When Retin-A is mentioned, does a zit faced teenager come to mind? Are you combating middle aged acne and reaping the haunting benefits of basking in the sun as a teenager?

This derivative of vitamin A actually does many things. The topical version known as Tretinoin treats mild to moderate forms of acne as well as skin damage from the sun. After talking with my dermatologist, I decided that I would definitely benefit from this treatment!

So, what exactly can be gained from the use of Tretinoin?

Acne: Retin A clears out the comedone (black heads) plugs. It works by bringing them up to the surface to be washed away. Who doesn’t get giddy over that!

Hyper-pigmentation: Helps with discoloration from age spots, freckles. When you are a teenager freckles are cute, not so much at forty!

Skin Texture: Texture improves with an increase in cell turn over and new collagen. It gets rid of all the dull dead skin cells.

Sometimes as we age, we need a little help to promote cell turn over. Tretinoin promotes this by irritating the skin, which leads to sloughing and promoting cell division. This rapid turnover of old to new cells prevents pimples and promotes prettier softened skin. And this wonderful mechanism of cell turn over decreases wrinkles, refines skin texture, and fades age spots. That makes me want to do a cartwheel! When you are fast approaching middle age, it’s easy to get excited about a tube of goo that does all that!

As I mentioned, this medication irritates the skin. Wow, when I say irritate. Boy does it! This tube of youth is potent! The reaction is often equivalent to a bad sunburn.

After being overzealous with the application, my skin felt as if someone had doused my face with super hot water!

After a call to the doctor, I dropped from using the cream twice a week to once a week. I also mix it with my moisturizer to further lessen the irritation. As the skin adapts, I can increase the use back to twice a week. Since this medication causes rapid cell turnover, it is important to religiously use a sunscreen.

Tretinoin should be used after gently cleansing your face with a mild non alcohol containing wash. I usually wait at least thirty minutes before applying to prevent any increase in irritation. If irritation continues, it may be beneficial to decrease to the minimum dosage. It also comes in two strengths to help prevent discomfort.

Tretinoin is a prescription cream that should only be used under medical supervision to prevent skin damage or allergic reaction. More importantly, Retin A should be avoided by anyone who may be pregnant.

If you have used Retin A, I would love know how it worked for you.

If you are looking for a new foundation that provides a “natural look,” you need to give Urban Decay Naked a try. This foundation is light, but provides enough coverage to give that much sought after flawless appearance – A look every woman wants.

Naked comes in eighteen different shades and provides a semi matte finish that allows you to customize your coverage. If more coverage is desired, you can layer the foundation on without it looking cakey. It provides a full coverage look without the feel of it.

After eight hours, my skin starts to look a bit dewy in which I don’t seem to mind as much as my skin matures. Some of the super matte finishes can make mature skin look just that…OLD. Individuals with super oily skin may desire a more matte look. This would be a great winter go to foundation for oily skin.

You can really step up your look by applying the foundation with the Good Karma brush. A vegan brush helps buff in the liquid for a flawless finish.

The best part about this foundation…it’s fragrance free and loaded with good stuff for your skin. It contains peptides to promote elasticity, protects the skin from dehydration, green tea, vitamin E, and hyaluronate. It makes fine lines look less visible. Since I am starting to have some fine lines, I love that Naked seems to make them appear less visible.

The only down fall to this foundation is that it contains no SPF.

Naked comes with a pump applicator and can be purchased online or at Sephora for $38.00. This line will leave you addicted.

This company also happens to be cruelty free.

In addition, I am reviewing this product to help other ladies looking for a wonderful product. I am not receiving any compensation. Although I wouldn’t mind it.

Get Urband Decay at Amazon (aff)

Get Your Good Karma Brushes at Amazon (aff)

We make this recipe almost every week because it is fast, easy, spicy, and delicious. Sometimes we make it with meat and sometimes meatless. It all depends on our mood, but here are both versions that you can easily put together yourself.

Taco Salad with Meat

- 12oz. bag of lettuce mix
- 12oz. bag of corn chips
- 15oz. can of your favorite beans (we use black beans or kidney beans)
- package of El Paso taco seasoning
- 1lb. of hamburger
- 1 package of Mexican cheese blend
- Spicy Ranch dressing
- medium Picante Sauce or whatever you prefer
- diced jalapenos if you like it spicy.

Directions
As the hamburger is browning, we place the lettuce and about 3/4 of the chips into a large bowl. Break up the chips a bit and mix it all up. Then season the hamburger, and add it with the beans into the bowl. Mix it up a little bit before adding the cheese to the bowl. Mix the cheese last to help prevent it from melting into clumps.

Serve with spicy ranch, picante, and some jalapenos for extra spice if you like it hotter.

Meatless Taco Salad

Replace the hamburger with an extra can of beans and a cucumber. We season the beans with the taco mix in a separate bowl. The beans don’t absorb the seasoning all that well, so use as much of it as the beans will allow. You can also add some of the seasoning to a little Picante sauce and mix it with the beans.

Finally dice up the cucumber, mix everything together, and serve with Spicy Ranch, Picante, and jalapenos. Enjoy and share.

After taking the plunge and cutting my hair, it forced me to look at my current beauty products. My previous look had me reaching for smoothing aids, and now I needed something that would add texture and movement. I needed a product that would help control my straight and slightly coarse texture – a result of joining the over thirty five club.

My hairstylist raved about this awesome product, “O & M.” She loved how it worked for her various clientèles’ hair.

