By Gina Welborn
You can look younger than your age too if you merely subscribe to Gina's Beauty Tips 2010 edition. For a refresher (no pun intended) here's my tips for your quick perusal. You're welcome.
(1) Don't wash your face daily because the pressure of your hands on your facial muscles and skin causes the elasticity to stretch and weaken. Instead, splash face with warm water and pat dry. And don't feel guilty if you sleep with makeup on. You'll wake up and say, "Wow, I forgot I looked so good naturally." (Who thinks clearly when she first awakens?)
(2) Don't smile, frown, or scowl. All cause wrinkles to appear around eyes and mouth and (in the cause of scowling) between eyebrows. Don't raise your eyebrows either because this can cause wrinkles in the forehead. Instead, learn to express emotion by depending on your tone of voice. Let your laughter vibrate from your chest as you keep your face motionless.
In the year plus since I developed my ingenious Not-So-Secret tips for looking younger, I've come across the 10 Essential (well, that's what the magazine article says) Beauty Tips that (again, quoting the magazine) "make the difference in how you look." The ones that stood out to me were . . .
1. Pat, don't rub, your concealer. When you rub, you move the concealer to a different part of your face--the part that didn't need something concealed.
2. You are almost always prettiest with something close to your natural hair texture.
Not bad tips, although I still think mine are better. I recently came across a magazine interview of Heidi Klum. She was given a list of behaviors or items to rate in the order of sexiness:
A. Smoking a cigarette
B. Eight-inch heels
C. Reading Goethe
D. Reading Goethe in the original German
E, Going braless
F. The perfect LBD
G. Exposed cleavage
H. Exposed belly button
I. Exposed insecurities
Why don't you take a moment and rank them with 9 being the sexiest thing imaginable.
Really, do it.
Pick up a pen or pencil and make a column where you list A - I, then use 1 - 9 in whatever order. I'll do it too.
(cue cheesy elevator music)
Done?
Here's mine but I'll move them around with Sexiest at the top and Completely Unattractive in every way at the bottom:
F. The perfect LBD
C. Reading Goethe
D. Reading Goethe in the original German
B. Eight-inch heels
I. Exposed insecurities
H. Exposed belly button
G. Exposed cleavage
E, Going braless
A. Smoking a cigarette
Want to know Heidi's order?
Get this, she put large X through all of them and wrote in "only a smile!"
How true that is!
Yet how many of us go through the average day without smiling or laughing? Last week when I was at church, I was stunned by the number of miserable-looking people. Yet at least I applaud them for not faking it.
Still, where is their joy? Where is your joy in the midst of your circumstances?
"in all your circumstances--good or bad, happy or sad--give thanks to God, for this is what God desires you to do as Jesus lives life through you" ~1 Thess. 5:18 (Queen Gina Version)
~*~
Non-Serious Question of the Day :: What's your 1 (or 10) Essential Beauty Tip?
Serious Question of the Day :: Make a list of your circumstances--good and bad, happy and sad--that have occured in the last month or three months or six months. Have you thanked God for each of them? If not, what's holding you back?
~*~
Years—okay, eons—ago, Gina Welborn worked in news radio scripting copy until she realized how depressing human tragedy was, so she took up writing romances and now only thinks “It is time for a dead body?” when she’s at a lull in her newest manuscript. This Oklahoma-raised gal now lives in Richmond, Virginia with her youth-pastor husband, their five Okie-Hokie children, and a Sharpador Retriever who doesn’t retrieve much of anything (but he can sit really well). Her first novella, “Sugarplum Hearts,” part of the HIGHLAND CROSSINGS anthology, will be released by Barbour in February 2012. Her second novella, “All Ye Faithful,” in A CASCADES CHRISTMAS release later in 2012.
Not sure anyone would want my beauty advice--the most important tenets being stay away from cameras and mirrors.
ReplyDeleteBut thanks for the reminded to be thankful.
A few weeks ago, we had to put our 12 year old cat down. It was so much harder than I thought it would be, even though we knew it was the right decision.
Oddly enough, earlier this week, I was chatting with a woman at my mystery writing group. And they had just had to put down their 19 year old cat. She was devastated. But we bonded over that like never before. Who knows what opportunity I'll have to share the gospel through this relationship?
I think Heidi Klum said it all. But I'll go one better.
ReplyDeleteLaugh.
It makes you look and feel better and people suddenly stop looking At You and start wanting to know more OF you.
Aren't we all drawn to someone who can find the light side?
Tying this into Barb's thoughts--generally that person who is laughing has learned to be thankful for the simple things. or really really faking it :)
Have a great day everyone!
Thanks for the tips, Gina. I will have to work on that 'reading Goethe'. oh, by the way,I have no idea what LBD is. Did I miss the clues? I know I have great LDLs.
I'm confused now. Should I smile or not?
ReplyDeleteP.S., going braless is only sexy if you're small and perky.
And my best beauty tip, spend more time and money on skin care than makeup.
Sure Gina, you balanced out a hard question with another hard question. Ugh. I won't list all the circumstances, but I believe I've thanked God for them all - good or bad. Because there's one thing I know - even my bad circumstances can get worse, so I thank God it didn't.
ReplyDeleteIt's like you said in an email the other day, Gina... someone like "Surely someone's in a worse situation?" How true is that. I should paint that on my wall as a permanent reminder.
Thanks Gina.
Oh, Barb, I do like the beauty tip of staying away from cameras and mirrors.
