Just For Fun...

My incredible workhorse, Temperley's Elemis Safari Traveler, on board

                        

One of my favorite beauty lines is the luxury British brand, Elemis.  Yes, it is rather pricey (ahem) but I've found that for the most part, using the much more affordable brands all too often wreak havoc with my CFIDS/ME and fibromyalgia funky skin, so much so that hubby begs me to stop trying to save money in this one area, skincare, as well as makeup. Yes, this is yet another example of one of what I call "the hidden costs" of CFIDS/etc.  Others include, though are not limited to, trying to find help for the dozens of jobs you can no longer do yourself, like cook or clean, cut the grass, pick up your meds, go to the store for anything whatsoever.  But I digress.

I finally broke down and made my first Elemis purchase when my absolutely favorite blogger, Ruth-the-model (versus my absolutely other favorite blogger, my dear Internet ME daughter, Ruth-the-Cambridge-student, as the two Ruths are known in this house) showed the readers/viewers of her blog and video a treasure which Alice Temperley, the hot current British designer Ruth-the-model had introduced.  Being an American, I'd never heard of this British designer who'd created such a wonderful beauty products bag for Elemis, filled of course, with a few Elemis products.  After much hemming and hawing, I finally broke down and bought it.

Little did I realize that shortly thereafter I'd be going to Kuala Lumpur, during which one of my four (!) flights going TO KL was canceled, causing me to spend the night in an airport hotel and thus causing me to arrive in KL one and a half days late.  But that gorgeous, very convenient and well-designed bag was by my side going there, while there, and coming home.  It was even with me as I took a luxurious shower during a long layover in an immaculate lounge in the famous Singapore airport - words I never thought I'd ever write, much less actually do, on so many levels.  Flying halfway around the world?  Asia?  Using a public toilet, much less a "public" shower?  I swear that airport was so incredible that I'm almost ready to make plans to fly to Singapore just for the airport experience alone!   It was just that incredible. Amazing.

The Elemis products which came with the bag truly are some of my favorites.  I seriously doubt that I'll ever be able to find another bath treatment better than the "Skin Nourishing Milk Bath."   (Cleopatra, with all due respect, eat your heart out!)  After a good soak with the milk formula in the bathwater, I find any areas of my body which might be dry, and even the occasional "chicken skin," vanish.  (Lovely pictures I describe of myself, no?)  I'm saving up my pennies (dollars!) for another purchase and need to do so soon, especially with this latest complication of the hypothyroidism and the out-the-wazoo dehydrated skin. 

The facial cleanser, "Pro-Radiance Cream Cleanser," works like a charm and I've had very good results with it.  It DOES have a bit of a sting to it and once hubby was almost paralyzed with fear when he happened upon me doing a facial DIY in the tub and caught a look at my face.  He warned me that it was very red, but by the time I'd finished up and looked in the mirror, all redness was gone and I was very happy with the results, as always.

The moisturizer, "Pro-Collagen Marine Cream" I reviewed here.  And YES!  I now remember that's the one which was so successful this past weekend, which I couldn't remember in yesterday's post.  (Darn those slow neuro-transmitters!) 

One last aside which will (eventually!) come back to the discussion at hand: "Project Runway" is our guilty pleasure. Hubby has rarely been able to resist any sort of competition and so when I started watching it, he joined me in order to spend a relaxing hour together.  However, he made me SWEAR that I'd never tell a soul that he watches the show and I honored that pledge.  Let's just say that hubby hates to wear anything that looks nice on him and rarely am I not embarrassed being by his side, purely clothes-wise, I hasten to add.  Oh, he cleans up very well when he wants to, but normally he likes to dress with the most atrocious things he can find.  I think he actually enjoys frustrating me and considers it part of his "identity."  (He actually thinks this part is very funny!)

At any rate, after a few seasons of watching "PR" - the things that would start coming out of his mouth!  He now talks about proportion, loudly and proudly, and often chides those who pick out a fabric which will be a mistake, gets frustrated when a designer makes a huge error with a feature that "does the model no favors," (parroting Michael Kors' words, I believe?), is exasperated when a designer constantly repeats the same errors or does not "grow" and often accurately predicts the winner well ahead of time.  Again, the things that come out of his mouth are incredible!  Who knew he had this talent? 

But when Mondo lost a couple of seasons ago, hubby was so upset that he went around saying "Mondo was robbed!" to just about everyone he came in contact with, be it lawyers, truck drivers, teachers, it mattered not who it was, nor if they'd even seen or heard of the show - or cared!   Well, after that, I was released from my promise of no disclosure. And after all this time, he's still upset about Mondo - and still quite vocal about it.

So imagine the hooting and hollerin' (by moi) that went on when Alice Temperley was a guest host on "Project Runway" recently.  I was so excited that I was "in the know," as I commented on Ruth-the-model's blog, just yesterday.  It was just plain fun watching this designer's opinions - and thankfully liking what I heard.

Yes, indeedy, hubby and I get our jollies wherever we can, within reason.  (Eye roll!)

But if you want to try out a really fantastic line, I don't think you can go wrong with Elemis.  And if you can afford the Temperley Safari bag, you may want to treat yourself and go for it - it's right up there with one of my best and most successful purchases ever.  (For purchase, it's available at Bliss.)

And if you want a really great beauty blog to read, Ruth-the-model's blog, A Model Recommends is a lot of fun, filled with humor, insight and insider information. 

Do you have a favorite "luxury" purchase you treated yourself to and are still delighted that you made that difficult decision, be it beauty-related, to anything at all, even a lamp tucked away in a favorite nook in your house?  I'd love to hear about it, especially as I know how difficult decision-making is for the CFIDS/ME and fibro person - or anyone else for that matter!

In the meantime, I hope all are doing the best they can be, only better.  (I embrace my fibro-logic!)  Ciao and paka!