David Livingstone’s “contemporary avatar of fashion” (in the same article) is worth the price of the magazine. It’s a guy’s perception of a woman who follows the 2010 fashion recommendations, like the ones in the photo layouts later in the magazine.

My question about the whole “What Is Sexy?” thing is this : Did anyone ask any guys?

Who knows a man who insists that women in gladiator platforms are sexier? And is that the man we want?

Mr. Livingstone’s subtitle refers to the quiet celebration of minimalism’s return. I’m pretty sure he speaks for the crowd.

Also worth noting that this is a good Canadian fashion magazine that can be subscribed to at incredible discounts, like $6 a year, certainly not more than 10.

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© 2007–2010, Christine Scaman. All rights reserved.

So difficult for women. Taking ourselves seriously.

Men do it easily and fake it easily.

I’m not quite there yet.

By now, we should look very steady, not swaying with every new wind. We might not be where we expected, but that doesn’t mean we failed.

We try too hard to play no-win games. The best of what we have become is inside us.

Heaven help you if your hair is medium brown. You’ll have had highlights, lowlights, been blonde, red, often several at once. We fall for every kind of advice. We wear pointy toed shoes that hurt. We wear painted on eyebrows, despite becoming a living cliché.

The Soft Seasons have naturally mouse-brown hair. They look great with finely woven caramel light. The Light Seasons speak of sunshine, so the brightening effect of pale yellow sun highlight is very consistent with their energy.

On everyone else : a distraction…that too often escalates over the years to become a highlight that has coalesced into one big uni-streak. That was me for years. Eventually, that was how I was used to seeing myself. What good is beach blonde when it makes your eyes gray away?

In Hollywood, you probably look odd without the yellow helmet, or the implants, for that matter. In the real world, at the office, in the car, at school, does Gwyneth’s yellow wall work in your favor?

The rich warmth of the Autumns, their spicy heat, and the dark force of the Winters is shattered into 10,000 pieces by blonde light. Give them a hot molten glow and a still, simple gleam, respectively.

Not everyone is flattered by blond, even if you’re 20. Which girl will be taken more seriously (ignoring the earrings)? Which twin’s eye colour is stronger?

When you’re blonde and you shouldn’t be, it feels tense to be around. Remember the relief when Pretty Woman took off the blonde wig? You FELT your insides relax.

Forced beauty feels so demanding.

Would Nick Arrojo, whom I love, have I ever told you, do tricolour stripes?

Accidental beauty could have happened by itself. Easier to be. Easier to look at.

Being taken seriously is one of the gifts of aging. Too many of us squander it by being blond when we shouldn’t be.

Perhaps there is only one person who should not take you seriously, and that’s you.

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He posted recently about women and cosmetic advertising in Hope Springs Eternal, But Why’s It So Expensive. Many women made excellent suggestions about why we are so easily and willingly sucked in by beauty advertising. I think about this topic a lot. I didn’t respond on the blog site because I’d write a page. In fact, I’m about to.

Nevermind if you use the Paula’s Choice products. I ask women why they don’t subscribe to Beautypedia. They see the reviews as just another marketing voice, just Paula’s opinion. Maybe it takes training in science to understand the incomparable value of independent examination based on sound research. All science asks for is SOUND proof.

From the latest popular ingredient’s perspective, science only hears the beat of its love affair with North American technology. Science seems to support only boring, mistake-ridden, traditional medicine. That fallacy is fabulous for anyone trying to cash in on that new ingredient, but that’s not at all what science is about. The Paula group is just looking for sound proof. Why it unleashes such a firestorm of offense and emotion, I do not know.

Women figure that sure, the claims are exaggerated, you’d expect that, but they must be half right. If not, wouldn’t there be mobs of angry women coming after these companies? Well, actually, unless you threaten their children or the planet, women don’t get angry. It’s quite OK to hurt us, we can take it, have had centuries of practice. The advertisers know they’re safe from us.

