GRANNIES, GRANNIES, GRANNIES

Today's entry is a call for simplicity and in honor of the old beauty practices of the woman who proceeded me. No, not Sophia, Marilyn or Betty but my very own GRANNIES ! I am dedicating this blog as well as the call to simplicity to my Grannies. These woman are 86 and 90 each looking like they could be in their 60's. They grew up in the face of depression, joining a mans workforce, probably not wearing pants until they were 40 and calling jeans dungarees. They used lipstick as “rouge” Vaseline as mascara and aloe for everything. Olive oil was used for and is the only reason their hands are so soft and they are tough and important forces in my life. Sure they have gray helmets for hair and still smack me when I am sassy, yes one of them collects scary dolls and puts bags on their heads to preserve them. There is nothing more intriguing then looking at pictures of them from the past, they way they held each other and their babies. The way they wore their aprons and their heads up high with dignity. They were the woman behind the men and I have always noticed them.

Someone told me that we are in a recession. OK every newspaper, reporter parent and coworker as well as my finances have told me that we are in a recession. I thought that this would be a great time to explore the ways that glamorous woman from yesteryear dealt with cash shortages and stressful situations while still looking put together and pretty as punch.

Woman are still buying overpriced and limited use products because they make us feel better for the moment. Buying a $18.00 product is not going to break the bank as a larger ticket item might but it gives us the “spoil fix” that we need from time to time. Many of these products eventually sit in drawers and collect dust, becoming caked separated pieces of colorful clutter. Many of these products do not live up to their claims or our hopes when we first see those glorious packaging masterpieces.
I am guilty! I am a sucker for a new product, even when my right brain has analyzed its claims and very well knows that a foundation can not make me appear like a magazine add and that no mascara will ever make me look as doe eyed as having fake lashes on does. Only fake eyelashes look like fake eyelashes. DER.
I would never ask my readers to do what I am not willing to do myself. So I will take the same simplified beauty challenge that I will urge you to take. I will use homemade products as often as I can in place of buying new ones.

Below is a list of easy products that are found in most homes or are natural and can be inexpensively bought for this challenge and what to do with them.
-Milk for smooth skin in bath or on face, it brings down swelling and blistering too for hair iron or waxing burns
-Olive oil as makeup remover and skin softener, straight or in bath water
-Vaseline as a skin protector and lip smoother. Also, use it if you do not have mascara. My students use this to make their faces slick before fights too,lol.
-Epson salt mixed with essential oils for a kicken bath.
-Oatmeal soaks for soft skin
-Toothpaste for blemishes
-Cucumbers for puffy eyes
-Grated raw potato inside cheesecloth placed on under eye dark circles for 20 minutes
-Witch Hazel for deodorant and astringent
-Aloe for everything
-Mashed banana as a wrinkle treatment
-Beeswax grated and melted with coconut oil for lip gloss. Add cocoa butter, vitamin E mashed berries or vanilla extract for pizzazz.
Try and send me your own. Ask the glamorous lady in your life what their home secret is.