Fabulously Cheeky

When I was about 20 years old, I almost froze to death in the mountains of Norway. This was an experience I will never forget. I went skiing with some friends, and if anyone of you has seen the Bridget Jones movies, I was like Bridget Jones. I wasn’t good at skiing, I didn’t have the right equipment or clothes for the trip, and I was lagging behind everyone else. Truth be told, I didn’t even want to go out that day, it was just too cold. But I went anyway. After walking for a while, the weather turned. Out of nowhere a blizzard appeared, and everyone turned around and started running back to the cabin. I was running, too, but somehow, my skis didn’t slide as fast as the other’s, and I was getting further and further behind. I was so cold, so I stopped and looked in my backpack for more clothes, but of course, there was none. The skin on my face started freezing up, and my movements became slower and slower.

Normally, when the brain sends a message to move, we don’t even notice this. We just move. But, in my case, my brain would try to move, but my arms and legs had a harder and harder time doing it.

Anyway, I finally stopped freezing, thank God, and everything was going into slow motion. Then, something amazing happened – everything around me became luminous. The snowflakes looked like luminous stars, the snow around me looked like soft glowing down comforters, everything became so beautiful that I was in a state of complete awe! I could feel my body not working any more, and at the same time, I could feel myself as “me” being absolutely crystal clear, more clear than I had ever been before. The separation between the real me, and my body was so clear, and I remember thinking “my body is dying, and it’s ok…”

I just wanted to lie down and eat that beautiful snow, and I knew that if I did that, my body would be finished, but it didn’t matter. I knew that I would still be ok, because at that point, I had already experienced that I am not my body. So, I layed down in the snow and surrendered.

At this point, one of my friends turned around and saw me collapsed, and they ran back and managed somehow to drag/push me home. I had no interest in going home at this point because I was so blissed out by the whole experience. But they did get me home, so I lived to tell the tale.

However, one thing always stuck with me from this experience – I am not my body. I live in the body, but when the body is finished, I simply move on. Life can not be destroyed – it simply changes form. In other words, what we call death, is simply a delusion. It is not real. It is only a transition between forms, that’s all…

Children are so much more natural than we are, and we have so much to learn from the way they live their lives. Recently, my husband’s brother died at 46. He came to visit us a couple of months ago, and I immediately knew that he was dying. So, I told both my kids that I sensed what was coming, and that I had to share it with them because I don’t believe in lying or hiding the truth from children, and I thought it would be better for them to be prepared. They were both sad at first, but then we talked about the cycle of life and death, and I told them that death has to be accepted as well as life, and that we must never ask for more time than we are given because that is not in the nature of things. When the time is up, we go – it is as simple as that.

My daughter loved her uncle – he was her favorite person ever, so I was worried about how she would handle it when he passed. But, I had no reason to worry! When it actually happened, I went to my daughter and told her I had something to tell her. She looked at me and said “my uncle Pete passed away, didn’t he?” Yes, he did. Good thing it happened so fast. I know how horrible it is to be sick. If his body was too broken to be fixed, it is better he moved on. Can I go back and play now? Sure…

It blew me away. Even though she loved him and wanted him to hang around forever, she was happy for him that his suffering was over. How mature is that of a 9 year old??? Amazing…

I knew that it would probably take some time for the facts to sink in, and I was right. That evening, we snuggled up on her bed, and she cried and remembered and talked about all the things that she remembered, and things they had done together. Then, she remembered the toys her uncle had given to her, and she wanted to sleep with her toy seal so that she could connect to her uncle through her seal. The next day she took her seal with her to school, and she told everyone why she was carrying her seal around.

It so happened that it was “drug free week” at school, and her uncle had basically died so early because he was using too many prescription drugs given to him by his doctor. So, she got to tell everyone the story of her uncle’s death from using drugs. Everyone listened to her story, and she felt great when she got home from school.

Today, I noticed that the seal had gotten a new name – it is now named Pete, and Pete went to school with her today. So, there is no need to feel disconnected, even though Pete left his body. Pete is with her still!!! So simple and so beautiful! I’m so proud of her!

This is how simple life can be when we don’t carry any old emotional sludge with us that drags us down. We have to learn to become like children again. They are so innocent, and that innocence allows them to deal with anything that happens in their lives in a totally natural way….