They’ve become expert at keeping us a little uncomfortable with our appearance. It keeps us buying. A confused consumer is wonderfully gullible. If you have 8 lipsticks all the same colour, then they have you exactly where they want you : uncertain. On the Boss>>>>>Bubblegum Princess<<<<<Stripper spectrum, they want you to the right of middle. We spend ourselves silly trying to look like our daughters. It cheapens us. In the same breath, we minimize and reduce our joy and power when they’re the real accomplishment. Once we’re 40, we deny too much of the good stuff on the inside.

Another common response is “I can tell if something works, and if I can’t, my friend can”. Oh, right. Just like you can identify the vitamins in the food you eat by taste. Not going to talk about that.

Could it be that we don’t buy the face cream to be face cream? When the day is bad, we can always afford a little gift to self. We never expected it to do anything. The bottle says what we wanted it to say so we felt better at that moment. If it made us happy that day, then it served its purpose. We didn’t buy it to do anything for our skin. But habits form easily in the absence of anything better. This is where repeat sales come from, not performance, at least in skin care.

Women want the product to create a safe place. Though the women reading this probably don’t fall into this category, the majority feels better if someone else is going to look after their skin (and their money) so they don’t have to think about it. Paula’s Choice embeds their product in a lesson that’s confrontational and stimulating. So does Colour Analysis, for that matter. Most women are avoiders and soothers, not challengers. They feel too tired and un-confident most of the time to take more on.

Bryan’s question was not addressed to women in general, though. That’s my soapbox. He asked “Why do Paula-educated women keep falling for the hype and the hope?”

Because, every now and again, something that truly works comes along. Once they get the glitches out, like the Vitamin A sisters, a new product might be something we should buy.

At 12Blueprints, Jocelyn Is A Bright Winter. With video! To see the potential in yourself as you never have… and in keeping with the theme that change happens from the inside out.

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Since I’m forced to do something essentially boring, I’ve had time to ponder why so many more good ideas come to me on the bike than when I’m having a hot bath. Same thing with driving-or anytime that I am not free to write. I believe that my left brain feels busy and important, or thinks it is, so the other side is free to wander.  The usual message from  the dominant, analytical, pessimistic left is “That will never work”.  When that side is busy, it loosens the clamps on the right, which it must perceive to be silly. So I’ll keep biking, but I have to do something else sometimes.

You have your Creator picture and I have mine. Mine looks something like this.

Bad events must be the signal to switch gears. The more horrible the event, the louder the Creator is singing the MAKE A MOVE song. The Universe is trying to tell you or show you something. These are the times when I try to make decisions I would never normally make. From the article about Jennifer Kries Life Force Power DVDs (AGT article The DVD I Use To Heal), you know I’m really taken by this program. I’m in no hurry about the knee and feeling very receptive to any direction.

I felt I should explore that a little further. Yoga often feels too static, but Cardiyoga isn’t out there. I watched the Flow Yoga  selection video clips at Collage Video. It spoke to me. Flow Yoga looks like where many of the movements from Pilates and jazz came from.

At first, the workout looks absolutely like a trance, like you’re having altogether too much fun by yourself. Nevermind, I said that I was committed to change and going somewhere new.

We hear a lot about “mind-body” exercise but I never really see it described as more than “consciousness about the movement”. My Deeper Self always looks for the connection that makes my children think I’m odd, and I cannot disappoint them. I see it like this. Since there is no distinction between your mind and your body, which I wholeheartedly adhere to, when one goes one way, the other has to follow. If they are united without barriers, if they are “one”, then whatever is happening in your mind mirrors to the molecule what is happening in your body, and vice versa. When the barriers in front of one are removed, so do they dissolve for the other.

Exercise shifts the control over to my body. If you’re read the Esther and Jerry Hicks books, there your control is over the mind, and the calming of the body follows. This is the reverse. The body settles in and the mind starts to realize it feels good. I ordered Shiva Rea’s Fluid Power Vinyasa Flow Yoga. When you watch the clip, you might think “I don’t think I have enough internal endorphins enjoy that like she does”. Neither do I, trust me. My kids would tell you that I have almost none. To get somewhere new, you have to move your feet that way.

