Ready to Do Errands!

I like doing errands when I'm on my own; doing them gives a different structure to my day, and often provides me with that wonderful feeling that I've been productive and busy - a feeling that tends to make me more productive and busy.  Sometimes the best time to do errands for me is as early as possible.  Eager to be on the go, I don't really dress up (after all, I'm buying cat food, doing a quick grocery store run, stopping at the hardware store, the frame shop, the post office).  I often don't even dry my hair if I am really in a hurry!  I pull it back in a messy, wet bun and use one of those large clips in a colour the same tone as my hair. And of course, I have to wear my gold Portuguese cross. With it on, I always feel ready for anything!

Just so I'm not too scary, I do put on minimal makeup. I put on a bit of eyeliner and the lightest coat of mascara possible. Lipstick is a must. And yes, my hair is wet here!

   Below, for errands, nothing is quicker than jeans and a white tee.  Low platform sandals are easy to run about in, and cool at the same time.  Mine are Franco Sarto, a brand that fits me well and has the added plus of being very comfortable! Here my cat Cluny decided that he had to get in the picture, too.

On a slightly cooler day I wear a thin cotton, lace-trimmed 3/4 sleeved jacket I bought at Banana Republic over 8 years ago. Underneath, a cotton tee from Old Navy, and cream cotton no waist pants.

Perfume for errands? A light spritz of Bulgari's Jasmin Noir, fresh, light, and unobtrusive. Gucci watch.

SALES For Summer!

I hear so many people griping about the price of clothing and accessories, and the truth is, they are expensive. But with some judicious shopping, you can find some very nice things. I love internet shopping for sales at high end stores. Of course, I have a good idea of the size that I will take, and a knowledge of what will work for me and what won't. I have also learned not to be fooled by the skinny models who look unbelievably chic and sexy and to do some simple things like look to see what material clothing is made from. Here are some things that can be found on the net right now.

At SAKS: Have you always wanted one of those unbelievably beautiful Judith Leiber jeweled bags but couldn't afford it? Try sunglasses instead. Judith Leiber makes quality products and her sunglasses are tres chic! These can be had for $139.00, and there are others. SAKS Judith Leiber

Yoana Baraschi Cap-Sleeve Dress/Red:  If you have the figure for it, this is a great dress for summer dining out. And it is still available in sizes 8, 10, and 12. The curved pockets are quite slimming (providing you don't put anything in them), and at 89.00 this is a steal! It is made of viscose which does breathe. The cap sleeves hide just enough of the underarm to be attractive.

  The next dress is also Yoana Baraschi and also is 89.00. In black with wonderfully slimming vertical blue lines, this dress is sure to be a favorite.  Both can be found here.

I love flats! These are perfect for summer since they are decoratively vented. They also come in tan and black. Pour le Victoire flats are only 69.00.

Don't you need a new watch for summer?  Breil square stainless steel and mother of pearl chronograph watch is fairly easy to read and looks great on your wrist with its bone-colored band and rose gold plated rim. Retail price is normally about $750.00, but it is on sale for 215.00

I'm Loving Pink!

It's been years since I've worn pink lipstick, but lately I'm loving it for Spring. Below, the pink lips look great with my pink cashmere jacket (worn for the last time this year since 80 degree weather is on the horizon).

I like to wear hot pink with black and white; in this, case, cream slacks, black tee, pink cashmere jacket, pink Cole Haan loafers - my favorites because they are sooooo comfortable.  I can wear their driving shoes (like these) for hours and hours of walking,  They're great for doing errands on a busy day!

Below, I'm wearing my Portuguese cross, Cluny Grey gemstone longer necklaces, and David Yurman ring and bracelets.  I love piling on bracelets!

I'm also loving L'Occitane Verbena hand lotion - a sharp dash of freshness everytime I put it on my hands. Thank you, Fernanda!

