Best Beauty Always

Boots No7 Gets Intense

There’s been a lot of press lately about a new anti-wrinkle product from U.K.-based Boots. The company couldn’t keep up with demand a while back after tests by a University of Manchester team showed that its No7 Protect & Perfect Beauty Serum stimulated production of fibrillin in the skin. A recently completed study shows that by using the new No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum over a 12-month period, lasting effects were seen.

Boots says the results of the second tests, published in the British Journal of Dermatology, show that long term use of a beauty product can create a clinically identifiable improvement in the appearance of facial wrinkles, and that the product had a structural effect on the skin demonstrated by changes in levels of fibrillin, a component of the skin’s elastic tissue. The clinical trial was executed with the same methodology as that used to test a medicine, according to the company.

For more reading on the subject, check out the related post at StyleList and see what The Beauty Brains had to say. Both offer some insight into how to think about such testing and the reported results, as well as on what it may mean for the future of beauty product testing.

I think it’s good to have as much information as we can about a product before we spend our hard-earned money on it. We also have to educate ourselves to better understand what we’re being told.

Scents of Spring

The springtime air is filled with the fragrance of flowering trees, from crabapple to redbud to magnolia and more, including my current favorite, Korean spice viburnum. The scent of spring hits me hard when I first step outside, and as I walk through the neighborhood, individual fragrances waft by on a gentle breeze. The spring season lasts a lot longer than the flowers on the trees, but the scent lingers in my memory.

If wearing fragrance makes you feel beautiful, there is a steady stream of choices coming to market to join old favorites at the fragrance counter. Designer Marc Jacobs offers a twist on the practice of altering a popular fragrance in some way to create something new. Instead, he’s changed the bottle. For spring, Daisy Marc Jacobs has been released in a “Blooms in Spring” limited edition, presenting the original, award-winning Daisy bottle blossoms in grass green. There’s a treat for your inner child tucked inside, too. Daisy Marc Jacobs is available at department stores.

For your inner younger woman, there’s a fragrance that isn’t new to the market but may be new to you. Ageless Fantasy is a fragrance that’s all about appearing younger than you are through scent. It launched in 2007, marketed as the fragrance that could make men believe you are eight years younger than you really are.  The fragrance features head notes of apple, pink grapefruit, pomegranate, mango and pineapple; heart notes of cherry blossom, pink jasmine, lily of the valley and peony; and, base notes of precious woods, musk and vanilla.

I’ve known women who liked to stick with one signature scent over a period of time. Some women change their fragrance selections with the seasons, preferring something light in spring and summer and perhaps a deeper, more intense option for fall and winter. Others have a wardrobe of scents that take them from morning to night. I like to mix up my favorites throughout the year, depending on my mood and the occasion.  And that’s what it means to live beautifully, your way.

What's your fragrance style and what are your current favorites?

The Beauty Walk

When I returned home this morning after a long walk with the dog, a quick look in the mirror reminded me how exercise can really put a little pink in your cheeks. Exercise is good for the circulation and good circulation can affect the look of the skin. That healthy glow is a great foundation for any personal beauty regimen.

I have friends who walk, bicycle, hike, run, kayak, ski and do all kinds of other great activities. They do it for many reasons including health and fitness, fun and excitement, to get a little fresh air and even to get from point A to Point B – simple transportation! And they are all reaping the benefits that exercise brings to the body and to the face.

So, what do you do for exercise? Do you know of any good books on the subject for women over 50? Please share them with us.

I exercise at home but my favorite thing to do is to take long walks with the dog. She follows her nose and I follow her in a circuitous route that surely must add great distance to an otherwise straightforward walk. If you’re counting steps as part of your routine, I strongly recommend walking with a dog. Dogs are great teachers on aspects of life besides exercise, too. Deep grass to walk in, holes to look down, and great smelling things to sniff and, indeed, all the best things in life, are not found on the designated walkway. Life can be a lot more interesting just off the beaten path.

Have a beautiful day.

A Hint of Tint

My first real job was in a drugstore. I stocked shelves, worked the cash register, wrapped gifts of candy and perfume, and decided very quickly that the real fun was at the beauty counter. When I started the job, I didn’t wear much makeup – I was only fifteen and might use a little blusher or lip gloss – but being in such close proximity to so much product, I very soon contracted the beauty bug.  I tried it all, including blue eyeshadow, glittery cheek color, bizarre shades of lip and nail color selected to aggravate the parents, and it was all fun.

These days, makeup is more about enhancing my natural assets than making a fashion statement, even though I still like to have a little fun. One product I haven’t experimented with much is foundation. I’ve worn Lancome’s Dual Finish powder makeup for years. The color is good on me, I can control the amount of coverage, and it gives my skin a nice, soft finish. I find, though, that there are days when I just want moisturizer, sun protection and a little something to even out my skin tone. That’s when I turn to tinted moisturizer.

There are a lot of these on the market. Lancome makes several, and I’ve used its Bienfait Multi-Vital Tiente.  Cover Girl makes CG Smoothers SPF 15 Tinted Moisture. Right now I’m using Lorac’s protecTINT SPF 30 oil free version in the shade called Dare to Bare. I’ve found that you can play with the amount of product you use, from a thin layer to just even skin tone, to layering on more in areas that need a little extra coverage on a given day. Today I put it on over a face primer and really like the effect.

Let me know if you’ve found a tinted moisturizer you particularly like.