The program is kind of fabulous. Do I chant? Only in my head. For now. There are 213 minutes, divided into about 30 or 40 short sections that you mix and  match, or play pre-set 30-100 minutes sequences. As Shiva says, it’s like “land swimming”. After 20 minutes, my concentration is all over the place. But for those 20 minutes, I go to places I have never been. It is a heck of an eye-opener. And, may I say that I’m very proud of myself for making this choice.

Having been raised in Prince Edward Island, where a large part of my soul resides, where I am truly at peace, my connection to any ocean is very strong. Is it coincidence that the rhythm of the waves and of our breathing is so similar? I think not.  Nature conserves energy, so when she finds a pattern, structure, or beat that works, she uses it at every level.

These programs are about teaching your mind to feel (instead of your body) through the metaphor of reaching for the tidal rhythm of the ocean, “the one breath that unites us all”. The visualization metaphors, what women were made for, are wonderful and very fresh – at least to me, who doesn’t know Yoga jargon. Shiva’s voice and the production quality are hypnotic. Shiva sways naturally when she talks. The movements are so graceful and rock gently back and forth with each breath.

This DVD keeps the left mind busy and takes you outside your preconceptions all at once. We really are all connected, to each other, to every molecule on this planet by very real beams of energy that we can barely understand. Though still in its infancy, the internet is the best visualization of that reality. The ocean and the star-filled sky simulate the same vision of humanity as one being with one collective mind.

Look at the borders of your comfort zone. Make a conscious decision to go outside them. It won’t happen by itself. Imagination and possibility await in a no-limits Universe.

With respect and with thanks to the Universe, and to you for your place in it.

Leaving your mind behind is fun sometimes. It clears the head wonderfully. Clearing the skin is much easier to do. It’s automatic when you wear the right colours. It’s harder to explain. At 12Blueprints, a video so you can watch it happen in Clearing Skin With Colour Analysis.

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© 2007–2010, Christine Scaman. All rights reserved.

The problem is that it is too visible, even in a flesh-toned formulation. Lipstick always wears off at some point and the line feels obvious, no matter how well it matched the lip colour to begin with.

It also sucks up even more of my time fussing about finding the right colour.

Since discovering the Estee Lauder Double Wear lipsticks, I don’t go a work day without them, usually as a base layer. These really will last hours. Since the colours are bright and matte, I apply a browner gloss to mute the colour down and give some shine. Still lasts hours.

A line around the lips first seems like overkill. It’s too much paint and too much time. What if you could apply a transparent sealant around the lipline that sets a shape for everything to come, and didn’t let it smear?

Yes, you could use regular lipliner applied faintly, or angle the pencil, but I don’t have time for makeup shenanigans. This isn’t astrophysics here. Smear it on in 10 seconds or less, thick enough to last till lunch. Get on with the day.

This lipliner, the Long- Lasting Anti-Feather Lipliner at Paula’s Choice in Clear, places a layer of something waxy around the edge of the lip.

It defines the border so I can smear on the EL and a gloss, and everything takes on the right outline. If the lip colour wears off, there’s nothing to be seen.

I love the Clinique Butter Shine lip gloss sticks for casual wear. But they’re gooey and tend to wander around. This way, I set the outline, apply lots of Butter Shine, it takes the right shape, and stays there.

The liner will last through 2-3 lip colour re-applications.

How often does something actually work as well as you were hoping?

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I absolutely believe our body can heal in an accelerated way, just like I believe you can accelerate your life.

I believe that your food contains your medicine till proven otherwise. Food can be powerfully anti-inflammatory (and anti-aging) if you make the right choices.

I believe that there is no division between Nature and our bodies, between the energy fields around us and within us. There is also no distinction between what is happening to your body and what is happening in your mind. Your Deeper Self and these forces are one and the same, fully swirling and intertwined.

I believe that when something happens, there is a reason for it. It is the time to push you in a new direction.

I believe that you better be careful what you ask for because you will get it.

I believe that if something in your life isn’t going as you wish, your first step should be to flip the mirror 180 and look harder at yourself.

