sKOah sKin

I am officially back from a two-week Christmas Vacation back East….Well I may not be mentally back but I am physically. Although I never think of it as a vacation because there is no time to rest. It is go, go, GO! As much as I love visiting family and friends it feels good to be back in the hood and start a brand new year, 2011! I’m excited for this year! I just finished my budget, my goal list, project deadlines, and want to start fresh, sharp and focused! I can feel a rocking year ahead of me! Look at me! So many exclamation marks!!!!!!!  So much excitement! One thing I do notice when I travel is how different my hair and skin feel. Especially at this time of year where the air is cold, crisp and your living space may be dry. I’m pretty sensitive to fragrance and other yucky ingredients in skin care products so I try to stick to natural and paraben free products. Dry air equals dry skin.  It’s a good thing the day after I got back I had a free  20 minute sweet skin facial booked at SKOAH. This skin care workout was the perfect treat for my skin and left me feeling completely refreshed and hydrated. I’ve always been curious about their products and have heard nothing but rave reviews. I got a skin analysis and bought a travel kit catered to my facial needs. My skin feels like a baby’s bottom. Gooo goo gaa gaa. Amazing and PH balanced. If you have a chance I would highly recommend SKOAH. Check out their website for further information and book an appointment at one of their four locations in the Vancouver area. -Christina XO

http://www.skoah.com/products

eXcesSIVe

Remember how I was loving red lipstick and hoping to one day purchase a CHANEL tube of luscious red. Well…… I did! From the new CHANEL lipstick collection (CHANEL Rouge Allure Lipstick).  I had a gift certificate and I used it on a beautiful shade of red that I probably wouldn’t have bought ($$$). The woman at the counter says, “WOW, You Own It”. I thought…”Yeah,  you’re just saying that cause you want me to buy it”. Then I took a look closer and said aloud,  ”BOOM! I DO OWN IT!..Heyyyyyyyy Oohhhhh”. I put it on and my blue eyes almost popped out! She gave me a “What A Weirdo” look, But hey! Nothing new here. At least I made her laugh. What’s your favorite shade of red? -Christina XO

REd hOt

As of late I have been into the whole red lipstick look. Coming from someone who usually sticks to nudes and gloss or my favorite medicated Blistex, I’ve been loving the look. One would remember the  whole red lipstick with a bun on top of the head look if they danced in recitals at a young age.  I was a wee little tater tot dancing at age 4 when I first honed the look. Since then every time I would see this it would remind me of dance recitals. But now…NOW! I think it’s such a sexy, fun hot look especially dressed up for a night on the town! I have a coral color by KORRES (my favorite makeup line) and have my eye on a CHANEL tube. YIKES! I saw it and stopped mid step. I’ll have to add that to my Christmas Wish List – Christina XO

Bing! Bang! Bong!

After labor day I always sense the beginning of Fall. There is a sweet smell in the air, a slight breeze and the sign of RAIN! AHHHHHHHHH. Stores have their fall merchandise on the floor and summer time merchandise is discounted majorly (YAY for me! BOO for my bank account!) I am not done with summer.  My hair, nails, skin and mind feel so healthy with a good D dose. That’s vitamin D people. I’m starting to fight off the “Blues”, and continue to soak in any possible day of sun.  At the same time I’m sadly mourning the loss of my sweet tan. The lack of vitamin D makes me go nutty. Even more nutty if you can believe that! So that’s why I think every gal and gal should treat themselves to a little beauty regime for the mind, body and soul. For me, I admit to being a yoga-holic practicing daily, treating my body to a good steam in the Infrared sauna, using all natural products on my hair, skin, and body, eat healthy, drink plenty of water and red wine (yummmmmy), surround myself with positive people and laugh a lot….out loud until my cackle fades to a tiny chuckle. Oh! and throw dance parties regularly even if it’s for one. You have to treat yourself to how you want to feel. And I want to feel GREAT!! For some reason, Sophia Loren popped in my head as I was thinking about health, beauty and longevity. Sophia Loren is one of the most beautiful women in the world. Her celebrity career as an actress has followed her almost effortless aging process over the years. I found this article in People Magazine on Sophia Loren. Here is some advice from this beautiful Italian woman,