Clothes for Women over 60

Yes, I admit that I'm over 60;  next month I'll be 61. I still try to dress fashionably but comfortably as well since comfort means a lot to me these days.  Yesterday was a grey day here in D.C. so I dressed to match with grey cotton (with 2% stretch) pants (Eddie Bauer) with a Hollywood waist (that is no waist and the pant curves slightly about your natural waist - very comfortable and leaving no marks), a white Carole Little tee with a curved neckline and a fitted shape, and a 3/4 sleeve light grey cotton cardigan with a ruffle around the bottom. Anne Klein loafers and trouser socks completed my outfit. I wore a Cluny Grey necklace and my David Yurman watch.

My diet starts today; there is nothing like putting a picture of yourself on the internet to see that you need to lose weight!

Long Hair Styles for Mature Women: We're Keeping Our Locks!

 So, yes, I've turned 60 (actually last May), and no, I am NOT going to cut my hair!  Above, a smoother look, and below, caught off-guard.

  I am so tired of everyone assuming that just because one is une femme d'une certain age that one must cut one's hair.  I love my long hair.  It's versatile, it's good to hide behind occasionally and I love the way it feels more than anything. And yes, I'm on a crusade: Don't cut your hair just because you are over 60, or 50, or 40.

Below, Jaclyn Smith looks gorgeous with her long layers of hair. I'm not sure of her exact age (some sources say that she is 66), but she is definitely over 60 and looks great with her long hair.

 Can you imagine Jane Seymour without her long hair? She is 61 years old.  Can you imagine her in a butch cut or a pixie?

 Catherine Deneuve is supposedly 68 years old. She looks great with her longer locks. Above is a picture taken this year. Below is a picture taken when she was over 50.

So Jennifer Lopez is only over 40, but do you think she's ever going to cut that gorgeous hair! I think not!

Below, at age 60. Lynda Carter is still beautiful.  Her hair is part of her attraction. The second picture was taken before she was 60 (a couple of years ago) and her long hair is smashing!

Remember Catherine Bach from the Dukes of Hazzard. Her hair still rocks!

In the 1970s, Marisa Berenson was known for her gorgeous hair that was sometimes, sleek and smooth, sometimes wild and unruly, but always fabulous. She is well over 60 now, and her hair looks perfect for her! 

  If you are a mature woman and long hair looks great on you, why cut it? It can also help camoflauge a sagging chin! Tweet

Casual Style

Okay, we all hate to roll out of bed in the morning, and if you have little ones (or not so little ones) to get off to school, it can be very tempting to throw on anything just to get them there. But if you don't have to go on to work, or as so many of us, you work at home and can wear whatever you want, are you guilty of looking, well, frumpy? Check out these celebrities who are known for their style on their morning school runs. What they have on is deceptively easy to put together, and looks very - put-together!

 Above, Kate Winslet looks great!. Yes, she has an expensive handbag and Chanel shoes, but anyone can copy this look for much, much less!   What to do: pin clean hair up in a messy bun; slip on comfortable flats (the Chanel look in ballerinas is so easy to find at almost all price points), and throw on a black short-sleeved dress. What makes this so simple is the shift dress (you can even try a knit polo style dress), bun, and shoes. Quick, and you'll still look fantastic.

Okay, it's Angelina Jolie. But look how simple: if you have long hair, comb it straight back and let it fall naturally. If you wash your hair every morning, all you need here is a blow dry that you do yourself, save the hot rollers or curling iron for when you get back home. One sweater, cashmere is ideal, a pencil skirt, and tall heels in black. The only real upkeep with skirts and dresses is keeping your legs waxed/shaved.

Jeans can look great and don't have to look like "mom" jeans. The key here is fit.  They cannot be baggy in the rear, hips, or thighs. Jennifer Garner looks put-together with simple flats, a white tee, and a short black jacket. Her hair is simple. If you don't trust your locks to stay quite as sleek, pull them back in a low pony tail.

 Below, Claudia does the jean thing, too.  Here they are slightly flared, but fit well in the rear, hips, and thighs.  A simple button top worn over the jeans needs nothing more than a scarf and sunglasses to look chic. Again, don't think your morning hair will look like this? Pull it back in a sleek ponytail or a messy bun.

