New Year's Resolutions

So I've realized recently that I have so much going on that I can't promise a blog post on here every week, or even every month.  I will certainly try, but with 4 kids, a business and a house to run, and all of the health issues I'm having currently, things are just too crazy hectic to even think about it.

That being said, I promise this year to do my best to post on here as often as I can.  I figured that works for everyone.  :)

Send me your questions!

If I feature your question on the blog, then you'll get a gift certificate to use on my Mary Kay website!

annamaryk@gmail.com

For my first topic of the year, I've chosen acne.  This is a somewhat sensitive subject for me, since I've suffered from the effects of acne since about age 7.  Yes, you read that right.  I was 7 years old when it began to creep up on my face.  By the time I was 8, people had been asking me if I had chickenpox for about 6 months.

It was not only embarrassing, it was also painful.  My whole face hurt all day, all night, all the time.  Every once in a while now I get a break out like that, but it has been so much better since I found the right combination of things for my skin.

Acne is not one of those simple things to fix, unfortunately.  Sometimes it's caused from several things.  Some of these causes include:

* Eating Shellfish

* Eating Oily Foods

* Wrong Moisturizer

* Hormones

* Lack of Cleansing

The lack of cleanliness should be self-explanatory to most people.  For those of you who maybe are new to the whole acne thing and the skin care world, here's the gist of it.  If you don't wash your face AT LEAST once a day, (twice is really the best way to go, especially if you have acne!) then all the oil, dirt, and grime from your day and night just sit on your face.  This causes your pores to become infected, inflamed, red and sore - that's usually what's called a zit or pimple.  They're usually small, however they can be so large that they make part of your face look swollen.

If you think about it, you'll want to wash your face

every morning - all of the leftover dirt, oil, detergent residue, sweat and dead skin on your pillowcase gets on your face at night, plus the oil your skin secretes overnight and the drool -

and every night - make up, oil from the day, sweat, any food or food residue, toothpaste residue, and even just being outside in the air will put dirt on your face.  If you live in a place with smog, what you see is what goes on your face as you move through the air.  Even if you live in a place that looks relatively clear you will still have exhaust from cars, dirt from the wind/breeze, and other smog factors that aren't visible to our eyes unless they're really bad.  That doesn't count any actual dirt you might get on your face from your car, the ground, trees, etc.

If you decide not to wash your face twice a day, just keep this in mind.  All of that stuff from the day will sit on your skin through the night and get a chance to really clog pores and do some damage.  If nighttime washings are a no-brainer, but morning washings are difficult for you, think about everything that's on your pillow that you're leaving on your face all day, and even rubbing in with your moisturizer and foundation, etc.

The wrong moisture balance can do some pretty interesting things to your skin.

Believe it or not, you need moisture whether you have oily skin or dry skin.  If you're skin is oily, you still need moisture so your skin doesn't secrete more oil.  If you're dry, you need moisture so your skin doesn't get oily.

Now you're probably saying, "WHAT?!?"

Yes!  Your skin will become oily when you don't have enough moisture.  But, the problem is that when your skin is too dry, then it secretes more oil to try to compensate for the lack of moisture.  The drier you are, the worse the oil is, and using things for oily skin won't do any good since they'll just make your skin more oily.

This is what happened to me for so long.  I would use the Oxy-Whatever stuff and all the other acne treatment things, and my oiliness would get worse and my acne would get worse.  Finally, I learned this interesting fact that I'm sharing with you now, and it changed my life (and my face)!  I began using more moisture and a cleanser made for dry skin, and at first I was using lots of moisturizer.  I would put on 2 or 3 layers before my face felt good.  Slowly, over about 6 months, I was able to use less and less, and now I just wash my face and use my moisturizer.  Every once in a while (usually with the change in seasons) I will have to use a little extra for a few days.

If your skin is oily, you need moisture for the same reason.  You can actually curb some of the oil on your face if you use the right kind of moisturizer.

It all depends on your skin type.

You need to make sure that your moisturizer is the right kind for your skin type, that you can handle any of the fragrances/dyes that are sometimes present, etc.

For more info on moisturizer and its benefits, go here.

The foods you eat also have a lot to do with acne.  A big myth is that chocolate causes acne.  That's not really true.  It's not the chocolate.  It's the added oils and waxes.  Sugar does play a part, but compared to other things, it's very minimal.  Oily foods (such as hamburgers or pizza) are one of the biggest contributors to a person's acne problem.  Another one is shellfish.  The mercury and oils in shellfish are only a few of the things there that contribute to acne.

