I work as an Office Manager/Patient Coordinator in a cosmetic surgery center and am a patients first point of contact, through their consultation, scheduling their procedures through continuum of care.
I love their stories. The stories that bring them through our doors, how quickly they are to be so open, raw and candid with tears in their eyes and hugs before they leave. Some are just cosmetic junkies, what procedure haven't they had, yet? It's still fascinating and I love being on the front line.
There is a fine line between natural beauty with gentle enhancements and maintenance versus looking plastic.
Clearly there is a beauty faux pas that makes beauty experts gasp in horror! Bar soap.
Well, bar soap and Walmart make-up. How could you ever be beautiful using this sludge? It cracks me up!
One of the first and most popular questions a beauty, skincare expert will ask is, "What do you wash your face with?" This is a trap! They are sizing you up to see if you're cheap or they can financially suck you into their high dollar products. They feign a gasp and make you feel as if you've found the fountain of youth coming to them.
I smile sweetly and say, "Oh, you don't want to know."
"Please tell me you don't use bar soap?!" They shudder.
"Sometimes" I answer feigning in naive victim innocence. I want to hear about their products. Different product lines do offer different gems, you just have to find what you like.
Here's the thing, I do use Dove bar soap sometimes on my face, 40/60, I also use different kinds of gentle cleansers. I always hydrate with a toner before using a moisturizer.
It's simple. Cleanse, hydrate, moisturize.
If you pay $67 for a gentle cleanser, $87 for a renewal serum, $72 for shield protection, redness defying, anti-aging, blah, blah, blah, $91 for must-use moisturizer or you will look 80 when your 40, before you add your primer, foundation, and paint your eyebrows on with a marker, that's your choice.
Here I sit at a high-end beauty counter looking for a foundation that was recommended by my friend who is a seasoned beauty expert and has worked in most lines of beauty skincare and cosmetics. She is my "What is the best" go to, shoot it to me straight person. I'm almost 48 years old and I still do not use foundation. I use a tinted moisturizer BB cream that is light but does not give that flawless finish.
She swears by Dior's Airflash Spray Foundation, so I went to try it out. I really like it! Incredibly light and natural, my face had an unusual flawless finish that is controllable applying with a brush.
I will use it when I want to look flawless, but I'd like to say for the record, my keep it simple and natural look has me at almost 48 years old with skin that doesn't use foundation, and with only one very slight hairline that desperately wants to become my first line at the crowsfeet.
I've watched that fine line for the last couple of years wanting to become my first wrinkle and I water it with moisturizer two times a day. I could easily and at no cost hit it with Botox, but there is something beautiful being natural that I love.
As I left, I looked around at the make-up masks every woman wore. The time and layers they applied to achieve that look that must have co$t a fortune.
What happened that caused a garish make-up mask? God said in the garden, "Who told you that you are naked?" Who told you that lie? Who told you that stenciled on and marker painted eyebrows are considered to be socially beautiful to women?
Both my daughters keep it natural with gentle enhancements. Keeping it clean, simple, and natural.
That's what we need to teach this next generation.
