One step forward…

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Framed bathroom…and two steps back.  My closet still looks like a bomb went off in it.  However, our bathroom is finished, and beautiful!  So sexy-assed beautiful that I keep walking in and admiring it. Feeling the cool surface of the marble. I’ve cleared everything except the essentials off of my counters, and even created an arrangement with a Raku vase, dried roses, and a heart-shaped pottery jar in one corner. I love the counters and faucets polished, and I (almost) hate to brush my teeth in the sink because it makes a mess which I then feel compelled to clean and polish immediately.  (Oh, come on….like you don’t do this with a new toy, too??)

Am I obsessing a little? You betcha!  It’s my way of not dealing with the messy closet that was created in order to create the new bathroom. I made a half-assed attempt to wrangle it back into shape with a trip to Target for new hangers, a jewelry organizer, and some attractive storage boxes. I came home with two out of three;  but not finding  storage boxes kind of left me hanging (no pun intended!). Truth be told….I finally realized that the mess in the closet is a reflection of how I am feeling right now…but, I’m sure any of you could have told me that.   I’m confused, a little bit chaotic.  Simultaneously chomping at the bit, and yet holding back.  Those boxes of stuff, and piles of clothes,  represent parts of me that have hung on a hanger or been in a box for too long, and need to be brought out, and either “added to the rotation,” or released, let go of.  Things that are still useful, but  just aren’t useful for the ‘me’ that I am now.  I know they’ve served their purpose, yet I haven’t found the courage to let go.  Oh, yes, I’m still talking about the clothes. Maybe.

Let me tell you one thing I know about myself  –  at 61 I am still growing and evolving!  This isn’t the first time I’ve felt this upheaval, and I doubt it will be the last.  And that’s okay…it’s just uncomfortable.  (I had an image of a cocoon this morning, and the stress that occurs before the butterfly emerges!)  I’ve always gotten through it, and things have always been better than before!

I have been very lucky to have had many inspirational people in my life.  Two online presences that I rely on right now are:  #1) the always powerful, Danielle LaPorte (www.daniellelaporte.com). This woman is the definition of living large. I mean large in bold print, all caps. LARGE!  And  #2) Marie Forleo (www.marieforleo.com).  A sassyFramed tableau young woman who has a Q & A on Tuesdays that always addresses a relevant issue in a wise, and wise-cracking way!  Today’s topic:  The feeling of something missing in your life.  And having the courage to go for your dreams, take risks, and be willing to look stupid.  (Oh, that…I hate that.)

But her pearls of wisdom were exactly what I needed to hear in order to let go of the past, (make sense out of my closet...) and to be willing to “feel the fear, yet do it anyway! ”

XO Donna

It’s (not that) easy being green

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Kermitthe Frog“…but green’s the color of Spring and green can be cool and friendly-like.”   Kermit the Frog

I have to say that I was really excited when PANTONE, the global authority on color and color standards for the design industry, chose 17-5641 EMERALD as Color of the Year forPantone Swatch 2013.  “This powerful and universally appealing tone translates easily to both fashion and home interiors,” say Leatrice Eisman, executive directior of Pantone Color Institute.  It doesn’t stop with fashion and home though, SEPHORA+PANTONE have partnered to create their 2nd annual limited edition Color of the Year Beauty  Collection.  Emerald adds drama to all eye colors and compliments peach, rose, pink, red and even eggplant. It’s a color a woman of any age can wear well, and this vibrant green can be the finishing touch on your fingernails, not to mention polishing off a pedicure Kermit would be proud of!  PantoneSephora

Pantone said that jewel-toned Emerald promotes balance, insight and harmony. How right they are!  I always wondered how the color of the year was chosen, and found that in order to arrive at their selection, they comb the world looking for color influences that can include the entertainmanet industry, travelling art collections, hot new artists, popular travel destinations, technology, even sports events that capture worldwide attention!

