Girl Talk

I don't wear make-up. I have off and on in my adult life, but not much since I got married 8 years ago, Steve prefers the nature type. In fact, I bought a raisin colored lip gloss last spring, and he took one look at me and said, ok who are you and what have you done with my wife?

But, in December, before leaving for our trip, I began focusing on my face, and really wanted to do something about evening out my skin tone. The Swede in me can be kind of red and ruddy sometimes and I was feeling self-conscious about it and occasional blemishes that only plagued me after turning 25. I tried Red Elements Exfoliating Scrub from JASON Cosmetics, http://www.jason-natural.com/products/red_elements.php I also heard Martha mention to one of her guests about never leaving the house without wearing bronzer. I wondered, what's bronzer? And why don't I get to watch this show more often? Maybe I need to start recording it.

Steve and I were at the drug store shortly before leaving for Italy and I recruited him to help me in the make-up department to find this mysterious thing called bronzer. We never did find it, but what he did bring was Burt's Bees Tinted Facial Moisturizer.

Ok, this stuff is fantastic. Billed as being for the woman who wants some color without wearing makeup, this is the stuff for me! I now won't leave my house without it. I spritz on some Zia Sea Tonic Aloe Toner (www.zianatural.com), then dab on the moisturizer and blend. It smells nice, and also works as spf 15 sun protection due to the mineral content. If I am feeling particularly dry, I can put on my Zia Ultimate Moisture and then the Burt's Bees moisturizer, but with all of the rain we've been having I haven't needed to do that.

Burt's Bees tinted moisturizer provides sheer, lightweight coverage and moisturizes skin with sunflower and coconut oils. Rosemary helps promote cell renewal, improve circulation and reduce the appearance of broken capillaries. Earth pigments and botanical emollients subtly even out facial tones and create a luminous effect on the skin.

http://www.burtsbees.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10751&storeId=10101&productId=14967&langId=-1&categoryId=&showSubCategory=yes

I also then found some tinted lip gloss that didn't freak Steve out - called Juice Beauty. The mineral tinted lip colors again are spf 15, and the 3- color set I purchased all look great on me and with my wardrobe (in particular my pink stuff!) I am really impressed with their performance during my trip. Sometimes I put some Un-petroleum on first, then the color, just to feel more moist. www.juicebeauty.com

Okay, so that's my facial regimen! I now have even skin tone, and colorful lips without anyone noticing! I feel better about myself and the fact that I don't draw attention to myself as I would if I started wearing make-up. And besides, make-up is a lot of work and bad for your skin...

If you have some beauty tips or favorite products you would like to share, please post a COMMENT!