Winterize Your Skin

Now that Winter is in full swing here in Maine, I find myself itching dry legs by the end of the day. It's time to tweak some daily routines.

Here are some guidelines I try to follow this time of year.

It's all about HYDRATION. It's more important than ever to drink those 6 to 8 glasses of water everyday. You'll be able to skip the bloody noses and waking up with a dry throat.

Use hand lotion after washing your hands. Especially after washing the dishes and before going to bed.

Put your facial moisturizer on immediately after patting your face dry from cleansing. If you use a toner, put your moisturizer on when your face is still slightly damp (think of it as "sealing in" the water).

Fine tune your shower habits. Don't use super hot water. Take your shower as quickly as possible. The best way to avoid dry scaly skin: use a dry oil before you towel off, then gently pat yourself dry and apply your regular body lotion. A dry oil is meant to be applied to damp skin and after you've toweled off it will dry quickly and won't stain your clothes.

You may be tempted to exfoliate your dryness away; that's fine, just be gentle. Scrubbing harder will just irritate your skin. Also, try using a scrub blended with oils; that way you can't inflict too much damage.

The habit I simply can not break in Winter is taking baths. Last year I took the small space heater we keep in the bathroom and aimed it at tub while I was bathing. That helped serve two purposes: the water did not cool down much in thirty minutes and I wasn't chilled when stepping out of the tub. During Winter, I like to use a sugar scrub (blended with oils of course) when I first get in the water and then I enjoy my soak without feeling like I'm shrivelling up like a prune. I also mix a bath oil in with my bath gel, that way I get moisture and bubbles!

Gotta go, I think I hear my tub calling me now, stay warm!

Laundry

I was doing some research for a posting on how to take care of your winter sweaters. A couple of magazine articles I read in the past month both mentioned products from a company called The Laundress. I thought I'd see if they had any thoughts on whether or not you and I can machine wash our cashmere sweaters.

Not only did I find the answer (yes) to that question, but I found myself thinking I could have saved myself a few trips to the dry cleaner in the past year if I had been armed with some of The Laundress detergents and helpful laundry tips.

The Laundress is a collection of products developed to meet all of your laundering needs. They offer nine different detergents and nine different fabric care products (I am particularly interested in the stain solution and denim wash). They also offer a wonderful assortment of accessories for living, travel and storage.

My favorite section of The Laundress website is the informative "Laundry Tips". Here you will find recipes for cashmere care, "pit" stain removal and how best to care for denim. There's also a guide to "on the spot" stain savers.

The most intriguing and unique "product" is also found in "Laundry Tips". It's called The Sweater Service. Consider it a day spa for your cashmere and wool sweaters. For $25 per sweater, you can have your favorite cashmere sweater hand washed by an expert in laundering. Talk about decadence!

If you want to try a Laundress product but aren't sure what to try first, consider the Starter Kit. You'll get the six best-selling formulas from The Laundress and The Laundress Recipe Card in a black and white zippered pouch.

I promise to write a post on the best ways to take care of those winter sweaters. I just got so carried away looking at all The Laudress products that I had to share them with you.

Brow Rescue

Anastasia Soare is often referred to as a Brow Guru.

You may have seen her on the Oprah Winfrey show. She gave Oprah an "instant facelift" on air this Fall by shaping Oprah's brows using the tools in Anastasia's All About Brows Kit. The key factor in this kit are the brow shaping stencils; you choose one of four that best suits your brow shape and style (based on bone structure and hair growth).

The kit is wonderful, but what if you could grow some of those eyebrows back? Wouldn't it be great if you didn't have to worry about your brows as part of your makeup routine? Well.....leave it to the Brow Guru to create a magic wand for your brows.

Anastasia developed an herbal treatment that will enhance the fullness and density of eyebrow hair. Anastasia's Nú Brow - Brow Enhancing Serum is a colorless and odorless gel, comprised of a unique blend of proteins and vitamins designed to condition, repair, and restore the eyebrows. Other eyebrow regrowth products on the market claim to work in a few months, Nú Brow is clinically proven to stimulate the hair follicle in as quickly as 4 to 6 weeks. An easy-to-use applicator allows the non-greasy formula to glide on smooth without tugging or pulling and is gentle enough to be used every day.

Other related news: According to Women's Wear Daily, Soare is introducing a line of body care and home products in stores by May. Her company is in negotiations to release the new merchandise exlusively to Nordstrom before making it available to other domestic retailers. The line is launching with seven items: cleansing shower gel, whipped shea butter shower cream, dry oil spray, moisturizing body milk, perfume oil and 2 candles.

The Anastasia product line is available at most Nordstrom stores and all Ulta and domestic Sephora stores. Anastasia's Nu Brow - Brow Enhancing Serum is available exclusively at Sephora until March.

Worth the Price You Pay

You would probably agree with me that some things are worth the price you pay. That being said, it’s worth a little leg work to get the best.

These three are worth doing some investigating to make sure you get quality work that meets your standards.

Shoe Cobbler
Tailor
Dry Cleaner

You may not need the shoe cobbler very often, but having a good one that saves your favorite pair of designer shoes after you break the heel is definitely worth knowing. And if you have a great tailor, you won’t mind buying pants that have a great fit but are two inches too long. You now know someone who can alter them for you.

They best way to find the top tailor/cobbler/dry cleaner in your city is to ask around. A word-of-mouth recommendation can be your greatest lead to finding exactly who you're looking for. Start by asking friends or co-workers. If they don't know either, try your favorite clothing boutique. Chances are they use a specific tailor and know other quality establishments.

Ask a few questions of whoever gives you the recommendation.
What do you like about the tailor?
How long have you been using him/her?
How was the quality of the work you had done?
Have you ever had any problems? If so, were they resolved?

If you happen to get a bad review, but are willing to give that particular person a chance, take one thing to get repaired. Then judge the quality of the work and decide if you want to take the rest of your items there or look for someone else.

Diva tip: be prepared for a stain emergency, keep a Madame Paulette Stain Remover Kit in your handbag, briefcase or suitcase. Each stain remover kit comes with instructions and 3 different formulas that treat the 3 primary stain groups. They also list steps to remove complex stains like pizza, gravy and red wine. The price may seem a little steep at $50 for 5, but when you save your new sweater or pants from being ruined, you'll know it's worth the price you paid.