My skin is a mess. I am under some kind of stress right now, and the first place it’s decided to show itself is my face. My jawline this morning? Connect-the-dots. Gross, right?
Actually, I saw this coming nearly two weeks ago, and so ordered a Kate Somerville kit from Sephora and seriously, I love you [...]

Cleaning out my closet. I always do this around the changing of the seasons. Cheap tee-shirts may come and go, but good shoes? A worthy investment. These stand the test of time, I’m telling you. By a bunch of cheap pairs and toss them every couple seasons, or invest in any pair of these, wear [...]

The one beauty product I refuse to live without (excluding lip balm) is my Touche Eclat, by YSL. This stuff is a miracle in a bottle. Well, tube, actually. Or pen.
I am lucky not to have dark circles around my eyes, or lines, or puffiness. I equate that to my obsession with eye cream, since [...]

Okay, Ann. This ones for you.
I can tell, within a few hours, that it’s going to snow, because my hair suddenly ’sticks’ to everything it passes. Walls. Sofas. You name it. It’s not a major problem, in the grand scheme of things, but it is a problem.
It only affects me in the winter. But here, [...]

It’s winter here. It’s official. We barely had a fall. I’m kind of disappointed about that. One day, it was summer. The next day, it chilled a bit. Then it went back up to the 70s. And then snow. A lot of it, already.
I had no time to reflect on the changing of the seasons. [...]

I’ve taken to doing my nails myself, these days. I have no idea why. My idea of a perfect day used to revolve around a manicure and / or pedicure. But lately? I don’t want to take the time out of my day to go to the salon. Things have gotten so hectic, and every [...]

How many times have you been invited to someone’s home, and you’ve brought along a bottle of wine? We’ve done that. A lot. And I don’t know the first thing about wine. I really don’t. And that’s rather sad, when you consider that my uncle ran a Napa Valley Vineyard. And now owns a successful [...]

The sun is frying us out here. I am constantly slathering us all up with SPF before leaving the house, to do anything. And a few weeks ago, I saw a new doctor who told me that the most important thing that I can do for my health is to use sunscreen. Every day. And [...]

Have you ever tried a “stain” before on your face? Benetint from Benefit comes to mind. And while I adore the company, I do not adore their stain. Sorry. But between the time I put a dab on my cheeks and the time that I put the brush down to blend it, I have a [...]

I’ve been warned so many times over recent years about needing to wear sunblock. And I’ve been faithful to this advice, for the most part. My moisturizer always has at least an SPF 15 in it. And when I’m in the sun for longer amounts of time, I wear real and dedicated sunblock. My girls? [...]

I have a problem. Well, an addiction, actually. To lip stuff. Balm, gloss. It’s serious. Seriously expensive. And it has to stop.
Periodically, I go through my make-up drawers and weed through the immense collection of lip products I’ve bought, in order to simplify my life. I send at least one dozen tubes, jars and sticks [...]

We have hard water. I’ve never had it before. Well, save for the ski trips to Vail, Colorado. Oh, and the one summer I spent there working for a local veterinarian. But still, it was nothing like the hard water we have here. This hard water is exceptionally hard.
And supposedly, we have a water softener. [...]

Oh, it’s been a while since I’ve made mention of my skin, right? The complete bane of my existence? Well. I have finally gotten the dry skin under control. Maybe a little too under control. Because I now have the opposite problem. Too much oil. Ugh. My skin. I just can’t live with it. Seriously, [...]

I’m turning 36 on Saturday. I’m not sure how I made it to such a high number. Because it seems like just yesterday, I was sitting in the backseat of my father’s Toyota Cressida, listening to 1010 WINS on the car radio. That continuous loop of stories. The same ones, over and over. And I [...]

Ouch. My lips are so chapped that it looks like I’m wearing bright red lipstick. But it’s not just my lips. My skin is ashy and itchy, the same goes for the girls. I catch Pea absentmindedly scratching and scratching and scratching her little legs to the point that they get all scraped up.
I’ve tried [...]