My sister is new an Avon Lady. In many ways, I think Carla and I have always been Avon ladies. You are either born a girly- girl or not, and we were.
As children, we were given a small amount of money for an allowance. We bought candy bars, lip- gloss and cheap cologne. (It had to be cheap because of our financial situation.) Over the years, not much has changed. I still buy chocolate, lip gloss, and perfume.
A few years ago, I visited Fragonard Perfumeur in Paris. I learned about “super noses” and how to choose a fragrance. A “super nose,” or person who has that title and position, can distinguish between 600 different fragrances or smells. They have two people on their staff at Fragonard with that position. They work 2 days a week and live in the south of France. They are not allowed to eat spicy foods, drink alcohol or smoke. They help develop the new perfumes. I came home with a favorite, that you can only purchase at Fragonard, called Soleil. Just saying the name of it makes me remember the scent. I have come along way from Emeraude and White Shoulders. My two favorites are hard to acquire, one is from London and the other from Paris.
I can honestly say that I love a good "cheap" perfume as well. It is "Strawberries and Champagne." It happens to be Lady Gaga's favorite scent. I read that in a magazine as well. (Don't you love sitting in the beauty shop reading all those magazines and waiting your turn?) It really does smell like strawberries and champagne! Maybe it brings out the "cook" in me. I bought a bottle online and then found out you can purchase it at K-Mart. It sounds so much better when you tell people you found it online! I include it in "my favorite things" gift baskets for my out-of-town guests. (If Oprah can have favorite things, so can you and I!)
When you move to Utah, one of the first things that happens is that your lips dry up and fall off and so do your heels. On my quest to find cures for these to maladies, I have tried many things. I finally found something for both problems. In an article in IN STYLE magazine, and I found the cure for my lips. (I have tried lots of lipsticks, pencils, glosses, and balms over the past five years.) This one is sooooo simple and inexpensive. Use your favorite lip liner and line your lips. Fill it in with Cherry Chapstick. (The 98 cent Chapstick- brand product that you find in the check- out isle of Wal Mart.) It is a trick from makeup artists. They suggested using Cherry because it is tinted a rose color and it works on everyone. I love the products that everyone can afford and are easy to find.
I also found a product in Indiana that works on dry heels. It is called “Heel Tastic” by Earth and you can find it at Bed Bath and Beyond. I am happy to say that my lips and heels are no longer peeling off in layers. Buff off the dead skin on your heels and apply Heel Tastic. They will be smooth in no time.
I have always said that I am a “work in progress” and that I love a great project or a problem to solve. God chose to make me “ordinary” so that I would “give it everything I’ve got” and try harder. I love that about me. I am always trying to improve something.
Mostly I work on the “inside” of me, always trying to polish who I am and who I want to become. I recently saw an Irma Bombeck quote that went something like this, “I hope when I am meeting my Maker someday, that I can say I used all of the talents You gave me and I have no more left. I used all of them wherever I could on anyone who needed them and they are all gone.”
She certainly lived her life well. (She died waiting for a kidney transplant. She wouldn’t put herself in front of the line even though people tried to encourage her to do so with her celebrity position. She said “she wasn’t better than anyone else and she wasn’t going to the head of the line.”
If you are not “beautiful” on the inside, there is no amount of lip gloss or beauty aid that’s going to make you shine! Beauty is still about the inner you. It isn’t a dress size, a certain weight on the scale, or plastic surgery. No one understands that more than me. I just love passing on all this “useless information” and trying to be the best that I can be.
Susan and I were talking about our Utah “purpose” yesterday as we were scaling “Mt Everest” on our walk. Actually, that topic was a bit “deep” for such an early morning conversation. Yesterday, I told her that she already had a purpose. She was helping me stay a reasonable size! We will eventually understand our “Utah purpose.” It may take many trips up and down the mountain. I’ll let you know when we’ve found it.
