Crème De La Merde!

Recently at the Clarins counter of a large department store, I enquired about their Multi Active day cream but was turned down. The representative said that this particular cream isn’t suitable for me as it’s designed for mature skin, for women over 40! Ha, ha, if only she knew!

It’s just as well: I refuse to get caught up in that horrible guilt trip that if you don’t spend $$$ on cosmetics, you’re going to turn into a shrivelled up old prune! It’s a huge marketing scam that is holding women of all ages hostage. Now every skin type has different requirements but that doesn’t mean having to spend thousands on skin care. It’s ridiculous. As any dermatologist will tell you, the purpose of skin is to keep things OUT so the action of any moisturizer, realistically, can only go so deep. When it comes to toiletries, my philosophy is: keep it simple and as natural as possible. Consider this: the benefits of multi-billion-dollar research from the world’s largest cosmetic companies are available at supermarket prices!

Absolutely no way I’d be wasting my hard-earned cash on face cream. For $360.- I can pay my quarter-year bill at the gym or five of my weekly massage treatments. I can throw a fabulous dinner party or go away for the weekend. I’d rather buy a beautiful Hermès silk scarf, or a pair of Prada shoes or some other luxury leather goods or a piece of jewellery, something to show for that will last longer than a pot of chemicals on my bathroom shelf. Those kind of things would actually help improve my image; because let’s face it (pardon the pun), no one’s going to stop you in the middle of the street to compliment you on your moisturizer!!!

I’d rather kick the alcohol and caffeine, get plenty of fresh air, sleep on a good mattress, and stick to a sensible beauty routine. If I’m blessed with a glowing complexion and hardly any wrinkles at all, surely it’s got a lot more to do with: a) luck and the fact that I don’t smoke; b) the fact that I keep my face out of the sun and my hands out of my face; c) I’ve been using a weekly peel and mask for as long as I can remember.

A recent survey in Italy showed that 93% of women were unsatisfied with their appearance. What a waste of time! To think that all the women here are thin, spend hours at a gym and their pay checks on beauty treatments. (And as a result, they all end up looking the same…) I think focus is really important. To remember what defines you as an individual and makes you unique. It’s certainly not the dress size. Alas, there will always be prettier, thinner, younger women out there, so confidence cannot come from the surface, but is cultivated from deep within. To be a woman of SUBSTANCE is what matters.

As I have now entered the second-half of my life, my value system has undergone a deep transformation, I see things clearly now and therefore my priorities have also greatly changed. For me, nothing can be more valuable than having the element of quality in my life; quality of life, quality time, quality relationships. Quality not quantity is what matters to me. So in regard to body image, this translates to a healthy body, not a thin body. Thinness doesn’t necessarily equate to health or beauty, but a healthy body is always attractive. So I do not eat to starve myself but I eat in order to nourish myself and maintain maximum health and vitality. Forget moisturizers, it’s what you put inside your body that shows up on your skin!

Food has many purposes. When I’m bored I tend to eat sweet comfort food, but the sugar hangover that ensues only makes me groggy, so the downward spiral of sugar consumption begins. After a 2-hour gym session I’m starved for pasta, so I eat the wholemeal variety. At regular monthly intervals, I crave chocolate. The important thing about food is that the right food in the right quantities at the right time can actually clear many symptoms such as sugar sensitivity, IBS, PMS and arthritic pain. Exercise and healthy food can heal and rejuvenate the body more that any pill or cream ever will, and best of all, the benefits are long lasting!

To conclude, here’s a quote from Deepak Chopra:

“When a proper diet is not present, medicine is of no use. When a proper diet is present, medicine is of no need.”

Good health to you!