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insegnante
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| Posted: Dec 22 2010 at 12:12am | IP Logged
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For various reasons, I prefer not to (re-)add makeup to my life right now.
Any tips or lengthy musings on ways to improve appearance without applying coloring or concealing agents to one's face? Or hair for that matter, as it appears the question of to cover or not to cover grey is coming sooner rather than later.
It may seem like I'm asking for the obvious, but I'm actually interested in the little and/or specific things you learned made a significant difference to a more pleasant appearance. Little and or specific enough that it might not have occurred to me already, like "cut/style your hair in a flattering manner" or "become/stay physically fit."
Thanks!
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Theresa
mommy to three boys, 3/02, 8/04, and 9/10, and a girl, 8/08
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St. Ann
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| Posted: Dec 22 2010 at 12:53am | IP Logged
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SLEEP!
Enough sleep makes a world of difference for me, my complexion, my eyes...
Washing my face every night and use moisturizer.
A joyful countenance! 
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Stephanie
Wife and mother to Hannah '96, Maria '99, Dorothea '01, Helena '03
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 22 2010 at 1:10am | IP Logged
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definately use moisturizer on your face.. it makes a world of difference. be very gentle to the skin around your eyes.. its delicate and dragging your fingers over it to rub stuff in isn't good.
a cold compress on your eyes can help too if they're a bit tired and swollen
I generally also recommend not using any soap on your face.. wash with water and pat dry (leave just slightly damp) and immediately add the moisturizer.. it helps keep your skin hydrated..
and that brings us to.. drink more water being well hydrated is excellent for the skin.
getting off the dead skin is another thing that helps you look good.. skin is always growing new layers and shedding the old ones.. when you help those top layers clear off you're left with the good looking skin instead of the dying skin being most visible. But be gentle.. a bit of exfoliating is good.. too much hurts 
a lemon juice rinse for the hair is nice.. keeps down any soap build up and smooths the cuticles of the hair shaft for it's shinier and softer than otherwise.
wear good colors for your skin tone.. when you wear the wrong colors you can look drab and drained.. wear the colors that make you glow. One older lady I know looks just stunning in navy blue for instance.. and my sister looks really good in red.. and one of my girls looks wonderful in brown.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Dec 22 2010 at 6:22am | IP Logged
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Smile more often- everyone looks 100% better with a smile. 
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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Grace&Chaos
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| Posted: Dec 22 2010 at 12:42pm | IP Logged
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Jodie love your suggestions!
Ditto the exfoliating part. I'm not one to use any makeup. I will use a simple honey Clinique lip gloss and the rest I leave to my Mary Kay Time Wise exfoliating rinse and face lotion. I recently (and when I can remember) started using the eye serum to help that very sensitive area. Just a quick pat/dab no rubbing.
Hair is a big factor with me. I have very frezzy hair and if not tamed it looks very unruly  . I have to admit that blow drying or straightening are left for special "not in the house all day" times. So for those other days I'll just use a leave in conditioner to help a bit.
Besides colors I'd add styles. There are things that make me look very frumpy, but others not so much . For example jeans. I can no longer wear "low rise" they look awful and I also discovered that "boot leg" looks better than "straight leg". Layering tops makes such a differnce too. A longer one on the bottom layer or a tank top under a scoop/v neck top or even a botton down blouse.
Which reminds me, very simple jewelery. Nice simple pearl or crystal studs and a simple necklace. Depedning on what I'm wearing it is long or choker style. (I was never a jewelery person before, but I notice that this adds a little umph to a wardrobe.)
Just a couple of things that I do without adding makeup or color to my hair (it's been about 8 years since the last time a chemical touched my hair). 
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Jenny
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Grace in Loving Chaos
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Lisbet
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| Posted: Dec 22 2010 at 12:50pm | IP Logged
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For me, (this may not work for you) I am slowly cutting back. I don't know if turning 35 and being 7 weeks postpartum is the best time to do it...but, I stopped covering my grays (for some reason, I have lots of 'em already) while I was pregnant, that seemed a good 'excuse', and now I'm just used to it. I have went from a 'full face' of makeup each day to just a bit of concealer and lip gloss for regular wear and a bit more for special occasions.
SMILE! Indeed this is key. And also being confident in your appearance.