Tags: processing grief

I just came across an awesome article today about how hair can age us. CLICK HERE to read the article.

Personally, I think that chemical hair dye is the worst thing you can do for your hair. Not only does it dry out your hair and make it straggly and straw like, but I believe that it actually causes hair loss as well, even though I don’t have any proof of that.

So, is there an alternative to chemical hair dye? Absolutely! Anyone who has ever been to India knows that Indians have the most incredibly healthy, shiny hair, even though it is both long, and exposed to intense UV. So, what is their secret? The secret is a plant called Henna.

Well, you might say, you can’t really go wrong with henna on black hair, but what about henna on other colors of hair, possibly mixed with a bit of gray? There is a company that creates their own henna based natural hair colors that actually do work for gray hair as well. It is called Logona, and you can get it from a company called http://www.bewellstaywell.com

Just make sure you wait at least 6 weeks since you last died your hair chemically before you try the Logona henna products.
Tomorrow: How to apply Henna

My new skin care company, Green Beauty Cosmetics, signed up recently with the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and is now in listed in the “Skin Deep Database.” Here is what they say about Green Beauty Cosmetics:
DETAILS OF YOUR STATUS
Compliance with the Compact for Safe Cosmetics

Full Member Status: This company is up-to-date on all requirements of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics and meets minimum requirements for Full Member status. They are continuing to work toward fully substantiating the safety of their products as required in the next phase of the Compact.
• Provision 1: This company fully complies with the EU Cosmetics Directive.
• Provision 2: This company discloses all ingredients.
• Provision 3: This company has submitted and reviewed their Skin Deep listings.
• Provision 4: This company fully complies with ingredient prohibitions and restrictions under the Compact for Safe Cosmetics.
• Provision 5: This company has not submitted data to substantiate the safety of any of their products and/or ingredients. (Not required until Jan 1, 2010.)
• Provision 6: This company has been active in the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics during the last year.

All the products are rated between 0-2, which means they are all basically green (low health hazard), and therefore a very healthy alternative to toxic skin care products. To see the details about my products in the cosmetics database, CLICK HERE, or you can visit my website at http://www.greenbeautycosmetics.com

Tags: compact for safe cosmetics, green beauty products, green cosmetics

The fall is here, and temperatures are falling. Colder temperatures are always a problem for people with dry, sensitive or mature skin. Oilier skin types are often happy at this time of the year. They sweat less and with less sweating there is also less pimples and breakouts. But, for anyone who doesn’t have oily skin, we need to take better care of the skin the colder it gets.

The main thing for dry or mature skin is first of all moisture. The moisture can be added as a toner or a spritz, but to prevent the toner from evaporating, a moisturizer has to be layered on top for maximum benefit.

The moisturizer should be thin, like a serum, so it can easily penetrate into the deeper layers of the skin. You may have heard that dry skin needs a thicker, richer moisturizer. This is simply not true. A thick moisturizer will simply sit on top of your skin, and the skin will still be dry underneath. If you want to increase the moisture levels in the skin itself, it has to be a serum type moisturizer. Then – you need to put an emollient (skin softening) barrier on top of that.

Why layering so many products on top of each other? Can’t we just use one product with all the ingredients in it? No, it simply doesn’t work that way.

Layering actually makes perfect sense. What is the point of using a thick cream that contains moisturizing ingredients if it just sits on top of your skin? No point at all. The moisturizer has to be put on first because it needs to go into the skin, and the thick cream needs to be added on top as a barrier only. The thick cream doesn’t even have to contain moisturizers because the purpose of the cream is to just provide a skin softening barrier that stops moisture from evaporating. The fats in the cream also protects the skin from freeze drying in the winter or a strong wind, so it has multiple purposes.

Therefore, to get the most benefit from all the different ingredients you put on your skin every day, they simply must be layered because different products have different purposes. This makes so much sense that I think even the beauty industry will have to come to the same conclusion at some point in the future. What they are doing, making products for different skin types instead, doesn’t make any sense at all.

