Beauty, Charm & Style

HYDRA.  No, I’m not sitting on a panel at the recently concluded San Diego Comic Con.  I’m not talking about the secret criminal organization within the Marvel Universe, nor am I speaking about the Transformers character or even the DHARMA Initiative station on the TV series Lost.  Rather, I speak of the alternative spelling of the prefix hydro, referring to water.

Hydration is a vital part of everyone’s life existence.  Without hydration a living creature withers and dies.  Example – the basil plant in my backyard that dries up when I neglect to water it, but magically comes back to life after a simple bath in water.

Same goes for my body. After a hard workout, I drink a tall glass of cool water and I feel my insides becoming refreshed.  And when I feel like I have neglected my face and it is dehydrated, I use the high-performance moisturizing cream HYDRAMAX + ACTIVE from Chanel.

Chanel Hyrdamax + Active

Quenching my skin’s thirst, after applying the cream, my skin is supple, smooth and has a slight radiant glow.  I use the moisturizer in the morning and at night, boosting my skin’s hydration.  It’s like Gatorade for my face.

The moisture content of my skin cells remains at its optimal levels, and I bask in the sweet, soft citrus smell covering my face. In conjunction with my 8 glasses of water a day, I enjoy my day and never worry about my skin becoming dry or flakey.

The Breakdown:

• 1.7 oz jar
• $65.00
• Subtle scent of fruity white peaches, jasmine, citrus and peony.

Tips:

• Pay close attention to that delicate skin around your eyes, and the places where wrinkles pop up first (laugh lines and forehead).

Here’s a secret.  I spent two years of my adult life working on film sets as a set dresser.  This may sound glamorous: hanging out with celebrities, making movies out in sunny Hollywood, exclusive parties.  Well it’s not.  In fact, movie sets are far from the sensational Hollywood on the covers of trash mags. Most of my days were spent in jean cut offs, tank tops, work boots and some sort of power tool in my hand while working 12-hour days in the sun during the summer with no relief of shade.

So, why would I leave this life to come review beauty and body care products?  Duh – my hands were starting to get callously, rough and dry.  Ew. I’m a girl who likes manicures, sun dresses and chardonnay and I loathed the way my hands would be at the end of a production shoot.

Now, to keep my hands looking 25 and not 52, I massage lotion into my fingers, palms and arms all day long, especially after I wash them, after shuffling piles of papers and organizing anything remotely dusty.  All three of those daily, office routines can dry out the thin skin on your hands and digits. Recently I’ve taken a shine to Liz Earle’s Nourishing Botanical Body Cream.

Liz Earle’s Nourishing Botanical Body Cream

Since this lotion isn’t exclusively for hands, I use it when I get out of the shower in the morning over my whole body, keeping my shoulders, elbows, knees, ankles, tummy and more, nicely moisturized and soft. This concentrated, deeply hydrating body cream helps my skin retain moisture throughout the day as well as helping to comfort, and improve my skin’s smoothness.

But in addition to my morning lather, I keep the lotion on my desk so I’m sure to reapply liberally as the day continues.  The lavender aromas calm me, even in the most stressful moments at work, like a little bit of incense. And since I rarely wear perfume, the floral smell of Liz Earle’s body cream doubles as my sent, calming me and those around me.

The Breakdown:

• • 6.7 fl. oz / 200 ml bottle
• $30 each
• Echinacea promotes cell renewal and actively encourages the production of fibroblasts, which eventually form the supporting structure of the skin. Echinacea is also anti-inflammatory and is renowned amongst herbalists for its ability to help skin disorders such as acne, eczema and psoriasis.
• Sweet orange citrus oil helps stimulate circulation and improves skin tone.
• Vitamin E protects skin against free radical damage caused by pollution and the sun’s radiation.

Tips:

• If any type of lotion is ever spilt on clothes, gently scrape to remove any excess lotion. Moisten the spot with water and apply an enzyme presoak (follow directions on label). Wait for 30 minutes, then, flush area with water. If possible launder immediately. If not, allow fabric to air dry.

Elif Madison Laptop Tote

I need a new school bag but not a backpack (I’m not in the 5th grade).   I want a tote with style and functionality.  I want it to be so cute that it can even be used at designer purse.

Here we go! A fabulous combination of the finest calfskin leather, suede, and snake textured calfskin, the Elif Madison Laptop Tote fits a 13″ laptop.

I’m going to look so awesome when I start school.

So last weekend was awesome. Partied like a rockstar. Hit up a few bars.  Danced with my ladies. And I took a whole a whole bunch of pictures and after every camera flash, someone would enevitably yell out, “FACEBOOK PIC!”

So as I go through the 187 pictures I took in those three, blurry hours of nighlife, I know I will have to sort through the good ones, the explicit ones and the ones where some of my girls don’t look their best.

And that brings me to a little advice on Facebook etiquette for tagging photos.

1. Resist the temptation to post every last photo from your birthday party on Facebook, particularly images that may cast your guests in an unflattering light.
2. Tag lightly. The people in a picture might not object to its being online as long as their names are not associated with it.
3. It is no breach of etiquette to untag yourself from any photograph. But it is permanent.

And remember – become a fan of BeautyCharm&Style on facebook.

I remember when I first realized I needed to take better care of my face and skin.  When I was eight I just scrubbed my face in the tub and went about my day.  But when I was eleven, and a burgeoning woman, with puberty looming over my head, I realized I needed to step up my game.

Going strictly off my commercial watching and TEEN magazine advertisements, I decided makeup remover pads, astringent and my mom’s face lotion was the perfect skin care combination for me.

Following a good face scrub, I wiped the damp pad across my face and tossed the pad in the trash.  Then I soaked a cotton ball in astringent and spread the alcohol laced, sterile smelling potion all over my face.

And then my face began to burn. Beauty is pain. I smoothed over some lotion and looked in a mirror and my face was RED!  Eek!

I ran downstairs, found my mom, she laughed at my red face and I instantly began to cry. After calming me down, she lathered on some super strong lotion.  I cancelled my evening plans of a pizza party and a sleep over, and hit the hay early that night.

After a good night sleep, the lotion sank in and my when I awoke, my face was back to normal – more or less. It still took about another day to completely heal, but my skin is resilient and it returned to its normal, pre-pubescent state.

The important lessons learned here were that I have sensitive skin, I shouldn’t use alcohol-based products and that my face takes a long time to de-redden.  Luckily, I’ve come a long way since this red-faced revolution and have a better knowledge of what my face needs and what works well with my system.

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