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Lisa, wife to Tony,
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CrunchyMom
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In addition to sleep, I think that eating well and taking certain supplements really help one's appearance. Be sure you are taking care of yourself physically, and your hair will be healthier and shinier, your complexion better, etc...
I don't wear much makeup, most days none, but I do like Burt's Bees tinted chapsticks. I have a color (can't recall the name atm) I feel is very natural but can quickly brighten things up with a quick application in the car. It doesn't feel or wear like lipstick--more like chapstick, and most people swear I don't wear makeup though I actually do often wear this. Anyway, I like it.
Also, I find that when my eyebrows are sufficiently groomed, my overall appearance is more tidy, and I don't have particularly thick eyebrows or anything. I don't do anything dramatic--just pluck the strays back to the natural lines.
I do feel more put together when I blow dry as well.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Chris V
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| Posted: Dec 22 2010 at 3:57pm | IP Logged
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I have to agree with Jodie about not using soap on your face. I stopped "washing" my face a while ago and only rinse my face with water. When I wear eye makeup, I remove the eye makeup at night using 100% castile soap (saponified olive oil).
Drinking lots of water, for sure! And getting plenty of sleep ... but let's be honest, "plenty" is a relative term and I rarely get enough of it!
... And a good daily wealth of nutrition is important also.
Ok, I suppose I could have just said "what everyone else said" on my post
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Chris
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Willa
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| Posted: Dec 22 2010 at 5:23pm | IP Logged
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I've found that getting moving (not "getting fit" but just adding a little bit of fun movement to my normal day) helps my complexion. I'm a natural couch potato so I'm not talking about an all-out workout but I've noticed that just being slightly more active seems to detox my system.
Spending a bit more time outside is also helpful HOWEVER -- I don't know if it's like this in Virginia, but in California where I live it's important to shield your face from the sun by a hat or sunscreen (I prefer the former since my skin doesn't like additives very much).
Making sure you have enough healthy "good" oils in your diet can be helpful for appearance too... like Omegas and good olive oil.
One more idea -- when you apply moisturizer to your face smooth it gently UPwards, working against natural gravity. I learned that from Mary Kay.
And in addition to getting enough sleep, I think it's helpful to have a short lie-down in the afternoon to let gravity smooth your face instead of dragging it downwards.
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Willa
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Chris V
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| Posted: Dec 22 2010 at 5:37pm | IP Logged
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Willa wrote:
One more idea -- when you apply moisturizer to your face smooth it gently UPwards, working against natural gravity. I learned that from Mary Kay.
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Interesting, Willa! Why is that?
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Chris
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Willa
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| Posted: Dec 22 2010 at 8:18pm | IP Logged
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Chris V wrote:
Willa wrote:
One more idea -- when you apply moisturizer to your face smooth it gently UPwards, working against natural gravity. I learned that from Mary Kay.
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Interesting, Willa! Why is that? |
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I don't know  but I think you are following the direction you want your face to stay in. I always figured it wouldn't hurt. When I said upwards I don't mean vertical but rather sort of outwards and upwards if you can visualize that.
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Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
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Grace&Chaos
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| Posted: Dec 22 2010 at 8:46pm | IP Logged
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Willa wrote:
Chris V wrote:
Willa wrote:
One more idea -- when you apply moisturizer to your face smooth it gently UPwards, working against natural gravity. I learned that from Mary Kay.
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Interesting, Willa! Why is that? |
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I don't know but I think you are following the direction you want your face to stay in. I always figured it wouldn't hurt. When I said upwards I don't mean vertical but rather sort of outwards and upwards if you can visualize that. |
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I was trying to find the answer to this, but I just remember learning somewhere that you are trying to follow the natural contours of your face and almost in a massage like manner. When you apply blush or cheek powder you follow the natural curve of your cheeks bones thus accentuating them. Anyway, if I find and/or remember where I read it I'll post it.
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Jenny
Mom to dds(00,03) and dss(05,06,08,09)
Grace in Loving Chaos
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amarytbc
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| Posted: Dec 22 2010 at 9:31pm | IP Logged
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My niece was a Mary Kay consultant and during a visit several years ago she was showing my daughter how to apply lotion. She told her to only stroke up because the skin on the face was like scales and you wanted get the "good stuff" under the scales to puff up the skin. Funny, but we always remembered it.
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KackyK
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My dh has gotten all of us (meaning me and our two teens) to not dry our face at all but to let it air dry. The only exception is if you are going to dry it with a clean towel. But once it's been used (he lectured us) there is bacteria and you don't want to "force" it into your skin by rubbing it on your face. Makes sense I guess.