But…none of that is the reason that I was excited about emerald green.  I was happy because green is the color of the heart chakra. The fourth of our seven chakras, and the one that deals with social identity, trust, forgiveness, unconditional love and compassion.  I see it as a good thing that there will be more of this color out there in the worldchakraimage surrounding us with it’s energetic vibration – vibe, if you will!  The heart chakra is a transition point between our lower three chackras, and our upper three.  Betwen the instinct to survive and the desire for enlightment.  This is the meeting place for both. I think we’ve seen what unchecked “instinct to survive” looks like: greed, war, violence, selfishness, corruption. I think a heartier dose (pun intended) of the desire for enlightment would be a very welcomed change.  I am fortunate to see it around me all the time; generousity, compassion, service, inclusive-community, spirituality and creativity.  I want to believe that a new focus on green signals a trend in that direction on a larger scale!

What are some ways you can “green up” your life?  You can try some sexy new eyeshadow, eyeliner, or mascara. You can ask your nail stylist for a pedicure with a new shade of green FreshFrog by OPI(this is Fresh Frog, by OPI!).  You can buy a beautiful new blouse in emerald, it goes with so many colors –  there is even an article online from the fashion industry on how to wear the Color of the Year. (They love it because it works well in men’s fashion, too). St. Patrick’s Day is coming up, so it’s a great excuse to buy green. There are bath towels in Pantone Emerald available at JCPenney…what a delicious color to wrap yourself in after you’ve bathed!  Both lavendar and jasmine oils are Lavendar bundle supposed to stimulate your heart chakra (might explain my recent fascination with all things lavendar) and you could easily buy a large, luscious bar of soap in either scent. And last, but not least, yoga.  Yoga opens the heart center. I recently bought a yoga CD by Rodney Yee (thank you, Ron Maddox).  It’s easy, beginning yoga that only takes 20 minutes, and I do it when I come home from work. Makes my whole evening mellower. I know a glass of wine would be faster, of course, but I will appreciate it even more with an open heart!

XO Donna

In the Closet

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I’m an organized woman…more or less. I generally have a place for (almost) everything, and I prefer things in their place. I’m not anal-retentive about it, it’s just easier to find things when they’re where they’re supposed to be. Especially since I’m a little more forgetful than I used to be!  The one place I have been completely unable to impose any  Myfantasyclosetreal order is in my bedroom closet!  Just so you know what I’m calling order,  take a look at my “I’ve-died-and-gone-to-heaven”  dream closet:

 
My closet doesn’t look anything like this!  The only thing they have in common is that they are both walk-in closets with four walls, a ceiling, some shelves, lights and a floor.   

I have spent a lot of time over the last few years lusting over photos of other women’s closets in magazines. Some have attained an unbelieveable level of perfection, but I wonder if they look that way all of the time, or if they are “staged” for the photo-shoot?  Personal stylist, Laura Saenz (http://laurasaenz.com/) pointed out to me that  “organization that fits YOUR lifestyle is key. It takes things from okay, to phenomenal!”    Phenomenal would be good…and a place to sit down.  And I must admit, this closet IS NOT my lifestyle (I have cowboy boots, motorcycle boots, and colorful clothes).  I know that a beautiful closet, with everything visible, would be a very sexy way to start each day!  It will make it easy to plan outfits when I can see what I have, which would save me time, and could even save me money when I don’t replace something I can’t find because I think I’ve given it to Goodwill!