The main reason why their system of skin care makes no sense is the simple fact that every skin type varies with the seasons and the change in temperature and moisture levels. So, what are you supposed to do? Buy a whole new skin care line when the weather changes? NOT! Why not just use what you used in the summer, and just add some extra layers on top if needed? When the weather gets colder, you can simply add a thin layer of facial oil on top of your moisturizer.
Or, if your skin absorbs the oil too fast, you can use the hand lotion, the hand cream, or the richest barrier cream I have, the mature skin cream on top.

And, by the way, the mature skin cream is awesome as a lip balm as well. Just buy the sample and keep it in your purse or pocket, and your lips will always be deliciously soft…

To visit my website and learn more about what products to use for different skin types and temperatures, CLICK HERE

Tags: cold weather skin care, skin care

When buying eye makeup, it is usually recommended to use the medium color on the lid, dark in the crease and light under the brow. If you use this method on deep set eyes, it adds so many years to your face that you almost look like a ghost! No, deep set eyes needs enhancing in a totally different way:

First of all, the eyes need to be lined, top and bottom. If the eyes are deep set and close together, make sure you start the lines from the middle and out to the corners. If you are over 40, don’t use liquid eye liner – it is just too harsh. Use an eye pencil lightly or smudged for daytime, or apply a thin line of powder with a wet angled brush.

Then, use the medium tone on the brow bone edge – not in the crease. The mid tone should be only a shade or two darker than your skin tone. This creates eye definition by receding the bone.

Next, use a highlighting shadow under the brow, on the inner corner of the eye, and on the lid itself. This will bring the eye out. Then top it off with a few coats of black or black brown mascara. Voila! Very nice!

Hint: The mid tone should be matte, and the highlighter can contain some frosting or shine. If you want to use a darker contour color, use it only near the lash line on your top lashes, or possibly under the bottom lashes near the outer corner.

Tags: deep set eyes, Makeup, Makeup Tips

Here is another video from the safe cosmetics group.
Please check it out and share it with your friends. Chemicals in skin care products is a big problem. Did you know that 60% of the lipsticks that they tested contained lead?
CLICK HERE to learn more.
As you can see, it is very important to read labels, or even better, visit the cosmetics database and search for the brand of makeup you want to use and see what their hazard rating is.

Tags: lead in lipsticks, safe cosmetics

Have you ever heard about triclosan? Neither had I, until my dad who is a dentist told me about it. Triclosan is evidently some kind of disinfectant or anti-bacterial substance that is supposed to prevent gum disease. However, the research that was done to prove this was done wrongly just to ensure the result that they wanted. This is often how things are done scientifically – when the researchers are attached to what the result should be, they subtly do things in ways that will produce the results that they are trying to prove.

Anyway, when they tried to prove the benefit of triclosan, they swabbed the top of the back teeth to check for bacterial growth and found that there was very little bacteria there after using triclosan. However, what they are not telling you, is that the top of the back teeth isn’t where bacteria collect. The top of the molars are what you chew with, and the food, saliva and chewing actually keeps this area fairly cleen. If you want to get a more representative picture of the effect of triclosan, you would have to swab the area where the tooth meets the gum, especially in the very back, since that is where you’ll find it.

What this means is that their arguments for using triclosan in toothpaste is based on false results, since they swabbed the wrong part of the tooth to prove the efficacy of this substance. Therefore, there is really no reliable scientific proof that the use of triclosan in toothpaste has any useful benefit at all. But, it does have side effects…

When using toothpaste with triclosan over a certain amount of time, it creates a certain sensitivity to potassium. Bananas contain lots of potassium, so if you start getting a belly ache every time you eat a banana, go and read the label on your toothpaste!

Normally, you’ll find triclosan in anything that is called “total,” such as Colgate Total. AVOID THESE TOOTHPASTES! It isn’t worth using this stuff if it is going to create allergy against harmless bananas! And, who knows what else it will do to your body!

After looking up toothpastes in the cosmetics database, Aquafresh and Sensodyne don’t have this ingredient added. If you prefer natural toothpaste, Tom’s of Maine is excellent!
To visit my website, go to http://www.greenbeautycosmetics.com for a healthy alternative to toxic skincare.

When the days get intense, and we get too occupied to feel inspired and grateful, it is important to remember that there is more to life than daily chores. There is beauty, courage, not letting anything get you down…
Watch this video today, if you need a little nudge of inspiration:
CLICK HERE