Valentine’s Day is one week away! The usual flowers, chocolate and a nice grown up dinner with your special someone is always good. What if you could switch it up a bit this Valentine’s Day? Mary Kay can help!

Pamper your special lady with a set of Satin Hands and Satin Lips. For that exceptional guy in your life spice it up with High Intensity cologne for men. No need to run all over town. Contact Meridee Cole your local Mary Kay skincare consultant and she will do the work for you.

Meridee is offering a beautiful bouquet of flowers with your favorite Mary Kay skincare products   tucked inside. This unique combination will have your special someone thinking about you long after the flowers and chocolates are gone. If you aren’t sure what to purchase, let Meridee create a beautiful bouquet of flowers with a skincare gift certificate tucked inside. This will allow your lady to select her own favorite fragrance or skincare products herself or maybe the two of you can schedule a consultation with Meridee and see what new fragrance and skincare products Mary Kay has to offer.

Mary Kay and Meridee Cole are two names you can count on.

Go Bananas

Bananas are a great food source and can be a great skincare supplement if you have the time.  Beautifulskinblog  has some all natural made at home masks.  Make sure you know your skin type so you don’t irritate your skin.  Or, keep it simple with MaryKay masks  you can;

1.  Hydrate masks
2. Tighten pores  masks or
3. Clarify masks

 Have fun and pick the best mask for you.

 Here is a great skin care facial treatment that will leave your skin glowing;

1.  Mash ¼ of a small banana – makes about 1/8 of a cup
2. Whip 1 eggwhite until foamy
3. Add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
4. Add mashed Bananas and blend well

 Apply a thin layer for 30 minutes or less, then apply a light moisturizer  and voila…you will GO BANANAS  over how good your skin feels.

It is football playoff time and that means 2 things usually.  Cold Weather and the victorious team usually has a good Defense (although the Packers and Rams did try to prove otherwise last weekend).  Around here it also has been pretty cold the last few weeks.  Do you know what the temperature was this morning at 6 am?  39 degrees!

Cold weather exaggerates the drying out of your skin and lips.  In fact, do you know what they say is one of the first places to notice dry cold weather AND HOT humid weather?  YOUR LIPS.  You know in the summer time how many times you reach for that lip balm (MaryKay of course) to protect you from the harmful UVA of the sun and fight the chapped dry lips syndrome.  Well, in the cold weather because of the natural moisture from your mouth and tongue, combined with the icy winds and cold air, your lips quickly can become chapped.  How do you combat that?

 MaryKay Satin Lips Mask and Balm.  Sold separately or as a complete defense mechanism as a set; The mask is used to buff away dry skin with , and then using it in tandem, you moisturize your lips with Satin Lips® Lip .  This gives your lips protection for at least 6 hours; enough time to get inside out of the heat/cold.

 So be like the winning professional football teams and put your best defense to work for you; Satin Lips Mask and Balm

Step 1:
Wash your face twice a day with three in one facial cleanser.  This cleanser should be one that cleanses, exfoliates and moisturizes all in one.

Step 2:
If you have acne, apply an acne treating toner  to your skin with a q-tip to your blemishes. A toner helps to further balance the ph in the skin.

Step 3:
Apply a lotion with a sunscreen for daily wear to prevent sun damage to your skin. The sun can damage your skin, just by getting in and out of your car through the day, you do not have to be attempting to get a tan to get skin damage, which is why it is important to wear an additional facial lotion with sunscreen throughout the day.

At night an additional facial moisturizer should be applied to your face, to help restore and heal any damage your skin has incurred. 

Step 4:
Apply a moisturizing lotion  twice a day to keep your skin from drying out.

If your skin dries it out during the winter winds, you should apply a special moisturizing facial mask  to restore your skin.

Using a microdermabrasion peel for your face is also a great way to keep your skin healthy. This kind of peel can be used twice a week to deeply cleanse your pores of bacteria.