There are two types of closet, walk-in and reach-in. Both can be artfully organized, and there seem to be a few things you need  in both:

  1. A dresser, or drawers of some sort
  2. A mirror, full-length if possible (you need to know what you look like from the side and back. Really!)
  3. Your ironing board (unless it’s in your laundry room)
  4. Laundry hamper
  5. Step stool for reaching top shelves
  6. For a walk-in closet (since you have the room),  a chair or bench to sit on
  7. Decent lighting…experts recommend flourescent light for it’s evenness

I’m obsessed with this right now, because we are finally having the countertops replaced in our bathroom, after living with teal-colored Corian for nine years.  I know!  For the last four days, the contents of my under-sink cabinet, and vanity drawers are sitting in the floor of my closet. beforeThis mess, added to my pile of ironing, my summer clothes in boxes, and my inability to find even the simplest of things (where the hell is my dental floss? Where are my jeans?) has motivated me to reorganize.  Or maybe organize, finally. We often overlook our closet because it’s behind a closed door, guests don’t generally see it, and we don’t spend much time in there.  I found this “before and after” at HGTV for what I’d be able to (realistically) have my closet look like.  after  Announcing my first reader participation:                   I’m going to take “before and after” photos of my closet make-over. Please send me a photo, or two, of your closet to be shared in a blog! Let me know how you did it; was it all by yourself, or with the help of a designer? Where did you buy your favorite storage items? Do you have any unique storage solutions?   Please send your photos to my email address: donna.oklock@gmail.com by Sunday, March 10. Thank you!

XODonna

Eight things I love about Yoko

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  1. Yoko Ono turned 80 on Monday, February 18th! She was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1933. Yoko80birthday
  2. I love that her name, Yoko, means “Ocean Child.”
  3. She came from a wealthy, artistic, aristocratic family, her father (an accomplished pianist) was the descendant of a 9th century Emperor, her mother (a talented painter) was the daughter of a banking dynasty. She had the courage to break with her family’s goals for her and to follow her own dreams.  
  4. I love her penchant for hats, and sexy, fitted clothes!
  5. She has worked as an avant-garde artist, filmmaker, writer, and musician.  She is a feminist, an activist, a philanthropist and and works to support AIDS outreach programs, and to encourage us all to give peace a chance. She’s been doing this for more than 40 years.  Yes, 40 years!
  6. Her third husband was John Lennon. She was his love, his muse, his artistic partner, and his teacher. He called her, “the most famous unknown artist in the world.”
  7. She’s a survivor!  She lived through having her 7 year old daughter kidnapped by her ex-husband, and hidden from her for over 20 years. She and Kyoko, her daughter, are now reunited.  And she lived through her husband’s murder. He was shot and killed December 1980, when they returned to their home one evening after working in the studio together on the Double Fantasy album.
  8. She is still sexy, still relevant, still onstage!  She opened a show in Berlin on her birthday.  She runs Lenono with her son Sean. Her album, The Plastic Ono Band, originally released in 1970 and deemed a critical failure then, has been credited with “launching a hundred or more female rockers,” and was re-release in 1997. DoubleFantasy

  plasticonoband  XODonna

St Valentinus

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graceslickDon’t you want somebody to love?  Don’t you need somebody to love?

Wouldn’t you love somebody to love?  You’d better find somebody to love!

Grace Slick, from Jefferson Airplane

And now, for a short history of St. Valentine….

There are  a couple of stories of St. Valentine’s origins;  in one he was a Roman priest during the reign of Claudius II.  In the other, he was a Bishop in Umbria, Italy.  In the first he was caught for marrying Christian couples, and for aiding Christians who were being persecuted by the Romans at that time. He was  imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers, who were strictly forbidden to marry. Emperor Claudius liked his prisoner, until Valentinus tried to convert him, and the priest was condemned to death.

In the second, Valentinus was under house arrest by a Judge Asterius. He alledgedly restored the Judge’s adopted daughter’s sight, a miracle!  In reward, he was sent to the Emperor Claudius who took a liking to him until Valentinus tried to convert him.  In both stories, poor Valentinus ended up beaten with clubs and stones, then beheaded.  The date was February 14, 269 AD.

Another story:  Our modern Valentine cards may have originated in the Middle Ages with the custom of  men drawing the names of single girls in the village to couple with them, and serve them for a year.  This custom was combated by the priests and replace by the religious custom of girls drawing the names of Apostles from the altar.

