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the Rite of Aging…early

Tag Archives: La Mer

The Seven Deadly Sins of Make-Up Tag!

22 Wednesday Jan 2014

Posted by MonicawithRA in Just for Fun, Reviews, Skincare

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Tags

Chanel, La Mer, review, seven deadly sins of makeup tag, skincare

The lovely Ginger from ginger loves make-up tagged me for this super-fun post! I love reading these tags but rarely answer them myself…but the 7 deadly sins? How could I pass on that??

Now on to the fun!

 

GREED: What’s your most expensive beauty item?

℅ cremedelamer.com
(I could not get a good photo on my own for the life of me!)

Creme de La Mer The Eye Concentrate…I adore this cream! It’s goes on smooth and absorbs quickly. Every time I shell out the $185 (…I cringe and I do cringe every time) I feel a little guilty. Of course, I can use a different, less expensive eye cream, heck, I do not really need one! But, I want to keep my eyes young and I hope this product will do just that.

Better yet, the 0.5-ounce jar lasts me almost a year!

Regardless of the price, I enjoy this product. Maybe it is the price, maybe it is the celebrity cult following, maybe it is the metal applicator but even after two years, I still look forward to applying the cream. I take my time rolling the cream under my eyes, around the orbital bone, under the eyebrow and next to the bridge of the nose.

It is my little ritual! Don’t we all deserve a little greed in our lives?

 

WRATH: What item do you have a strong love/hate relationship with?

DSCF6627_fotor_fotor

Eyeshadow. Eye FREAKING Shadow.

I love eyeshadow. I love every formula! I wear it every day. My favorites are neutral and shimmery. They brighten and awaken my eyes! My Urban Decay Naked I palette delivers all those things. I rarely stray from it. The colors highlight my skin tone, apply like butter, and blend beautifully. I cannot ask for more!

But…

Over the last year, my eyelids and eyelashes became very oily! How annoying! Even when I go through all the motions (oil blotting papers,  primer, setting powder) I barely get two good hours of wear before shadows crease or fall below the eye.

Thankfully, I do not mind washing my face and re-applying make-up!

 

GLUTTONY: What brand takes up most of your collection?

DSCF6516_fotorChanel. I love Chanel. I always loved Chanel. My mother’s perfume was Chanel No 5. I also wear it but only for interviews. (Not sure why I have such a specific association).

My first Chanel purchase was Le Vernis in Black Pearl. That was the beginning of my nail painting, nail art addiction. I loved that nail polish. And of course, my Chanel addiction snowballed out of control.

Linda-Evangelista2

Now on to my story!

Back in Fall 2012 I saw one and only one ad for the Limited Edition clear base tortoiseshell Chanel sunglasses. I was in the market for sun specs and these were the only ones that caught my eye. I did not delve farther, after all, they were limited edition Chanel! I never found another pair I wanted more.

So, in February 2013 I started searching…

I know I had no hope of finding limited edition Spring 2012 Chanel sunglasses in the Winter of 2013. But I had to try.

I called my local Chanel boutique and asked if they had any in stock. They only had the brown tortoiseshell version. The associate went above and beyond and searched in the database to see if there were any in stock, anywhere. Success! One pair was available in HAWAII and they could ship them to my neck of the woods! I said I would call back when I made up my mind…well…

The following day my dogs got into a horrendous fight and I nearly lost Affie. My father and I pooled our resources to pay for her surgeries and recovery. Affie is my dog and I felt guilty about my father paying for the entire ordeal so I helped out as much as I could. No Chanel for me!

6 weeks later, I still lusted after them. No other pair held a torch to those precious designer glasses. I tried one last time. I called the boutique. The glasses were no longer in stock. Since they were limited edition they would be extremely difficult to track down. The associate offered to do a little digging and see if he might find a pair in the system somewhere. My heart sunk. Maybe it was for the best. I spent most of my week in scrubs and I rarely went out, what would I do with a pair of fabulous sunglasses?

I searched online but nobody was selling the clear based ones I so badly wanted.

A few hours later, I received a call from the same sales associate. He told me the database showed one final pair in stock, but he could not find them anywhere! He checked the computers, he called the store which had them last, nothing! He took a last stab and checked his store’s inventory. Guess what???? The sunglasses were there!!!

Oh. My. God.

I immediately put them on hold and went the following day to pick them up.

These sunglasses have and always will have a special place in my heart. The fact I managed to find them nearly a year after they first came out, then had to give them up, and found them again at my nearest boutique??…just wow. Everything aligned for me!

Chanel-5220-13133P-Cloth-Transparent_Violet-Gradient-35

 

 

SLOTH: What product do you ignore the most due to laziness?

Foundation and the blending that goes along with it. If I do not have to wear a base, I won’t. If I have pigmentation I “spot” conceal. However, I am super lazy about blending it properly. Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua is my Holy Grail foundation because after it oxidizes it matches my skin tone perfectly…eliminating the need for blending. Oh Chanel, how you enable me!

 

PRIDE: Which product gives you the most confidence?

DSCF6644_fotor_fotor

There is a very specific product: Soleil Tan de Chanel Sheer Illuminating Fluid.

This deep rose gold highlighter came out as part of the Summer 2013 collection. I had not yet found a highlighter I was fond of so I decided to give this a try.

