Never too old for smelling great

My grandmother was a woman before her time. Florence was born in 1904, yet wore short skirts and even made her own perfume. I was never lucky enough to sample her concoctions, but one of my aunts recalls smelling lavender and nutmeg frequently in their kitchen while growing up.

After learning this, I secretly wondered if Florence had ever gotten the two ingredients confused. "Lavender pie" would have been quite a surprise on the dinner table at Easter and a little dab of "Eau de Nutmeg" behind my grandma's ear would certainly have made my grandfather hungry - for something.

Although I switched perfumes frequently in my younger years, I wore only White Shoulders during my 40s and well into my 50s. I could not be convinced to try anything else. Until I stopped smoking. (I'll celebrate my 5th year of being a non smoker at 5 p.m. December 28, 2010.)

Once I stopped smoking for a few days, I realized how horrible I had smelled to others for many years. I had to wash or creatively deodorize everything I owned - clothes, books, drapes, stuffed animals, never-used makeup brushes, even my walls. As non smokers have always known, tobacco makes everything reek!

So once I stopped stinking, I decided to ever-after smell delicious. While doing online searches for various perfumes, I found FragranceNet.com and was able to play around with sample sizes of all kinds of scents. What fun!

I am now in love with several different perfumes, with my top 5 favorites being: Viva La Juicy by Juicy Couture, Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel, Delicious DKNY by Donna Koran, Romance by Ralph Lauren, and Miss Dior Cherie by Dior. If you check out the web site link below, you can go find your favorites too and save a bunch of money while doing so.

Never too old for ...being careful

Yup, it's been a while. I got so caught up with Thanksgiving, I neglected my NeverTooOldFor blog. I'm a bit more organized for Christmas, so I'm back and ready to give you more ideas of how to be never too old - for just about anything.

Smack dab in the middle of the feel-good season seems like a good time to share something I learned recently. Be very careful if you have a young child or companion animal and use any kind of medicinal body cream, spray or gel, i.e., hormones, analgesics, treatments for psoriasis, etc.

Kids and pets are prone to sticking everything in their mouths, or at least licking everything in sight, and that includes people's hands, legs, or arms. Unfortunately, they can wind up absorbing medications orally and becoming really sick.

Veterinarians around the nation are reporting seeing dogs and cats with enlarged breast tissue, occasional vaginal bleeding, and confusing blood test results. Some animals even appear to be in heat, despite having been spayed years before.

Simply wiping your hands after using a cream, gel, or spray medication isn't enough to prevent your child or pet from absorbing the medication, experts say.

Here are some recommended precautions to take if you are currently using topical medications:

1. Creams, gels, and sprays can be effective if used on areas other than hands, arms, and legs. Try your backs and shoulders, or other places less accessible to your child or pet.

2. If you do have to place topical medications on your hands, arms, or legs, such as hormones, cover any affected skin left exposed.

3. If you must be with a child or animal while using topical medications, try to avoid close contact until the preparation has completely dried.

4. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water after using any medications.

5. To be extra cautious, wear disposable gloves when handling topical products, but be sure to properly dispose of the gloves when finished.

Oh, before I forget, here's some great little stocking stuffers for you and the other NeverTooOldFor people on your list - you'll love all the great little 99 cent items - I know I did!

SallyBeauty.com Clearance Center

Until next time, readers, don't act your age!