For those of us who still love to sport a Pony Tail - here's a MUST HAVE

Click here to find EVOLUTION Hair Elastics

 

I would be lost without these! They're so AWESOME! You just grab your hair and place it around it ONE TIME and it shrinks up to the perfect size of your pony tail. You can move it around to adjust the tightness or style. They are reasonable, I found them at RITE-Aide for $3.99 for 6 of them. The colors are great. I sleep in mine, super comfortable. ABSOLUTELY NO SLIP! 

 

Downside: They pull when I'm taking them out, so I roll them off my pony tail. For those of you with little girls, GET THESE. If you have thin hair and your pony falls out, GET THESE. If you run or workout and your hair loosens up, GET THESE!

 

In love and excellent taste,

D for Diva

Straight hair today and curly tomorrow - do it easily with ONE TOOL!

Click here to read more about this great styling tool

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I adore this styling tool. Until recently I used to just blow dry with a round brush and hit the road. I had some highlights put in a few weeks ago and my overly dyed dark hair got a bit frizzy in spots due to the bleach, so I needed a flat iron. Off to Wally World on a Sunday no less....thank goodness it turned out to be completely worth it ~ I found the CONAIR YOU STYLE.

Light weight, heats up in 15 seconds - 15 SECONDS! Buy the time I spray my hair with heat resistant spray, the iron is good to go. I am going to love this at the beach this summer. Friday I wore my hair completely straight, Sunday I curled it all over for a dinner date and today I straightened the top and flipped the bottom up. Super easy to use, easy on the wrist and only one styling tool to pack on vacation! I am sold!

I found it for $35.99 on sale, the price point is in line for similar products. I like it a bunch - allows me to switch my style up half way through if the mood hits me or if my hair is having a mind of it's own that day.

And to think I had just started HATING to do my hair....

In love and excellent taste,
D for Diva

Physicians Formula Anti Aging Skin Care *NEW*

CLICK HERE to look 6 years younger in 4 weeks!!!

"LOOK 6 YEARS YOUNGER IN 4 WEEKS!" That's a pretty strong claim if you ask me. So, go ahead...ask me.  I have not been using this line for 4 weeks, but I have been using it for a few and I can tell you without a doubt I see a change in my skin. Firmer for sure, less discoloration, smoother, clearer - just prettier all together after just a few weeks.

I love Physicians Formula Youthful Wear foundation products, but found that the moisturizer I was using was too heavy with the moisturizing foundation. So, I bought the cleanser, moisturizer and skin tightening serum and I will tell you straight up, I may never change from this product line. Using the skin care in collaboration with the foundation and I am in love all over again.

Upside? The price point and the size of the product, not some mamby pamby 2 oz. bottle here. I use the moisturizer as directed and I only use one squirt - at this rate, I will have this bottle a few months. I enjoy the fragrance and the feel of the product. This is a good quality line, once you try it you will understand why I feel so strongly about it.

If you have tried the foundation and loved it - follow through with the whole system and watch your skin transform!

In love and excellent taste,
D for Diva

40+ and looking for a foundation to make you look younger? Look no further....

I know, I know....I have been touting different foundations for as long as most my friends can remember and I have tried them ALL. Powders, mineral, liquid mineral, 4 in 1 powder foundation, creamy, foundation petals, spray foundation - you name it. Finally, I have found the foundation I have decided is the VERY BEST!

A few weeks ago I grew tired of the mineral make up brush application that feels like it takes a life time to apply and then settles in the creases of my skin, so I opted to try a liquid from the drugstore. I settled on Loreal Visible Lift http://ageless-beauty.blogspot.com/2011/10/review-of-loreal-visible-lift-smooth.html and........HATED IT. Love the shade, and it applied easy enough. Give it 10 minutes it settled in every nook and cranny of my face and I hated the way it looked, over done, creppy and aging - blech. Also, by the end of the day it melted off my skin - did I say I hated it? Yes, that strongly.

Fast forward: Trip to the drugstore #2 for a new foundation, preferably liquid or cream, easy to apply and for aging skin. I walk right into Physicians Formula Youthful Wear foundation, available in 3 shades, pale, light and medium......risky, I usually like a med-tan. I decide to try the medium. The package states "Look 10 years younger instantly" and it comes with it's own applicator brush. Designed to melt into the skin and not sit on top or fall into the creases, etc. The old lady on the box is at least my age, and the pictures look convincing enough. I purchase $14.95, falls well below the average price range for age defying foundation.

I also grab the concealer (which is super cool, two types of concealer and a roller applicator) - the price $12.95, seemed high, but it is a two-fer. Because I am a product 'line' girl, meaning I don't mix different lines and expect them to work together perfectly ~ I purchased the finishing powder in medium $13.95, high priced compared to other compact powders of the same size. HOWEVER - This powder is amazing!

The directions state the 1st step is the concealer, I dotted some under my eyes, but decided that applying to imperfections is usually best after foundation application and I was right. The concealer is LIGHT, even in medium. I applied the stick under my eyes and used the cool roller applicator to spread it out - wahhlahhh and perfect application.

I squeezed the foundation onto my skin directly from the tube in dots all over my face, then used the handy brush to move it around and blend it in. I cannot say enough about the way this foundation looks on my face, doesnt settle into fine lines and wrinkles, wears all day and looks beautifully natural. Draw back? LIGHT, even in medium, this shade is LIGHT.

