The secret of the universe.

There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness.

~Maria Mitchell

I know I've mentioned my friend Mary who has the food blog, but I have two other friends I want to mention. One is another Mary and the other one is Bobbi. That would be Bobbi Brown and Mary Kay. If you aren't familiar with them, let me introduce you.

I love makeup. Mostly because for me it is an much a necessity as toothpaste and deodorant. I was not blessed with a flawless complexion, and I find my self jealous of women who have porcelain skin. It has been a vicious circle these 50 years. My teenage years were plagued by acne, which in my infinite wisdom, I thought could be cured by over exposure to the sun and (God forbid!) sunlamps. Of course in the 70's everyone knew that if you wanted to be tan you soaked yourself in baby oil. That did nothing but clog my pores even further and offered no protection against the dangerous rays I was exposing myself to. For a long time I skated by, unscathed by my errant ways. I did not give up the sun, I just used sunscreen...of course i thought an SPF of 4 was plenty. For a long time I managed to look younger than my age, at least that what everyone said...then one day I woke up and it had happened.

Where on earth did these spots come from?!? And these lines and wrinkles? Who was this woman staring back at me? And so it began. Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I am not afraid to try something if I think the results are worth it. They have listened to my detailed explanations of laser procedures, peels, and dermaplaning. Dermaplaning is exactly what it sounds like it is. They take a scalpel and scrape off the top layer of skin on your face, this then is followed by a CO2 peel. Maybe I will be able to give you pictures of this as I am scheduled to have another one soon. Once this is all done there is a special bleaching lotion that has to be applied to the particularly stubborn spots. Sometimes I feel like I am Lady Macbeth chanting "out damned spot, out I say!". Can I give another piece of advice, especially to you younger girls? WEAR SUNSCREEN EVERYDAY.

So this is where my friends Mary and Bobbi come in. They both have wonderful products and thankfully both can be ordered online, my favorite way to shop. I particularly like Bobbi Brown's corrector (shown above).It conceals, covers, colors and blends beautifully. Spots, blotchiness, little veins and that occasional blemish that I can't outgrow disappear when I use it. On her website, Bobbi says it is the secret of the universe, but I am sharing it with you. If you are brave you can go to Macy's at Kenwood or Nordstrom and have a makeover by a Bobbi Brown artist. Trust me, they won't hesitate to tell you what you are doing wrong and will point out what "Bobbi says" is the right way. Mary Kay is a little less intimidating. You probably know her favorite color is pink, although in an effort to appeal to the modern woman, they are using more silver and black for their packaging. Mary has some great skin care products, but I do admit that sometimes I think it is confusing there are so many. I love their toner and oil-free eye makeup remover.

So I continue on my quest for amazing products. And all the while I try to remember that I need to eat right and get plenty of sleep and never forget that there is no cosmetic like happiness.