September 9, 2007

YET ANOTHER BENEFIT FOR GARDENERS




That's moi with mother Ruby. Sorry, no color photos when I was born. You can't see it from the black and white but she was a rosy cheeked Irish lassie who never used any kind of cosmetics . She is 37 years old in the photo and has no wrinkles.

The reason I mention wrinkles is that the cosmetics industry hypes anti-wrinkle creams as if they were a magic bullet. I haven't seen many 60 or 70 year olds in their ads which is probably why we don't see really age appropriate women in their commercials.

Unlike my older sister Wilma who is loyal to one expensive skin care brand, I've always been one to buy whatever was on sale at Walgreens or Osco. I'm cheap I guess but I cringe when I see the department store prices for a jar of cream - $100 on up !

I get compliments on my skin ( thanks, Ma ! ) and when asked what brand I use I answer " WOIS , or whatever is on sale. " $20 a jar is the max I'll spend. Told you I was cheap. I also think that a good moisturizer whether $20 or $300 will do the same job .

Which is why I recently let out a big hoot when I read that a test conducted on a $300 jar of French facial cream and Olay's Regenerist moisturizer ( $20 ) showed that the Olay brand had better results. Hee, hee.

Tests have also shown that people who garden a lot have better skin because the exercise and sweat is good for it. That must've been my mother's secret because she worked outdoors a lot. And, oh yes, she wore a bonnet to protect herself from the sun.

12 comments:

  1. hey carolyn! I'm cheap like that too, in case you didnt notice ;)

    the only thing about buying whatever is on sale is that sometimes i get a brand that irritates my skin, then i'm stuck with a whole bottle.

    nice picture of moms and you!

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  2. A girl I used to work with shared a hotel room with me during a conference. The other people we worked with asked me how much "stuff" I bring along on trips, and when I admitted that it wasn't much they figured I would be the perfect roommate for her.

    Not long after I arrived in the room, I figured out why: There was exactly 1 square foot of counter space left in the bathroom after she had unpacked all of her jars and bottles! And she generously kept her "extra" bottles of shampoo and conditioner (she never used the same stuff two days in a row) in her bag so I would have room for mine in the shower.

    I have some Burt's Bees facial cleanser, and if I put on "foundation" it's the light, tinted Aveda stuff. In summer I use Neutrogena 55spf sunscreen when I need it, and in the winter if my face feels dry I put on some Burt's Bees carrot moisturizer. Although I'm 7 years older now than she was when I worked with her, my skin looks way better than hers ever did. Must be the gardening. :)

    (And the floppy straw gardening hat. Your mother was right on with that idea!)

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  3. I've used oil of olay since I was 30, and I think it has really helped. I was especially glad when they came out with suncreen added 'Oil of Ole' Lady' as we call it around here!

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  4. You're my kinda woman, Gina, cheap like me ! Guess it's just in my thrifty Scottish-Irish blood.

    Fortunately I've never been sensitive to any kind of cream.

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  5. Hey Kim,

    That gal sounds like my sister. When we visited the UK together she had two huge suitcases and I one tiny one. You'd of thunk the Queen was visiting !

    Gardening definitely helps flush out the toxins from your skin when you perspire.

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  6. Olay is a good product, Muum, and I use it a lot on this "Ole Lady. "

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  7. Two huge suitcases?! Yikes!!! You sound more like me, with your one tiny one.

    I came back to say that I really like the picture of you and your Mom. She looks like the kind of woman who can barely keep a smile from escaping all the time--or at least, she's barely keeping one inside in the picture!

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  8. Gardening is supposed to be good, and smoking is supposed to be bad, but a heck of a lot of it depends on your genes.
    Guess I'll keep my big hat on!

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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  9. Hey Kim, thanks for pointing that out I hadn't noticed it until you did.

    Unfortunately my mother's life was a short and difficult one but from what I've heard she had a cheerful personality.

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  10. I've heard that a lot does depend on your genes and if so I'm in luck in that regard because I come from a good gene pool. My grandparents on both sides lived a long and healthy life.

    I just heard the awful news that 6 of my classmates died this year. It such a shock but it makes you stop and think how precious life is and not to take it for granted.

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  11. Carolyn--What a cute baby picture of you. I can see you (the you I know through your posted picture) in it. Dara

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  12. Thanks, Dara and welcome to Sweet Home and Garden Chicago. Are you in our Edgewater neighborhood ?

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