The one thing that all the washing in the world won't help with is hormones.  You know the ones.  They cause zits to appear on the morning of a big day (stress is a HUGE part of acne) or at certain times of the month or at certain ages.  The teenage years are the most well-known for raging hormones and (yes, you guessed it!) acne.  There's not a whole lot you can do about hormones.  There are a few things you and your doctor can try, but for the most part, I've found that even those aren't as effective as they claim to be.

Remember, the big things are:

*Foods You Eat

*Washing Often

*Moisture Balance

and

*Hormones

Here's to you, the new year, all of our resolutions, and your clean, clear and happy faces!

Oh!  If you have skin care questions or maybe something you're curious about, please email me with your questions.  I would love to feature your question here on the blog!

annamaryk@gmail.com

Merry Christmas!!

I hope this post finds all of you well!  I LOVE this time of year - the beautiful snow (as long as I don't have to be outside for too long), the holidays, the family and friends, the fun!  Oh, and my birthday...  :)  This time of year has always held a special place in my heart.

I hope you and your families and friends have a very happy and safe day today and tomorrow.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Do you know how you get wrinkles?

It's from lack of moisture.

Now everyone's skin is different, so you'll have to keep that in mind when you're looking for your moisturizer. And some people (like me) think that they're one thing until they're skin evens out because of a good skin care regimen, but they're really something different.

Because I had been ignoring my skin for so long, I thought that I was extremely oily! But what I didn't realize was that since my entire regimen was "whatever shampoo runs down onto my face in the shower" with an occasional mask for oily skin or acne, and I had no moisture, my skin was trying to compensate for the moisture that it was losing. And since my skin was over-compensating so much for so long, I was a grease bomb! I hated my skin.

Then, once I learned the importance of all of good skin care and especially moisture, my skin started to even out. Then it was dry. And it's stayed there.

So I just add a little extra moisture to my regimen and I'm good to go! My skin now feels normal and it looks and feels good. My self-esteem has sky-rocketed too, which is something that I really needed!

For oily skin, I would recommend something that is oil-free, and maybe even something that helps to absorb the oil that your skin puts out.

And don't forget the rest of your body! Remember, your skin is an organ. It needs certain things to look, feel, and be as healthy as it can. There are lots of good lotions on the market today. I would recommend something that doesn't get watery as you rub it in. In my experience I've found that those lotions actually cost you more money, since you have to use more, and therefore use it up faster, and have to buy it more frequently. From the Mary Kay line, I would recommend the Visibly Fit Body Lotion, or one of the Private Spa Collection ones. There's also the Cellu-Shape system that delivers lots of moisture as well as grabs onto the cellulite and other proteins and then flushes them out of your system like other waste. (Kind of like the Visibly Fit Body Lotion, except it grabs onto the cellulite more specifically and more intensely.)

For products that I have, my recommendations are:

For dry skin - TimeWise Miracle Set (Normal to Dry) and possibly an extra moisturizer such as the Oil-Free Hydrating Gel or the Intense Moisturizing Cream, or if you're extremely dry, maybe the Advanced Moisture Renewal Treatment Cream would be right for you.

For oily skin - The TimeWise Miracle Set (Combonation to Oily) or the Classic line Formula 3 would probably be best for you. The cleanser is deep cleaning, yet gentle on your skin. The moisturizer has something in it that acts like little tiny sponges throughout the day and absorb all of that oil.

There are several other things that are good for all skin types that I could go on and on about, but I think you get the point. For more information, feel free to leave a comment or ask your own Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant. We've all been trained to understand the importance of skin care as well as how to do a professional color look.

Until next week!

Foundation... Why Wear It?

Good question... My mother never wears foundation because she doesn't wear that much makeup. The last time she tried it? I don't know. Maybe in college. She's missing out on one of the best beauty products available, though.

Have you ever heard the story of the two barns? One was well taken care of... it was washed regularly and the wood was given a fresh coat of paint at regular intervals. The other was not. It was washed regularly, but the owners wanted to leave the natural wood exposed to see the beauty of it. Over time, the elements began to do their thing. Several years later the barn that received fresh coats of paint still looked beautiful and the wood was still strong. The barn that had never been painted was beginning to become structurally unsound, leaning to one side. The wood was gray, rotting, warped, and splintering. It was no longer beautiful.

