The Chronic Consumer

My skin generally looks terrible in the summer, what with all the excess oil and sweat that my body decides to produce. This usually leads to bad breakouts or at least clogged pores (which results in bumpy, uneven skin). Gross, I know.

But this summer has actually been pretty good so far, and I think it’s because of the new skin care regimen that I follow religiously. First, I cleanse only twice a day (washing excessively leads to other problems) with Purpose bar soap ($3.29). After that, I pat dry and follow with a toner. I’m still using my Paula’s Choice toner ($14.95) and am getting far better results from it than I experienced at first. I then give my face 5 minutes to absorb the toner before applying a benzoyl peroxide-based pimple cream ($9.99) on problem areas — which for me is my forehead and chin.

This might sound like a pretty basic regimen, but it’s actually working for me. I also use a Biore pore strip ($4.49) on my nose once a week, and I also exfoliate ($12.50) once or twice a week depending on how my skin looks and feels.

Yes, I’m spending a bit more on my skin than I usually do, but I know I’m nowhere near what other women shell out. I think I’m getting a bargain here!

I usually don’t get behind celebrity causes, but when I heard that Reese Witherspoon, as part of her duties as Avon’s Global Ambassador, was promoting this Women’s Empowerment Bracelet, I decided to lend my support.

According to a blurb on the official Avon website, the Empowerment Bracelet is “Avon’s first global charity product designed to save and improve women’s lives worldwide.” An additional paragraph notes:

Bracelet proceeds will be used to create a new Avon Empowerment Fund. The first $500,000 from bracelet sales will be matched by the Avon Foundation for a total donation of $1 million to UNIFEM, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, for projects that will empower women around the world.

I read somewhere else that part of the empowerment process includes providing help to female victims of domestic violence, which is something that I’m pretty passionate about. That sealed the deal and made it even easier for me to order a couple of bracelets to help support the cause.

The Avon Women’s Empowerment Bracelet is just a simple piece made of blue stretch cord. Each end of the cord is then looped around an end of a plastic silvertone infinity symbol. It’s available in two sizes (Adult Small and Adult Large).

I’ve been wearing my Women’s Empowerment Bracelet for a couple of days now and think it’s great! Sure, it’s just stretch cord and plastic, but I think it’s kind of cool — and it has even elicited a few questions from friends who noticed it on me. Plus, it was only $3, with 100% of the proceeds going to a worthy cause, so I can’t complain.

If you want to join this global movement and get a Women’s Empowerment Bracelet of your own, all you have to do is talk to your local Avon representative or visit the Avon website. I hope to see a lot of these blue bracelets on women everywhere I go!

I’ve been working out at a gym three times a week since the beginning of February. I do a mix of cardio and weight training, and have made slow but steady progress in that time. One problem I encountered, however, was getting blisters on my hands from lifting weights. Not only were these blisters unsightly, they were also painful and sometimes prevented me from completing my workouts the way I wanted to. That’s why I decided to buy a pair of Nike Mult-Purpose Women’s Fitness Gloves a couple weeks ago.

These Nike Fitness Gloves are designed to protect hands and keep them dry during workouts. They come with a padded palm, stitched flex grooves for comfort, and stretch fit for ease of movement. The gloves are made from Dri-FIT mesh fabric, which allows air to flow through them and cool your hands (and also allows for quicker drying).

I’ve been using these gloves during my workouts for the past two weeks, and I can definitely say that they’ve made a huge difference. I no longer get blisters, which means I can now comfortably proceed through my weight-lifting routine without constantly worrying about what’s happening to my hands. There’s just the right amount of padding in these gloves to allow for adequate protection without sacrificing anything in the way of grip, feel, or performance.

I’ve seen these gloves advertised for anywhere between $15-$18 in sporting goods stores and online. That’s a pretty good deal, if you ask me — especially since it means the end of weightlifting blisters!

Bear in mind that these Nike Multi-Purpose Fitness Gloves are meant to conform with your hand and have a tight fit. That’s a bit different than other types of gloves you might buy, so I just wanted to throw this tidbit out there.

Anyway, these gloves are highly recommended. Check them out!

I’ve been looking at a few different products that are supposed to help alleviate PMS symptoms. I suffer from some really bad periods, and while I won’t go into details here, suffice it to say that I dread my monthly visitor more than you can imagine.

Midol has never done much for me, but I’ve heard some good things about the benefits of using progesterone cream. Apparently, progesterone helps balance out the amount of estrogen in the body, thereby canceling out the negative effects of excess estrogen.

There’s really a lot of information to take in, and I don’t want to post anything misleading, so I recommend that you check this stuff out for yourself if you’re interested.

As for me, I’m willing to try anything at this point. Creams, pills… it doesn’t matter. As long as I get some relief from my PMS symptoms, I’m in!

One of my cousins is full-figured and has a hard time finding nice clothes to wear. She can’t buy anything off the rack at the mall because the stores there seem to think that everyone falls in between sizes 2 and 12. So she has to try to find stores that specialize in plus size clothing — but there aren’t too many of those in the area. And when she does find the right kind of store, she quickly discovers that the apparel they sell isn’t exactly trendy, making it even harder for her to dress the way she likes.

