"Mirror, Mirror on the Wall"

In the eighties I read a book called "Mirror Mirror On the Wall", by Gayelord Hauser, and pretty much it became "my beauty bible". Not that I do everything the books says. I keep it very close to me on my bedroom night stand for reference. Mr. Hauser wrote this book in 1960. He was an American nutritionist and self help author, who promoted the 'natural way of eating', and believed that beauty came from mostly what you put in your mouth. The book contains many beauty tips, and a lot of the ingredients are natural and you may have them right in your own kitchen or medicine cabinet. If not, they are usually very inexpensive to buy. He was a nutritional advisor to many celebrities which included Grace Kelly, Ingrid Bergman, Greta Garbo, and one of my favorites Ava Gardner. Even though it was written long ago, I do recommend this book to anyone who wants to eat healthier and obtain a lot of good beauty tips utilizing what you already have at home.

So with this said, I wanted to talk to you about what I use to moisturize daily.

I don't know about you, but I don't spend a lot of money on moisturizers. It just doesn't make sense to me. I just can't make myself pay $30 for a little jar of face cream. I'm a label reader, and I always find that when I read the ingredients the first one is usally water, and a lot of times its mineral oil, blah, blah, blah, and way down at the bottom of the list is the most important ingredients. If you want Collagen & Elastin, these two ingredients are always last and in very small amounts. And besides, I don't have that kind of money. So for many, many years I have been mixing up my own concoctions. Plus I like the idea that I have had a hand in what I am applying to my skin.

So this is what I do. I buy St.Ives Collagen & Elastin Cream, or Fruit of the Earth Vitamin E Skin Care Cream, which is very inexpensive. They are made in the USA and not tested on animals. I find them at Walmart or K-Mart. The pharmacy's around here don't carry them. When I get them home I mix in a couple of teaspoons of olive oil, the oil from about six vitamin E capsules, give it a good stir and it's ready to use. It is so creamy and a wonderful way to moisturize your skin. Apply to face, hands, arms, legs, and everywhere else you can reach. Use is sparingly because it didn't cost you and arm and a leg, but it will make your arms and legs softer. Sometimes I add Vitamin A oil too. If I want to put it into a dispenser, I mix it up the same way, and add some lemon juice or a little more olive oil to thin it out a bit. I read in Mr. Hauser's book that the stars little secret was to mix olive oil and lemon juice and put it on their faces to moisturize and keep dark spots away.

Ordinary women who live ordinary lives apply creams and moisturizers to their skin in the morning and at night hoping to slow down wrinkles we know are coming sooner or later. I hope that you can use this little tip. I find that it works well for me. I also believe that "good genes" are a plus. Take care and don't worry, because they say worrying causes wrinkles too.

I Wish you Love & No Wrinkles,

Joyce