The first recorded association of Valentine’s Day with romantic love is in the late 1300’s by Geoffrey Chaucer, when he wrote a poem to honor the coming marriage of King Richard II of England, and Anne of Bohemia in May of 1381.  Theytwo hearts were each 15!

Valentine’s Day is mentioned by Edmund Spenser in his epic The Faerie Queen (1590), by Shakespeare in Hamlet (1601) and in a collection of nursery rhymes from 1784:

The rose is red, the violet’s blue. The honey’s sweet and so are you.  Thou art my love and I am thine; I drew thee to my Valentine. The lot was cast, and then I drew, and Fortune said it should be you.

Notice the reference to drawing names?  (Out of a hat?  Or a crockery jar?)

The reinvention of Saint Valentine’s Day in the mid-1800’s in England has been traced by Leigh Eric Schmidt whoEsther_Howland_1850 observed, “Saint Valentine’s Day is becoming, nay it has become, a national holyday!”  The first mass-produced valentines of embossed paper lace were produced for sale around 1847 by Esther Howland of Massachussets.  Miss Howland sold her company to the Geo. C. Whitney Co. in 1881. 

Since 2001 the greeting Card Association has given an “Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary.”   Appproximately 190 million valentines are sent each year, and an estimated 15 million e-valentines were sent in 2010. 

I’ve always found it odd that a matryred saint, and the custom of being drawn as a slave for a year, could evolve into a commercialized industry in which people feel  pressured to have a Valentine for the day. Pressured to remember to buy your Valentine flowers or chocolate. To feel guilty if you forget, or don’t want to make a fuss about it. Or, worst of all, to think it means something about you if you don’t have a Valentine.  The only thing you need today is to love yourself!  Actually, it would be nice if we would all do that everyday!

In closing, I want to share an old, and very odd, Valentine card that I found. Can’t imagine either giving or receiving it! (It, (of course) pre-dates  “50 Shades of Grey”  but the sentiment would do it justice.)

Comic_Valentine“R  stands for rod, which can give you a smart crack.  And ought to be used for a day on your back!”

Do with it what you will….

XODonna

A Snoring Room

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I prefer to think of it as a room of our own, one where we can have a restful night’s sleep whenever the need arises. (How we frame things in our mind is vitally important to the quality of our lives.)  But, yes, it’s also a room to get away from someone who is snoring.

I was surprised during a conversation among women, by how much they bitched about their partner snoring, and how often their solution would be to have him go out to the couch (as punishment).  Or, to stay in the marriage bed and be angry at him!  It isn’t as if he wants to snore and keep you awake,  or as if he has control over it. Why be angry at your beloved under those circumstances?  Oh, yes,  because you’re exhausted.  (I realize it’s not always the man who snores)  Well, there’s a lovely solution to the whole dilemma.  A snoring room.   bedroom2

In the Los Angeles Times I found this headline:  “Home builder offers a room in which to flee from a snoring spouse.” 

Their snore room is a secondary bedroom connected to the master bath and designed for couples who start out in the same bed, but for a variety of reasons, can’t stay there all night. Ear-piercing snoring, insomnia, late-night reading or TV watching habits.  I’m still stuck on flee. Flee?

My Dad snored, at an unbelievable decibel level, the whole time I was growing up. Sometimes I had trouble going to sleep because of it…and I was down the hallway!  How Mom dealt with it, I’ll never know, but perhaps that was why we found her napping on the couch in the den most afternoons. With a family of seven, there was no room for a snoring room for her back then. 

At a party a while ago I mentioned to a friend that I had slept in our guest room last night. Her response was to cock an eyebrow and query, “Oh, so you two don’t sleep together, huh?”   As if the fact that I had strolled down the hall and crawled into a comfy bed with a pillow-top mattress, MyFrenchBedroom delicious sateen sheets, under a lofty down comforter, and fallen peacefully back asleep somehow implied that there was ‘trouble in Paradise.’