Followed up with the illuminating powder and was immediately impressed with the overall appearance of my skin. The lines that have been bugging me lately, and my eye is drawn to the minute I look in the mirror seemed much much less visible. I loved the outcome.

To counteract the LIGHT shade of medium which is a downfall, as I am naturally a medium shade and so are most of my friends, I purchased Physicians Formula Organic Bronzer and brushed it all over my face a little more on my cheeks, this seemed to help quite a bit to pick the shade up a bit.

I went to a party last night after a full day of working, applied some powder and mascara - the foundation I had applied in the morning held up all day and all night. I am very pleased the overall performance of the foundation line. If you are looking for an affordable anti aging line ~ Try this one. 

In love and exceptional taste,
D for Diva





















Look 10 years younger instantly

KENRA Smoothing Creme

Smoother, shinier, healthier hair "RIGHT HERE"

I purchased my second can of this today and forgot how much I love it. If you have frizzy (due to humidity or genetics) this is a great smoothing product. Lightweight, doesn't way hair down - doesn't flatten or change your hair velocity. It can be applied to damp or dry hair, I use it on damp - my hair gets an "icky" feeling if I add products to it once it is dry - could be the damage I do to it with the blow drying and round brushing, who knows.

I buy mine from Paul at First Edition Salon in Norwood, NC. I pay $15.00. I have found it online for about $21, without shipping. So, shop around for the best price. Mine lasted me about 4 months. I used it alot during high humidity days or days at the beach. On good days I dont need it, but every once in awhile I will have those hairs that want to stick straight up off my scalp when I just spent 30 minutes flat ironing it - I will use a few pumps and smooth out my scalp line.

I like it on curly days too, keeps my curls more CURLY less FRIZZY. They look like rounded curls not like I stuck my finger in a light socket. I like this product line a bunch, they smell great and work great. They can get pricey at high end boutiques - I am lucky to live in a small town and have a great stylist who isnt trying to get rich off the products in his salon - Thank you Paul!

In love and excellent taste,

D for Diva

Digestive tract issues? Ulcers? Bleeding Ulcers? Try this!

Click here for some serious relief from Ulcer pain.

I developed ulcers about 5 years ago. After years of combating neck pain and taking too many stomach deteriorating pain relievers, I found myself with bleeding ulcers. The pain is something that unless you have them too you will not understand or find compassion for, as I didn't - until I actually had them and felt it for myself.  Up to that point if someone starting going on and on about their ulcers, my eyes glazed over and I blocked out the whining and ran through my grocery list in my head until said 'complaining had halted' and we could get back to REAL problems.......then I woke up with ulcers and now I see ya'all glazing over and blocking out the rest of this post.

Good news! If you don't have an ulcer or ulcers you are lucky and dismissed from continuing to read the rest of this blog. If you are unfortunate enough to find yourself battling the ugly behavior of painful stomach ulcers. I have found something that REALLY WORKS!

DGL (deglycerrhizinated licorice) Yup, it's true. Licorice tablets. They taste like black licorice and hay mixed with some dirt and a bug or two. They are chewable, get the first two down and try to keep them down while you associate the taste with "WAHLAAHHHH" almost instant relief of the pain you have been experiencing in your stomach. Don't believe me? Well, for under $15 you can find out for yourself. 100 tablets for under $15, I took 2 every few hours while I was having an attack. Now I take 2 if I ever have to take a pain reliever, and I have had 2 car accidents and just got out of surgery yesterday - so I have been taking about 2 a day, and I am telling you - NO PAIN.

Bleeding ulcer pain causes mid back pain, it comes and goes as your stomach throbs in pain - usually brought on by diet, stress or medication. Sometimes we mistake ulcer pain for back pain, take more pain relievers causing more ulcer flare up and more back pain....and on and on and on.

In short, stop suffering. I have. After 5 years, and 3 upper GI's and tons of medication. I just take a nasty tasting chewable tablet and go on about my day - you can too.

In love and excellent taste,
D for Diva

Swansons FLAVOR BOOST packets

Click here to find out more



It's getting close to that "COOKING" time of year.  Fall is a good indicator of what is going on in my house, lots of home cooking. I love to make soups, stews, potted meats and anything that cooks slow and makes my house smell wonderful. I am a big fan of beef, chicken and vegetable stock. I am not a big fan of powdered stock, I find it gritty, the cubes are hard to dissolve and the flavor always seems too salty. I dont mind canned stock, in fact I always find myself buying 2 beef and 2 chicken just about every time I am at the store. I use them in place of water when making rice and steaming vegetables.

Swanson has come up with a new "Flavor Boost" concentrated stock. I really really like this product. I made Chicken Piccata the other night and used 2 full packets with 1.5 cups of water, the flavor is intense. I used 4 packets of beef and 3 cups water, one cup red wine to make beef stew the other night - DELISH!

I found them on sale $2.49 a box, 8 packets. Each packet makes 1 cup. I found the 4 cup can for $2.69 so I thought these to be a great deal and they are. They don't take up as much room, and I found I can dilute or strengthen the flavor by adding more or less water to my recipe. Super easy to store, and if I was traveling down to the beach and wanted to bring some along - they are no bigger than a Soy Sauce packet from the Asian restaurant.

If you thought about buying them, do it.

In love and excellent taste,
D for Diva