Karmic Nectar

Tuesday was filled with energy…. I had a mani/pedi appointment and while I was there I started talking to a girl named Stephanie. We instantly connected and I ended up staying at the salon for almost an extra hour because we both could not stop talking! From skin care to our personal lives we compared stories and eventually exchanged email addresses and phone numbers.

I have been in a kind of skin care vortex lately…. I have been asked for advice from several different people about how to take care of  their skin. I am a skin care freak… My mother started taking me to get facials when I was 13 from a woman in the neighborhood. Skin care was very important to her and she wanted me to have the same respect for my skin that she had. I started off using Lancome (it seems like it was the only thing around in the late 70’s) cleanser, toner, eye cream, day and night cream and eventually neck cream from the time I was a teenager. After college I worked at Bloomingdales selling 2 European skin care lines where my obsession with skin care and makeup escalated. Over the years I have tried most brands of cosmetics – from department store to drug store brands… you name it and it has been in my bathroom cabinet.

There are two products however that I have been using for a while that I feel should always be in your bathroom cabinet. An Alpha Hydroxy Acid product and a Vitamin A product (like Renova or Retin A). I use Retin A www.retinamicro.com and NeoStrata (which is an Alpha Hydroxy Acid cream) www.NeoStrata.com .

Knowing how much of a skin care freak I am my husband bought me a book a while ago by Paula Begoun, Don’t Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me. It is a bible of skin care information. A former makeup artist herself, she lists practically every brand of cosmetics known to man and goes through each product and rates them based on non-biased criteria. In the book you will find that the miracle night cream you spent a lot of cash on is filled with irritating oils and unnecessary ingredients. Eventually Paula created her own line of skin care “Paula’s Choice” www.cosmeticscop.com . I use all of her products and love them. Pick up the book…. It will open your eyes.

I also told Stephanie that I don’t tan my face. I wear total block on my face and constantly have a visor on. I do use self tanner on my face to give it a healthy glow. I have tried them all… My favorite is Shiseido Brilliant Bronze Self-Tanning Emulsion For Face/Body – (Not the tinted self-tanning cream for face). I buy several tubes of this at a time and really only use it on my face. I have found that it is the only self-tanner for the face that doesn’t contain a bronzer (who wants to wake up with a brown pillow?!). I put this on my face at night before I go to sleep instead of a night cream once a week and wake up with great color…

Anyway, I told Stephanie about the Paula Begoun book and also about one of my other favorite books, “Master Your Metabolism”, by Jillian Michaels (The bible for your body- run, do not walk, to get this book). She said she was going to go straight to Barnes and Noble after she left me to buy these… I love people like this! Proactive with great energy,  eager to soak up information…..

After I left Stephanie I drove straight to meet a friend for a drink and to catch up. He is one of my best friends… We don’t see each other often, but we basically share the same brain and seeing him is like a shot of adrenaline in the arm. He brought his business partner/girlfriend and we all talked for hours… I couldn’t sleep Tuesday night – my head was spinning!