A blank slate…

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I hope this finds you well today.  Savoring the holidays, or recovering from them…if you savored them too well!                 (Drink lots of water, sparkling or otherwise. Add lemon or orange slices, mint leaves  or cucumber if you have any).

I waited all morning for inspiration to come. It hadn’t yet….but, rather than just sit and wait, I decided to do something useful. I ended up losing track of time as I gave myself a  pedicure, complete with a footbath with soothing epsom salts. Then a good pumicing, followed by a shaping, a primer and finally, Essie gold nail polish!

My muse hadn’t arrived yet, so I continued on with a manicure. Soaked my fingers in warm water, followed by massaging them with warm coconut oil. No polish, just follow that up with lots of sandalwood hand cream!

Back to the computer.  Ready and waiting, but I found myself alternately staring at the computer screen, and out the window at the sunshine. And at the garden.  And at a thermometer that reads only 39 degrees! How could it be so pretty AND so cold?  And how could I still NOT have anything to say?  Guest bath 9-15-08

So I pulled out all of the proverbial stops: I headed back to my bathroom where I  pulled my hair away from my face in a bandanna, washed my face with a Vitamin C cleanser, and get out one of my nutrient-infused face masques and carefully applied it. I headed to the sofa to settle down for a “long winter’s nap.” (I never manage to take a nap, no matter how tired I am!)

Much to my surprise, I did, indeed, doze off – and when I awoke 30 minutes later I felt refreshed, and my skin felt rehydrated!

Maybe I needn’t SAY anything at all today, but instead, “lead by example.”   I took care of myself… so that I could continue to take care of others.  And that’s a great way to stay sexy at any age!

XOXO Donna

Compare not…

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A few posts back, I spoke of the way many of us (at our age) compare ourselves to younger women…and make ourselves unhappy with the results.  Today, as I read the latest post by Danielle LaPorte, a woman who inspires me ( no wait…a woman who continually blows my mind!) her post was about comparing.  www.daniellelaporte.com    ROSEBUD_clipart_3

Here’s what she had to say, “Comparison is a slippery slope to envy and for the most part, envy wastes energy that could be put towards getting what you want or optimizing what you have.”  

“We must have the daring to be nothing but ourselves if we are to know what our true power is.”  ROSEBUD_clipart_3

Here’s another quote that I like: “Why compare yourself with others? No one in the entire world can do a better job of being you…than you.”   Unknown

It seems that our mind is wired to compare, and if the comparison can be neutral, and logical, that would be fine…but negative comparing starts early and hardly lets up as we get older. Unless we choose to break the cycle!   There is another site I read, that you may enjoy:  www.tinybuddha.com  which offers, “simple wisdom for comples lives.”   They offered a great solution to all of the comparing, competing and quantifying that our minds want to do…they advise us to ‘redirect the comparison to a past and present self.’  What a great thought!  Only compare yourself now, to yourself then…see how much you’ve learned?  How much experience you have?  The wisdom you can share based on your experiences?  The acceptance you can offer to others…and the knowledge of how valuable that can be.

The only good thing I can see about comparing ourselves to others is when the comparison inspires us to emulate someone else’s good traits, or follow their good example.  With our ability to see, search and sort through so much information, there are many, many things to choose to emulate! There are many, many good examples out there to follow. There are many, many wise women to learn from. It’s never too late to change and grow, to discover and enjoy ourselves!  ROSEBUD_clipart_3

“Every block of stone has a statue inside and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”  Michaelangelo

Start chipping away at old ideas, old habits, old ways of thinking about yourself.  Stop agreeing with your parent’s ideas, or society’s ideas, or even your kid’s ideas about what constitutes a woman, or what makes a woman a lady. Become the goddess you were meant to be!  And fall in love with your unfolding, evolving  self.  This year, give yourself and others the gift of a sexy, wonderful, confident YOU!ROSEBUD_clipart_3

I’ve saved my favorite quote for last: “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”  Dr. Suess

Happy Holidays, and Blessings in the New Year!

                               XO Donna

Like a lead balloon…

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In my last post, Necessities vs. Luxuries, I pondered buying luxurious lipsticks for my sisters as a Christmas gift. I received lots of feedback regarding lead, which it turns out, is a contaminant in many red lipsticks!  Dior-Replenishing-Lpstck08-lg

I went to the government’s FDA site to read about this, and while they have set a limit on just how much lead they think is allowable in lipstick (and in candy!) some companies exceed their limits. According to The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, “lead builds in the body over time, and lead-containing lipstick applied several times a day, every day, can add up to significant exposure levels.”  While nobody has reportedly died of lead contamination from their lipstick, I personally want my lipstick unleaded! 

In my meanderings, I found two sites in particular that I really enjoyed, and want to pass along to you. The first is:  www.Eco-Chick.com   and the second: www.thedailygreen.com  They have  lots of healthy information that is well presented and relevant!

