A French Coal Scuttle, my Simple Anti-aging Beauty Routine, and 1 week Diet Update

Lets start off with something French and vintage, shall we?  

A French coal scuttle in hand hammered copper and brass was a recent auction score.

  I imagined it to sit by the hearth in the lake cottage, as we have an old cast iron stove up there. 

 For now it looks pretty holding some faux hydrangeas next to our gas fire place.  

It will make a great container for seasonal decorating, holding twiggy branches, sprays of forsythia, or these summery hydrangeas.  I am still looking for unusual copper pieces, 

and since this was an old French piece I couldn't resist.  

My rule of thumb is buy what you love, and it will find a place.

Winter is still full on in the Boston area, and the dogs favorite place is right 

next to the fire in this enormous dog bed that fits the both of them.  

Real life at the moment includes the Aubusson rug still rolled up, 

I have yet to unroll and look at this gorgeous thing. 

 Because the morning I was planning to unroll it, 

I spotted a leak coming from the ceiling.  UGH.

Hubs got right to fixing it, and we spent all of last weekend repairing the thing together.  We also had started our low carbohydrate diet, following mostly the original Atkins diet.  We started on March 1 and the diet plan involves an "induction phase" of two weeks where you stay below 20 grams of carbs.  Counting carbs is pretty easy, and in the past this diet has worked well for me.  But now that I am over the age of being able to have babies, my body responds slower to dropping weight.  However I have had decent results this first week,  losing 3.5 pounds, and hubs dropped 6!  The hardest thing to get used to for me was skipping my glass of wine at night.  No alcohol for the first two weeks helps get the ball rolling with putting your body into fat burning mode. The first several days were a test of my will power but I am feeling like it will be worth it if I stay the course, as spring is coming, and I don't want to fight with my closet anymore.  You know.....those pants that used to fit that are too tight now?  If everyday I hate picking out my clothes, then I tell myself it will be such a pleasure to not have to deal with that unpleasantry anymore. 

 And I will look so much better! That is my inner self talk. 

 Pumping myself up by reinforcing what I am giving up to gain in only a few months ahead. 

 Spring will arrive, and I will be ready!! 

I also wanted to talk about my "beauty routine".   

Hahah! It feels weird saying that.  I am not much of a makeup person at all.

As a matter of fact my mother always tells me that I should put on lipstick. 

 I think lipstick is my least favorite makeup and I don't tend to use it. 

 I favor a more natural look, and I want the makeup routine to

 be simple and fast, and help with anti-aging if possible. 

 I snapped these pics this morning to share what my routine involves.  

(Ignore the heavy foundations in the upper corner, I save those for special times 

when I need more coverage.) But pay attention to the eyebrow stencil and the bronzer.

  Also, every morning I spritz Channel No 5 and without fail 

my hubby tells me how yummy I smell when I come downstairs. 

Not shown on the vanity are these two important creams that I use daily to start my routine.

Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream is my moisturizer, which firms and tightens and has anti-aging properties. I follow that with Hydroxatone Anti-Aging BB cream, both purchased at Costco.  The BB cream is a foundation that works with EVERY skin tone, so I didn't have to worry about matching my skin tone.  It basically is light coverage that enhances your skin, giving it some color, covering up and adding anti aging essentials like SPF 40, brightening and radical reducing ingredients.  I love knowing that I am fighting aging effects and getting some natural looking coverage on my face in one fell swoop!  

 The other miracle product I found that really made a big difference for me, was this simple eyebrow stencil that comes with an eyebrow powder.  I found it at Marshall's, and it has three stencil shapes to choose from.  My eyebrows have been wonky ever since I started to pluck them, and I kind of ruined their shape.  Sure, I have read about "getting your eyebrows done", and I have them waxed when I go to the hairdresser, but they cannot add hair, only take away hair.  And I have been noticing how strong women's eyebrows are when I watch TV and read magazines, and just resigned myself to having wonky mismatched eyebrows.  Well ladies, if you can relate and want an easy way to do your brows, look for a stencil kit like this one! 

As a young mom at 21, I had Brooke Shields kind of eyebrows.

Over time, they were over plucked, and I wish I had been told: 

DON"T PLUCK YOUR EYEBROWS!! 

Fast forward almost 40 years!! Where is the time going?

Anyway, I have been so happy with how this simple stencil has reshaped them, 

and if you have this issue, or no eyebrows at all, get one of these stencil kits!

After  I use after moisturizing and applying BB cream, I apply some black pencil eyeliner to my upper eyelid, do the eyebrow stencil and then quickly brush on some Clinique bronzer to my cheek apples, nose and forehead.  And I am set for the day.  

This routine takes me 3 minutes and it fits my natural look and unfussy lifestyle.

 At night I remove it all with facial cleansing wipes, 

either the Neutrogena or Kirkland from Costco facial wipes. 

 It is simple and I have been loving the products I found late last year.  

I wanted to try them out for a few months before sharing them with you.

(This is not a paid sponsorship, its just something I am very happy about).

1.  Olay Regenerist Micro Scuplting Cream (moisturizer)
2.  Hydroxatone BB Cream (foundation)
3.  Brow Stencil and Powder by Max Studio found at Marshalls
4.  Black eye pencil 
5.  Clinique Bronzer
6.  Chanel No 5

I know a lot of my readers are probably like me, not into makeup or worry too much about how

they look.  I love decorating and family life, but I want to look good without a lot of effort.

That is where the diet and this simple beauty routine come together to hopefully give me some

results that make it easier as I head into the next decade!!

And for fun, how about this fun "FaceApp"? 

Using a photo of my face without any makeup and a pimple on my nose (gah!) 

you can see how you look as a cover model!! 

All they do is add eyeliner and plump up your lips and then remove your neck wrinkles 

and facial laugh lines and you end up looking like a Real Housewife of Beverly Hills. 

Well that is NEVER going to happen unless I have a facelift, which I am not.

But by using my low key makeup routine I feel pretty good. 

Its pretty important to me to have a loving attitude towards myself as I age,

and not let it get me down.  If this helps my women of a certain age readers in any way 

or even just to laugh along, I am happy to share my struggles and discoveries. 

 Spring feels like a world away after yesterday's March storm, 

but when it finally comes I plan to be down a pant size or two!

I will be sharing weight loss results each time I blog as I continue this 

journey of fighting the pounds.  And how about some easy and yummy 

lo-carb recipes that have been key for getting hubby on board and fighting off cravings?

I will get a list together of our favorites.