Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Mothers Day or whatever it was

Mother's Day has come and gone. I spent the day talking to the Moms on Skype, getting groceries and making meals. See, it wasn't Mother's Day here in Sweden so apparently we'll wait for that one for: breakfast in bed, presents, a meal out, a hand drawn card from the little man. Wait, I did get flowers, the day after. Apparently they took a detour through North America on their way from Planet Idiot. Seriously though, I had mother's day in Moscow. I stayed at a luxury hotel, never had to make a meal and got treated like a queen. It was the best Mother's Day EVER and it lasted 5 days!

Speaking of Mothers. I find myself turning into mine with each passing day. I used to laugh at my Mom and her vanity full of facial creams. From Avon to Clinique, Estee Lauder, some jungle tonic, cow manure, dead sea extract..you name it, she had it. And swore by it.

"What are you using on your face?" she'd ask.
I'd laugh.
I think, at the time, 10 years ago, I had the same bottle of yellow Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion for at least the past 2 years. And it was half full.
I'm not laughing anymore.
I see the "fine lines". I have dreams of Botox. I went through one container of L'Oreal in two months and rushed out for a new one. "Make way fresh-face 20 somethings, the wrinkles are coming and I need to send them a one-way ticket back and STAT."
My mother used to say (and still does), "You need to take care of your skin Jennifer. You have your father's skin and that's NOT a good thing." Hubby jokes that I'll end up looking like one of those shrunken head dolls in 10 years.
F-word.
Now I'm a face cream machine. I'm always slathering something on my face and nearly veering off the road everytime I get stuck behind that bus with the ad promoting restilyn (sp?) at the local spa. Even though it's in Swedish, I'm desperately trying to read what it says. Cuz I'm hoping it says something like: "Get rid of those unsightly wrinkles forever with just one payment of $9.99."
Sigh.
Next will be the gray hair...cue designer shampoos to line the bathtub ledge.

8 comments:

Gamma-ray said...

Happy late mothers day !!!!!


wrinkles?? ><! I'm starting to get them too. I've began the " wrinkle cream regime" as well.... It's a pain in the ass. I get freaked out every time I see a wrinkle in my face. and I"M Still in my early 20's... F-word, indeed. :(
You know. I think we probably put too much stuff on our face.and makeup, it ages us as well. Not a good thing. I've been trying to stay clear of foundation/concealer crap.

Luckily, My mom whos in her late 50's has barely started getting gray hair, and my dad is a dark grayish black. So I'm hoping I get my moms genes when it comes to gray hairs.
I've already stopped using hair dyes!!! hahahahah

look at us worrying. ;D

Anonymous said...

You just gotta love that there is an ad from Google saying you can "Reduce Wrinkles By 83,7%!" just under this post. There is even an "Learn More" button! Faith?

septembermom said...

Just wait until your son looks at you from across the table and says, "Mom, she's old, like you." Thanks kiddo.

Hope you had a great Mother's Day Jenn!

Rebecca said...

Oh ladies!!! Stop spending so much money on useless creams!. for real. They are so chemical laden and the general rule is - if you can't eat it, why put it on your skin?
tip from a 41 yr old here who is frequently mistaken for 30 :-) (by gay men no less, the MOST brutally honest of men)
1. avoid the sunlight like the plague or wear a hat. if its too windy - you'll have to wear sunscreen but that's the only chemical I stick on my face (it makes me break out so I opt for the hat instead and hold onto it on windy days lol)
2. quit frowning. it's become so habitual we never realize it - realize it and quit frowning (especially when you're concentrating on work, etc)
3. exfoliate/tone/moisturize with the following "products" - not only are they much less expensive, they are healthier for your skin and completely edible.
dark brown sugar - THE most wonderful exfoliate EVER! I use it while in the shower. It lasts longer than the expensive stuff and is cheaper by far.
toner: lemons or apples (lemon is good as a natural bleaching agent,and may act as an astringent as well...plus is smells sooo good! (real lemons work better, squeeze about a quarter size worth of juice onto your hand and rub all over - one lemon lasts me about 2 weeks in the fridge since I only use it every other day)

moisturizers for the face - olive oil or mineral oil - yes that "laxative" type of mineral oil your Mom probably had in the medicine cabinet. a little bit goes a very long way and is much cheaper and better for you than oil of olay, etc.

and for those "facial mask" days to firm up skin, or suck out impurities, etc - one word for ya
Honey.
Egg whites too, but honey is more practical and won't ruin someone's breakfast :p

and....*drumroll* face yoga.
I kid you not. Apparently it's working for me since most people think I'm in my early 30's, even on days when I feel like crap.

SwedishJenn said...

@Lost: Prevention pays, says my Mom. But I seriously doubt you have one line on that pretty face. You're just seeing the lines that appear on your face when, you know, it MOVES!
@SeptemberMom: Love the things your kids say. Mine proclaimed loudly in a restaurant the other day, "Dad, you have yellow teeth..ewwwwww"
@Anon: I can't click on the ads on my own site...damn it.

@Rebecca: Why is it that I shudder when I think of scrubbing my face with brown sugar but I don't think twice putting ingredients I could never spell or say properly on my face? I need to be broken, like a horse. I'm seriously scared shitless thinking about olive OIL on my face but believe that the 50 euro jar of cream I just purchased actually DOES contain dead sea salt. What is wrong with me? What you say makes perfect sense and I have no doubt you are mistaken for a youngn' and are beautiful taboot. And yet, I can't bring myself to follow your regime. I'm scared. Please continue...pull me out of the darkness that is the cosmetic industry and into the light of au naturel!

Rebecca said...

Hi Jenn,

Ah thank you but you know how we are, sometimes we look in the mirror and break it. haha!

I'd love to continue but I don't want the cosmic industry to come along and read this and sue me ;-) nor cause the prices of groceries to go up even higher. :-) I can send you some information via email but I don't know how to send you my e-address where it won't be visible on your page? I get too much spam already otherwise I'd post it here.

Anonymous said...

rebecca when you live in sweden when all the winter is dark

you will have to take advantage of the sun when its here:P
its actually a big problem since the body recvices vitamin-d from the sun but half the year is dark and no sun

thats pretty much why many as soon as its getting to spring and the sun is comming forward stops up and just taking in the sun.. looks stupid as hell

Rebecca said...

Hi Anon - yes I know about that in Sweden. How is it a big problem when vit. D can be found in foods? (salmon and other seafoods for one, plenty in Sweden right?) recommended doses of vit D via sun exposure is for no more than 5-10 minutes per day. tans are signs of sun damage. (depending on your skin type, too ofc)
I can imagine it looks stupid as hell. Try California where there is sun most of the year and people still bake themselves into premature aging lol