Lips and the Best Mascaras

As we get older, our lashes often thin, and mine are no exception. I got tired of wearing false eyelashes for the lush look that was a part of my signature eye makeup and have been looking ever since for a mascara that both lengths and thickens my lashes with making them look spidery.

 I've finally found the right concoction! I am using two, yes, two mascaras, and both are by Maybelline. I first put on Illegal Lengths mascara to get the length that I want, being careful not to let it dry between coats. It goes on best if you apply until you get the length that you want without letting it dry between coats. Then, I use the Volume Express mascara, Falsies, for thickness.  If this sounds, goopy and like too much, it really isn't.  I like the "winged" Falsies best, I think.  I apply a couple of coats of it starting close to the lash base, and finally, I have the lashes I want!  The Falsies in waterproof is also decent, too.  I used it lately when I was in South Africa and Mozambique to keep away racoon eyes.  It worked!

 Beauty Tip:  If you have very dry lips all the time, try this. Your toothpaste may be drying your lips.  Before brushing anytime, put a thick coat of vaseline on your lips, then be sure to rinse lips after you finish brushing.  Toothpastes containing baking soda are especially drying to the lips.  I've tried this and my every so dry lips are finally getting soft and smooth!

The Simply Luxurious Life: Rules Of Style – Inès de la Fressange

The Simply Luxurious Life: Rules Of Style – Inès de la Fressange

Olay Total Effects Anti Aging Body Wash

Total Effects 7-in-1 Advanced Anti Aging Body Wash - Deep Penetrating Moisture

The skin on my body is so dry that its condition even has a name: ichthyosis. I do everything I can to keep it moisturized, and it has been a difficult battle even since childhood. I love Aveeno lotion and it works as well as anything I have ever tried, but I'm always looking for more. Enter Olay Anti-Aging body wash. This great body wash helps with moisture in a wonderful way, keeping my skin soft and smooth even before I put my moisturizer on. It also seems to "tone" my skin as well. And unlike so many other products that work well at first, then end up giving me a rash, after a year of using this, no ill effects - only good.  I've used the exfoliating version also, but while it did okay (exfoliation is not the best thing for sensitive skin), the body wash is fantastic.  No more old lady legs!

Ange ou Demon? Perfume Is a Must

Perfume should be a part of every woman's beauty routine.  It should be subtle and should match your mood, identity, or style in some way.

  I tend to like to have a signature fragrance myself, one that I wear constantly and layer in all its forms.  In the 1980's through the 1990's until the formula changed, it was Sung by Alfred Sung.  It just smelled good on me and people commented on it in a positive way constantly.  Then, it was Escada - the original Escada with its wonderful jasmine.  Then Escada became hard to find. I had  Boucheron, and Fracas when the mood struck me, but neither could be my signature.  So, I'm still looking.

  This year while traveling in Africa, I bought perfume and lotion in Maputo, Mozambique - Givenchy's Ange ou Demon.  I love it!  I don't think it can be my signature, but I am enjoying it.  Notes:   top notes are mandarin, white cumin and saffron which open to the florals of lily and orchid combined with ylang-ylang; rosewood and dense oak moss absolute continue and lead to a drydown of  powdery and sensual Tonka and vanilla. It lacks the jasmine I love so much, but for now, it's the perfect Spring fragrance - not too sweet, and just sexy enough.

  Do you have a signature fragrance?

Note: This is not a sponsored post, simply my own opinion.

Abreva: The Cold Sore Remedy

Unfortunately, I am one of those people who has always suffered from cold sores. Although I can sometimes go for a couple of years without one, eventually one is going to pop up - and it seems the season makes very little difference; I've had them in cold season and also in the middle of summer.

  Oddly enough, the way the cold sore feels is a thousand times worse for me than the way it looks, although that is bad enough. But I have found something that works - finally.  And they are not a sponsor of mine, not do I receive anything at all from them.
   The best cold sore treatment I've tried is Abreva.

