Clinique Moisture Surge

I know some of you may feel like using different brands for your skin regimen is equivelnt to cheating on your husband but really ladies... it's not a crime.  I've tried the Clarins moisturizers and all of them were just to heavy for me.  I'm sure they moisturized my skin, but I don't like the feeling of putting a cream on my face at all.  Maybe it's all in my head, but I just think that a cream is too heavy to be absorbed - hence it does nothing more than clog my pores.  Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief gel-creme is just what the doctor ordered.  it's so light and feels like a medicated water is being applied without the medicine smell.  It's so soothing and cooling and it puts just the right amount of moisture on my face.  Within seconds it's absorbed and my face is ready to move on with the rest of my ritual.... the makeup - but that is another 5 blogs or so!  A couple of recommendations when using this product:

1.  Don't use your fingers to grab the product from the container. Instead use a q-tip.  I just do what I can to avoid contaminating it.  I use a dollop for each cheek and one for my neck about the size of my ring finger nail bed .  Spread it gently around your entire face.

2.  Swipe it just enough to spread all over and then before it dries, and then start pressing it into your face.  I've been doing this application method for about 6 months now and it has made a big difference.

So, good luck and happy morning ritual to you all!  Enjoy!

Keeping the Red ... RED!

Ok, so today I thought I would write about my red hair.  Seems that no matter where I go, I stand out in a crowd - not because I'm anything special or popular... but just because I have flaming red hair.  Yes, I said flaming.  Am I a natural red head?  No - I pay for for it and because I pay a pretty penny to be this color, I want it to look good between trips to my wonderful Italian hairdresser.  Out of all the colors I could have picked from, I had to pick the one that is the most difficult to maintain.  Reds are famous for fading quickly.  I have tried lots of color shampoos and conditioners - all claiming to keep color locked in and fresh, but unfortunately they all failed me - even the ones that I bought from my hairdresser.  Then I ran across an ad in my Vogue magazine for Aveda shampoo and conditioner, but the ad featured a dark haired model - you know that beautiful rich chocolate brown color... so pretty.  Anyhow I got on line and started my search and found that they made a shampoo and conditioner for us red heads as well.  Madder root - my staple product for red hair..

Aveda Madder Root Shampoo

This shampoo is the absolute holy grail for red heads.  The shampoo itself is a firery red/orange color and smells heavnly.  It doesn't change the color of your red - just revives it.  I've tried other products that claim to keep red hair red, but for some reason all of those products were pink, even fushia in color and guess what??  My hair always looked pink after washing it!  I'm a red head - not a pink head!  The other benefit to this shampoo is that my hair has never built a "resistence" to it.  You know what I mean by this?  Like after a while of using the same product your hair becomes limp and dull.  Well, not with Madder Root - it's that good.

Of course, what is a shampoo without a conditioner.  The Madder Root conditioner packs a powerful punch and is the perfect companion to it's shampoo partner.

Aveda Madder Root Conditioner

However I will caution you on this product.  The color of this differs from the shampoo - it has no orange undertone - instead it is a deep ruby red and I have found that using it alone does play games with your color.  So to fix this, I go 50/50 with another favorite conditioner of mine... Silk by Liqwid. 

Liqwid Silk Conditioner

This little treasure has transformed my hair.... literally.  It is just awesome.  My hair is smooth, soft and healthy.  It does nothing for the color - but it really has made a difference to the all around health of my hair.  I have thin, dry hair - about shoulder length.  It's always been "ok" because I spend time on it - but this product is a miracle and my shower is never without it!


So the Silk and the Madder Root conditioner - 50/50.... mixed together and applied after shampoo.  I let it sit for about 5 minutes or so... rinse and voila!  Perfection for your locks.  


Here's to being a red head and maintaining that fabulous color!

My miracle product

If you are like me and I'm willing to best that most of you are - you are probably on the hunt for that one product that will transform your skin into a flawless canvas.  You may be the type that prefers a matte finish (my personal preference) or maybe you lean towards that dewy look - whichever it is, it all begins with skincare.  No matter what makeup you use; if your skin is in bad shape, no amount of makeup is going to help.  It may get you by for a night on the town - but seriously, it's time to get to the root of the problem. 