I told her that she needs to start shopping online for this stuff. I’m sure there are plenty of websites that cater to the full-figured crowd, and they’re bound to have a better selection than what she’s seeing locally. Once she finds a few websites with attractive plus size clothing, all she has to do is bookmark the pages so she can go back whenever she needs something new. Sounds simple, right?!

I’m still looking for a couple pairs of shoes to get me through the summer. Obviously, I want something that I can slip on and off easily, without having to fuss with straps, buckles, or laces. At the same time, however, I don’t want shoes that will go flying off my feet if I have to run a few steps to catch the subway or bus, so that’s another thing I have to consider.

Anyway, as I was browsing around today, I came across a site that sells discount Dansko clogs and found a pair that I really like. These shoes are great because they’re so versatile: not too casual, not too formal. I’d be able to wear them in lots of different situations, from shopping outings to dinner parties, which is exactly what I’m looking for in shoes.

These are going on my Wish List for now!

Even though I haven’t worked outside the home in more than three years, I like to keep a couple of nice business suits on hand just in case I need to meet with prospective clients for my freelancing biz or go on a job interview.

Anyway, as I was straightening out my closet this morning, I noticed my business suits for the first time in ages and decided to try them on. Imagine my horror when I realized that they no longer fit! I couldn’t get the pants to zip up all the way on either pair, and since the jackets are tailored, there’s no way to hide the fact that my pants aren’t fastened.

I guess I have two choices here. One, I can either go out and spend several hundred dollars on new business suits that I might or might not wear in the next year. Or two, I can crank up the intensity of my workouts, cut out all junk food, and buy some weight loss pills in an effort to slim down enough to fit back into my clothes.

Hmm, I’ll probably go with the second option for a few months to see if that helps.

I don’t know about you, but when I think of pearl jewelry, I immediately conjure up images of single- or double-stranded necklaces. I guess it’s because these are the pieces I most often see women wearing, so the association is firmly ingrained.

But yesterday as I was doing some window shopping at the mall, I noticed that there’s actually a pretty wide variety of pearl jewelry available to choose from. For example, I saw a gorgeous bracelet made from Tahitian pearls, as well as a matching pair of earrings, assorted rings, and lots of pendants.

Call me clueless, but I really had no idea that pearls could be worn in all these different ways. What can I say, I’m not a jewelry person!

If TV shows like Sex and the City are to be believed, every woman out there must have a passion for shoes. Wrong! I own fewer than five pairs of shoes at any given time, and I usually don’t care what brand they are. Admittedly, I bought leather Prada loafers on two different occasions, but that was back when I was working in an office job and needed to look presentable.

I need a new pair of shoes now, so I was checking some out this morning. Did you know that Prada makes sneakers?? I know this probably isn’t a new thing, but I’ve never really seen them before. I saw them on Amazon.com of all places, and was shocked to see that they’re on sale for $165.89 (down from a list price of $255.22).

First of all, who would pay that much for a pair of sneakers? I know from watching Entourage that certain brands of “kicks” by famous artists can go for several hundred dollars, but Prada certainly isn’t one of those sought after names. I think these are aimed at the real OC housewives or whatever, because I don’t know who else would want to wear them.

Take a look. Would you pay $165 for these things? I wouldn’t!

I’ve never followed much of a “skincare regimen” before. I just cleanse with Purpose soap from Johnson & Johnson, moisturize with Neutrogena, and use a 2.5% benzoyl peroxide acne treatment whenever necessary.

But now that I’m 34 and am already starting to see telltale signs of aging, I’ve been trying to use better skincare products to help take care of my face. Towards that end, I recently purchased a 6oz. bottle of Skin Recovery Toner from Paula’s Choice.

Paula’s Choice is a line of skincare products that has a reputation for being gentle and non-irritating, making them very popular among acne sufferers. In fact, I first heard about Paula’s Choice from a skincare message forum where people with acne reported good results after using these products.

Anyway, the Skin Recovery Toner that I purchased says on the bottle that it’s for “normal to very dry skin” — which is definitely me during the winter months when I used this. My skin totally dries out in the winter and becomes very flaky even though I moisturize religiously, so I was looking for something extra to help with the problem.

This is the product description from the Paula’s Choice store website:

Discover silky-smooth, radiant skin with this sophisticated union of skin-fortifying antioxidants, essential lipids, and hydrating water-binding agents.

• Revives skin’s intercellular matrix to help eliminate dry skin
• Anti-inflammatories calm reddened or sensitive areas
• 100% fragrance- and colorant-free.

That sounded great to me, and I was especially interested in the first two bullet points about eliminating dry skin and calming reddened, sensitive areas.

There were no recommendations on the bottle as far as how often to use the product, so I decided to apply it once daily after my morning wash. I have to admit that the toner feels very refreshing as it’s being put on. It’s not harsh and stinging like astringents, but rather smooth and silky (as the description says).

After two months of regular use, I actually noticed significant improvements in my skin. When I didn’t use the toner, I was still as dry and flaky as ever, but when I did use the product, the dryness went away almost immediately, and the toner also lessened the redness/irritation on my face.

I paid $14.95 for a 6oz. bottle of Paula’s Choice Skin Recovery Toner, which I think is a reasonable price, all things considered. I like the way this product works and will definitely be buying it again!