  Abreva really does work.  In the last week, my cold sore I could feel starting was averted simply by applying Abreva to it twice!  The package comes with funny little tubes that you break open for one application (although it bugs me that there is so much in there and it says for you to use each tube only once).  The end of the tube is basically a Q-tip with the clear ointment (did I say that there was lots of it?).  Put it on the cold sore and that's it!  

  No comparison to my Mother's old remedy of Campho-phenique!
  Remember that avoidance is best.  Wear a sunscreen on your lips just as you do your face, keep your lips moisturized (not just with lipstick - I like to wear vaseline at bedtime, and the rest of the time a moisturizing lipstick and/or a good lip balm (not Chapstick).

SPF - Sunscreen is NOT Optional!

Be sure to wear a sunscreen everyday!  As careful as I have been with my complexion, it is not something I have always done.  Going about day to day life, I often used a foundation with an SPF of 15, but often I didn't.  Now I know that you can prevent signs of aging by wearing a sunscreen year round, yes, even in the winter when all you do is hop in and out of your car to do errands. And remember, your foundation may have a sunscreen, but most people do not wear enough foundation to get true protection.  The answer is a moisturizer with sunscreen and a foundation with sunscreen. Wear both - everyday - even in the dead of winter!

Don't Forget Your Ears

One of the often neglected body parts are our ears!  Oh, yes, we adorn them with cute dangly earrings, expensive baubles; we try to keep them clean, but we forget that our earlobes can show age, too.  Every night when you put on that special cream to lift, moisturize, and/or erase your wrinkles, don't forget your earlobes!  They need all the moisture they can get.  In the morning, when you put on daytime treatments, and especially when you apply your sunscreen (you do wear sunscreen everyday, don't you?) make sure that you pull your hair back securely and slather your earlobes and the outside edges of your ears with moisturizer and your daily SPF.

Remember also not to sleep in your earrings since doing so will pull your earlobes down.

Foundation: Armani VS. Estee Lauder - and the Winner is...

 

There has been so much hype about the new Giorgio Armani silky foundation that I felt that I had to try it.  Armed with my Neiman's charge card (or rather, in this case, my husband's) I set out to Tyson's to see if it was all sold out.  It wasn't!  It had a nice silky finish and I bought a bottle and took it home.

Now at this point it is probably important to add that I have stuck with Estee Lauder's foundations since the 1970's and been ever so happy with them  My favorite and the best all-time foundation is Estee Lauder's Fresh Air Make-Up Base; for a while in the 1990's I couldn't find it anywhere, but luckily it's available again and I am happy again!  During the interim when it wasn't available, I had used Double Wear by Estee Lauder and was happy enough with it, but nothing beat the Fresh-Air make-up.
So I paid by $59.00 to try the Armani make-up (over twice the price of Fresh-Air's humble $24.50 price tag). The result: it looked fairly good, and it was different.  Very light, but there was coverage unlike most "light" make-ups. However, after wearing it for about 5 hours one day, I happened to look in the mirror while I was wearing my reading glasses and noticed that I had a bit of flaking near one side of my nose and a rather dry looking patch on the other side. I no longer had that refreshed look of well-moisturized skin, but rather skin that said, "I've been on the overnight from Heathrow to Dulles and my skin feels it!"
I washed off the Armani and put the Estee Lauder back on.  It looked wonderful; the color was richer, but matched my skin, and it gave me a half-dewy, half-matte look that requires no powder.  I've been checking everyday since with my reading glasses to see if the look is lasting after 5 hours, after 10 hours... and it is!
If Estee Lauder ever gets rid of Fresh-Air, I may have to use the Armani, but until then, the winner is - Estee Lauder's Fresh-Air make-up base.  Never fool with a winner!!
  P.S. You can find Fresh-Air make-up in the standard department stores that sell Estee Lauder, but they don't seem to stock a lot of it.  I usually buy it directly from the Estee Lauder website.

