Pretty 'n Pink

So glad Wende made it a priority to review this week. I have fallen off the bandwagon, but I solemnly pledge to get back on!

They aren't difficult or complicated: that was sort of the point.

1. Hair. I've been playing around with different potions and lotions a) some sort of lotion you put in when your hair is wet. Supposed to control the frizzies. It doesn't, really. And it makes my hands sticky. b) some potion from V05 that's supposed to do the same thing, only you can apply it wet or dry. It worked the first time I tried it, (in the car, right outside the store. My hair was driving me crazy.) But I haven't seen it since.

2. Showering at least every other day. The absence of a bathroom floor plus no heating plus exceeding cold = cowardice plus staying home.

3. Spritzing when I dress. Also gone by the wayside. I'm waaaay more interested in keeping exposed flesh to the minimum and dressing as fast as possible.

4. Goodness, eyebrows need a lot of upkeep don't they?

5. Nail polish. This has been going well. I now even have emery boards and cuticle cream in my arsenal. I'm finding I'm actually quite vain about them, even though I keep them short and shaped to the shape of my finger-tips.

6. Moisturizing my face. OK, again, standing in my bare feet on a freezing cold floor waiting interminably for the hot water to come up to the second floor and out through the taps is not a pleasant routine. However, things are warming up (it's only -5 or 23F today and is supposed to be that tomorrow too) so it looks like the hibernating, keep-all-windows-covered-wrap-yourself-in-a-blanket weather is over.

7. Lipstick. Haven't found a replacement for my replacement yet. And I'm almost out of it. Lip balm is working well, though.

So, there we have it. I've started again already and wow, it really does feel good.

Day 2.7 Pamper Me Pretty, Please.

I may have gone a bit overboard in the pampering department this evening. My day was extremely frustrating. A late night trip to Safeway to buy something I'd promised to get my daughter, netted, get this, a jar of Oil of Olay "day and night" moisturizer.

I have been sucked in!

After all those years of resisting all those "you can't be pretty without a product" messages, I succumbed. That photo I posted yesterday was from a few years ago--and you know what? Those lines on my forehead haven't gone anywhere. (So, I have to guess I really didn't have my face screwed up funny when it was taken.) And I was thinking about my comment that I have dry skin and don't wash my face. So, tonight I washed my face and put on the new lotion. You know what?

It felt wonderful.

But that's not all. Oh no.

Across the street from the Safeway is an all night drugstore. My daughter needed nail polish remover (favourite past-time of girls at seven: applying nail polish to the ends of their fingers, in a sort of Indian dance henna style). What do I do? Buy nail polish. I actually stood there and debated the merits of a pale brown "neutral" polish and a pinkier whitish "neutral" polish. I bought the pink. By the way, applying nail polish is NOT like learning to ride a bike. You do forget how to get it right.

But wait.
There's more.

I got into the bath with the nail basket, intending to do my nails in the tub--and what do I espy? The tweezers. I had a hand mirror. As I am so short sighted the mirror must be no more than 2 inches away in order for me to see, I'm never plucking in the bath-tub again....but what did I do? I plucked eyebrow hairs never before plucked. Yes, I thinned them out. Heck, even Brooke Shields plucked hers out years ago. There is now no eyebrow hair peaking out from under my glasses.

I can see my face--and my eyes--so much better I scurried upstairs to wash my face, put on the miracle cream and wait for the puffy bits to recede. They have somewhat. (I find myself wishing I'd bought the night time eyecream too). But there's so much skin between my brow and my eye that I'm thinking--oh, so that's why they put shadow up there. Everything looks so, well, so n*ked. You do understand that I am describing my emotional reaction more than the reality. They are not too thin....but hey, the husband did notice with only a little prompting.

So, I
--put on nail polish with colour
--plucked away the gorrilla brows
--washed and moisturized my face (and neck) with a product that cost more than I was willing to spend on a t-shirt.

all in one day.

OK, ladies, what are you going to have me doing next?

Feeling Fine.

Smallcitybeth says she wants to establish some "I feel pretty" routines. I could do a bit of that. I tend to look at the Big Picture, first, and sometimes, it's overwhelming. I don't want to be overwhelmed by this, so I'm not entirely sure how to proceed.

I once made my whole body change from dumpy and blah to fit and fabulous in nine months with a self-directed weight watchers plan (someone photocopied all the materials for me and gave them to me) and lots of low-impact aerobics. I even (gasp) became a fitness instructor! So, I'm familiar with Big Change and I like to feel like I'm actually doing something and not just poking about. But, life has changed. I'm not sure I can handle "everything-all-at-once" anymore.

And we're focusing on being pretty--not a major lifestyle change, at least not at this moment.

So:

1) Take a shower or bath at least every other day. I'm not sure how often I should wash my hair. Isn't that awful? It's so long --it comes down to about the bottom of the wide band on the bra at the back. (Pssst Beth--that's where the support ought to come from). It is impractical to wash it every day. I've never had hair this long before (and I'm not sure how long it will last--I really don't like it much). Question: Can a greying 40ish something with a high forehead, thick (but shaped) eyebrows and glasses wear bangs (tyhat would be a "fringe" to you, Zooza)? A forehead like this? (Might hide the wrinkles starting--or it may look foolish or too top-heavy.)


(yep, that's me, or rather, my forehead.)

2) Wear lipstick instead of chapstick. I have become bad at this since the the company I bought it from discontinued my perfect--where--have--you--been--all--my--life shade. As good lipstick is pricey (and it's false economy to buy this cheaply) I haven't taken the time to find another "perfect" shade.

3) Spritz on my body splash when I get dressed--every morning. Maybe some day I can move up to toilet water (perfumes are too heavy for me). For now, my "Cassis Rose" body mist from the Body Shop will do just fine!

What will you do to feel pretty?