Properly cleansing your face and using the right products at the right time, in the right manner will help to keep your skin looking healthy all year long. Your face is how people remember you; special attention should be done to take care of your skin, since it is the first thing people see. Have a beauty consultant to help you keep your skin healthy and balanced is a great way to ensure you look your best all year long.

He goes on to further say that if you add exercise, restrict calories and eat vegetables, the result will be good stress on your body.  This stress challenges cells and causes us to adapt and grow.  Warning here:  This is a delicate balance, if stress goes from mild to chronic (ie: greatly restrict calories-stop eating), the genetic actions can cause atrophy and cells die!

The process of aging lowers our stress threshold, as does self esteem.  We can attack this natural process through aerobic exercise.  Exercise releases many chemicals in the body that stimulates cells, causing the release of positive anti-aging allies.  Additionally, by adding supplements such as Juice Plus,  we can achieve all of the fruits and vegetables necessary to stimulate our own defense mechanisms to operate a peak efficiency.  Further research has found that the acai plant also provides additional resources of anti-oxidants, which is also found in chocolates which further keeps our skin young and healthy.

Bottom line; start exercising, eat and/or take necessary fruits and vegetables; mix in  healthy chocolate, treat the outside of your skin and you have put up the best defense against natures aging process that is available.

1. Dry hands this winter? Try swapping out ordinary hand lotion for a formula with SPF.  The sun’s UVA light prevents production of moisturizers in skin and is present 365 day/year; therefore the need to add a SPF to your lotion could prevent drying out of the skin.
2. Combat wrinkles with red colored fruit! Studies show that the anti-oxidants in raspberries, strawberries, cranberries and pomegranates block an enzyme that breaks down collagen, which leads to wrinkles.
3. Keep teeth white by drinking morning orange juice through a straw – a recent study shows that OJ softens tooth enamel which may make your teeth more susceptible to discoloration; you can rinse after, with a drink of water.
4. Make your joints strong with sesame seeds – 2 tablespoons supply more than 80% of your daily intake of copper, which is an anti-inflammatory that may ease arthritis pain.
5. Fight sun damage on your skin – take 2 tablespoons of sunflower seeds and supply yourself with 40% of RDA of Vitamin E, a known anti-oxidant that fights sun damage
6. Enhance a healthy heart with flaxseed – 2 tablespoons in your cereal is rich in alpha-linolenic acid that helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure.
7. Speaking of hearts – don’t overeat, this is the #1 thing you can do for your heart.  Studies show that we tend to eat almost 40% more in a group than by yourself. So be careful at the parties this season.
8. Look younger this coming year – In addition to using moisturizers to keep your skin young, blow dry hair smooth, get a manicure, and don’t forget the eye brows, shape them, it will make your eyes, pop.
9. Keep your skin young – start exercising, it gets the blood pumping which brings oxygen and nutrients to the skin.
10.  Do you have acne – not only should you use a great acne skin care product  but don’t forget to use moisturizer. If you are using prescription based acne medicine, they can dry your skin out, which may trigger inflammation.
11.  Hide lines with a facial highlighting pen – These amazing innovations contain light reflecting particles that optically smooth wrinkles.
12.  Use concealer to give skin a smooth youthful look – Why let age and nature own you, take charge and use an appropriate foundation to add the youthful look to your face.

If you would like to heal damaged and tired skin, then try Serum+C  from Mary Kay, is a new skin care product that was made to heal damaged and tired skin. It is made with 5 of the highest levels of Vitamin C from all over the world, Vitamin C aids in rejuvenating and reviving skin, making you look and feel better. All of our faces are exposed to bad air throughout the day, which is why we need a skin care product that helps to remove the bad particles from our faces, like a 3-in-1Cleanser ,  but also applying healing skin care products to revitalize the damaged portions of our face will make people wonder how we keep our skin looking so healthy.. Moisturizing lotion  is also a key component to your skin’s vitality

More goes into taking care of your skin, then just washing it once or twice a day. Lotions and serums should become a part of our daily defense as well as preventive preparation for the Holiday fun. Try it, your skin will love you for it!