Being a bit of a product junkie, I said, “show me the goods.” She introduced me to Style Guru, a cream product that offers fabulous results. Depending on how much of the product you use, it can give a bit of texture or offer volume with drying.

The best part about the product is that it’s formulated with a native Australian Banksia Flowers, which are rich in amino acids, antioxidants A, C and E to soften the hair.

Original Mineral was developed out of the need to find products with fewer chemicals. The company offers a line of color and styling products with fewer chemicals and bottled in recycled packaging. You gotta love that!

I am hooked. The product has a light coconut scent, but it’s not overpowering.

O&M was the official hair sponsor for CZAR by Cesar Galnido’s and Angelo Galasso spring/summer 2012 New York Fashion Week shows.

Have you tried Original Mineral? Let me know in the comments.

If you’re like me, you’re old enough to look back about 20 years and judge how well you’ve made those years count. It doesn’t matter if you own a business or work for the man; work is work. I have learned that earning more is useless if you spend it all and generate excessive debt.

Most of us try so hard to win the battle that we forget to win the war. Considering that the experts say we need 12 times our annual salaries to retire, you are probably getting your ass kicked on both fronts: I know I am.

They say size doesn’t matter, and I am inclined to believe it’s true about paychecks and life also. It is what you’re able to do with it, or so the story goes.

We are all born with a “not enough” hole in our lives, and no matter how much you put in, it’s not enough. When I look around at the people in my circle, the happy ones are those that stop trying to fill their “not enough” holes. In short, they won the war and get to smile every day.

Coming around full-circle, if you have been working for a few years and still have a ton of debt with nothing saved, you’re getting your ass handed to you just like I am. Time to change…

There is a balance between living within your means and fitting into what is appropriate for your circle, and it only works without debt. That is the only way to move up reliably. If you make a million dollars and spend it all, you would be better off at the factory earning a pension and 401K.

Whatever you do, remember to win the war first. You can take risks when you have something that you can afford to have in harms way. Until then, strive to be healthy and debt free. You can’t be happy and desperate at the same time, so pay off your shit and enjoy your life.

* Some people will probably read into this as justification to take some form of bold, get out of debt scheme. I can tell you from multiple experiences that desperate actions do not work. It is an illusion. All it does is traumatize your family and relationships while leaving your finances worse.

According to Adam Broderick, a Clairol consultant, “women are time paupers who have everything but time.” I am sure all of us agree with that statement.

Lately, the chore of commuting and working longer hours has made me long for… more time. I am not going to lie…more sleep.

The thought of adding extra minutes of sleep motivated me to look at my schedule and find where I could add back to the deficit. After careful consideration, I decided to cut my beauty routine down. Literally.

My previous hairstyle took anywhere from thirty to forty minutes to blow out daily. The thought of spending all of that time drying my hair was driving me crazy, and my husband claimed it was causing hearing loss.

Off to the salon – I went armed with various pictures and design inspiration. I really wasn’t sure what I wanted. I took one look in the mirror and decided that I looked run down. That one emotional minute empowered me to say “cut it all off.” An hour later, I walked out with an edgy cut that made me feel years younger. A gal pushing forty with a haircut that makes her feel twenty…priceless.

Although I know most women want long hair, I was over the whole growing it out process. I think that there are people who need long hair and those of us who look better in short hair.

And we all hear that men love long hair…yada, yada.

Besides that, I believe in being an individual and wearing whatever makes YOU feel beautiful. You have to find a style that makes you feel confident and carefree.

If you are attached to your long hair, a pixie may not be for you.

The benefit of a Pixie
- Volume can be placed to maximize or minimize specific areas
- A great cut for someone with small facial features
- Less time blow drying or styling
- You will use less shampoo and conditioner

The cons of a Pixie
- I am not going to lie…It can be a bit if a shock the day after the initial cut
- Time consuming to grow out
- Requires frequent haircuts (every four weeks)
- A Pixie style is easy to maintain and says “I know what I want.”

Why does it seem that every time you find a makeup that you absolutely love, the company either changes the original formula or discontinues it? My hubby entertains the theory that they get you “hooked” on the product and then switch to cheaper ingredients to cut costs. He might be onto something…

I was shocked to find out that after being a loyal customer using Lancôme’s Teint Idole foundation for six years that they changed the original formulation from fourteen hour to twenty four hour wear. If you think that this sounds like a novel idea, it’s not. After scrolling through foundation reviews on their site, I found many other Lancôme customers share my exact sentiments. Only forty six percent of customers recommend the new foundation.

First of all, who happens to be wearing their foundation for twenty four hours? I admit that I like a long wearing foundation; however this new formula doesn’t have the same properties as the old version.

The original Teint Idole didn’t feel heavy, greasy, and lasted throughout my twelve hour shift at the hospital. I didn’t have any problems with excessive shine.

The new twenty four hour wear doesn’t go on smoothly and happens to appear very dry on my almost forty year old skin. It settled into my fine lines and appeared cakey. Not a good look.

If you have REALLY oily skin, you may fall in love with this new exchange. Sadly, I have not.

So, I did as any upset consumer would and emailed the company with my politically correct rant. What was the response? A generic automated email that stated the original product had been discontinued. Really?! I guess I expected more from Lancôme.

Why couldn’t they offer both foundations? This could potentially increase their customer base by offering two types of foundations to fit varying skin textures and needs. Right?

For now, I am on the hunt for a new foundation and I plan on offering up some reviews upon the way.

If you know of a wonderful foundation, please post a comment!

The picture (from Pinterest) says it all. As soon as you see it – “Oh, I have seen that style.” Enjoy.