Glow by Lady E

  Look at that pink. It looks like it should arrive before I do. But it doesn’t. A few light swipes give me just a soft flush of pink. If I want more, I can build it. And perhaps that’s what I like most about it. It lets me decide how playful I want to be that day. The first surprise was the color. The second? It smells like candy. EJ, my Dior ambassador, recommended Rosy Glow when I asked him to choose something for my Fun & Flirty issue. He told me this shade wasn’t only flattering on fair complexions. It works beautifully on morena skin, too. He was right. On me, it’s playful without looking juvenile. Pretty without becoming precious. And subtle enough that I don’t feel as though the blush entered the room five minutes before the rest of my face. Unless I want it to. Then I just keep building. 💗 Bright pink in the pan.  Soft on my cheeks.  Buildable when I want more. And it smells like candy. Which may explain why I have privately renamed it my Ki...

  I used to choose things because they’re pretty or affordable, but I end up hurt.  Like two brands of slippers that shall not be named.  Now I choose things that are kind to my body. Soft, supportive, gentle.  Especially after my foot ached for better.  I think I’m learning to apply that standard to more things. Pretty is lovely. Fun is lovely. And I will probably always be drawn to something that sparkles. But I don’t think beauty should require me to tolerate discomfort just to keep it around. That applies to something as small as a pair of slippers. Or a hairbrush. This new brush is still glittery. Still pretty. Still something that makes me smile when I see it sitting with my things. But it also feels good. The bristles glide through my hair without scratching my scalp or catching strands between broken tips. It does what a hairbrush is supposed to do without asking me to endure something first. And maybe that’s one of the quieter forms of self-respect. Not...

  Remember this?  This is one of the lipsticks that I’m fond of.  But over the past few months, I’ve been accumulating a few more lipsticks.  And have had zero success in finding the mythical perfect cream blush.  My face has become textured and dry from the after effects of the many medicines they pumped into me for years that I have a hard time wearing blush.  It seems that cream blushes are the best for this season of my skin.  But I haven’t found any good ones.  So one day, I was using this lipstick shade and thought, well, why not? So I swiped some of it onto my hand.  Got my cloud puff, swiped to get some product and gently tap, tap, tapped on my cheeks.  It was perfect!  I know it looks too pink on my hand, but I have a secret.  I applied this under foundation.  My skin is already red from rashes.  But the extra pink this gives balances it out.  And under foundation?  It’s the perfect natural flush....

  For many, many years, I’ve avoided dual-ended brushes.  I don’t like it when the other end gets dirty and squished in the container.  And for many, many years, I’ve used individual disposable spoolies to groom my brows.  But since I’ve been busier, I started buying more brushes. More brushes means less time spent washing them frequently.  More brushes meant more eyebrow brushes.  However, the brushes at KKV only had these dual tip ones.  (I’ve stopped buying expensive brushes. Tell you why in a future issue.) So, I had no choice. I tried a couple.  And I was smitten.  Forget about crushes.  I’m committed.  I haven’t realized how much time I could save by using just this brush!  I know it sounds exaggerated.  But for someone who continuously refines her systems to shave 5 seconds here and there, this is a big deal for me.  Instead of drawing my eyebrows, putting the brush down, reaching for the spoolie, grooming my b...

  This lotion now joins my collection of empties this month I’m letting my body decide now when it comes to choosing products that stay. But my reality is that, my body is ever-changing.  Sometimes she says yes to a particular product then 2 weeks later,  I’m reacting to it.  Other times, I can use a product continuously without any hitch.  But I still want to be careful.  Especially with my skin. So I don’t treat my skin the same every day.  I rotate products.  Days spent at home require something light, easy to absorb.  Also easy on my senses.  Especially to my nose.  Going out requires something stronger.  And that’s where the Luxe Organix above came into play.  I stopped using it daily.  The scent just sat heavy on my chest.  But when I go out?  That’s a different story.  I’m constantly bombarded with different smells that I don’t notice what’s on my skin anymore.  So I used it on my legs....

Lately, I’ve been thinking about what stays.  Choosing beauty.  I said that I no longer let things stay that are not aligned with the life I’m building now.  That’s somewhat easier to say about non-tangible things. But what if it’s something - a product, an item, that I just bought? How do I deal with that? Do I throw it away or give it away immediately? What I’m learning in this journey is that I need to let different aspects of my being decide.  With product, of course my body decides.  No matter how much I like something, if my body says no, I stop. Like the lotion above.  The scent lingered too loudly on my skin.  I kept coughing.  But I had just bought it.  And I didn’t quite want to let go of it yet.  So I waited a few days and tried to think of something to do with it.    If my body says a loud no to some products, she also says a loud yes to some.  Like this soap. I didn’t think much of it.  I just saw the big...