Lighten Up Already! It's Summer

Wow, don't we get into a rut easily with our make up and beauty routines? So often when I'm at work I see women dressed in gorgeous sun dresses and light, strappy sandals - and then when you look up from the cute outfits to the makeup, Yikes! The amount of makeup these women are wearing! You'd think they were going to their husbands' company Christmas party! Layer upon layer of primer, concealer, foundation, powder, bronzer, blush, 4 or 5 eyeshadows, 25 coats of mascara, lipliner, lipstick, lipgloss...

...don't get me wrong. I'm the QUEEN of makeup! It's been my industry for 30 years (yes, I started when I was 8). I love every step of makeup application! And I REALLY, REALLY love those skin care lines that consist of 10 or 12 steps: Daytime cleanser, night time cleanser, daytime toner, night time toner, day cream, night cream, day eye cream, night eye cream, Day serum, night serum. Gott a love all the pretty bottles! It's almost like buying fine jewelry - at least it's almost as expensive!

Let's try to develop a new Summertime habit! Just for fun! Just to be fresh and bold and unconventional! Just to be different and rebellious! Let's try this.

FIrst of all, wash your face with a bar of soap! WHAAAAaa???? Soap? Yes. Dove for about $1.89. Amore Pacific for about $30. Sisley for about $50 - I'm estimating the prices, but I want to illustrate to you that there are BARS OF SOAP FOR EVERY LEVEL OF PRODUCT SNOB!! It's fresh and clean feeling! You'll love the simplicity of it!!!

Next, unless you're using a special toner that is targeted for break outs or some other specific skin concern, SKIP IT!

Then, assess how oily you are. Pretty darn oily? Check out a serum. Make it oil-free. If you're pretty darn oily, that serum might be all you need!! Trish McEvoy's Beauty Booster Serum costs $125 and will last you all Summer! Oily people like me will not need a moisturizer over it even though it feels as light as water!

If you are dry and need a little more moisture, keep it light weight! Use a little more of a light weight product, rather than going with something heavy. The humidity level this time of year will keep you reasonably well hydrated!

SUNSCREEN! Don't leave home without it! Lots of companies make Sunscreen that is mixed in with your moisturizer! Some companies, like Laura Mercier and Chanel and Khiel's make wonderful sunscreens that are not oily at all and feel like exactly NOTHING on your skin. INVEST! It's worth it.

Then check out one of those cool mineral powders like the original one that everyone tries to copy and can't: Bare Minerals. Yes, it's messy, yes, you need to buy a brush to use it, stop whining. Go get your color. They have TONS to choose from. You will get all the coverage you need and your face will feel naked! NAKED and FRESH in the Summer!! FABULOUS!! If you really can't stand the thought of a loose mineral powder, Trish McEvoy makes a nice pressed one. Not great coverage, but light and in great colors.

If powder doesn't do it for you, get a lightweight tinted moisturizer. Clarins is FABULOUS. Lancome has one, too. Chanel does also. Again, a product for every price point!

Then, BRONZER! Use it as eyeshadow! WHAT????? Yes! Use it as eyeshadow! Use it as BLUSH! Use it to fake a tan because of course, you're tanning your body and NOT your face. Use your bronzer to catch up!

Mascara! One or two coats! Get one of those Lash Growth products. NeuLash works like a dream, but can be a little stingy. Trish McEvoy works well, too. Latisse works great if you are willing to risk the side effects. Best price point: Trish at $125. for a 4 to 6 month supply. In a few weeks your lashes will grow and you can go with out mascara altogether!

And last but not least: SKIP THE LIPSTICK. Put it in the fridge till Fall! Break out the gloss. Sheer, shiny or full coverage it doesn't matter. Just stay away from the super crazy drying "all day" ones. Really......how long do you need it to stay on anyway??? It takes exactly 2 seconds to reapply your lip gloss!! And Gloss will fade much more gently that lipstick will. With lipstick you can end up with that pretty Lucille Ball over the lip line after you eat. Gloss will never let you down like that!

START NOW!! START FRESH!! LIGHTEN UP!! Pare down your makeup bag and remember this:

If you're afraid to let your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife see you with out makeup, you're wearing WAAAaaaay too much!!!

LIGHTEN UP, GLAM GIRL!!

Let's Discuss Belize....

Belize is a former British Colony located in Central America. It's a wonderful place, rich in culture and activity - where the native language is English! I think there's more English spoken in Belize than there is here in Texas. (Sad)

Belize was listed as one of Islands Magazine's 10 best Islands to call home! They call it an "affordable paradise in the Caribbean." I like that. Paradise and Affordable, all in the same sentence!. Here are a few other things I love about Belize:
Ambergris Caye has a population of about 15,000. 12% are Expatriates. It's easy to get around - by golf cart! It's easy to buy a home. It's easy to get there - a 2 hour flight from Dallas or a 2 hour flight from Miami, then a 15 minute plane ride or 1.5 hour boat ride from Belize City to Ambergris Caye!