I found many luscious red lipsticks, in all shades and price-points: Dior’s Replenishing Lip Color in Red Premiere  $26 (pictured, above right). Fruit Pigmented Lip Glaze in Watermelon, $17 (online).  MAC’s Viva Glam 1, $14.  The Body Shop’s Lipcolour in Garnet, $12. Revlon’s Super Lustrous  in Love That Red and Bed of Roses, each $7.50. And available in most drug stores – Wet n’ Wild Mega Color’s Cherry Blossom for just $1.99!   Iredale lipstickJane Iredale’s lipsticks are available in a few places here in Austin, all are lead-free and wonderful. (photo left, by Starre Vartan).  Now you can buy a beautiful red lipstick for yourself, or as a gift, and know that you CAN be beautiful and healthy!  And speaking of  ‘sexy at our age’, another appealing site I ran across, and you must check out, is Penelope Whiteley’s page, “Aging Disgracefully.”   Or her website: www.penelopewhiteley.com  Today on FB she posted a great article on the shelf-life of our cosmetics. Yes, they can go bad in spite of the preservatives used in them.  This could be a great incentive to sort through our makeup bags, discard old products, and buy new ones with an eye toward updating, rather than replacing!  Products improve all the time, and many are multi-functional now. I am especially fond of BB Creams….beauty balms that are lightweight, like a tinted moisturizer, yet have line-diminishing capabilities (and who doesn’t want that???) along with sunscreen.  They are wonderful for those times when you just want to run a quick errand, but wouldn’t dare go out bare-faced!  (You wouldn’t go out bare-faced, would you?)  A little of your BB cream, some mascara, a swipe of lip gloss and you’re out the door looking pulled-together!

While I was in Dallas a couple of weeks ago, with my friend Ron Maddox –  he took me up to his studio and did a “mini-makeover” for me using BeautiControl makeup. First, it was a treat to have someone work on me, and second, I was surprised at how well the foundation rested on my skin; lightweight, yet covering and very natural!  As Ron applied it, he encouraged me to wear much more eye-makeup than I normally do. I loved his results, so I ordered everything we used and my products should arrive any day.  My Christmas gift to myself!   As soon as I am able to get a touch-up and trim at the salon. I think a new head shot is in order.  I can hardly wait!

Gina Lollobrigida

Gina Lollobrigida

P.S. – If any of you are now inspired to rush out and buy a new red lipstick, please send me photos of you wearing your lipstick, or just fun photos of your lips, and I will post them here! (Please include the brand and color.)

Enjoy the snow ~

XO Donna

Necessities vs. Luxuries

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Nineteen days till Christmas Eve, but who’s counting?  I used to have a client who always, always, always had all of her shopping finished and wrapped by the first of December each year!  Her holiday cards were finished, too!

I’m not like that…not even close.  I assume that not many people are. ( I hope to hell I’m not missing something here, and I’m really just a slacker?)  I’m still thinking about small luxury gifts for my sisters. They take care of kids, jobs, husbands and homes all year long.  I want to take care of them. They put everyone else before themselves. My Mom was that way. Her mother was probably that way, too. 

I’m not like that, either. Not even close!  A while ago I realized that the things some women consider a luxury,  a good deep-tissue massage for example, are my necessity. It’s part of the “take care of yourself first, in order to take care of others”  school of thought that I bring up all of the time. I’m talking about a skillful massage (not a rub-a-dub mall massage) that increases flexibility, eases knotted muscles, stimulates lymphatic drainage, improvesmassage circulation and diminishes pain associated with arthritis and fibromyalgia. Of course, my line of work demands this kind of body-work. I stand all day, bend over a shampoo bowl many times, I have my arms raised while I’m cutting, and then when I’m wielding a blow-dryer. All in my mission to bring out everyone’s beauty!  

And none of that is a complaint. Seriously, I’d rather stand all day, than sit all day. Sitting for any length of time makes my mid-back hurt, my shoulders and neck get tense, and my butt go numb!  Oh, yours feels that way too????  See, you NEED that massage…and here you thought it was a luxury!   

For some women, a manicure isn’t a luxury…it’s a necessity. They work with clients, using their hands to point out information and selling points. Or they are in a position where having one’s appearance polished from head-to-toe includes finger-tips, too!   My father was the first man I knew that  “‘put the ‘man’ into manicure!”  He wore suits and ties to work every day (he was an Interior Designer) and had a manicure, with his nails buffed, every other week! I loved that he was stylish enough to do that!  Are you in a sales career? Are you a professional business-woman? You NEED a manicure too!   man icureWe can do lots of things to our face to diminish what time has done, but there is very little we can do for our hands. They say, “The hands always give a woman’s age away.”  To offset this, I use my facial cleansers and moisturizing creams on them in the evening. Keeping them neatly shaped, well-moisturized and professionally manicured can help them lie about your age just a little bit!

Pedicures should also go from our ‘luxury list’ onto our ‘necessity list’ because  a good nail technician can inform you about any problems she sees with your feet (how many of you can easily look at the bottoms and sides of your feet?). They can help prevent ingrown toenails, diminish callouses before they become a problem, and stimulate all of the reflexology points on your feet. A good warm soak and massage can ease pain and increase circulation.  Plus, you leave with sexy feet and toenails! OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA I always feel like I’m floating on Cloud 9 after a therapeutic pedicure! But wait, there’s more!  There is still one luxury left out there…a ‘fish pedicure’ where little fish nibble all of the dead skin off of your feet and toes! Seriously!

So, that simplifies my gift-giving for all of my sisters…now that massages, manicures and pedicures are off of the “luxury list” and on the “necessity list.”  Instead, I will go look at delicious, chanellaquermoisturizing lipsticks (I love both Nars & Laura Mercier) or beautiful nail laquer by Chanel (so fashionable)and Zoya (because it’s formaldehyde-free)  which are my current faves!  I’ll find them each a new color to ring in the holiday season.  Talk about luxury!

P.S. – I see Traci Collins, our massage therapist extraordinaire.  And Mie (Me-yay) our nail professional, is as delightful as she is talented!     Check with our front desk at Bella Salon for holiday specials: 512.474.5999