Most days this is the only form of make up I wear. (I am so lazy about make-up it’s just sad! I actually high five myself in the mirror on the days I wake up and say “Damn I look good! No make up! Weeee!” – You can judge me if you wish 😉 ) It is completely multi-purpose. I wear it on the bridge of my nose, inner corners of my eyes, under the eyebrows, middle of the eyelid, over my cheekbones, forehead and chin and voila! I look totally put together…No mascara necessary!

Not only do I look put together but I also look healthy. If you have been following my blog for a while, you know skin dullness is my biggest concern. Unfortunately, it is a side-effect of my medical cocktail. It takes the luster out of my skin and more often than not, I look tired or plain sick. I apply this highlighter and I look more healthy!

 

LUST: What item is at the top of your list?

151720_a_LARGE

I have my eye on the 5-eyeshadow palette Ombres Matelassees de Chanel! I have the Urban Decay Naked I palette and keeping reminding myself they are extremely similar. I want to be good but I still lust after this product!

 

ENVY: Which makeup product/look looks great on others but not on you?

Lipstick. The darkest I can go is a sheer coral or peach in lipgloss form. I might be able to get away with a baby pink hybrid lip product. However, whenever I use lipstick I look ridiculous! I have a couple in colors I could not resist but I apply them by dabbing the color on with my fingers to get a sheer stain effect.

 

I tag anyone who would like to take part!

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.

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You’re Ill? Part One: Lotions

11 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by MonicawithRA in Skincare

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Tags

Aquaphor, Aveeno, body lotion, c.Booth, La Mer, La Roche-Posay, Neutrogena, Nivea Soft, No7, Organix, skincare, St. Ives, Vaseline

The comment I hear the most after I tell someone I have RA is “You’re ill? But you look so healthy!”. I know. If you look at me, you would never think I am fighting an autoimmune disease. I spent a year hiding the fact I had Rheumatoid Arthritis. When I started telling people. It always came as a surprise. I loved that.

When I first started all my medications, I broke out, my skin paled, dried out, oiled out, my eyes burned, my hands cracked, my hair fell out and lost its shine. I was a mess. I looked ill. I hated it. I couldn’t keep it from work, as hard as I tried, but they could tell there was a change.

I’ve always prided myself on my health, except for the occasional flu or allergy I was always healthy. So, one day when I looked in the mirror and I saw that I looked sick I knew something had to change. I embarked on a mission to look healthy and I knew it started with my skincare.

I realized that the first thing I needed to do was start wearing sunscreen. I know, I know, I should have been wearing sunscreen already. It’s never too late to start. I don’t know if there is actual science behind this but I found that within weeks of wearing sunscreen on every exposed part of my body, my skin seemed to repair itself more quickly. I like to think that it’s because when I am not wearing protection my skin has to protect and repair. With the addition of sunscreen, my skin only needs to repair. With sunscreen alone, my skin already looked healthier.

My favorites: Neutrogena Ultimate Sport, La Roche-Posay Anthelios 50 Mineral Tinted Ultra Light Sunscreen Fluid, La Roche-Posay Anthelios 60 Melt-In Sunscreen Milk.

Neutrogena and La Roche-Posay

I use La Roche-Posay only on my face when I know I will be outside for a long period of time. It is expensive so I want it to last for the entire summer months. I love Neutrogena for my body and I am a huge fan of their spray sunscreens as well. I found that the Ultimate Sport brand has a better consistency and doesn’t leave a white cast like the Ultra Sheer does. As an daily facial moisturizer I use Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer SPF 15. I have darker skin and I found that the added soy complex has evened out any subtle hyperpigmentation I had from the years of not wearing sunscreen.

Aveeno, No7, St. Ives

Depending on my shower schedule, instead of re-applying the Aveeno lotion, I may use Boots UK brand “No7” – Protect & Perfect Day Cream SPF 15. I don’t use it every day because I find it a little greasy, but I only need a little bit to cover my entire face and neck.   During the day when I am inside or before bed I slather on non-SPF lotions like it’s my second job. My favorites: c.Booth Egyptian Argan Oil Body Butter, Organix hydrating Moroccan Argan Oil Lotion, and Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion.

Image

Before bed, after my nightly face-washing routine, I slather on a thin layer of Nivea Soft. I absolutely love the consistency of this. It warms right down to an oil in my hands and I can pat it onto my skin. This was my splurge of the year but I absolutely adore the La Mer The Eye Concentrate. I know I can’t see the anti-aging properties of the cream right now but it is the only cream that doesn’t break me out around the eyes. That’s right, my skin is so oily that I sometimes break out right under my eyes. I slather on Dior Crème de Rose Smoothing Plumping Lip Balm with Aquaphor right on top. Aquaphor is one of those amazing miracle products that everyone talks about. I know why. It really works.

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I eliminate this one step during the summer because my skin is so oily, but during the colder months of the year I will gently apply Vaseline (after my nightly moisturizer) under my eyes, around the corners of my nose, across my forehead and on the smile lines around my lips.

Within weeks of starting this routine, which I have spent months perfecting, I noticed a huge change in the condition of my skin. Even when during a flare, I could hide it better because I looked healthy. My skin was glowing and had gotten most of its color and smoothness back. Nobody would guess that my immune system was trying to attack itself.

Hi, I’m Monica and I have RA.

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Living with RA: the Rite of Aging...Early

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