body brushing

so in the comments on one of my other skin care posts, my sister made some wise crack about making sure to take out time to buff puff my butt.  when she said it, i don't think she knew i am an avid butt buffer.  have been for years.  and now you get to hear all about it.  (except since this is a family blog, and butt buff puff sounds kind of unladylike, let's call it "body brushing" from now on ok?)

i first read about body brushing in a weight loss book by marilu henner.  at the time i had a canadian tire or two to lose, but was more interested in reading about losing weight than actually losing weight.  more to the point, i wanted to find ways to look thinner without giving up my 8 twizzleators and family size onion rings a day habit.

anyway marilu (and i didn't even know who she was or why she was famous) takes a whole chapter of the book to blab about how dry body brushing has all these benefits including minimizing cellulite and reducing bloating.  i read that and i was on body brushing like white on rice.

its pretty simple.  start with dry skin (ie pre bath/shower). take a brush start at your feet and brush up towards your heart.   i use this brush i picked up at riteaid or ulta or something. after i finish brushing, i like to slather myself in argan oil or coconut oil.  i can't promise that it will get rid of your cellulite but it will make you feel fantastic. fant-ASS-tic.  sorry mom.  i couldn't help myself.

vitamin c isn't just for colds

you can put it on your face too. and with great results, especially if you happen to be among those cursed with the lines and zits (and i am). some girls have all the luck. i won't bore you with the details on vitamin c, like how it is an anti-oxidant and breaks up free radicals because that is what wikipedia is for and besides i don't really know what those things mean anyway.

instead, how about i share a few brands that make great vitamin c serums; one for the cheapskates, one for people who like "organic" stuff, and one for the product junkies.

cheapskates: most of the time this is me. except recently i've started splurging on skincare to make myself feel better about the fact that i am 30 and i look like i am 30. when i am poor i use avalon organics vitamin c vitality facial serum with great results. it isn't sticky and absorbs into the skin quickly.

"organic" stuff: kiehls powerful line reducing concentrate (10% vitamin c) isn't actually organic....but the company really tries hard not to use parabans (wikipedia it) or fragrances, which i love. this is what i am currently using. i like it. a lot.  it kind of warms up when you put it on your face and has a really nice essential oily kinda smell. my skin is clear (!) and smooth (!) and looks pretty radiant (!).  kiehls is amazing about letting people try stuff...so next time you are in nordies/holts ask them for a sample. 

product junkies: ever since my friend told me the other day about obagi i've been obsessed with trying their 20% vitamin c serum. only problem it is in the neighbourhood of 120 bones. currently my paranoia about my pocketbook supersedes my paranoia about aging (although the gap is rapidly closing to don't be surprised if in a week or two i'm raving about this.)

anything i missed?

burfday

scrabble+j.crew shopping trip+pictures+discussion about intelligence+dinner+documentary+peanut butter+ this guy
=
a good day (even if i did turn 30)

skin care don'ts from courtney love

I've been a big fan of the band hole ever since rax and i took a trip to utah circa 2000 and listened to celebrity skin for 16 hours straight (well that and teenage dirtbag). if you aren't familiar with the song take a listen:


my favorite line of the song is in the chorus when she sings, "when i wake up, in my makeup its too early for that dress." man can i relate. i wake up with raccoon eyes on a regular basis because if i stay up late (and i often do) i'm terrible about washing my face (ie it doesn't happen).

i read in people magazine (while at the hair salon the other day) that kim k keeps makeup wipes by her bed so that she can lay in her bed and still take her makeup off. hmmm if kim k is doing ot maybe it is something to try?

but now i'm not so sure.

if i put a stack of wipes beside my bed i'd end up with black wipes all over the bedroom floor (gross) because if i am too lazy to to wash my face i am i am definitely too lazy to get up to throw the wipe out.

plus i worry about residue from those things.

has anyone tried makeup wipes? how do they work for you? what are your favs?

the skin whisperer of calgary

dr. remington is famous in calgary. he is the genius behind many a well preserved housewife and gay man. you have skin problems? he's THE guy you go see. he's the kind of doctor you trust right away too. it might have something to do with the fact that his face is about as smooth as a baby's bottom, not to mention that in the 20 or so years i have known him, he hasn't aged a day. 5/6 white family members agree: doctor remington is a facesaver. and the 6th doesn't know anything since he's never had skin problems. lucky so and so.

you want lasers, peels, nips, injections? dr remington is a whiz. but one thing i like about him is that he doesn't just push the expensive cosmetic stuff, he is an advocate of good old fashioned things like washing your face and putting on sunscreen.

