365 Days, One Dress

Could you wear the same dress every day for a year? Change it up a bit with accessories? I think I wouldn't last more than a couple of weeks (days, maybe)! But Sheena Matheiken did just that to raise money for the Akanksha Foundation which helps fund education for underprivileged Indian children. Her friend designed a black dress that Sheena has been wearing every day since May 1. She adds layers and accessories to add some variety. To see what she's wearing go to http://www.theuniformproject.com/

Moisturizers are a Must

A Moisturizer is absolutely essential to the skin to keep it healthy, soft, supple, smooth and firm. The most important part of the skin care routine is moisturizing. The skin has the abillity to retain moisture and to moisturize itself. However, various influences can cause depletion of moisture and make the skin dehydrated and dry. With the lack of moisture in the skin over a period of time, the cells of the outer layer become dry and shrivel up. This makes the skin texture rough and crepey. The skin becomes fragile leaving the inner layer exposed to further loss of moisture.

Gathered From The Garden makes a Facial Moisturizer that contains cucumber and aloe along with other great ingredients for your skin. Aloe has long been considered to be moisturizing and healing. Cucumber is a natural source for photolytic enzymes, Vitamin B1 and Vitamin C - all of which help skin problems such as pimples, black heads, wrinkles, and dryness. Sunflower oil is rich in Vitamin E and helps moisturize the skin. Allantoin stimulates growth of healthy tissue while making skin softer. This moisturizer does not contain mineral oil.

Our Moisturizer is unscented $9.00 for 8oz. http://www.gatheredfromthegardenllc.4t.com/

Are You Making Yourself Old?

Here are some instant agers and tips to look younger:

1. Wearing heavy foundation makes wrinkles stand out. Since older skin dries out faster, use a brush and loose powder for foundation. Stay away from anything called “matte”.

2. Clumpy mascara creates a dated look. Try this method: curl lashes, then starting at the base of your lashes, rock the mascara wand horizontally back and forth and roll it out to the tip of each lash. Avoid waterproof mascara since you'll have to rub hard to get it off, which can stress your delicate/aging skin.

3. Blush high on the cheekbones is very dated. For a younger look, put your blush just on the apples of your cheeks.

4. Light-washed jeans. The darker the color, the more flattering the look. Go for a mid-rise waist and boot-cut legs.

5. Anything Boxy or Tight works against your figure. Choose what fits your curves. Ignore size numbers.

6. Trim your eyebrows. Splurge and let a pro do it the first time or two until you learn the tricks. If your eyebrows are the wrong shape, they can actually make you look older and even sadder. You should never wax your brows since that pulls on the skin and will make you look older.

7. Use a light-colored eye shadow to open up your eyes and make them look bigger--but avoid anything shiny because it's artificial looking.

8. If you regularly get only a few hours of sleep at night, it will hinder metabolism and hormone production in a way that is similar to the effects of aging,

9. Flaunt your figure. Once you hit 40, don't be too covered up. Show your clavicles or some cleavage, but make sure to wear a well-fitting bra for support. If you're letting a little show on top, wear a longer skirt or slacks. You don't want to look trashy. (Trousers that are slightly too big make you look much skinnier than trousers that are a bit too tight.)

10. Touch Your Feet. Reflexology, or stimulating the pressure points on your feet, reduces stress. If you're relaxed, you look younger. To relieve stress instantly, press your thumb into your solar plexus point, located just below the ball of your foot. Hold for one minute and repeat on your other foot.

I’m going to give all of these a try but I’m not sure of my comfort level for #6 or 9! I’ve given away my light-colored jeans and I’ve done reflexology in the past so I know it does work. I’ve had trouble with “clumpy” mascara so I’m anxious to give #2 a go. Which of these will you try?

How Do You Store Your Earrings?

A funny thing happened. I went to the Kashi cereal website (http://kashi.com) to sign up for a free sample and instead found a great thread about how to store your earrings. This was meant for me--mine are sort of organized (well,not really) so I could use some help!

On the site is a "challenge" page. Challenges are small steps you can take toward living a more natural, healthy life it says and the challenge for the day was how to keep your earrings detangled.

The site said,"You can give your ear jewelry a new lease on life by hanging each pair separately—without buying anything new. Hanging will also prevent metals from tarnishing. Today, challenge yourself to clear off a shelf inside your medicine cabinet and tape a piece of strong nylon dental floss across it. Voila! Instant, free earring holder that takes up no additional space."