The skin care products you use during this time could mean the survival of the flesh over the next few months. According to Dr. Oz, soaps can take off the protective layer of oil from your skin, which can leave your skin chapped and itchy. Dr. Oz suggests using an oil on your skin first, then a deep scrub to cleanse the skin, then after you need another layer of a moisturizing lotion  to restore the essential protective layer of your skin.

When you follow these steps it will help to protect your skin from wind damage and the cold. There are several facial scrubs  that can help keep your skin glowing.  Facial scrubs are good to use once or twice a week depending on your type of skin to deeply cleanse your face.  Just remember to always follow up with an extra hydration .

Do you like Oyster?  Vitamin D and Zinc are found in oysters and it has been proven that together this vitamin and mineral can keep your skin healthy during dry weather!

The personality test I enjoy is called the DISC test.  In this test you pick a word in 28 different boxes that most exemplifies you and least exemplifies you.  The corresponding answer sheet catalogues these answers and accurately predicts the type of personality people are.  Knowing this not only helps you be able to deal with others by knowing their different traits, but also knowing what your blend is and what mask you are most comfortable behind.  Everyone is a blend of all categories, some stronger than others.  A simplified way of looking at these are relating it to a type of animal/fish;

• D - Doberman – Tough, like big challenges, bark as bad as bite.
• I – Fluffy Puppy – Content to have fun; likes recognition and praise.
• S – Cat – Doesn’t like conflict; finds spots that are most comfortable and retreats there.
• C – Tropical fish – Checks everything out thoroughly, rocks, both sides of tank; ceramic figures. Curious by nature, doesn’t like sudden change.

 You can get more of this by going to DISC.

 Speaking of Masks, a facial mask is a great way to help fight blemishes, soften your skin or can even be used as a relaxer. A good skin care mask should be used once a week depending on what your skin care specialist suggests. Your face may be dry and therefore needs a moisturizing mask. Your face may be breaking out and needs a facial mask that will clear your blemishes. Maybe your face needs tightening, a mask can be good for that as well. Whatever the need, quality skin care products are needed on a daily basis and masks should be worn to help keep your face in check. If the mask you are wearing everyday is in need of  replenishment or if your skin needs to glow;  MaryKay offers masks for every skin type.  This Halloween, make sure your mask is right for you.

• Pomegranates – Soft skin is good skin.  This fruit is packed with Vitamin C, a key ingredient that guards against the wrinkling effects of sun damage.  The juice in these seeds contains two compounds that fight sun damage.  The first fights free radicals and the second can increase your body’s capacity to preserve collagen, which is the sub-dermal connective tissues that makes skin look smooth and plump. 
• Blueberries – Smooth those fine lines with this awesome fruit that contains more anti-oxidants than almost any other food.  These anti-oxidants result in extra protection against skin damaging free radicals that can come from the sun, stress or over-exercise (running). 
• Kale and Spinach – Firm your skin  with Spinach and Kale.  Spinach is loaded with beta-carotene and lutein, two nutrients that have been shown to improve skin elasticity.  Kale and Spinach both have powerful anti-oxidants that help guard against damage by the sun. 
• Cold Water Fish – Want to reduce redness in the skin?  Sardines, Salmon and Mackerel contain omega-3 fatty acids which help keep moisture in the skin.
• Green Tea – In addition to using Timewise Age Fighting Skin Care Products ; drinking green tea can help reduce those annoying brown spots. 
• Olive Oil – Want a healthy glow?  Olive Oil contains the “good fats” of omega-3’s, which can improve circulation, leaving skin rosy and supple.

 You can get all of this from JuicePlus  and from Mary Kay’s Timewise Replensing Serum+c

Be smart, eat healthy, use a quality skincare products,  add in some of the key foods above and enjoy life “out loud”.