My husband and I read about Belize in Islands Magazine at just about the time we decided we wanted to purchase a home outside of the country. The original plan was to find a place for vacations and possibly to retire to. Once we traveled to Belize, we just fell in love with the people. The native Belizians as well as the other Expats, and we knew that this would be where we want to retire. But not at age 65. We want to retire NOW.

We found a beautiful little resort called Reef Villages and stayed there the first couple of times we were there. We soon found out that the developer of Reef Villages was also putting together a second development called "South Beach Belize." This was to be modeled after South Beach, Miami, Florida - another one of our favorite places. One of the first things we did was put a down payment on South Beach Belize.

We continued staying at Reef Villages, since South Beach wasn't started yet - "Hey! I got some swamp land to sell ya!" But when we realized that South Beach, although definitely in the works, was not going to be ready to live in for YEARS, we bought a beautiful little villa at Reef Villages. Not nearly as fabulous as the story of South Beach Belize, but IT EXISTS! It's BUILT and people actually live there. Very cool people live there. I thought originally that this would be a temporary place for us until South Beach is built, then we could sell our Villa and relocate to South Beach Belize. But now I'm not so sure! I fell in love with our little 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house. I had them paint it white, it has a thatched roof over the front porch with runs the entire front of the house and is on the lagoon. I mean really on the lagoon - as in, water under the front porch! I LOVE IT! I think my husband Robert still envisions us living a glamorous life in South Beach Belize, but I'm perfectly content on the North end of the island. Maybe some day we'll make that move, but if it never happens, I'm happy with that.

We are a short golf cart ride from downtown San Pedro - wonderful restaurants, bars, night life and shopping. Well, I'll admit, the shopping isn't that great. In fact, unless you want to take home a T-Shirt or shot glass, you'll be hard pressed to find any souveniers to take back with you. But the more time I spend there, the more niceness I find! For example, there's a wonderful Wine store that has beautiful bottles of wine - most that you've heard of! There's another place where the owner of the shop will custom sew covers and cushions for your patio furniture. And another place where a local family makes and paints outdoor furniture with bright, tropical colors that will look just perfect in and around a little white villa!

We've owned our Villa for just over a year now and have been there several times. Robert has been there more often that I have since he's furloughed and has a lot of time on his hands. I am still trying to string 3 or 4 days off in a row so that I can get there, relax a bit and not feel completely rushed during a short vacation. If I could afford to quit my job and move there permanently, believe me, I'd do it TODAY.

Robert and I have a solid 5 year plan in place, but everything I do, every day is to try to push that plan up! I'm even getting a Massage Therapy license so I can move to Belize, put up a little Cabana and do pool-side massages for the tourists. THAT sounds like heaven to me. How about you? We've started taking things to Belize with us when we go - little things we can live without in Texas, like extra clothes, our Bose Radio, CDs DVDs, small decorative things. We purchased this house fully furnished, so I haven't put much effort into decorating it in my own style. I want to save that for when I'm actually living there. We do rent it out occasionally and allow our friends/relatives to stay, so I want to hold off on changing anything until WE'RE the primary residents!

Wine motif? Tropical Blue theme? I really can't decide, and it's good that I really don't have to decide right now. For now, I just love every second of what's in Belize just the way it is. We fly in, taking pictures from the Tropic Air flight like tourists. We walk across the street from the airport and get a Belikin Beer from the Lime Bar the minute we land - that's become our tradition. We rent a golf cart as soon as we get there and that's our transportation for the time we're there. When we move there, we'll buy one. The drive through town to get to our place is always fun and it always looks different, each time I go. New little shops opening and others closing depending upon the season. I couldn't love it more.

As soon as we get to our villa, I put a fresh bowl of water out on our steps for the Reef Village Dog, who's name is Spot. Just in case he wonders by and needs a little refreshment. Throughout the day, I'll add some ice cubes to keep his water fresh. Last time we were there, I bought a dog water bowl to put in the main area of the resort for Spot and the visiting dogs. It never ceases to amaze me when I see people bringing their dogs on vacation and not being coherent enough to make sure they have water when it's 90 degrees outside. I have a little deal with the bar manager to make sure that bowl stays full.

I always look forward to the first morning that we wake up in Belize. It's a very slow process. We get up, make coffee, sit on the front porch for a while, waving to the neighbors on either side of us as well as the early birds who are sitting at the bar across the lagoon! Then that's where I go. As soon as I'm awake. The Reef Bar makes the best Bloody Mary you'll ever drink! That's my breakfast of champions!!

Then we start our day. Riding around on the golf cart, visiting people, visiting shops. Riding over to see our friend Linda who owns Coco Loco's bar, right on the beach! You never know who you'll run into there. She has many stories of celebrities walking in. I've never seen one, but I'm sure someday I will. Riding down to the south end of the island to check on the progress of South Beach Belize - I love the plans of the developers, but I don't expect that place to happen until I'm too old to live there!

So for now, that's where I'll leave you.....90 degree weather, riding around, wearing sunscreen, stopping for Belikin Beer or a morning Bloody Mary... later I'll tell you about the water taxi and some of the other resorts on our little Paradise Island!