We live in a world fixated with lists and numbers. We define the health of our relationships by the answer keys of a list of questions.  We demarcate our business ad life by the breadth of our twitter lists and describe the richness of our lives centered on sometimes unattainable bucket lists.  Despite this trend being somewhat vexatious to the soul, I do appreciate the delicate balance of sound advice and the creation of helpful guidelines. Alas, I have created a list of beauty secrets and skin care tips – some scientific, and some just for and from the soul…

1) Smile Often. Smile With Purpose. Smile Randomly.

The reactions you receive will make you smile even more. Frown lines are the wrinkles that age us.

2) Floss & Read

Your brain is already wrinkled and your teeth will never wrinkle.   Reading = Beautiful Mind.  Floss = Beautiful Smile.

3) Use an Eye Cream

Your eyes are the windows to your soul.  Your eyes speak volumes of who you are and who you will become.   Your beauty regimen should never be without an eye cream, serum or combination of both.

4) Exude Confidence

Even if you are flagging into a downward spiral, always find your inner confidence and harness it.  Nothing is more beautiful than a woman that is confident and strong even if she finds herself flanked by unwanted pounds or unwanted company.  You are always strong no matter what surrounds you!

5) Inside – Out | Outside – In

What you put into your body will reflect on the outside.  What you allow to permeate your mind will define your spirit.  What you expose your body to will be the framework for your internal health and wellness.

6) Wash Your Face at Night, Twice

During the day we are exposed to harmful, unsolicited pollutants. We add product to our faces thus turning our day look into our night look. No matter how exhausted we are after an arduous, exhausting day, wash once to clean and twice to purify. 

7)  Wear Sunscreen ALL DAY, ALL YEAR

Sun damage is not mutually exclusive to summertime, heat or an overwhelming amount of sunshine.  To this day, I am fighting the many reckless years of trying to achieve the perfect Southern California Ban de Soleil look. Try a foundation with sunscreen in it like suntegrity. and I always mix it with a small amount of rose geranium face moisturizer before applying.

8) Breathe

Use the wonders of essential oils to create needed balance in life.  Breathe deep and with purpose.  Take the time to see the beauty in everything.  Desiderata by Max Erhmann, whom encapsulates this thought perfectly, “ With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.”

9) Moisturize Your Hands, Elbows & Knees

We often overlook them with our beauty regimes.  We tend to focus on our face and forget our neck and décolletage. And our hands, elbows and knees are incessantly maltreated.  They too need to be pampered.

10) Drink Water

As the largest organ, skin needs to drink in the moisture offered by water from the inside out.  Skin care should NEVER have water in its ingredients list.  It dilutes the efficacy and emboldens the chance for bacterial contamination.  HollyBeth Organics NEVER adds water to any product. I encourage you to review closely the ingredient deck of any skin care product.  You will be shocked to see that water is sometimes the first ingredient (and don’t forget that the ingredients are listed from largest quantity to smallest.)

My grandmother and great grandmother lived well into their 90’s and both were women that celebrated rugged individualism and took very different approaches to beauty.  Celebrate your own beauty, your own approach and your own 10 skin care tips.