Great Products for Winter Skin

Scalisi Skincare has a great product, Cleanser and Exfoliator. Living in New England wreaks havoc on your skin..dry cold air outside, dry hot air inside. Dry, dry , dry! My skin is dry, tight, itchy...I cannot slather enough lotion on it. So, I love a cleanser that exfoliates, gets that dry skin off and allows my moisturizer to absorb as it should.
Smart, Savvy and Simple. Scalisi has done the homework so you don't have to. Advanced Technology that feels like silk; you will look forward to using it every day. This cleanser and exfoliator gently removes dull surface cells while hydrating the skin with time-released vitamin A, C, and E. Helps to revitalize, protect and maintain your skin.
I use this every morning in the shower, love applying moisturizer after. My skin looks polished and youthful. It is amazing how much dry skin ages you! Visit scalisiskincare.com and take a look at all their products.

Another great winter skin product comes from Miracle Skin Transformer, one of my favorite skincare companies. It is Miracle Balm and it is for anywhere on your body that you need help with dry skin. It has an endless number of uses such as conditioning lips, hydrating skin, and illuminating your complexion.It contains over 30 moisturizers and emollients like Manuka Honey, Licorice Root Extract, Tamanu Oil, Evening Primrose, and Blue Mountain Sage Oil and all enhance the skin's own natural repair process and soothe environmental issues.
I had some cracks on my finger tips and boy do those tiny things hurt! I gave this balm a tough test and it passed with straight A's..within a couple of days I had great improvement. I am also using it on a dry rough patch on my cheek..same thing after a couple of days, much better skin texture. Highly recommend.
Go to miracleskintransformer.com to check out all their great products.

Flings by Justin Taylor

Another great book of short stories from Harper Collins. This one is from Justin Taylor, author of The Gospel of Anarchy and Everything Here is the Best Thing Ever. As I have said before, I enjoy short stories. I have always thought that they are for thinkers..each story full of questions and clues and most leave you to your own conclusions....I like that. Taylor's stories are no exception and a very enjoyable read. When I first saw the title I thought maybe these would be tales about the romantic type of flings..but what I decided after reading them was that they are stories about what life flings at us..and how we deal.
I was pleasantly surprised that two of the stories were connected, gave another view of the same story. A circle of college friends, each in romantic relationships, try to stay close and it works for a time. Then Scott leaves Ellen, takes off for California. Danny the writer, involved with Rachel, gets pissed off at Scott. He ends up with Ellen, having a child and living in Tokyo. Rachel ends up divorced from a man named Rowan and goes to Japan to visit.. Scott? He ends up with his own short story:) All dealing wit what life flings at them.
Great book, recommend it!

This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett

A fellow reader suggested I read Ann Patchett..and the next thing I know I have her newest book in my hand. It is a book of short stories and essays. As I started from the first chapter , I wondered about the title. I didn't see an immediate connection, but kept going. The beauty for me with a book of stories is that I can be reading a dense novel and then take small breaks with another story. It doesn't need my undivided attention, just short bursts when I need to get my mind on something else. It is always good to have a short story handy.
Patchett is a good writer, she draws you in with her expression of human emotion. She could be you or the woman next door. I particularly enjoyed the story of the Winnebago. Doing research for a magazine article on the RV lifestyle, she takes off for Yellowstone with the most unlikely passenger- her estranged husband, who she hadn't been speaking to-as they travel, you can see traces of the old marriage and some sparks of new interest. A new love of RV life and a re-newed love with a good man. Once you read all the stories, you see the thread that weaves all together.
Now I am passing on the fellow reader suggestion..read Ann Pachett. Harper Collins/publisher.

The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt

Ken Burns' produced a great PBS documentary on the Roosevelt family. I watched the multi-part doc with great interest. I love strong women, there is so much to be learned from them. So when I saw that Harper Collins was re-releasing Eleanor's autobiography , I took the opportunity to read it.
What an inspiring story. As a young girl, Eleanor was quite shy and had huge problems with esteem and confidence. She lost both her parents while she was still so young, and being bounced from relative to relative...boarding school is where she finally met a teacher that took an interest and Eleanor starting coming out of her shell.
Very interesting that she was a niece to President Teddy Roosevelt, and ended up marrying Franklin Roosevelt a 5th cousin. She bore seven children, with one baby dying as an infant. She spent most of her adult life relying on her mother in law for help with the children ( it seemed as though Franklin's mother raised the children) and living life as her mother in law saw fit, really.  Only when Franklin became involved in politics did Eleanor seem to get interested in a life of her own.
Her achievements were many. She was involved in civil rights, women's rights, under privileged children's rights, the war efforts...she also became the legs of her husband when he contracted infantile paralysis.  A great woman, long after Franklin's death she became involved in so many global projects, including the United Nations, appointed by President Harry Truman and appointed  to the Commission on the Status of Women by President John Kennedy. Inspiring.
Written in her own words, her own slant on history ( of which she became a great part) was a real view into the world of women in that time.
After I read the book and reflected on it, I was very struck by the fact that her children seemed to take a back seat in her life. Her mother in law raised them , and they were sent off to boarding schools at young ages. Now, some of this was what was expected of the wealthy..somewhat similar to the aristocracy of England. There were nannies and nurses and sending them off to live at school..I guess I was just taken aback  by how little time she spent with her children. As I said, this is all in her own words, and she wrote quite honestly.
Well worth the read, grab yourself this compilation of her three volume autobiography, great winter read.

Le Mieux's Essence Toner

I am a big fan of toners. If you check out my posts, you will see that I have reviewed at least one or two others.  I am also a fan of Le Mieux products, and their new Essence Toner. I have used witch hazel for years. When I get out of the shower, I will always take a face pad of witch hazel over my face to get rid of any soap or shampoo/conditioner that has ended up on my skin. It tightens my pores and feels cooling. In summer, I leave it in the refrigerator..it's a great pick me up. Witch hazel is PH balanced and I always appreciated that it was not drying..but.. it really didn't offer my skin anything else in the way of nutrients or anti-aging benefits. Le Mieux 's Essence Toner offers so much more. Provides hydration, soothes irritation, minimizes fine lines and wrinkles, improves firmness and elasticity and brightens up the skin.  It is full of fruit and berry extracts and all important hyaluronic acid, tea extracts and more. Love it and it now sits on the shelf right outside my shower and in the summer will be in the fridge beside the lemonade:)
Available at estheticians and at www.myskincarebox.com