I Want A Gross Body Glow!

I recently found out my favorite Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Glow Pads are now available for the whole body!These are larger pads, textured towels, they say, which contain a formula that is (somehow) an exfoliating, anti-aging, nourishing, irritation-and-blemish-combating self tanner that firms and smooths skin, while minimizing the need for shaving. SERIOUSLY?!?!!?

Sun Tan Lotion

Did you hear about this? I’ve been a fan of Jergens Natural Glow for years, among other gradual tanning lotions, but now they’ve added SPF! It's called Jergens Natural Glow & Protect. Now your “safe-tan” will be even safer!

Salute The Salux

In my reading of the internetz, I’ve heard again and again about Salux, the Japanese “Beauty Skin Cloth”. People swear by them for smoother skin, so I finally decided to get one to see what all the fuss is about.

Tracy Anderson, You Gotta Be Kidding Me!

You guys. Holy effing S. Tracy Anderson's 30-Day Method is sooo hard! Today is day ten, and it’s a good time to check in. I’m 1/3 of the way through. It’s been TOUGH. Also, I’m sort-of-almost getting to the point where I’m reevaluating.

Expensive Deodorant. So What?

Sometimes, when I return something, I end up buying something else that I normally wouldn’t have, because I feel like I have “free money”, which I definitely, definitely, do not have. Still, that’s how I ended up spending $18 for an antiperspirant.

So. Cellulite.

 

I don’t have a serious amount of cellulite, but it’s pretty serious to me because it’s ON ME. And since I don’t want my body to dictate which clothes I can wear, I need to take care of that situation as soon as I can. I am, of course, going the diet and exercise route. (It’s not like I haven’t been talking about that FOR DAYS.) But I’m coming at it from all sides, and that means going topical too.

Tracy Anderson is Totally Not Kidding: Part 3

So, first of all, I must have jinxed myself raving about the food yesterday, because my dinner was very, very not exciting: Steamed Chicken & Kale. Also, I overcooked the chicken a bit because I was busy making some of the other food for today, so that made it even worse. And today’s breakfast, a veggie omelet roll-up thing, was a total fail. The omelet stuck to the “ungreased nonstick pan” and it turned out like more of a veggie scramble. I cheated and added a tiny bit of salt, because I really didn’t like it at all. (Not a huge fan of eggs to begin with.) On the plus side, I made 3 meals and a snack in 1.5 hrs last night! Also, yesterday I didn’t feel hungry, and actually never even ended up eating my snack. That’s probably bad though. You’re supposed to eat everything so you have the right amount of nutrition. Still, I think having the protein in the morning really helped with hunger throughout the day. Day 2 was much easier than Day 1, except for the exercise, which was harder because I was sore. Day 3 is kind of tough so far, because I didn’t finish my eggs this morning and my Chicken Protein Soup lunch was kind of bland. I am seriously thinking about sneaking in a little salt here and there, just so I don’t give up completely. But later, I get to have applesauce and blueberries, and I can’t wait!

And now, it’s time to tell you about the workouts. Tracy Anderson is adamant that you exercise while dieting, so you don’t end up “skinny fat.” And not just any exercise, specific exercises, and you have to do all of them. There are two exercise components in The Method: Muscle Design and Cardio Complement, and you need to do both. Every day. She says if you do the muscle work, but not the cardio, you’ll end up with a layer of fat on top of the muscle. AND she says if you do the cardio but don’t do the muscle work, you’ll end up with saggy skin! The idea is to do all three, diet, muscle design, and cardio, together.

Tracy Anderson is Totally Not Kidding: Part 2

Tracy Anderson considers the meal plan her third component, but for me, it gets priority because it requires the most time and attention. And also, because it’s food!

Tracy Anderson is Totally Not Kidding: Part 1

Remember when I told you about The Water Secret, and then we were all going to start eating better and working out once a week in March, and then twice a week in April, and then three times a week in May? Did you do that? Me neither. I really wanted to but…

Bumps B Gone

I just learned that Tend Skin now comes in a roll-on! Great news if you need it for your pits, but also if you’re just lazy and don’t want to bother soaking a cotton pad before applying it. It’s only 2.5oz, so it’s good for airline travel, and extra good if you’re flying somewhere that you’ll be wearing a bathing suit.

April Showers

So, it’s Earth Day! Let’s get all eco-friendly. I am not any kind of a crunchy granola hippie, but I try to do what I can. We all should. I use a Brita and a SodaStream instead of buying plastic bottles of flat and seltzer water. I bring my own bags when I go to the store. I recycle. I live in an apartment, and take public transportation or walk almost exclusively. I support local and organic farming when I can. I use cloth napkins, cloth lunch bags, and special reusable sandwich wrappers. I buy mostly natural cleaning products. I even buy toilet paper and paper towels made from recycled paper. But not the tissues, those tissues are awful! I also have a weakness for real light bulbs. I only have three CFLs in my whole apartment, and I hate one of them every time. And they’re so efficient it’s going to take FOREVER for that one to burn out! So I deal with that, but in general, I think my carbon footprint is small enough that I don’t really feel guilty about having soft tissues and nice lighting.

No Pain, No Gain

A few years ago, after hearing that I shave my legs every day, my mother-in-law recommended that I get an epilator. In the 80s I tried my mom’s epilady for about one second and swore off them forever. My MIL assured me there were new innovations and they were much better. Plus, she said it makes your hair grow back finer. Since my skin is very light and my hair is very dark, in certain areas you can still see the hair under the skin even when the surface is completely smooth. I thought an epilator might be a good way to get rid of the “black dots.”

Shave-a-colada

Sometime last year, I decided to try to reduce the amount of pthalates and parabens in my life. While it’s impossible to cut out all of your exposure— that stuff is in EVERYTHING— you’ve got to try to do what you can. At least, I do. One of the products I switched was my shaving cream. What is generally referred to as “shaving cream” is really a foam, and even the shaving gels are just a quick rub away from being foam. My shaving cream replacement is an actual cream, similar to body lotion, but less oily so it doesn’t jam up your razor. It seems like these are referred to as "Cream Shave" I guess to differentiate them from the creams that are actually foams. Inexplicably, these cream shaves are offered in an array of tropical flavors we would normally encounter in umbrella-drinks.

Sweet! DIY Sugar Body Scrub

Winter has been very long, and very cold, to the surprise of no one. Now that we have extra daylight, and are treated to the occasional warm day, it’s time to make some preparations for spring. We need to get ready to break free from our sweater cocoons, and I’d rather emerge a beautiful butterfly than a dusty old moth.

Let’s save our dollars for some spring clothes (and maybe a little makeup), and make our own body scrub to cast off the dry skin of winter. Like a snake! (Not at all like a snake.)