Other people had great comments about what works for them. One person uses a pill
sorter found in pharmacies. Each “day” is the perfect size to keep 1 pair of earrings. Another person used plastic ice cube trays for earring and necklace storage because they are inexpensive, come in different colors & cube sizes and they stack. Still another person said they hung an unused chain link necklace from a hook on the wall next to their vanity. Each link holds a pair perfectly!

How do you store your earrings? My little granddaughter is going to get her ears pierced for her birthday next weekend. I'm sure she'll have lots of little earrings to store. I'd love to have a great idea to share with her. (I'm not sure the ice cube trays would work for a 6 year old.)

By the way, I never did find where to sign up for their cereal sample but if you sign up for their newsletter you can print some coupons.

Hair Color Boosters

Ok, I promise this will be the last post on hair color--at least for a very long while! :)

In the Sept. issue of Body + Soul magazine they give some great DIY recipes for boosting your hair color at home.

Blondes can squeeze the juice from 1 lemon, grate a small raw potato and mix the two. Then add 1/2 cup of chamomile tea. Shampoo, then spread the mask on your hair. Cover with a shower cap and heat with a hair dryer for 2-3 minutes. Rinse out.

Brunettes can whisk together 1/2 cup cocoa powder,1/2 cup plain yogurt, 1 teas. honey and 1 teas. apple cider vinegar. Shampoo your hair, squeeze out the water and put on the "cocoa mask". Keep it on 2-3 minutes. Keep off skin as it may stain. Rinse out.

Redheads can chop raw carrots in a food processor. Then add 2 T. honey and 3 T. plain yogurt. Mix well. Shampoo then spread the "mask" on hair. Leave on 2-3 minutes and rinse.

To get more information about this DIY hair color boost and the facts about why it works check out Body + Soul magazine. (www.wholeliving.com)

Let us know if you try any of these and how it turned out...We'd love to hear from you!

Another Post on Hair Color!

Ok, I don't want to overdo it but I read an interesting article on hair color. It seems that a salon color brand from Frederick Fekkai (used in salons to color your hair) is going to be sold in department stores,Sephora and the internet. It is going to cost $30 as compared to my L'Oreal for about $7 at Walmart.

Would you pay that to color your own hair? This is not even an easy-to-use, shampoo in color--because that's not how they do it in classy salons. I personally see no benefit in using their product. In test ads, not much is said about how this product is worth it's money. I think they are hoping women who are used to going to a salon to get their hair colored will feel they are saving some money and will try this at home.

Let's see your vote: Yes, I'd try this product at home. No, I will stick to my current method of hair coloring....





On another note: There are new nail art pens from Sally Hansen. I have a set of nail art pens that I bought a few years ago at the MN State Fair. They've been easy and fun to work with. I see that the Sally Hansen pens wipe off instantly if you make a mistake. I'd like that. The pens are $7.95 each and come in 8 colors. They have white which would be good for French Manicures. For more info go to: http://www.sallyhansen.com/

After you're done with your nails try Gathered From The Garden's Goat Milk Honey Lotion. Your hands will think they've died and gone to heaven! http://www.gatheredfromthegardenllc.4t.com/

Pantone's Color Report

Pantone, Inc, is the world-renowned authority on color. For more than 45 years, Pantone has been inspiring design professionals with products, services and technology. Pantone releases a guide each year at no charge. Each season, Pantone surveys the designers of New York Fashion Week to determine the 10 most directional colors. These are some of the top colors they listed in the report. American Beauty, a true red, is good for all skin tones. Purple Heart works well paired with American Beauty. Honey Yellow paired with Purple Heart will surely cause a surprising flair. Burnt Sienna is an earthy shade of orange, reminding us of autumn sunsets. Rapture Rose is a blend of fuchsia and soft pink. Warm Olive makes other colors come alive. Majolica Blue is a mysterious shade of teal that can be paired with Burnt Sienna or Purple Heart.

Pantone’s newest partner is http://www.handbagdesigner101.com/. Here you’ll find undiscovered handbags by independent designers and learn about the latest handbag trends. (There are some truly awesome handbags at this site!)

I really love looking at the fashion drawings, reading descriptions of the colors and seeing examples of the colors. To see for yourself, download the entire PANTONE® Fashion Color Report Fall 2009 (as a printable pdf) at http://www.pantone.com .