So right before I declare myself "done" and ready to leave the bathroom, I then add the moisturizer. My face is still a bit wet, but that doesn't seem to be a problem.
Oh and the soap we use (again dh's chemistry background dictating this one) is Neutrogena bar. The most basic basic bar. He doesn't approve of moisturizer (not for aesthetic reasons but for chemical ones) but oh well. My face feels awful without it.
I have gone years without makeup and for some reason recently I started to just wear mascara. It seems to make a huge difference, like I'm more awake looking I think.
I'd love to know more about gray hair! It keeps sprouting over here. I think every hair I've lost postpartumly is being replaced by about 3 gray ones! UGH!
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KackyK
Mom to 8 - 3 dd, 5ds & 4 babes in heaven
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KackyK
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| Posted: Dec 22 2010 at 9:48pm | IP Logged
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Oh and eyebrow grooming...
At one makeup party thing (it wasn't Mary Kay, something else), a bazillion years ago, the gal said you brush upwards the ends of the your eyebrows at the center, then brush the rest of the brow outward to the sides...so it's up and over.
For what it's worth.... [:/]
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KackyK
Mom to 8 - 3 dd, 5ds & 4 babes in heaven
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guitarnan
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My mother-in-law, who has beautiful skin at age 75, swears by Ponds cold cream as a winter moisturizer, so I am trying that this year. Normally, my face and hands dry out, crack and bleed in the winter months. (My MIL lives in the desert, so I assume she's had many years to determine if the cold cream helps or not!)
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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insegnante
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| Posted: Dec 22 2010 at 11:15pm | IP Logged
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Thanks, ladies, reading with interest.
One of the reasons I don't really do makeup is how expensive it can be and how much research it can require to find ones without certain ingredients I'd like to avoid. I don't know much about moisturizer and its ingredients and I put off doing the research, never mind spending the money. Another reason I'm hesitant to start moisturizing is that although I usually notice more dry than oily skin on my face, if something oily actually touches it, I can still have a localized breakout where it was. I'm 32, but I already have some noticeable lines and figure preventing a rapid increase is one of the best things I could do for "natural beauty." For years now I have noticed these deep creases over my eyebrows that from a distance can almost look like they are part of my eyebrows! I guess I must be heavy on the brow involvement in my facial expressions.
I have wondered whether smiling more could at least make the lines I do eventually get more pleasant ones!
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Theresa
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Chris V
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insegnante wrote:
I'm 32, but I already have some noticeable lines and figure preventing a rapid increase is one of the best things I could do for "natural beauty." For years now I have noticed these deep creases over my eyebrows that from a distance can almost look like they are part of my eyebrows! I guess I must be heavy on the brow involvement in my facial expressions.
I have wondered whether smiling more could at least make the lines I do eventually get more pleasant ones! |
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You and me both! ... I'll be 36 years old next week and *cannot*... cannot! believe some of the wrinkles that appear when I'm smiling, but then they never leave! I have "crows-feet"; and they are there to stay. No sense in fussing over them, they are a part of me now ... forever 
Thankfully, gray hair tends to blend well with red hair; although I'm not a true red-head in the traditional sense (more of a strawberry-blonde-turned-slightly-brownish-red ... you know that look? ... sort of Bonnie Raitt-esque) and I don't see any hair coloring in my future. I fully intend to see myself through these glory years as naturally as possible. Aging as gracefully as I can, at least, that is my inspiration (but that's NOT to say that wearing makeup and coloring your hair is anything less than graceful, in fact, both can be done well, with tact and beauty). ... I'm speaking more in my efforts to embrace my age, whatever my age, with pride.
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Chris
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JodieLyn
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Thesesa have you ever tried Aloe? you can get a plant and have fresh with no additives you can also buy it at a health food store.
I used it after showers when I lived in AZ and it was hot and dry.. I don't recall that I used it on my face in particular but.. it might be a choice that would work for you.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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SeaStar
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Tropical Traditions has a whole line of coconut-oil based lotions, creams and soaps. It's all 100% coconut oil and nothing else, (even a line without scent), and it is wonderful. I feel good knowing there are no other chemicals in it, and I love the scent-free aspect- don't want to go around smelling like a coconut!
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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Topic: beauty without makeup
