Monday, October 7, 2013

Prix de Beauté


Apparently, all it takes is a few discreet swipes of Maybelline to turn the dullest plain jane into a creditable Loretta Young impersonator.  Who knew?

Do you have a grinding beauty routine?  

This pressing topic has been on my mind of late, in a minor sort of way, possibly as a lingering aftershock of having passed the half-century mark.  Now that I'm not, strictly speaking, in the first flush of youth, I do find that it's important to keep up with a little basic maintenance if one is not to become a figure of horror and derision.

For me, that boils down to lashings of warm (not hot) water and the application of a moisturizer with sunscreen in the mornings, the application a couple of times a week of a light exfoliant scrub, and then more warm water at the end of the day, followed by a generous impastoing with a night cream.  The latter makes grandiose promises of firming and appearance-of-wrinkles-disappearing, and while it may not quite live up to its own hype, it does seem to make a pretty significant difference.  This is something I discovered during the past summer's various disruptions, when I was lucky to get in a quick dab of sunscreen in the mornings just to avoid burning and nothing else.  By September, I felt like I'd aged a couple of years in a few weeks, and while moving is indeed stressful, the impact seemed disproportionate.

Now I'm back in the sadddle, regime-wise, and the improvement has been distinct, which has been encouraging - no more sad-sack, exhausted, poochy eyes; smaller and less distressing crow's feet; and most especially a brow less reminiscent of corrugated cardboard.  I'll never again pass for 28... or 38, for that matter, but when I realize that the principals in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? were only a couple of years older than I am right now, I do feel rather good about my overall state of preservation, at least for the next few years.  How about you?

12 comments:

  1. Life is too short to be distressed about crow's feet...

    It reminds me of that famous conversation, when Mick Jagger explained away his wrinkles to George Melly as "laughter lines".

    "Nothing's that funny!" said George.

    Jx

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  2. We used to call the clean up that we used to do before the bars a "patback". A patback of the ravages of time.

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    1. Cookie, we always called it a Spruce 'n' Douche.

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  3. I just make sure my sunglasses are big enough to cover the damage. Soon I'll have to move from Jackie O to full Darth Vader.

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  4. i do precisely what she does to her eyebrows every morning;
    no one, but no one notices my crows or wrinkles.

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  5. My friend, do share what product is giving you these amazing results!

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    Replies
    1. I wish I could say it was exotic concoctions from some obscure clinic in the Great Rift Valley or some such, but the truth is that I'm an Olay boy all the way...

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    2. Many thanks for sharing. Now might be good time to invest in that company. Sales are about to surge.

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  6. When I complained of my (horribly, truly awful) oily skin as a teen, my mom always said that it would serve me well later since I wouldn't wrinkle as easily. Cold comfort back then, but there appears to have been some fortunate truth to it.

    I read (or heard) advice from some great beauty or celeb many decades ago. She said to use lots of cheap moisturizer and not to forget hands, elbows, and knees as they really showed your age. I've been on a morning regime of moisturizer (cheap! St. Ives or whatever they sell by the liter at the local chain drug store) for my face and neck ever since. I do even manage to hit the knees and elbows 3 or 3 times a week. I have to say, it has appeared to serve me well.

    My downfall is sleep. I just don't get enough. And the dark circles have taken on some permanence. I blame TCM and its ilk.

    Now don't get me started on the plucking. I will soon graduate to weed whacker status...

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    1. Oh, yes - the vital importance of elbows. I've been nuts about for thirty years, and have lovely, non-crepey ones as a result. We all have our little vanities.

      As for the odd, late-onset of hair (on my earlobes? Really?) the less said the better. And the more action taken, even better.

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  7. I rarely go out in public anymore. It's that simple.

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