| QUESTION: I’ve always taken good care of my complexion, so I can’t believe that at 28 I’m already getting crow’s feet! What is up with that?
ANSWER: In real estate, it’s all about location, location, location. With wrinkles, it’s moisture, moisture, moisture. When I was cruising the cosmetic counters at Barney’s recently, I couldn’t believe my eyes (no pun intended). All the cosmetic companies are STILL convincing women that if they will only apply this one super-duper, amazing (as in “amazingly” expensive) under eye cream only ONCE or TWICE a day, adios crow’s feet. Buy any moisturizer you want, but you better keep it near you in your purse, at the office, in the kitchen, at arm’s reach, because every few hours, reapply it under your eyes (NO, not into the eyeliner, please). Be religious with it, and within a couple of days, you’ll be giving thanks you did. That area is drier than the Santa Ana’s, and unless you’re either in a coma or over-botox’d, you can’t help squinting, laughing, or frowning. Come on, it takes less time to slap on a sip of moisture under your eyes than it does to line and gloss your lips – and look how often we do that!
QUESTION: All I hear is drink plenty of water, but how much, really, and when does anyone have the time for all that water?
ANSWER: First of all, you’re talking to a woman who knows the location of every employee bathroom in every business establishment in west L.A. - and I’m talking places where they speak languages from dead civilizations. Don’t EVER, NEVER EVER, leave the house without a large bottle of water - fill up an empty one if you have to - drink it all day long. No, this isn’t a new idea in a society where a bottle of Evian on a person is considered as essential as designer sunglasses. Here’s the catch: it’s not the “how much?” it’s the “when?” You absolutely must consume your water between meals (30 minutes before and one hour after). Drinking more than a half glass of any liquid (wellll, maybe except martinis) with meals dilutes the stomach’s digestive enzymes. That healthy spinach and sprout salad at lunch leaves from your stomach nothing but a liquid mess, and you wonder later where the gas and bloating came from along with hunger pains! Sip at mealtime and guzzle in between, and I’ll see you in the loo.
QUESTION: I have tried and tried to eliminate coffee because of the jitters and irritability, but I also can’t find a substitute for that jolt of energy/alertness coffee gives me. Do you know of one?
ANSWER: I’m sorry to say NO (and just slap anyone who tries to sell you a substitute for real coffee). BUT, you know that “mental giant, I could run a marathon” rush after a visit to Coffee Bean? And you know that “I’m floating on a Zen cloud” post-yoga high? You can actually be in both places at once by taking Thiamine, the natural amino acid that is only found in green tea. Yep, one more thing on the list of reasons that everyone’s buying or brewing it. Thiamine has been put through the research mill, and all the evidence shows that it “excites” brain neurotransmitters while calming other brain activity. The bottom line is that your brain operates in the “alpha” state (right where meditation puts you). But if alpha doesn’t turn you on, Thiamine also improves memory and learning. It’s also used to treat PMS. So, if you’re past the PMS age bracket, run to a health food store for some Thiamine so you can remember what you’ve already learned. “Hello, Mr. Coffee, meet Miss Xanax. If you marry, your child’s name will be Thiamine.”
QUESTION: The only bad thing about living in sandals all summer is keeping my feet presentable. I’m not talking about keeping toenails polished but the dry, coarse skin on my heels and outer edges.
ANSWER: You mean you don’t get a pedicure three times a week like the rest of us girls of leisure? Then the only thing for you to do is WAX your feet! Now, I’m definitely not one of those people who wax every stray hair from toes to widow’s peak because I still don’t associate pain with erotica. But, since you could shingle a roof with the thick dry flakes off my feet in the summer, I use a little home waxing kit and slap a coat of wax on my feet in between pedicures. First of all, it only takes a few minutes -- a lot less than any salon visit -- and that hot melty wax is pure heaven for your feet propped up on pillows in the privacy of your own bedroom (just don’t prop them so high that they block the TV.). When you pull off the wax strips, you’ve got soft, pink kitten paws. My poor feet have been scraped, pumiced, and sandblasted, but the hot wax treatment is the only thing that really does the job. Trust me; this is the one hot “quickie” you’ll really love. |