It's Going to Be a Blue Spring

Blue for Spring

It's going to be a blue Spring - and I mean that in the happiest way possible. Blue, especially aquas and turquoises, are very in for Spring, and that's good news for most of us since blue is an almost universally becoming colour. Feel that you can't afford any of the new blues in these trying economic times? No worry, it's easy to add a touch of the new blue to your wardrobe without going into a personal recession. Think of accessories:

*Great sunglasses in blue from Jil Sander's new sunglassesline

*Blue jewels (try handcrafted artisan jewelry to get both real jewels and an affordable price)

*scarves - yes, they are very in right now especially if they are long enough to double around your neck and hangdown to your waist. *

*Find a shocking turquoise belt to brighten up the tobacco coloured dress or pants from last year (or the year before)or add it to a pair of light grey slacks.

* Turquoise or blue shoes make a real statement when worn with an all-black ensemble or really many different monochromatic outfits. The good news is that if you can't afford them at first, you're probably going to beable to find these on sale just a bit later in the season.

Always remember that dressing chic is mainly an attitude and keep the attitude strong!

Essie's the Best!

I have a love/hate relationship with nail polish. On the one hand, I like how it looks and makes my hands look (and my hands do need help). On the other, there are not many things that look worse or that will downgrade your entire appearance more than having chipped nail polish. My new favorite": Essie. I first came across it when getting a manicure/pedicure in Arlington, Virginia. Then my daughter-in-law gave me some for Christmas. I can't find it here locally, but I buy it through amazon. com simply because I usually have other items to purchase at the same time. Essie goes on smoothly, dries remarkably quickly without any drying agent, and comes in quite a few delicious colours. My only caveat is that I bought a colour (I think that it was called Beach Party) a sort of ballerina slipper pink, that had no shine whatsoever - totally matte so that it looked as though I had messed up my nails in some way. Otherwise, dark colours and their light pinks (try No Pre-Nup) are fantastic and have lasted a week for me - an unbelievably long time!

The Cream de la Creme!

I have extremely dry skin (on my body - my face is slightly different). In fact, my skin has a condition known as ichthysosis (the ichthys from fish) which basically means fish-scale skin. And if left alone, it would look very much like fish scales. Luckily my case is not as severe as it could be, but it still makes finding the right lotions and creams a challenge.
Of course, I love, absolutely love, Aveeno lotion. It is the cream that I use on my face - the only cream, and I've used it for years (I've received many compliments on my complexion which is rather porcelain-like; I attribute the complexion to Aveeno and to good sunscreens). However, finding a good body lotion/cream is a different matter. I seem to need to rotate creams in order for them to remain effective. The body butters from The Body Shop and Bath and Body Works are some of my favorite concoctions (I loved the ones with grapeseed and with pumpkin, both of which are now discontinued), but I've found a wonderful alternative.
The Wildflower & Thyme Company in Waterloo, Illinois makes a cream to die for! This body cream supplies just what my skin is hungry for: grapeseed oil, jojoba oil (my two favorites), avocado oil, Vitamin E, aloevera, and other goodies for your parched skin. And best of all, the nice people will scent your cream with your choice of fragrance: LAVENDER/ROSEMARY, PATCHOULI, ROSE, VANILLA BEAN, LILAC, PEACH NECTAR, JASMINE, LEMON VERBANA, GARDENIA, CINNAMON, MUSK, TROPICAL BREEZE, CUCUMBER MELON, PEPPERMINT, HONEYSUCKLE, GRAPEFRUIT, PLUMERIA, SANDALWOOD AND BROWN SUGAR, EVERWOOD OR FRAGRANCE FREE.
The Jasmine is my favorite, and it's a good strong jasmine so that the fragrance lingers.
It also isn't as greasy as many of the body butters (those with shea butter especially), and it rather inexpensive at about $1.00 an ounce.
You won't believe how great this cream is - and no, I have no affiliation whatsoever with the company. I found them one night while frantically googling for lotions with grapeseed oil and jojoba oil together.
You can e-mail them for information at wildflsoap@aol.com. At times they sell on ebay under the id cacook1. Here is a link: http://cgi.ebay.com/BODY-CREAM-ALOE-VERA-JOJOJBA-GRAPESEED-AVACADO-VITA-E_W0QQitemZ300249052852QQihZ020QQcategoryZ21205QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem



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