I’m going to call some of you out.

How many of you layer on the make-up year round? I’m even talking the hot summer months; you do your usual concealer, foundation, and powder trifecta – the whole shabang. Well, now that it’s past Memorial Day, I feel justified in what I’m about to tell you: I insist you put down the make-up. I am gifting you with the BEST beauty tip I’ve come across IN YEARS!!!

Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer

I was listening to one of my favorite radio personalities – Steph Ramos on Cosmo Radio – as she raved about this tinted moisturizer. So much so, that I felt I had to check it out. I typically only wear foundation makeup when the last vestiges of my summer tan are gone. Even then, I prefer very light coverage, such that a tinted moisturizer can offer. So, given that she was speaking my language, I jumped on the bandwagon.

Let me tell you: the stuff is so good it should be illegal!

It adds just a tiny smidgen of shimmer to your skin so it looks like you have that youthful, dewy glow; even if you are, ahem, not youthful. The tint evens out your skin tone and covers mild blemishes, even when I cut it with a little traditional moisturizer to make it even more sheer.

Though I picked it up in the late winter, I find that I already wear this year-round now because the glow that makes me look less like a hag in the winter makes the little summer tan I allow myself just POP!

At just $43 dollars a pop — which may seem expensive, but this stuff lasts — I think it’s worth the investment regardless of your current skin regimen. It comes in nearly two dozen different shades, so you’re bound to find your match. Not to mention, it’s got SPF built-in, so your face gets some daily defense out of the deal.

All in all, Laura Mercier, if I could, I would kiss you for creating your tinted moisturizer. I guess I’ll have to settle for simply looking more kissable when I wear it, and that ain’t too shabby either.

You can pick it up at your local Sephora.

Cheers my beauties!

Step away from the stretch pants! And don’t you dare put on that mumu!

Trust me, we ALL have those days.

You know, you wake up feeling bloated. Your wobbly bits take a few more moments to stop moving after you do. Even your fingers look chubby.

Damn it.

Do not surrender to the chub, girlfriends! What I’m about to tell you, you probably aren’t going to like, but hear me out. Put on your skinny jeans and fitted shirt, pronto stat! Chances are, if you overdid it on the soy sauce or Ben and Jerry’s the night before, you’ll be feeling just a leetle-bit pinched and squeezed, so you are quite likely not to overindulge again. The simple act of putting on your skinny clothes will have you looking slimmer and acting slimmer, too.

Plus, dressing to flatter your body just looks better.

If you do take the pants – I mean path – of least resistance and reach for your yoga pants and tunic, you will e-x-p-a-n-d to fill the space. Those garments are nice and comfy, aren’t they? And no one likes to feel like a ten-pound baloney in a five-pound bag, but if you keep wearing stretch pants, you’ll soon be a TWENTY pound baloney that won’t be able to get that bag over her thighs.

Please don’t hate me.

I am a girl who loves her yoga pants, and practically lives in them because I do yoga nearly every day. But most every day at some point I put on grown-up clothes. Those clothes include some ‘barometer’ jeans. I truly don’t weigh myself, nor do I care what number the scale says or what the tag in those jeans might say (I cut it out long ago). I do know, though, that if they fit, that I’m doing something right. If they slip right up with nary a wiggle, I might indulge in a few fries at lunch. If they require a bunch of shimmy-shimmies and result in a larger-than-usual muffin-top, I’ll stick to a cleaner diet and up my workouts a bit.

These ‘barometer’ jeans keep me honest, whereas my yoga pants could probably accommodate an extra 10 or twenty pounds before I realize what hit me. I speak from experience – ‘hello, freshman fifteen twenty’ – a time I most definitely do not want to revisit.

Take my word for it. You’d much rather learn your lesson by being miserable in the short-term, than overweight in the long.

XO, lovely ladies!

In an effort to try to one-up those brave women who allow their “pre-makeover” pictures to be published in magazines, I’ve decided to share post-laser skin resurfacing photographs of myself.

I hope it didn’t make you throw up in your mouth.

It all started a few months ago when I chatted up my nurse-friend who works at the doctor’s office that I frequent. I asked her, “So what’s next?” Mind you, I have not the desire nor the intention to end up looking like Joan Rivers. I was curious, however, to see if there were any non-surgical procedures that could improve the appearance of my skin.

Together we decided that Profractional treatment with a Scion laser (Fraxel) would be a good choice for me.

What is Fraxel, exactly?

