Completely off topic but can someone tell me

[Andrea Barnett Budin]

Susan,

Go for it! It is essential to your self-image, which is essential to your attitude, your joy level and SPIRIT. The worse I look, the lousier I feel...

I am just like Becky. I had black hair, as my Father. Then I had silver white and black. Black dye looks hideously fake, so I went for an eggplanty rich brown. I've since added some blond highlights. (I even had a few yrs of RED, for fun.) After being bald for the second time, I was in need of cheering myself up!

Makeup is necessary to create the ME I wish to be. Blush, mascara, shadow and lip gloss are the bare essentials. For me, foundation is required. I'm fussy about having an even tone. And I like to add liner, to dramatize my eyes.

Since second round of chemo I have lost my hair line (like a balding older man, receding and gross), I have NO eyebrows and few of my once thick lashes. I work it. I work w/what I have. Found out how to create eyebrows. Use mascara base to amplify what's there. People say I look great (I wonder do they mean for a 4th stage bc person?)... I feel great. I like who I see in the mirror, once I get going -- w/props. Aunt Annie used to call it Powder and paint. Whatever. Like smoke and mirrors, I create an illusion.

But you must start with proper skin care! Or no makeup is going to make you look healthy and glowy. I gently exfoliate away the dead, dry skin cells daily. I rinse thoroughly, making a flood around the sink. (I Waterpik and Sonocare my teeth daily. My dentist gives me a PLATINUM star when I go for my ev 4 mnth cleaning.) I use a toner to help replenish my PH level after cleansing, and further remove dead, dry cells that leave your skin looking dull. And then I moisturize! Day and night.

I use Curel on my body, starting at my feet and working my way up to my throat, including hands of course -- morning and night. So my smile is shiny white. And my skin is dewy vs flaky and wrinkly! I use a 5X magnification mirror to see w/o my glasses and I do see some creases, but people often tell me I have good skin.

I do all this when I am exhausted, when I don't feel like it, when I'm sick, no matter what. It is part of what I deem essential to my hygiene and my mental health.

Treat yourself well, Susan. Pamper yourself. I am a shower girl, but some like to soak in a hot tub w/aromatic scents. Now, more than ever, you deserve to be fussed over. The results are worth the trouble. I am 63 and feel 33. Well, some days I feel like I'm 105, but those days are fewer than the good ones.

Now I admit that the Godzilla that greets me first thing is a pathetic mess who needs some serious attention. So I get to work, right off. People tell me, You always look good. I think, Well, I always try... I give it my best shot. Do that with every thing in your life. YOU DESERVE TO SHINE!
Andi