I'm 43 and have been searching for at least 20 years for a skincare product that would fix my woes... Yes, I'm trying to combat the never ending battle of making time stop on my face... and though I have finally realized that battle will never be one I can win, I have finally found a product that drastically turned back the clock and is at present, keeping my age a secret. 

I have the classic T-zone problem and I have some substantial crows feet. I USED to have a pretty bad problem with unsightly acne on my chin area that actually was never a problem until I turned 40.  How one starts to break out at 40 is beyond me.... I guess they call it adult acne... yuck.  So those were my three biggest concerns.  I can't tell you have many times I took the ever so popular skin quiz from just about every skincare company on the planet... and each time the result was:  "you need this product for your eyes, this product for your T-Zone, this one for daytime, this one for night time... etc., etc.  I could have purchased a small apartment with the amount of money I have spent on skincare... but now that has changed... For me - the search is "over"... I put that in parenthesis because lets face it, I'm a woman and I love feminine things - makeup and skincare are my weakness (along with shoes, purses, hair products, and on & on - but those are for another blog post in the future). 

The product I am raving about is called Maracuja Oil.  I receive the daily Zoe Report and she recommended this product to help your skin transition from winter to summer.  So I thought, why not.  Even though it was a straight up oil which scared me a bit, I figured at this point, I'd give anything a try help with the acne issue I was having at the time.  So I placed my order at QVC and waited patiently for it to arrive. 

Maracuja Oil

I'm not a big package finatic - I figure I'm going to throw it away anyway so it doesn't really matter to me - but this actually came in a little bamboo box that I still use to this day for some of my costume jewelry - that's just the added bonus to the real benefits of this product.  They say that you need to try a product for at least two weeks to see the changes in your skin.... I'm an instant gratification gal - 2 weeks is a long time for me to try something that, let's face it...  it probably isn't going to make a difference in anything other than emptying my bank account.  So, I set aside my cynical side and jumped in with both feet.  I mean it ..... after only two days my skin had changed.  My acne went away, my T-Zone took a hiatus; my crows feet are still there, but ladies there isn't a product on the market that is going to fix that - give up your search.  If they are really bothering you, go see your local plastic surgeon - trust me, that is your only alternative.  So - yes it works and it is amazing.  Here is my regimine if you care to follow it - it's easy and takes no time at all.... just be consistent in your skincare... that is the most important thing:

1.  Always, always, always remove your makeup at the end of the day.  I can't stress this enough.  I use Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser with Cottonseed.  It's a light foaming cleanser that effectively removes all of my makeup.

2.  Pat dry your face. Sometimes we tend to put the towel to our faces and rub to dry our skin.  I'm not a dermatologist, but I've read a lot about skin.... don't rub - don't rub - don't rub.  Pat your skin dry - GENTLY.  In fact, if you want to take a walk on the wild side, let it air dry..It's actually very refreshing to do this - give it a try!

3. Take the Maracuja Oil and press the gold button on the dropper to fill it with just the right amount of product.  One full press is all you need for your face and neck.  Pat it on to your skin - around your eyes too.  This oil does not travel... it stays put and is absorbed exactly where you apply it. 

Within about 1 minute and voilà! it is absorbed completely.  You will wake up to fresh, smooth, supple skin.  Sit back and enjoy the positive changes of your skin - and you can also be happy with the cost of this product - only about $50.00 and it will last you about 5 to 6 months!

Now, one word of caution.... if you are like me, you can sometimes go crazy with a product by using too much of it or more often than needed in an effort to "speed up the process".  Use this only at night.  I just think that when you are sleeping your skin goes into the repair process and the product can do exactly what it was meant to do.  I tried it in the morning with makeup applied over it and I just felt like it was too much.  My next blog will give you my daytime skincare product choice.

I hope it works for you.... like it did for me.  Send your feed back to me either way.  And remember:  "C'est la vie"!!!