Loren’s beauty secrets? “A lot of rest. Good thoughts. Exercise,” says the star. She rises most days at 5 a.m. and usually goes to bed by 8 p.m. In between, her daily beauty rituals are decidedly low-maintenance. She washes her hair with baby shampoo and colors it herself when necessary. (Lately, she has been road-testing blonde streaks, “because every teenager does that,” she says.) She does her own manicures and her own makeup, using products blended to her skin tones by a movie-makeup-artist friend from Italy. Her only indulgences, she says, are the potions—such as an eye cream containing vitamin A and a rosewater face lotion. These are specially formulated for her caramel-smooth skin at a lab she won’t name tucked away somewhere in France. At the five-bedroom Geneva apartment she shares with her husband, producer Carlo Ponti, 85, or relaxing on their 40-acre Southern California ranch, Loren forswears glamor gowns for sweatpants and T-shirts, but never, ever, jeans. “They’re too heavy,” she declares. Having no patience for shopping, she attends Armani’s ready-to-wear shows in Milan, where she selects her dressier wardrobe from his comparatively low-key collections. “A woman wants to be sexy,” says Loren, who disdains the garish, leave-nothing-to-the-imagination fashions seen on today’s runways. “But she has to be comfortable in what she wears.”

As for plastic surgery, she hasn’t ruled it out but says she isn’t ready yet. “Some people like to keep their lines,” she says. “But maybe one day I’ll say I don’t like that anymore. Then I’ll pick up the phone and go.” In the meantime, Loren opts for daily exercise: 45 minutes of stretching and abdominal crunches and a one-hour walk. She also keeps a lid on la dolce vita. She eats European style: a light breakfast of decaf and an English muffin, mid-morning sandwiches, a large lunch (usually pasta, chicken, salad and fruit) and little, if any, dinner. “She weighs now what she did years ago,” says Hollywood fashion designer and friend Nolan Miller. “I don’t think it would ever enter her mind to be a size 6.”

This is by far the best uplifting song sung by Sophia Loren….Enjoy life! Take Risks! Love! Flirt! And do it all with a Bing Bang Bong! – Christina XO

The Pressure Of A Polish!

I am a huge fan of nail polish and admit to being a bit of a polish snob at the same time.  The past couple of years I have only bought a particular brand called ESSIE. Now that doesn’t mean I’m not open to other brands, I just have yet to be convinced otherwise. ESSIE’s umbrella of color, charming signature names, and  chip resilient polish is by far the best! Essie Weingarten, founder and president of Essie cosmetics, Ltd , is a beauty genius. She has created every color of the rainbow (and then some) for your 4 seasons style.  Aside from regularly wearing au natural, I tend to gravitate towards shades of bright pink and red especially when I’m wanting to spice it up a bit…….In the nail department that is! Most recently I bought a bottle of  Mint Candy Apple at Beauty Mark, Lilacism, in Yaletown. Talk about a kid in a candy store. Three rows of color staring right at me. I get excited when I rush to the back of the store to see what new colors they have in stock. I also get intimidated at the same time trying to decide what color to buy. A color I need? Or a color of want? But I am always ready for an aesthetic challenge. This beauty junkie of a store has the widest variety of ESSIE polish in Vancouver and I am an avid buyer of these scrumptous delights. I tend to treat myself the odd time…o.k more than the odd time but give a gal a break! You need to eat, sleep, breath and excercise, Right? Why not dress your nails up, take them for a nigh out, and paint the town red? Instead of leaving them at home, half  bitten and brittle. Eeeek! Polish Police to the rescue. My plan is to buy one in every color. I am slowly but surely starting a collection of my own. I may need a new fridge just for my ESSIE polish. So far I own, “Bermuda Shorts“, “Rose Bowl“, “Status Symbol“, “Licorice” and “Life Lick it” sponsored by A&E for Kirstie Alley’s reality show, “The Big Life”. I had a free promotional manicure in L.A this past fall with my bff Julie from sevendollarpants.

Check out the amazing colors at Beauty Mark and in my future fridge. – Christina

A QUOTE FROM LUCILLE

“The Secret of Staying Young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age” – Lucille Ball