Forget Self-tanners.

Forget the self tanners

Maybe you know something that I don’t, but self tanners have been disastrous for me. It hasn’t made any difference if I bought an expensive one or one from the drugstore. The result has been orange or a dull brown and yes, with streaks. I did all the things that you were supposed to do. I exfoliated my legs so there was a nary a hair on them. I moisturized. I applied carefully and then I allowed it to dry. That meant no hopping into bed, putting on socks or hose or even shoes. However, hours later the result was always uneven; my feet were the worst. They had splotches of white and orange. It seems that once I put shoes on (even after drying for hours) the outlines made by my sandals were white and I was left with toes that were bright orange and white. I tossed them and thought I would be left to deal with fish white legs. I live in Florida. Those are scoffed at as “one week tourist legs’’. Nonetheless, wherever you live when you choose not to wear panty hose you do want your legs to look good. I found an answer. It is the new body moisturizers with a tint of color. These are somewhat similar to the facial moisturizers with a tint that I often use (along with SPF sunscreen 30 or higher.) These are body moisturizers and can be used on your arms, neck as well as legs; the do keep an even subtle tone. If you want to go darker put the moisturizer on successive days. I use a light tone although there is a medium tone available as well. Be sure to look for the shade on the tube. I like L’Oreal’s Sublime Glow and Dove’s Energy Glow. (That one says self tanner on the tube but it is not to be confused with the self tanners in the tanning section of the pharmacy). A particular favorite is Smooth Glow by Sally Hansen which also removes stubble as well as moisturizing and giving a nice color (This brand is for all skin tones. How dark depends on how often you apply it). I was somewhat skeptical of “stubble reducing’’ but it does work. I don’t want to shave my legs every day and this truly does remove stubble; it leaves your legs feeling as soft as a baby’s bottom. One note of caution. When people look at us they see arms, legs, and face (If we are wearing a bathing suit they see even more). Nothing looks more fake than dark legs, white arms and maybe a different color on our faces. For that reason I blend the facial tint moisturizers onto my neck and ears. Then I use the tinted body moisturizers on my throat, the top of my chest, my arms and my back. I admit when I first tried the tinted moisturizers I forgot my arms and ears which remained pale and stood out in stark contrast to the tinted parts of my body. One more note if you are fair don’t go crazy using these every day. The operative word is “tint” not baked in the sun. A big plus with all of them is they moisturize and at 55 and older we need all the moisture and most cases oil we can get.

Beauty Products Hits and Misses

Cosmetic hits and misses

One woman’s make-up find is another woman’s “waste of money”. I will weigh in on these and then tell me if you agree or not.

I love body wash and have bought the generic at times because I just didn’t see much difference among brands. However, I found have found one I love. It’s Dove supreme Cream Oil body wash.

It has moisturizer but also softening oil. This makes my skin feel great, not oily, just smooth and soft. One note: about half way the cream takes some effort to get it out of the bottle. I re-seal it and put it under hot water. A sharp tap on the bottle gives me what I need. A little goes a long way.

When have I felt ripped off? When Revlon launched its Vital Radiance was intrigued. Supposedly it is designed for mature skin. I have used and loved some Revlon products since the days of Fire and Ice lipstick. Revlon put out one of the earliest anti-aging creams Ultima. I still buy Revlon products but not Vital Radiance. I felt it was overpriced and designed to appeal to consumers eager to look good after 50 but basically the products were the same. In some cases, not as good. I did not like the eye shadow which dried up despite having the cap on tight. I found the under eye concealer not as good as other brands. I couldn’t believe Revlon was charging that much more for products that were inferior, OK anybody out there disagree?

 

The best foundation? Here are my picks.