one of the things that doctor remington teaches his patients to do is wash their faces with buff puffs. he told me (and my mom) that most people don't exfoliate their skin enough and washing with a buff puff is one way to ensure that the dead dull skin on your face gets sloughed off. i started doing it again after noticing i was a dullster from all the summer sun i got.

using a buff puff makes a HUGE difference and is simple and affordable (daddy like). just wet your face, apply your favorite cleaner (dr r. says use cetephil), wet your buff pad and scrub scrub scrub. i use my buff puff for a week or two before switching it out for a new one. you can buy puffs at most drugstores. i'm currently using the riteaid brand.

seriously friends try this. it is one of the cheapest good things you can do for you skin. and you will notice the difference right away. (oy i sound like a cover girl commercial).

Dirty Thirties

whew. things were getting very grade 12 social studies there for a while. thank your lucky stars i haven't put up my posts on abortion, gay rights and euthanasia.

for the last few weeks i've been freaking out about the fact that i'm staring 30 down the barrel. i'm not sure what set me off. could be the three long hairs that appeared on my neck the other day. or maybe it was that i've been informed by medical professionals that i need to wear support hose every day if i don't my legs to turn into a rope vein mess (and i'm not even with child). or maybe it was my mom describing my grandma's saggy skin (from the sound of it genetics aren't on our side).

in any event i'm all in a huff about anti-aging. my mother's advice: start saving for boxtox. probably wise. so i will. but i have also been looking into taking better care of my skin (ie maybe washing my face every once in a while) in an effort to turn back time. over the next few days i am going to share what i've learned and how it worked or me. if you have anything that really works for you--tell me! i love hearing about people's skin care rituals.

also it doesn't really matter how cray-cray it is because i'm not above trying anything. once i read online that if you bathe in coffee it will help you feel less bloated. i filed that little piece of info away until one day, when i was feeling especially water logged, and decided to try it. i went to the store bought instant coffee granules, drew a nice hot bath and dumped the jar of coffee in. it was pretty lovely (nice smelling too). i'd call it a successful home remedy except as i watched my two hour bath water drain (admittedly kinda gross) i realized i'd dyed the bath tub brown. dentists aren't kidding around when they talk about coffee stains. the good news: it only took about 4 liters of bleach to remove.

some asians enjoying a coffee bath. they have to coolest skin care remedies like coffee baths and gold fish that eat dead skin off your body.

Why you shouldn't vote for Rick Perry: Part Three

he doesn't have a conscience.

i've been thinking a lot about the death penalty ever since the CNN debate where rick perry said that he doesn't lose sleep over the possibility that some of the 234 execution orders he signed as governor of texas could have been for innocent people. the audience cheered. perry went off on some junk about how he had faith in the justice system.

justice experts say that while perry has been governor at least one innocent person, cameron todd willingham, was executed. in that case perry actively interfered with state investigations and rejected the scientific evidence presented by over 20 scientists saying that the fire which killed willingham's children was not man-made. in other cases he has denied inmates rights guaranteed by the vienna convention and ignored the rights of foreign nationals in criminal proceedings.

the whole death penalty issue makes me sick. in fact it is one of the things that makes me want to move back to canada. (please mike? but then i might have to live without target--which would also be a colossal tragedy so the jury is still out on where we'll end up) (and yes i realize like what a jerk i look like for making that comment).

it isn't that i don't have faith in the justice system--but mistakes do happen--and it just seems like the risk of the harm caused by executing an innocent person isn't worth it. take for instance the execution of troy davis which occurred today. he was convicted primarily on the basis of eye witness accounts. 7 of the 9 eye witnesses have since recanted, saying they were coached by detectives working on the case. there is no physical (DNA) evidence linking davis to the crime. while he may still have committed the crime--the doubt--the possibility that he didn't seems to be to be reason enough to at a minimum stay the execution. but that is a moral argument and i can understand how not everyone is going to agree with me.

so how about we get really pragmatic? with the economic downturn, most states are facing budgetary deficits. It costs a state $2.2 million to execute someone. Most of these costs are legal fees. On the other hand it costs $400,000 to keep an inmate in prison for life. When states are faced with hard choices about where to cut spending--why not just commute the sentences of all death row inmates to life in prison?

in texas rick perry could have saved his state $20 million dollars. money that perhaps could be spent on education, health care, hell even using the money to pay for HPV vaccines would be better than this crap.

ok i promise not to post anything more about rick perry. unless he does something really stupid, in which case i won't be able to help myself.