“Fraxel is the name of a particular brand of laser that uses fractionated laser therapy. So why it’s called fractionated is the way that it delivers the energy, so it delivers lots of microscopic laser energy into the skin and creates a column of injury and as the body goes through its natural healing process that column is shed. So with that goes excess pigmentation and abnormal cells and because it’s also creating an injury to the skin, it also stimulates the body to lay out new collagen which is one of the main support structures, so you get the filling and smoothing effect with it as well.”

I had the 20 minute procedure on a Friday morning. It wasn’t the most pleasant experience in the world, but I was the one who signed up for this, right? The laser feels like so many tiny rubber bands snapping at your skin, and it also feels like you are getting a pretty decent sunburn. A fan provided a lot of relief during and immediately after the procedure, and within an hour, I felt like I had a moderate sun and wind burn.

Not so bad.

What was a little worse was that fact that I couldn’t wash my face for 24 hours. This particular laser made hundreds of micro-punctures in my skin that bled (but just a little bit). Chris put a thick layer of post-surgical ointment on my face to control the bleeding and soothe my skin, but advised that it couldn’t be washed off until the next day.

It was pretty nasty. But truly, it looks worse than it felt.

I kept my hair pulled back and slept with my torso elevated on pillows to minimize the swelling.

By morning, I couldn’t get into the bath quickly enough. Though my skin was definitely very sensitive and I had some mild swelling, there was no pain, and I looked almost presentable. I lubed up with the cream I was given, threw on a hat and glasses ‘a la Kardashian’, and went out on a lunch date with my husband.

The worst part of the next two days was a very tight, dry feeling, but that was well-managed with the cream I was given. By Monday, I was back at the gym, not much worse for the wear – in fact – no one noticed.

Over the next week or so, the majority of my sunspots peeled right off. Yup, adios, freckles and age spots. Also, my crows feet softened and became much less visible, I’d say by about 50%.

Not bad, huh?

And the best part? Over the next few months, those micro-punctures will continue to heal and fill with collagen, which should give me a tighter, plumper look all over.

Would I do it again? I would, but not anytime soon. For now, I’ll just relish in the fact that my husband – who is not a fan of me messing with my face, btw – looked across the dinner table and said, “you know, your skin does look really, really good”.

Thanks honey, and thanks to the team at Chesapeake Plastic Surgery for taking such good care of me! I highly recommend Fraxel for anyone desiring a little pick-me-up on the ‘natural’ side of things!

Have you seen the newest body-sculpting fad, That Crazy Wrap Thing? 

It’s an herb-infused patch of sorts, that when place over a part of your body, proclaims to tighten and tone the skin and underlying tissues. I’ve never been one to buy into network marketing, nor believe that there is a shortcut to losing weight. However, when a respected colleague of mine kept raving about this product on Facebook, I decided I should give it a little test run.

Which of my bumpy-bulgy areas should I try it on? Hmmm… so many options. If you’ve read my piece called My Life as a Shar-pei, then you know that I’m not really thrilled about the current state of my face and neck. I ultimately decided to give the patch a whirl on the rapidly sagging skin under my chin.

After reading the directions, I found out that I would need to wear 3 patches in total. Each one for 45 minutes, spread out over the course of a week. “That shouldn’t be too bad,” I thought – “let’s give the first one a go”.

The biggest – and only –downside I experienced was trying to keep the patch on for the required 45 minutes. After struggling for a bit, I found that one of my daughter’s wide headbands kept it in place nicely, even if it was reminiscent of the post-wisdom-tooth extraction headgear of days-gone-by. 

I have to say, I remained skeptical over the course of the next week or so that it took for me to fit in the 3, 45-minute sessions I had to wear the patch to obtain optimum results.

But then – BOOM! 

Just like their advertisements say, I caught a glimpse of myself in an awkward position – one that would usually result in a turkey neck of grand proportions – and saw that my neck and chin actually remained where they belonged! Hmmmm. I even challenged it a little bit, and confirmed that yes; my neck and chin actually do look tighter and leaner! And this is a couple of weeks after my last patch!

I stand by my belief that there is no shortcut to great health, but if you have a trouble spot (or two) despite making good lifestyle choices – particularly in the diet and exercise arena – then you might want to give the “It Works!” patches a whirl. I don’t know that I’m inclined to use these patches regularly, but I think they’ll be a go-to before a big photo shoot or night out in a close-fitting dress. And unlike those salon wraps that dehydrate you and last only until you drink a glass of water, they say these results last for months.

Update: At press time, which is 2 months post-wrap, my results are still, literally, holding firm!

I got my crazy wrap thing from Dr. Amy at skinnywrapdoc.com, and I’m sure she’d be happy to hook you up, too!

Give it a go – what have you got to lose?