Our faces are very similar to these barns. If you "paint" your face with foundation, it protects your skin from the elements and from the pollution that is in the air. Even if you live in a very rural area, there are still things in the air that can damage your skin and make it look older and rougher than it is.

I love our Mary Kay foundations, because they protect well, don't clog pores, and don't feel like paint. We have several options to choose from in several shades, and they're "smart" foundations. They soak in a little bit and match your skin.

Our newest (and my favorite) foundation is the mineral powder foundation. This does everything that our liquid, cream, creme-to-powder and pressed powder foundations do, but it's minerals, which actually enhance the natural beauty of your skin, even out skin tone and cover imperfections. It feels so good going on, and it lasts the same amount of time that the other foundations do.

A friend of mine (and one of my customers) told me about the first time she wore the mineral foundation to work. Everyone kept asking her what she did differently. She couldn't figure out what they were talking about at first. She received compliment after compliment and it made her day. After a meeting with an important client, her boss called her into his office and thanked her for her new look, because the client was very impressed with the caliber of people working at the company. New look?? She was wearing the same skirt, the same blouse, the same jacket, even the same shoes. Her hair hadn't changed. The only thing she had done differently was changed from the liquid foundation to the mineral powder foundation. She called me and told me that not including her boss or the client, she received 39 compliments that day. She was very impressed and very excited!

So to sum it all up: You shouldn't think of foundation as makeup. Think of it as the last step in your skin care regimen. The critical protection step that your skin needs to stay safe from the elements, dirt, and pollution in the air. (Not to mention the oils on your hands, food particles, etc.) It will keep your skin soft and supple, since it locks in the moisture from your moisturizer, and it covers up your imperfections and evens out your skin tone. Pretty important stuff, if you ask me.

Questions?

Have you ever had questions about the Mary Kay business? Maybe you'd never, EVER do anything like this, but you maybe don't know much about it, or you want to know more - like How do you get the Pink Cadillac, or How much do you make when you sell the product, or what kinds of prizes do you get? There are so many things to wonder about, and so many things that people think they know about, but most don't.

To answer your questions, go to www.supershada.com and type in the password: pink

There is a CD you can listen to done by my director, Krystal, as well as read other great info!

After listening to the CD, call or email me to complete a short survey. Anyone that does this not only gathers valuable information, but will get a gift certificate from me for $50 in Mary Kay product! Who doesn't like FREE?

Like I said, maybe this isn't for you. That's okay. Maybe you know someone who would be great at this, or who could gain from being a part of this amazing company. If you refer someone to me who becomes a consultant, you get an ADDITIONAL $50 gift certificate for each person - for life!

Beauty Tip of the Week: Jan 4-10

You know, having a good eye makeup remover is so critical to good skin care and beauty. Sure, soap and water may appear to take your makeup off, but not only does it leave some on your eyes (and it's way more than you think) it's also not good for the delicate skin around your eyes.

The makeup that is left around your eyes can irritate the skin of your eyelid, irritate your tear duct, or even lead to infection. You can actually develop allergy-type symptoms from makeup being left on your eyes, since old makeup is a great breeding ground for bacteria.

The skin around your eyes is different than the skin on the rest of your face, or the rest of your body. It's thinner, more delicate, and more easily irritated. To avoid wrinkles later in life, you must take care of the skin around your eyes properly. You can do this by making sure that it gets sufficiently clean, and is well moisturized. (Moisturization is a whole other topic for another week, so I won't get into that now.)

To get makeup off completely, I would recommend the Mary Kay Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover. It has two parts, one for water-based makeup, and one for oil-based makeup, that when blended together makes one of the greatest solutions I have ever seen or used for removing makeup. It truly is oil free - you can pour it onto your fingers and still snap them - so it won't mess with your moisture balance, and it's non-irritating. You could practically pour this stuff into your eye, and it wouldn't damage your eye at all. (I don't recommend doing that, just for clarification.) Simply shake the bottle, pour onto a cotton ball or round, set it on the eye for 2 seconds, and wipe away the makeup. No need to scrub, although you may need to wipe more than once. This stuff will even take off waterproof mascara quickly and easily, without taking your eyelashes with it! How wonderful is that?

Welcome!

Thank you for visiting my Blog of Beauty! My hope is that through this blog, I can make a difference in your life, and therefore in the lives of those around you. I hope to make a difference by sharing the Mary Kay products with you and sharing the Mary Kay business opportunity with you. Maybe I'll even answer some questions that you didn't even know you had! :)

Feel free to leave comments or anything like that. Thanks again!