Au contraire!  Rather than feel resentful when my dear is snoring, or nudging him repeatedly, whispering, “Can you turn over, honey?” I created a room to retreat to, happily, when he is bothered by allergies, and snoring to beat the band. It’s a sexy guest room which is also my dream room…literally.  It’s my Parisian getaway when I am feeling unwell, and a cozy place to go when I just can’t sleep and need to read late into the night. NRTbedroom

“I firmly believe that in order to give back to our relationships, careers, families, and passions, we must pull in for short moments to take care of ourselves, then we can return to the people and places of our lives renewed, refreshed, and ready to continue the drama of our days with all the joys, sorrows, pleasures and stresses that go with it.”  From the book, A Room of Her Own, by Chris Casson Madden 

So, I invite you to take a sensual approach to this common problem, and to quote Virgina Woolf, from her book of the same name, create a “Room of One’s Own.”  Add a lovely daybed to your home office, like Nancy Ray Taylor, an artist friend in NY did. (see above) She painted a serene mural,  added lots of pillows and  beautiful things to create this inviting space.  (www.nancyraytaylor.com)

Reclaim one of your kid’s room’s, (they’re gone, right?)  and turn it into your haven.  When they come back to visit, they’ll get to enjoy it, too.  bedrooom1If you already have a guest room, upgrade it from basic, to high-end-hotel fabulousness!   Feeling stuck?  Look at Chris Casson Madden’s other book, “Bedrooms.”  If you find yourself still stuck after that, call me and I’ll come to your rescue!

You will both sleep better, nobody will be playing the “blame game,” and it’s actually quite sexy to ask your sweetheart, over coffee the next morning, “Did you sleep well last night, dear?”

XODonna

Love and Loss

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All writers eventually get around to tackling the BIG topics….love and loss being two of the biggest.

Our Keurig died today. 

After 6 weeks of having the closest thing to an in-home barista at my beck and call, our Keurig acted-up (so much better than acting-out!) yesterday, but my sweetheart was able to beat the…jiggle it sufficiently, so that whatever was clogging whichever doohickey came loose and, voila!  We had our morning coffee.

This morning,  it acted-up again, made us each a cuppa, and with a sigh,  gave up the ghost!Keurig

We bought this machine because it was supposed to be the bomb!  Our friends were coming to visit over Christmas, and they have one at their home, (which we loved when we were there last year).  Seemed a hassle-free way to have coffee-on-demand,  and for six blissful weeks, it was.

What we have since found out, is that our friends have replaced theirs more than once in the three years they’ve had it!  Upon being deprived of his second cup of coffee this morning, my darling called the customer service helpline at Keuring.  They listened kindly and told him they’d ship us a new machine immediately.  All we had to do was “throw the old one out!”  Simple, no?

Do I really need to tell you how much I hate the idea of littering up our planet with plastic crap? Computers, keyboards, plastic bags, gallon jugs,  plastic toys, disposable diapers, and now fancy coffee machines!  Not sexy. Aaaaarrrrrgggghhhh!!!

I guess I was only going to talk about love, (how much I loved the coffee machine) and loss (it’s death this morning).   Why not throw in some anger, frustration and despair?  All of this over an inanimate object. How silly we are.

According to the customer service rep, we will have a new coffee machine in no time at all!  Can you imagine the cost to them of having to ship free Keurigs to purchasers every 6 weeks? 

I had lobbied for a new stainless kettle and a larger French Press before we bought this, but my man love gadgets, and (I admit) I was quickly won over.

coffee beansTomorrow morning I will be boiling water in a saucepan, and pouring it over coffee grounds in my small, one-serving French Press.  We still have some whole beans in the pantry. I just hope we didn’t throw the coffee grinder away!

XODonna

What did you love?