Of course, I have not tried all of them and frankly when cash is tight (like it is in this economy) I tend to bypass the department store products. If I could be convinced that it was truly worth the extra bucks I would probably cut back on something else to buy it. Until then I am in the drugstore or Wal-Mart. I like either the tinted moisturizers that I have mentioned before or a cream make up. I like the coverage and I am careful not to apply too much so it lands in any wrinkle or crease.  I think the most important thing to do however is to first go to a make up department and get the usual make over. If you walk out with only one product (hold on to your willpower here) let it be foundation. I say that because I think the single biggest problem with foundation is finding the right color. Do you want to know how many pink toned or yellow toned foundations I have thrown out? I am a neutral but that means trying to figure out what shade to buy when the colors are Buff, Sand, Natural Beige, and Light Beige. This is when it pays to take that department store foundation with you to the pharmacy. Forget those colorful names. Look at the color code and match it. I know half the time the color on the bottom of the bottle or the chart is different from the contents. Return it! I have. It isn’t my problem if the color shown is not the color in the bottle. So far I have always been able to exchange it even after the bottle was open. Why not? Look at all the money I spend at that store not to mention the money I spend on other products by that cosmetic company. One other note, and I don’t know why it took so long to dawn on me. Using a tinted moisturizer gives a build up of color to the skin. I tend to use the tinted ones more in the summer and that is why my make-up is a slightly darker shade in the summer.

My own favorites are; Neutrogena Healthy Skin Cream Powder and Clinque’s Superbalanced compact make-up. Advanced Radiance by Cover Girl has been a favorite. That is until I realized I was wearing too light a shade. I usually avoid oil-free products, but Clinque’s Superfit make-up does provide a luminous look.  Occasionally I use the mineral make-up but I find that it leaves my skin dry and flaky by the end of the day. However, I do love the mineral finishing powder even if I have a cream make-up but not if   the foundation includes powder,

Wrinkles and Sun

One of the things I hate the most about shopping for beauty and skin care products is that I will buy something pricey and then find it is ok but nothing to write home about or I do like it but find a cheaper alternative in the drug store that does the same thing.

 

I read an ad about wrinkle reducer and I spent almost one hundred dollars. It worked but then I found something in the drugstore that does the same thing. What I use now is PreVentin-AT Advanced Wrinkle Therapy. It is not a brand name product. It is distributed by Advanced Healthcare Distributors LLC. You will see the same large tubes in the department stores for a lot more money. Basically it works in the same way a cream works that reduces stretch marks. If you have been pregnant you know what I mean. That cream tightens the skin; so does this. By tightening the wrinkles are less pronounced and if they are not deep may even seem to disappear. I don’t always remember to put it on after cleansing my skin. It goes on before moisturizers. I leave it on my skin for a couple of minutes before putting on moisturizer. My tube cost me around $30. You can add $70-$100 if you buy the same thing in the department stores, Even the tubes look alike.

 

When it comes to moisturizers there are a couple of things that are important to me. I live in Florida. I see women much younger than I am who have skin that looks like leather. I like at least a 30SPF and if I am going to spend anytime in the sun I go for an even higher SPF. One of my favorites is Neutrogena Age Shield Sun block 45. It is oil free and it is non-greasy. It protects from UVA rays. If I am in the sun I re-apply this every half hour. Putting it on once and then being in the sun for an hour or more doesn’t work. I know. I learned the hard way with a different sun block.

 

The second thing I like in a moisturizer is a hint of color. If I am home or not going any where special I will forego the moisturizers with a hint of color and go for a creamy moisturizer. I am pale and the moisturizers with a hint of color to give me a little color as though I had come in from a short time in the sun. Two of my favorites are Jergens Natural Face Glow (fair). This one does have a SPF of 20. The other is Olay’s Touch of Sun with an SPF of 15. However, with both of these I first put on a moisturizer with higher SPF.

 

I may sound like a purist but several dermatologists have told me that the single biggest thing we can do to prevent wrinkles is protect our skin from the sun.  I shudder when I remember when I was younger slathering on iodine and baby oil and sitting in the sun for a couple of hours, sometimes with a tin tray under my face to reflect more sun on my face. Luckily I learned the error of my ways a number of years ago and now I protect my skin even I am out on a cloudy day. The one I use if I am not opting for color is L’Oreal’s Age Perfect Pro-Calcium with an SPF of 15.

 

The thing I love about a blog like this or just “dishing it with the girls” is finding out about new products. With hundreds of products for every beauty and skin care need, there is no way I can try all of them. Tell me what works for you and I will try it. Also if you use anything I suggest, let me know your opinion.

Challenges

 

First a caveat, I am not beautiful. I know that is the title of the blog but although I am usually described as attractive I will reserve the term beautiful for the Hollywood starlets. I have, however, been aware of the importance of appearance since I was a theatre major in college.

