Never too old for...the word, "No."

Like many women, I've spent most of my life fairly calm and focused. I'm OCD enough to know that I require a tighter than normal level of organization to accomplish all I need and want to do in a day's time.

There have been a few occasions when I've been the antithesis of all of that. I think I've grown a souvenir gray hair for every one of those times, hence the need these days to get highlights. When my life has collapsed into chaos, it's always been the same culprit: I've said, "Yes" when I should have said, "No."

"No" is universal. "No" is honest. "No" is a complete sentence.

Not using "the tool of no" eventually depletes us. With each "Yes" we give away another chunk of personal energy. We become targets for people out there who don't take care of themselves and who steal positive energies from those who work hard to develop them.

I just finished a book which actually prompted this blog entry. "Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself from Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life" by Judith Orloff reminds the reader that saying, "No" is a perfectly acceptable way of taking care of oneself without making any apologies.

When we've been around this planet for over five decades and survived the bumps and breaks life brings, "No" may well be the best fountain of youth we'll ever discover. You can find Orloff's book here:





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

Never too old for...primer

Every man with whom I've ever had a significant relationship has told me I have great skin and don't need makeup to be pretty. I've always figured it was because they just wanted to get me out the door and into the car so we wouldn't be late to wherever we were going.

It never dawned on me they told me this because it was true. OK, yes, I admit to some self esteem issues, but that's another post entirely.

We all know women who can go without makeup and basically look good, no matter their age. Of course, there are others who shouldn't leave their house without first "putting on face." At 57, I'm somewhere in the middle, although my husband still thinks I don't need makeup. (Isn't he just precious?)

I think once we reach our fifth decade on this planet, previous bad habits have caught up with our skin. Did we worship the sun when we were young? Did we smoke? Did we frequently fall asleep with our makeup on? Did we go without sunglasses and squint into the sun a lot? Whatever we did 30 years ago plays out on our complexion today in terms of uneven skin tone, puffiness, under eye circles, and wrinkles.

For beauty's safe, you could go under the knife. You could buy tons of concealer or that air brush gizmo allegedly used by the stars. Or you could buy a foundation primer, a product I guarantee will help mute out youthful indiscretions and make your skin look smooth and well-rested, whether you like full face makeup, or choose to go without it altogether.

I love trying various beauty products which is why I'm surprised I just discovered primer last year. Foundation primer goes on over your moisturizer and before your foundation. Primer helps someone like me, with oily skin and some sun damage from my 20s, maintain a smooth facial surface that stays flawless for several hours. And if you can find one that has "luminizing" properties, it will reflect light and make you look like you've had 9 hours of sleep.

I've tried three different brands of primer during the past three months and so far, my favorite is Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer. It contains vitamins, grape seed extract, and green tea, and is shown here.




Foundation primer is a little gift for ourselves we're never too old for and a nice little secret to pass on to others.

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