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“We take what we love…and try to find a way to make money at it.  Twist it and turn it until we can’t find a trace of whatever we once loved.  What did you love?”    from the movie, “Hope Floats”

I’ve been thinking about this a lot since I saw the movie again last week.  One thing has been a constant love throughout my whole life has been my love of fashion magazines!  Of course I look through them, admiring the models that look completely unlike me, lusting over the clothes I know I won’t have, and the shoes I know would kill my feet, and the long, wonderful hair that could only happen in a wig, for me. But I realize that they aren’t about reality. They are dream sequences created by teams of artists, and meant to sell products, of course!  But, they are visually arresting, and also meant to inspire us!  To try something new. Express ourselves a little more. Have some fun!

Maybe you think it’s all vain, shallow, materialistic. Yes, maybe on some level it is – but humans are visual creatures. I think it’s vain and shallow when you focus on looks, and things, to the exclusion of everything else: character, values, intelligence, empathy, generousity or kindness.

Everyone, everywhere in the world, is affected by how things look.  I’m always inspired by the beauty in animals. In flowers. In nature. From our imagination. In art.  Aren’t you?  So why not be inspired by a beautiful fabric, or exquisite new shade of lipstick?  Or a perfect new detail in a shoe or purse that speaks to you?  Is this not art?butterfly

If  you feel uplifted, and more able to meet your daily challenges,  maybe (just maybe) because you feel like you can do anything today, you give a little bit more of yourself to the world. And that could be the flapping of the butterfly’s wings that will start the whole ocean-swell of kindness, or generousity, or an idea or charity that will change the world!

How we feel does color our reality. You can take that to the bank!  If a new lipstick, a beautiful pair of shoes, a new bra, or mastering the proportions of a Ramos Gin Fizz expands your horizons, increases your confidence, and improves your outlook on life, then critics be damned!

Do something wonderful for yourself. Sit down and read a fashion magazine for inspiration (buy a foreign Vogue, they have the most amazing photography and I’m never distracted by the words, since I can’t understand them!). Set a goal to tackle a new recipe this week. Find 6 reasons to feel great about yourself, and write them down. Think about what you once loved…and find a way to bring some of that back into your life.

Here’s a favorite recipe of mine to try:  The Ramos Gin Fizz  from ‘Garden and Gun Magazine’

  • 1 1/2 ounces gin
  • 1 ounce simple syrup (1:1 ratio)
  • 1/2 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice
  • 1 egg white (pasteurized)
  • 1 ounce heavy cream
  • 3-4 drops orange flower water
  • 1 ounce chilled club soda

In a shaker, combine ingredients, except the club soda. Shake briskly to combine. Add ice cubes and shake again for at least 2 minutes. Really! This creates the drink’s silky texture. Pour into a tapered flute or a wine glass, top with the club soda, stir and serve.  This cocktail is the definition of sexy!      

XODonna

Tabula rasa

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While looking for something else, I found some photos I took almost three years ago that are a reminder of my journey to who I am today. That winter, I was having a hard time. Nothing – not my job, my relationship, or my health – was working, and I just couldn’t  “push the river”  any more. I was completely out of energy, and ideas…and the river was steadfast, unyeilding.  highway

I called a dear friend, crying, and told her what was going on…vaguely, loosely, not wanting to really say the words. I’m sure she read between the lines, she’s very wise that way. A few days later, I was at the airport nearest her home, where she hugged me, looked me in the eyes, and summing up the situation, took me to a cozy restaurant for lunch.

Afterwards, we drove out of the city and through the desert to her home in the hills. I remember now that another friend of hers joined us that night for dinner. We had wine and home-made pizzas as we watched “Precious.”  When I awoke the next morning, it had snowed, and the  leaden grey sky warned of more to come. Steeple in SnowThe whiteness everywhere seemed to clear my head by uncluttering my visual field. It made everything fresh. Tabula rasa.

One of the things I enjoy about being older, is that you learn how to be present for friends. You don’t just talk in order to fill the space and try to fix everything. You let their answers come. You hold the space for them. You don’t just tell them, “everything is going to be alright,” because you know by now that you don’t know that to be the case.  Instead, you tell your friend that they will be alright…because you do know that to be the case. No matter what happens, they will get through it. You’ve got their back.

