A Just Reward?

Feeling old and depressed, I went to my neighbourhood Super Grocery Store to spoil myself with whatever cosmetics would make me look 20 or so.  I picked up Oil of Olay's Neck Balm, eyeshadow to brighten my sunken eye look, a fat brush to blow dry my flat hair, and  a bag to hold it all in.  Ahah I thought, this will prevent my shallow teenaged daughter from stealing my stuff.   The grumpy (50ish) cashier, looking at all this frivolous stuff and lack of groceries, noticed that their was a shower scrubby thing in the bag.  She proceeded to ask all around if this scrubby came with the makeup bag.  She inquired of no fewer than five other sales people, created a lineup ten deep, and completely humiliated me.  Yes, it would make sense to load up on $111 worth of cosmetics, so that I can steal a $1 scrubby.  Thanks lady.

Adventures in Mom Jeans

I have been trying to improve my jeans selections.  I do wear mom jeans, but I try to choose flattering jeans.  For me, length is also an issue.  Here's what I know about jeans.

According to Wikipediea "Mom jeans is a humorously pejorative term for a fit of women's jeans considered very unflattering. The style usually consists of a high waist (above the belly button), which accentuates a flat curvature of the buttocks, as well as generous cuts in the stomach and leg. The jeans are usually in a light-blue solid coloring with no form of stone washing or fading. Other attributes of the style often seen are pleated fronts, tapered legs and elastic waistbands. The style is often accompanied by a blouse or shirt that is tucked into the jeans".  Well that describes my favourite styles of jeans.  I like my slightly paunchy stomach covered, and I like the loose fit on my thigh to knee area.  I used to love pleated jeans, but you just can't get those anymore.  Thank goodness.

From the Saturday Night Live Mom Jeans sketch

According to "Stacy and Clinton of What Not to Wear" the bootcut jean is fairly  low rise and can induce muffin top (my problem), as well it is narrow at the knee and flared at the ankle. This can cause too much room to be given at the thigh, making our hips look wider.  Stacy and Clinton say that the skinny jean emphasizes the curves which can be troublesome. It is tight to the body and narrow at the ankle. Somethimes I think that these will squeeze everything in all the way down and make me look long and lean.  Not so.  They also give me major muffin top, won't stay up, and barely fit anyway.  Apparently the emphasis gets placed on the hip thigh and behind.  A problem.  The two jeans that they recommend are the straight jeans and the trouser jean. The straight cut jean has a line that is straight from knee to ankle and is not as wide as the trouser jean.  It is supposed to be great for and hour glass figure. The trouser jean can be a tab front with a wider waste band that fits wider at the waste and camoflages the thigh. Here's the video link.
http://tlc.discovery.com/videos/what-not-to-wear-how-to-find-the-perfect-pair-of-jeans.html 
I don't know if I'm buying the trouser look as right for me.  I have a pair, and it looks like the classic mom jean on me.  The looseness below my behind, makes me look like I have a flat mom behind, and the straight trouser leg gives me a fat leg look.  I have found recently that jeans with spandex or licra that are supposed to give you extra support actually look worse on me.  They tend to grab around my legs, and give emphasis to those extra curves between my butt and knee.  A heavier jean fabric with as little as possible stretch is actually the best for me.  What do you think?

What Not to Wear

THIS IS FROM AN ARTICLE BY mEREDITH BOWER 

Fashion Guide for Women in their 50s FROM TLC AT

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/style/fashion-tips-for-women-in-50s2.htm

"WHAT NOT TO WEAR IN YOUR 50S

This list includes obvious glamour don'ts like leg warmers, micro-miniskirts and holiday sweaters, and also:

• Ankle bracelets
• Boy shorts and short shorts
• Crocs
• Newsboy caps
• Tie-dye
• Flesh-colored hose
• Souvenir, college T-shirts (unless it's game day!), or T-shirts with sayings
• Cargo pants
• Elastic waist pants
• Penny loafers
• Acid-washed, ripped or super-low-riding jeans"

OK, I'll clean out my closet.

From Oprah.com

"

7 Things You Should Never Wear If You're Over a Certain Age

By Adam Glassman
O, The Oprah Magazine  |  June 04, 2010

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/style/What-Not-to-Wear-If-Youre-Over-a-Certain-Age_3/8#ixzz1ojkI2utW "  

This is a slideshow showing seven things we shouldn't wear.  They are tube tops, rompers, short skirts, bare midriffs, bright nail polish, tunics worn as dresses, and shredded denim.  All of these things are worn by my 15 year old, and all of them would look dreadful on me, but I'd like to think that maybe some of these would look good on the most buff 50 plus person.  I dream on.

Why I like Wii Fit

I am currently running with Wii Fit.  It may not work for other people, but it seems to motivate me, and that's my main issue.

