A Day at the Beach !

If you don’t want to look older before your age…START a beauty regime and use a beautiful beauty secret…

A SUNSCREEN.

Want to lose elasticity,get more wrinkles,drier skin,sunspots,red splotches uneven skin tone and MAYBE get skin cancer…then you need to use it even more. This month is Skin Cancer Melanoma Awareness month. Be street smart! Be sun smart be careful guys and gals. As much as I love the sun and sunshine rays you need to be aware and BEWARE.

A day at the beach,riding a bike or taking a hike ALL need your TLC and skin love.

MY mantra ala Noreen Young says “Give your skin a hug with sunscreen.”

Your skin does a lot for you…LOVE it back!

http://www.stopskincancer.org

If you have breast cancer…or any cancer

Here are some tips to make you feel a little better and to look beautiful. I hope you enjoy them and will use them.

Your skin will go through many changes. Take time for a quick shopping trip to update your beauty regime.Use a skin care regime that is more hydrating.Chemo and other treatments will make your skin drier.

Even if you are not a lipstick,lip gloss or lip balm girl …you will definitely NEED something on your lips to keep them moisturized. Be READY for kissing and look better too.

There is NOTHING like a little color on your face.
Some days you may not feel like it and must simply stay in bed but the times you feel up to it… It can be as simple as 1,2,3.
You don’t have to use foundation. Use a tinted moisturizer.Perk up your eyes with a little eyeshadow or eyeliner.Add some blush to your face. Forehead,cheeks and chin.If you want the feel of mascara…use CLEAR mascara.

TREAT YOURSELF to something like a luscious pink nail polish like OPI’s MOD FOR YOU!

Use an organic/vegan body lotion or hand cream that makes you feel pretty,smells YUMMY and makes you feel good.If you are not into much fragrance at this time use a fragrance free one or even olive oil or coconut oil will do the trick.

Oh the many moods and ways your body will change.If you are always HOT. I have been hot flashing since I was 5 years old. I am almost always HOT. Try HOT GIRLS PEARLS to keep your body cooler.These beautiful gems around your neck or on your wrists will feel cool and refreshing. So cool I even wear them to the beach for a stroll to keep cool.
Visit their website for more information.www.hotgirlspearls.com

Cancer is a sneaky disease and a club I too did not want to join. I did not want to be invited.PLEASE do yourself and your family a favor.Get a skin care exam for a check up all of your body for skin cancer (starting as a teenager)

Get a mammogram if you are of age or your doctor recommended.Preventative maintence makes you prettier and live longer.
Just a reminder MEN get breast cancer too.Remind him to go for a check-up!

If you’d like to see more tips like these and me in action check out the video go to http://www.firstcoastnews.com click on THE CHAT

Cancer sucks!

If you have any friends who are in this unique club and you wonder what to do for them,consider the following:

1. Buy them a joke book or funny movie.
2. Make soup or a nutritious dinner for them and their family.
3. Send them cards every month or week that they are sick.
4. Offer to take the caregiver to a movie or sports event or look after the patient to give the caregiver a break.
My husband is so worried about me. He has been at my side every doctor’s visit. He has see me in pain and not being able to walk. It scares him. He needs a break.
5. Buy a novel for them to read.
6. Give them your eyebrow kit.
7. Buy them a cotton blend scarf to wear.
8. Give them a facial.
9. Send them a fruit basket.
10. Call them every one or two weeks.
11. Give them a gift certificate for a massage.
12. Send them a prayer card.
You get the idea, send a little kindness.

Someone close to me shared this list with me. I simply had to share it with you.As you can see the
the patient and caregiver need LOVE and random acts of kindness too!

Mesothelioma

A fellow blogger wrote me to ask that I share and spread the word on this cancer to make you aware of it.
Since my blog is more about beauty,skin,lifestyle,food and my travel adventures I really did not know what to say.This is a more serious and a topic that is close to his heart as his wife has it.So,I thought since TODAY is National Mesothelioma Awareness day I’d share his message with you. It is an uncommon form of cancer that affects the lining of the organs. It could be the lungs,the heart and more.
The predominant cause of Mesothelioma is asbestos.It is found in hospitals,schools and many more places.
Go to http://www.curemeso.org for more information.

No sunscreen makes me want to scream!

When you head out to enjoy the long 4th of July holiday weekend.

Don’t forget this…SUNSCREEN!