 

 

Once I entered the world of media (where I have been more than thirty years) looking good was essential. Not having been born beautiful, I have had to work at looking as good as I can.

 

 

I am still in the media as a talk show host and producer for an Internet site and also a radio talk show host. I give speeches on media related topics and I remain in the public spotlight.

 

 

Like many other women it seems to take more time, care and yes. money not to look younger but to look good at my age.

 

 

I am the mother of three very successful sons in their 40’s and the grandmother of five. My oldest granddaughter just entered college this fall. 

There are days when I don’t want to see anyone, when I put on sweats and get by with serum or moisturizer and maybe concealer (a favorite beauty product) a little blush and some lipstick.

 

 

There are always challenges. Maybe you have faced some and have some suggestions you’d like to share. For instance, no matter how carefully I apply eyeliner on my lower lids, it winds up under my eyes and can contribute to circles (another challenge). Also, although I don’t apply make up below the neck I wind up with make up on the collar of my blazers.

 

 

I wear blazers or jackets frequently so that can be a big dry cleaning bill. Yes, I do dry clean at home and am pretty good at getting out spots; however, I have never been successful at getting make-up off a collar without dry cleaning- any suggestions!

 

 

I am often complimented on how good I look but all the make up I apply or anyone applies to my face seems to soak in after an hour or so. As I have told you I am a big believer in moisturizers so it isn’t because I neglect to use those.

 

Finally, I wear glasses and they always seem too have make up on them. I buy eye glass wipes by the hundreds (Wal-Mart special) and I use them all the time on my glasses and sun glasses. Nonetheless, I always seem to have make- up on my glasses; I am wiping them constantly.

 

 

There you have it…just some of my challenges and we haven’t even hit cellulite yet. What challenges do you have? If you have had a problem with skin care or beauty products how did you solve it? I intend to learn from this blog as well as give you my suggestions.

 

 

Talk to me!

Be Healthy and Beautiful at 55+

Are you confused about all the skin care and beauty products? I’d like to share some of my experiences and hope that you will share yours.    As you probably know, the number of anti-aging products is overwhelming. My advice comes from having been in the media and the spotlight that accompanies it for more than thirty years. I had my hair and make up done by a professional every day when I was a new anchor and even more when I began doing TV talk shows. I picked up some ideas from them that I will share.

I have read articles on skin care and beauty care from magazines like Allure (I know designed for my fifteen year old granddaughter, but they do at times have some good tips. I also read More, Vogue and Elle. As a radio and talk show host

I have interviewed countless authors of books on looking good and feeling good at 55 and beyond. I have agreed with some of them, disagreed with others but have pretty much come up with what work for me. So I will give you my unbiased opinions on current products on skin care, beauty care, and health tips. I will give you some of my favorites but don’t forget I am looking for your favorites as well.

When it comes to cleansers as I have gotten older I find my skin is less combination oil and dry and is just dry. I use Dove Deep Moisture creamy facial cleanser. I find it doesn’t dry my face as soap does. However, it is essential that you rinse it off completely or it leaves a residue. I tried using Retinol or a product with retinol and found it was just too drying. I know. I know you are supposed to wait weeks or maybe months for results. I couldn’t wait. I didn’t like how dry my skin was. I do know exfoliation is important. I learned this from a famous model I interviewed several years ago. If your skin is dull no matter what make up you buy it may be because you don’t exfoliate. In other words, there is a layer of dead cells sitting on your skin. No matter what you use on your face it remains dull. I have a trick so the exfoliation process doesn’t dry my skin. I use Anew Night Age Repair cream. My skin stings after I put it on so I wait about an hour after I apply it and then I lightly rub off the dead cells. Yes, you can actually feel the dead skin sloughing off your skin. Then I rinse my face and put on a night cream. I need ones that are good for really dry skin as they disappear on my skin after fifteen minutes. Two of my favorites are  Nivea Age Defying Moisturizer and L”Oreal Age Perfect Pro-Calcium Night. But my favorite type of skin care which really keeps my face soft and dewy, yes dewy, is serum. One of my favorites is Garnier Nutritionisite  Ultra-Lift anti-wrinkle firming serum.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to look 25. I just want to look good being 55+. My next post will include the kind of make-up I use. Feel free to agree, disagree, but do let us know your secrets.