My friend held the space for me, she fed me well, and beautifully…her gift to meGrapefruit while I sorted through everything. We bundled up, and walked and talked in the arroyos as much as the weather allowed.  She listened, and kept listening, as I realized that it was easy for me to walk away, and call it change. The time had finally come for me to stay put…and change myself. The hardest thing of all to do. I needed to make a decision to go toward something, rather than away from everything.  And I had to stop saying, “that I had faith that the right thing would show up,”  in order to compensate for my lack of plan, lack of direction, lack of desire.

I came back from our visit in the desert, honored to have been received as a valued friend-in-need. I came back having made a decision, and had set a goal and a timeline for accomplishing it. The wide-open space of the desert imparted onto me it’s quite strength, and a resolve that I’d felt only infrequently. A strength that allowed me to face my fear. A strength that my friend modeled for me while I was with her.  Maybe that’s why she loves living out there…I can completely understand that!  The changes I wanted to create have happened, are happening even now. They have been harder than I imagined, but they’ve also been even more rewarding than I could have imagined!

Not everyone can have DDs…

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Only because they are not available yet. But, they are coming, right after the CCs get here! 

“Donna, what are you talking about?” you’re asking right about now. “Surely, not boobs…”

No, not boobs!  I’m talking about DD Creams – brand-new daily defense creams designed for the feet and body. They have a heavy-duty texture and reparative properties….perfect for our dry climate (except that today it’s finally raining in Texas again. Hallelujah!)  I’ve been reading about them, but can’t find any available online yet.chanel cc cream

I learned about them as I was researching CC Creams.  These are Color Control Creams: a skin-care/makeup hybrid that are even lighter in texture and feel than BB creams, and also offer more skin benefits such as;  improving discoloration, being more suitable for oilier skins (not that many of us have that problem as we get a bit older!) having brighteners, spot-diminishers, Asian healing botanicals (green tea, white tea, etc.) and ‘epidermal growth factor’ to stimulate collagen production. The Chanel Color Correction Complete is supposed to be “The Holy Grail of CC creams,” according to www.Totalbeauty.com.  But unless you have a friend who travels to Asia, it’s unavailable in the states for now.  The original CC cream is Rachel K Mineral Color Control, a best-seller in Asia, with an SPF 35, available in two shades, but only on her website. The cost: $39.00 USD.

The first-on-the-shelves here in the States is Olay Total Effects CC Tone Correcting UV Moisturizer available in drugstores for $21.00. It brightens the skin, while providing minimalcc%20cream%20for%20dark%20skin_265x265 coverage and comes in three  shades to work for everyone. It also provides all-day moisturizing, improves discolorations, has essential glucosamine complex and is anti-aging. For those of you who want to look polished and to protect your skin, yet don’t want to fuss, this could be a sexy solution!  And imagine the ease of this while you are on a trip.

And that brings me back to the beginning: BB Creams!  BB Creams were originally created in 1960 by a German dermatologist to protect her patient’s skin after surgery. They became very popular in Asia in the 1980’s and finally came to the Western markets the beginning of last year. BB stands for Beauty Balm; an all-in-one serum, moisturizer, primer, foundation. Some have sunblock, skin-brighteners and anti-wrinkle and anti-inflammatory properties. Some are soothing, some have hyalauronic acid and Vitamin C. And both Smashbox and The Body Shop are cruelty-free!

I never realized how many there were to choose from until I saw this wonderful chart! (and I wish I knew who to give credit to.)BB_Cream_Montage I think an ideal one for “women of a certain age” would have a slight pink tint to add a glow to our complexions!  Out of all of these,  I am sure you will find a wonderful new addition, or a new staple, to your beauty routine. I’m going to the drugstore and try the Olay CC cream today! They are perfect for everyday wear, offering less coverage than foundation and optical-brightening so that skin looks even-toned and fresh.  And, isn’t that exactly what sexy is all about?

XODonna