Whether on the beach,sunbathing,walking,playing golf,active in sports,bike riding,surfing,or on a boat. You need to be protected. And by the way just because you have a medium to dark complexion doesn’t mean you don’t need it.
ALL faces,bodies and skin types can get BURNED. Even BABIES need protection!!!

Now don’t get me wrong, you can spend time outdoors and escape for a beautiful walk on the beach. However,you’ve gotta protect your skin and your health! Don’t you?

I LOVVVVVE the way the sun kisses my face daily. I love spending time in the sun.But everything in healthy moderation and the right protection.I am a skin professional who simply wants to HELP you be sun smart.

My sister was diagnosed with Squamous cell skin cancer, my other sister was diagnosed with Melanoma and they don’t even spend time in the sun.They sunbathed just a little when they were teens.They never used a tanning bed and since they live so far from a beach they don’t spend any time at the beach or outdoors except to go in and out of their house door or car. Now,after their diagnosis they stay completely out of the sun and use sunscreen.

Skin cancer is on the rise.
It should be no surprise! MOST people are not skin smart these days.
Don’t be one of the not so pretty or fatal statistics.
Protect yourself!
LOVE that skin and body you’re in. You’ll be glad you did.

Day 26 to more beautiful skin

Do you have something on your face or body that looks like a mole,a sunspot,red splotches or is scaly or itchy?

DON’T ignore these symptoms and play or avoid the doctor. Last night I mingled a fashion event and spoke with several people who found out I was in the beauty and skin health business.
They told me they had family members or friends who ignored the signs on their skin and are no longer with us.

Rosacea,psoriasis,rashes,raised every changing spots,hyperpigmentation they all are not cancer but they do need to be looked at.A prescription recommended and a plan of action to help you on your way to healthier skin!

See a PRO and get a skin care check up every year. Doctor knows best!
On a personal note I SURVIVED squamous skin cancer …I was one of the lucky ones. It all started with a tiny beauty mark like spot.

Feeling under the weather?

When you don’t feel well, going through chemotherapy or just have a bad case of the flu…There are some lovely things you can do to feel good just for wonderful YOU!

Pretty Pick Me Ups

•  Always take time for you and for some ME time. Whether it is shopping an antique mall, stopping at a coffee shop for your favorite brew or going to a matinee.
• Makeup your mind to care and make certain the health of your skin is a priority. Don’t skimp on moisturizer. Now is the time you need it even more! Day and night, apply moisturizer from face to toes.
• Vow to yourself that you will add some color to your face…daily. If you are too sick, at least apply lipstick or a lip-gloss. Or have your BFF apply it on you. It will make you feel better I promise.
• Blush is necessary during these times you will look washed out especially during chemotherapy.
• Relax in a bathtub especially when your days are rough, long and you simply have had enough. Dip into some delightful scented water. Try the scents of rose, lavender and or vanilla. There are so many products on the market to enjoy! If you are not a bath person or cannot take a bath …Shower on! Choose a decadent bath or shower gel and rub your cares away.
• Spray your pillows with a spritz of your favorite fragrance. Sleep tight~
• Cozy up to a fireplace or fill the room with a few fragrant candles.
• Bake a pie, roll up bread or go to a decadent bake shop and enjoy what they have made.
• Make TEA time a part of your day. Just like the people of England do in mid-afternoon. I do it with my honey when we can and it is so wonderfully relaxing.
• Buy yourself some flowers! Yes, a chic and cheap bouquet is what the happiness doctor ordered. I love color and surrounding myself with it. Bouquets are an easy way to do this.
• Plant an herb garden or buy one herb in a pot. Mint for tea, mixed with meats or salads. Rosemary for cooking and barbequing. There is nothing like fresh herbs~
• Create a journal or storybook of your life. Now’s the time for reflection and while you are forced to slow down. Enjoy these moments with yourself.
• Find some music that rocks you or moves your soul. When I want to relax, I listen to Bliss by David Young (no relation to me) and George Skaroulis he takes you to Greece without leaving the country. A delightful favorite is entitled Sanctuary. There are no words just mystical, pretty and relaxing music. J’Lo’s new CD Love is upbeat, sexy and amazing to put you in a mood. Whatever rocks you buy it. Listen and dance like no ones watching.

When you are blue do something for you…enjoy the little things and take care of wonderful you! You are going to get through this.