In Your Eyes

Sunday, May 17, 2009

I'm always asking my husband how old I look, and he asks me the same question. I just turned 41 and he's still 40 - the lucky sod. Why are we so worried that we look "old"?

Yesterday, I went to my husband's grade school's Country Fair and met up with some of his former classmates, a few were women and I find myself looking at them and comparing myself to them. I also compare myself to the women I work with...crazy, I know.

I'm sure my issues are the same as other women's:

Frown line -
The thing I mostly compare myself to others (men included) is the frown line between my eyes that I've had since I was about 37, that I noticed anyway. However, I think it's gotten less noticeable since I started my new job. While I'm busier, it's work that I actually like to do and that makes a huge difference. I've been using a variety of products there including Doctor Burt's Res-Q Ointment.

Actually, I use this all over my face and neck. It says it's for the following:

• Bumps


• Bruises


• Burns


• Stings and Scrapes

It has some interesting ingredients, too: Sweet almond oil, olive oil, beeswax, cocoa butter, wheat germ oil, lavender oil, vitamin E and comfrey root extract. It has a strong fragrance and can also clear your sinuses!

Can't see getting botox, but Avon's ANEW CLINICAL Derma-Full X3 Facial Filling Serum looks interesting, but it's $54 and seems a bit high for my budget at the moment.

Eye lines -
While I pretty much use the Doctor Burt's ointment all over, I also use Vickery & Clarke Ultra Rich Eye Cream from CVS. My eye "crinkle" lines are much better than they used to be, but the one I worry about the most (thus increasing my frown line) is one that shows up in the morning - a sort of deep line that angles from the outside of my eye toward my nose. It drives me crazy. I put the V&C cream on and by the time I get to work, it's mostly gone. But still.

I've also taken to putting Blistex, yes, Blistex or even Carmex in this area. If it works for chapped lips, why not here, too? It' a lot less expensive!

Cleavage lines -
This is another spot that's driving me crazy at the moment. When I wake up in the morning and have been sleeping on my side, I notice very deep lines coming out of my decolletage. This may sound funny, but I've been putting a sock between my breasts to stop the lines from gathering. The biggest problem is that the sock moves during the night.

However, I just ordered the Intima Breast Pillow. I can't wait to try it!! There are straps that slip around my arms and the pillow goes in between my boobs and keeps them apart. There are a lot of great reviews from all kinds of women. It's nice to know I'm not the only one thinking about this. (update 2014: I barely used this. The pillow is HUGE. Nearly impossible to sleep with and it has straps that go around the arms too uncomfortable to use. I don't worry about this as much now that I've lost weight, but just last night I used a pocket/purse-sized Kleenex packet and it was the perfect size, but not sure how it will stay in place.)

I've also been much more conscious about my neck and cleavage lines.

Other places that are getting more creased are my elbows, knees, where my legs meet my torso and my veiny feet and hands - so pretty much every other part of my body!! I use some Cetaphil, a great all-purpose product to clean my face.

Sean looks at me and says that I look 33, but that's in dimmer light. The only part of hims that looks a little older is a few lines around his eyes from going to bed too late and a few more gray hairs.

I've been trying to do a much better job taking care of my skin for the past couple years. It's never too early to start!!

The biggest thing NOT to do is compare yourself to others.

Love and kisses,

Makeupista