ReplyDeleteWhat a blessing you and that other author were to each other, and you for sharing because that's a timely reminder for us (me, included) to look for opportunities to turn our tragedies into triumphs.
Deb, laughter is very very sexy!!!
ReplyDeleteI know what LBDs are but what's a LBL? Little black leggings? Little black . . . ?
NOOOO!!!!! Dina, don't smile. That's merely Heidi's advice. Mine amended Beauty Tip is "smile but only enough to curve your lips and not get indentions around your mouth which are not to be confused with dimples."
ReplyDeleteLaughter, as Deb mentioned, is sexy. Just laugh from your chest while letting the sound vibrate upward. Or bellow loudly . . . while ensureing you keep your facial muscles completely motionless.
I suppose going braless is sexy if you're an A cup. To quote a Project Runway contestant, "These breasts are going to be the death of me."
Anita, I was in Sunday School a couple weeks ago and the teacher said, "These questions are tough. Don't give the Sunday School answer." Yet all he did was give the Sunday School answer. Uggh.
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo, I admire how even though you didn't answer my questions, you act/acted on them by putting thanking God into practice. That's far more important. :-)
You're so right about thanking God because things could have been worse. I chatted with a gal yesterday who is also having homework-turning-in issues with her 12-yr-old son.
So I thank God for my son's school problems becuase it made us realize the depth of his internal needs and motivated us to do more to love/help/encourage him. Better to repair a crack in a dam now than wait for it to explode.
LOL, Barb. I'm with ya there.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't a beauty-regimen tip, but I don't mind crows' feet because they are the fruit of laughter. I love my husband's laugh lines. Hopefully he likes mine too.
I will try to laugh from my belly, though, Gina.
I'm also working on giving thanks for my challenges, and I'm eager to look back on them and see God's hand and (hopefully) my growth.
low density lipoprotein LDL. things we talk to our doctors about...
ReplyDeleteit's one of the cholesterols. HDL and LDL.
so what's LBD?
Best beauty tip?
ReplyDeleteRelax and be yourself. Nobody else does it better. :D
LBD - little black dress
ReplyDeleteYou lost me at lipoprotein. Blech. ;-)
Laugh from the belly -- yes, Suzanne, head my wisdom. Or you could laugh by holding up a card like they do in auctions. That way your exhuberance won't distract anyone. :-)
ReplyDelete"relax and be yourself"
ReplyDeleteNice!!!
Dina, I've been thinking about what you said... spend more time and money on skin care than makeup.
ReplyDeleteMight I add that less is more when it comes to skin care products as well.
My daughter latched onto skin care products at the first sign of pimples. She then used makeup to cover the pimples and began a daily regimen of skin care and makeup. Her acne grew. We went to a doctor who prescribed a drug. Her acne cleared up a bit, but then worsened with a vengeance.
I reminded her that when her brothers had diaper rash the doctor said to wash with water only, dry thoroughly, and diaper up. This always cleared the rash by the next day.
But by then daughter was in high school and refused to get out of her daily routine in case it was the wrong approach.
Her acne increased to such an extent we gave in and bought her the stuff sold on TV that was delivered to our door bi-monthly.
Daughter went to college and we continued to send her the shipments. After being on that product for almost a year, daughter came home for Christmas and I cried. Her acne was so bad I was worried about scarring. I told her I wouldn't pay any longer. She said I'm supposed to tell her she looks beautiful no matter what. That was it!
I called the company and said to stop sending the product as I wouldn't pay any longer. When the lady tried to give me a song and dance, I said my daughter's face was scarring after being on their product for a year. Two seconds later, the lady on the phone said she was sorry to see us go and wished us luck.
It really ticked daughter off. I suggested (again) that she see a dermatologist instead.
End result: Skip another year. Skyping with daughter makes me cry. Makeup can only cover so much. Daughter hasn't gone to see a dermatologist. Daughter continues her skin care and makeup routine.
I'm not saying don't buy skin care products.
I am saying to try the basics first. My mom always brags about my clear skin - that it's the best in the family. Surprise - I've never used skin care products except for a pumice to wash the dead skin away.
If any of you think of it in your daily prayers, please pray for my daughter's acne.
Thank you for letting me rant.
Good rant, Anita. Actually, I don't wash my face much except with water in the shower. What I've always used though is a good nourishing serum. As I've gotten older I've added moisturizer and eye cream. I use the Mary Kay Timewise line.
ReplyDeleteYou know, another thought for Anita. My daughter gets eczema from soap. Looks confusingly like acne, but skin care products would definitely make it worse. We did see a dermatologist and he said "No soap!" He suggested just water or at most a non-soap cleanser that you can get at most drugstores. She usually just uses Vaseline to remove her eye makeup. He said with her skin type she shouldn't get acne if she avoids soap and harsh makeups.
ReplyDeleteCute, Gina. I'm always drawn to people who laugh and smile. My mom always used to tell me to smile so she could see the money she spent on my teeth. But I spent so many years with a poor self-esteem, I didn't smile much. I do now though, because I know no matter how bad things get, God loves me for who I am, and as long as He is there, things will get better.
ReplyDeleteI love to see my husband smile, and I love to see my son smile. And I love to hear my mom laugh. I never heard her laugh so hard as the first time she and I went to Disneyland together. I think joy, laughter and knowing God loves you for who you are, are the ultimate secrets to staying young at heart.
I have no beauty secrets at all. Well, maybe one. Posture. Please, people sit up. Stand up straight. Stop with the slouching already!
ReplyDelete