Fear of a Female Planet

Since some people seemed interested, here are four reviews of some products I've already tried...

1. Olay Regenerist Thermal Mini Peel:

You have to read the labels carefully if you are actually looking for specific ingredients. Just saying "anti-aging" or "anti-wrinkle" doesn't mean much. I found this when looking for a cleanser with Glycolic Acid at the pharmacy and this was the only one that contained it, as far as I could tell. I actually liked it quite a bit, but didn't feel like it really came as part of a whole regimen, so I'm trying some other things in the meantime. It feels warm on the face, exfoliates, and definitely leaves your skin feeling smooth.

2. Alpha Hydrox:

This is a very cheap supermarket brand that contains some good ingredients, but I was just "meh." The cleanser didn't leave my face feeling any different and the moisturizers was quite harsh (it stung near my hairline) and I don't have sensitive skin even.

3. Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Eye Cream:

An affordable supermarket brand and I felt like it had quick initial results that then leveled off. A bit strong, so not for sensitive skin. It was the only supermarket eye cream I could find with retinol, so maybe the initial results followed by tapering off was just my skin experiencing retinol for the first time.

4. Sephora Age Defy Eye Cream:

This didn't appear to do anything, confirming that, for me at least, I should stick with an eye cream with retinol.

Next paycheck will be a new eye cream, as my Neutrogena one is just about out (that little tube does last a long time). I will probably try a Peter Thomas Roth one to go with my current regimen, but am still researching.


As always, your mileage/skin may vary...

"Curvy" can mean a lot of different things to different people. To me it means that my body literally has curves: a rear end that isn't flat, hips, a bust, and a waist that is thinner and therefore accentuates these things. Sometimes I envy the skinny girls whose thighs don't seem to touch or the girls with perky little B cups who can go without a bra, but overall I'm happy with my curves and can tell they are attractive to other people.

As far as accentuating curves, this outfit probably does it the most, being that it is the tightest and shortest that I have. Fashion magazines always tell curvy girls to accentuate their curves with wrap dresses - these people clearly don't have curves, because I have found exactly one wrap dress in my life that doesn't make it look like my boobs are in a sling.

And this is it:



They also tell you to wear v-necks. I don't know about you, but I rarely wear a v-neck when I will be working in an office. This weekend I heard about a case of a woman who was allegedly fired for being too hot - in particular, her turtlenecks were distracting. First of all, it just goes to show that if you are curvy, just wearing fitted clothing can be flattering. Secondly, society blames women for attracting too much attention by simply wearing clothing that fits. Little Emily and I had a similar discussion about how her employer (a family owned greenhouse) tried to suggest that her company t-shirt didn't fit. Emily is a skinny girl with DD's. The shirt fit her fine, anything else would have looked like a sack on her - she was not about to wear something baggy just because it stretched a little over her chest.

Today's outfit:


Dress: American Apparel
Boots: Ariat from The Shoe Box
Necklace: Three strands of amber, bought at Wiscon two years ago
Ring: Art Gecko
Earrings: Amber double drop, unsure of where I acquired them (I buy a lot of amber)
Watch: Toyko Bay

This is one of my favorite summer outfits - perfect for sitting on the Terrace and soaking up the sun. I used to have some nice leather sandals that I wore with it, but they fell apart walking home in a rain storm last year. Now I either wear flip flops, black heels, or my boots - depending on the situation. I bought these boots after Justin and I broke up - as many of you have heard: "There's nothing like a new pair of shoes to ease a breakup because, unlike men, you never get sick of looking down at them and have no problem telling them you love them." Of course, now Nick gets scared anytime I go shoe shopping :)

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Reflections:

1. I realized that in general I already dress to accentuate the positives rather than hide the negatives - these were all outfits I wear all the time. I used to hide my figure more, especially with clothes that were too baggy. Losing weight after the divorce helped me get excited about clothing again and when I realized the weight was staying off my wardrobe really transformed. Now I don't buy things a little too big to hide under or grow into and I'm not afraid of short skirts, tight clothing, or very feminine things.

2. I realized that, to me, accentuating my legs means short skirts and heels. This isn't necessarily appropriate for all situations (work, teaching, everyday) and I'm interested in figuring out what would accentuate my legs without being too "fun." Certainly, any clothing that fits is good and, being petite, I have to almost always get my pants hemmed. I have also gotten used to wearing heels with pants, which makes my legs look longer. Otherwise, I'm not sure, and still thinking about it...

3. I realized that I have no interest in dying my hair again. I liked it better when there was more natural variation and gray in it.

4. I realized I do a lot more skin care than I thought I did. Perhaps it's because I like any sort of pampering in the bathroom - any excuse to just chill out for a while, like putting a face mask on and reading a magazine for ten minutes, sounds good to me. On the other hand, my skin is one of the only things that makes me feel my age (stupid dark spot). I guess if that's the only thing that makes me feel my age, I should count myself lucky though. And I do love my freckles :)

5. Again and again it comes down to wearing things that fit.

TAG, you're it!