Friday, August 10, 2012

My Beauty Diary

I read the Celebrity Beauty Diaries in last month's issue of Harper's Bazaar and could not stop flipping through the mundane details of those perfect little subjects who eatrigid meals and live eccentric, but cute lifestyles. Maybe it's my blue collar/immigrant upbringing or just that I'm not a size 2 rich woman, but my life has far more inconsistencies than the women I read about. And so, I decided, why not write my own?
photo courtesy of Kris10.

Diet: I like food. I like fitting in my clothes. I try to find a way to balance the needs of pleasure, vanity, and health in my food intake. BREAKFAST: I always have at least one cup of coffee. Cream and sugar in the raw. Yes, more calories, but I started freaking out about what was in that little packet of Splenda. Bacon, egg, and avocado on flat bread.  LUNCH: I find it hard to take breaks in the middle of the day, but I made it to Whole Foods to get their corn salsa and chicken with peppers. Dinner: Outdoor dining on the Charles River with a friend. Vodka and grapefruit cocktails. Seafood bruschetta, fried mac and cheese, lobster corn dog. Tapas style. BEVERAGES: coffee. diet coke. green tea when my boss makes me drink it. Water. SPLURGES: Chocolate. Java Chip frappuccinos from Starbucks. Tequuila. VITAMINS: One A Day chewables. I recently found out that I'm supposed to eat TWO, and here I was thinking that I was being greedy by shoving a few in my mouth each morning.  

Fitness: I am the program director of a sports camp this summer, so I stay active with the kiddies. Without a license, I rely on walking and public transportation. I've found that stretching before bed and when I wake up on a yoga mat for 10 minutes keeps my body limber and less sore.

Skincare: I only use natural products after an amazing facial years ago, when the aesthetician told me I had beautiful skin, but just needed to exfoliate more and use less chemicals. I love Simone France's skincare line that focuses on moisturizing and not just scrubbing and cleaning.

Makeup: I use Lauren Mercier's Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer (ah-may-zing!) in golden radiance. I have had people on the street stop me to say that I have a beautiful complexion. I also give credit to Benefit's Bella Bamba bronzer that smells like watermelon candy for the pink glow on my cheeks. I love a pigmented black eyeliner (for summer and winter), I switch back and forth between UrbanDecay's 24/7 Glide-On pencil liner in Zero and L'oreal HIP cream eyeliner. Mascara.

Hair: I'm pretty much a walking advertisement for Moroccan Oil. I use the shampoo, conditioner, hair mask, oil, and styling creams. With no alcohol in their products it's a no brainer for those of us that have curly hair. I also have an amazing hair dresser, who believes in sexy, healthy hair for all women. She understands the curls and texture of my hair, and teaches me how to style it in different ways. I have been growing it out for about two years, and she's kept me sane through the process. A regular trim and limited heat on hair works miracles. Quick clip-in extensions in my hair to recreate the current styles like a top knot and a fishtail braid. I wash my hair once per week, blowdry and flat iron it straight.

Body: I've stopped using lotion and on the recommendation of my youthful looking 62 year old mother, I use Vitamin E oil. It's hydrating and surprisingly less sticky than other creams. I rub it all over after I get out of the shower and by the time I get dressed it has soaked in and my skin feels soft. I make my own body exfoliator from lemon juice, sugar, and honey.

4 comments:

  1. I enjoyed reading this post. It's always interesting reading other "real" (& by real I mean not celebrities with unlimited budgets) peoples beauty diaries. I've recently discovered Moroccan Oil and am obsessed! I'm slightly annoyed I didn't find out about it sooner!

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  2. Great post! I am considering documenting my own beauty diary to keep a track of how I treat my body. This is a great idea and truly authentic. P.S. that photo is pretty awesome too.

    xoxo,
    daisy

    imjustdaisy.blogspot.com

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  3. Great post!! I'm totally going to try out some of your staple products...thanks for sharing!

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  4. I'm intrigued by the "no lotion" advice... I have severe dry skin and lotions sometimes are not enough, even medicated ones... Can you tell me more about that?
    On the other hand I'm moving to Boston next year (from Chile!) so I'm very interested in your advices (I've always been but now more than ever) specially the one about your hair dresser!!!

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