My main routine, is to take a 20 or 30 minute Free Run around Wii Island.  This is in the Aerobics section of Wii Fit.  You don't need the balance board for this, or any equipment, just the remote in your pocket, or maybe in your hand.  I run around the concrete floor of my basement, I may even run up the stairs, through through the upstairs or my home (if nobody else is home).

The Wii is wireless, so it keeps track of my movements throughout the house. So if I slow down or put down the remote, I stop hearing my little footsteps from the Wii, and I know I am not working hard enough.  I'll also get a message saying I have an uneven pace or something like that, and at the end my efficiency will be given a per centage and ranked.  Sometimes it goes up or down. So I get three types of feedback, which keeps me going.  If I were just following a DVD or on my exercise bike, I might slow down, or take a break.  Not so with the Wii, I actually break a sweat.

At the moment, I am not bothering with the other Wii exercises, although they offer yoga, strength training, aerobics and other games.  They are all fun and worth trying though.

One of the problems with starting with the Wii fit, is that it takes too long to set up your Mii character, do the initial weigh-in and balance testing and so on.  Also, you need to earn Wii Fit points by doing exercises, before you can unlock the better exercises like the Wii Free run.  Be patient, or get your kids to start the boring stuff for you.  Once you get to the Free Run, you can run around Wii Island, and switch back to watching regular TV.  The Wii continues to track your progress and give you feedback through the hand-held remote.  I'm tired!

More Beauty Products

Today, I tried Olay Revitalizing Eye Gel, and L'Oreal Nutri-Sleek Anti-Frizz Serum.  The eye gel worked to depuff my enormous pre-shower undereye wrinkles. The texture though is gooey - like hair gel on my face.  So the verdict is that it did work, it did the de-puffing job, and did not irritate my skin.  I don't think it replaces the Vichy Lifactiv Serum10 that I tried the other day.  That's still my favourite so far.

My teenager constantly straightens her thick hair and applies various shine serums.  My thin hair requires no straightening, and is flyaway, but the shine is still great.  The L'oreal product has a nice texture, and you only need a drop, but really isn't the right product for my hair.  If anything, it weighed it down a bit and made the surface a bit oily.   Not for me, but my daughter loves it.

Take Your Vitamins

Please take your vitamins.  These are from the Real Canadian Superstore
and are priced a $7.49 for the Multi-vitamin and Vitamin D Gummies, and $9.99 for the chocolatey Calcium.  They are the no-name - "Exact" brand, but they taste like a great treat.

Wii Fit

I  am using Wii Fit as often as possible for Aerobic exercise.  The Wii allows you to set a weight loss and number of weeks goal, when you sign in.  I have set a realistic goal of 3 pound weight loss in 2 weeks.  Wish me luck.

Hands

Don't forget your hands and nails.  life Healthy Hand & Nail Lotion from Shoppers Drug Mart is inexpensive and works on chapped and wrinkly hands and dried up cuticles.  Do something nice for yourself today.

George Trench in Python

Walmart is carrying this Trench for $30 in assorted colours and patterns.  OK,  the black will take you out of the house on a boring day, but go for the Python print if you can find it. Here's the flyer!

Mascara

It seems like my eyelashes are getting thinner, and I find that my mascara is irritating.  I have switched from black to brownish/black shades to avoid the Tammy Faye black eyes look.  I have always worn Maybelline Great Lash, in Waterproof, but I find the little fibre strands are bothering me and the clumps are standing out.  I am trying Covergirl natureluxe in Water Resistant.  I am pleased with it, it is not clumpy or irritating.  I do find though that I seem to have more getting onto my face when I am applying the product or blinking.  So I am just being really careful and keeping some eye wipes nearby to clean up as I apply.  It's an OK solution so far, but please comment if you can recommend something better!

Vichy Liftactiv Serum 10

I just tried Vichy Liftactiv Serum 10.  I just needed a very small amount.  The product is very light and clear.  I applied it to my undereye and cheekbone area.  The verdict?  I like the texture, and it reduced the deep vertical wrinkle that I have below my right eye, as well as the small eye area wrinkles.  They're not all gone, but are somewhat improved, and I seem to have no irritation.

Joe Fresh

 From Joe Fresh at Supercentres/Loblaw stores I love anything striped just a little too much.  I am comfortable in the soft fabric, the saggy arm covering long sleeve, and the paunch covering longer length of this shirt.  They have loads of colours.

This jacket will look awesome with dark pants, I think!  Also Joe Fresh.  I think the jacket was $39 and the top $19.

Time to Start Again...

Things happen and we get distracted along the way.  I am back to working out for a half an hour per day, indoors at home.  I am using my Wii Fit, running around Wii island with my Mii friends.  When I am not using the Wii, I am using an exercise DVD.  I'm not so thrilled with these so far, so if you have one you love, please let me know.  I just want to keep moving for a half an hour, with out too much equipment and fancy dance moves.   We'll see.