Having laid that groundwork, and since I instantly become a pessimistic wreck if I can’t exercise somehow, I decided to hobble over to WalMart to look at the Pilates selection, while I await my Pilates/flow yoga order from CollageVideo.

I found this. For $5 (they only had Level 1), how could it be bad?

Below is the 4 video set, available on the Jennifer Kries website.

Well, it’s far better than bad. It’s simply awesome.

The program has about 8 sections. There is a 20min. session of each yoga, Pilates, and ballet, all appropriate to a Level 1 of 4 position.

This is way more. It’s a brilliant integration of mind with body, taking the concept further than just repeating the “mind-body”expression, but actually explains and demonstrates it. There are fabulous sections on understanding and awakening energy sources, meridian medicine, chakras, and ancient healing beliefs in Chinese medicine in ways that will work for you today. Everything is short and concise, not overly meta-energy. She is a serious practicioner, a graceful athlete, and so pleasant to listen to.

I haven’t really been open to those ideas, or I’ve never had to be.

So what was the message? What was I supposed to learn? Why did I have to be forced to open up to this type of movement and thought?

Could this be the big flashing sign in the sky saying “lean back and stop pushing”? That it’s time to allow and to receive and wait quietly, and accept that I’ve pushed hard enough for long enough. A change is needed.

In this clip, Jennifer explains the Hot Body Cool Mind workout concept.

On this page, you can read about Waking Energy. I do the Sitting version 3 times a day. The more I do it, the better it feels. I like the doing part. I’m not good at just sitting, though I seem to be headed that way.

At beYOu.tv, this is a preview of Waking Energy Standing. You can find Jennifer on YouTube too.

My knee is getting better all the time.  My heart is feeling cautiously extra-pumpy that something good is going to happen.

At 12B, answering the question of whether you can borrow colours from your neighbor Seasons. Why, yes, I did use the picture at the top in that article too, but I like it a lot. It’s how life should be.

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Then, She: “OK, but there must be some colour everyone can wear”.

Me: “No. Maybe neutral champagne beige. “

Her: “I know you’re trying to sell this and everything, but is there anything you can say that would apply to everyone? For instance, I look good in grey. Can everyone look good in grey?”

Me: “I’m not trying to sell anything. I don’t have to. Everyone can wear some shade of grey. But, no, I cannot come up with a colour Reese and Keira and both wear well.”

Her: “ Ok, what about turquoise? That’s new this spring. They say everyone can wear it.”

Me: “Some shade of turquoise can be worn by most palettes, but not the same shade. Some shade of most colours can be worn by most palettes, but not the same shade.”

Her, getting testy: “So, there’s nothing you could tell me that could apply to everyone? Does black make you look thin, as they say?”

Me: “No, it makes light people look 10lbs heavier on the bottom half. Care to know why that is?”

Me: “Not only do the colours vary in each of the 12 Seasons, so does the way they are worn. But here’s a rule that always applies : in big blocks, in prints, in footwear, find colours that are the same as your hair, not going darker than the darkest tones in the hair.”

And there it ended.

How many times has a relative called, wondering if you died in the recent tornado she heard about on TV, and you’re thinking “What tornado?”

I’m running out of respect for media, or at least the story-gathering division. I watch no TV, except the occasional 60 Minutes if Katie Couric is not on. Her stricken-faced “Have you ever wondered what could have been?” questions force the reactionary response, which somehow overrides critical thinking. Sure, Katie, we all wonder that all the time, lost limbs or not.

They don’t tell the approximate truth. They tell the grim stuff out of all proportion to the good news. They are ONLY interested in the sensation. In an increasingly sensational world, we are left drained and exhausted.

I’m not media-trained. Maybe one gets used to handling this interrogation style. Me being me, I was irritable. I felt uncomfortable being pushed into a corner to say something I didn’t want to say. I’m not saying she would have lied to her readers…but she would have been quite OK with me lying to her readers. Allowing me to compromise my integrity was a better solution than saying “Why? Why are you saying that the conventional beliefs are wrong?”

The answer is always the same. The marketers would tell you anything to sell you stuff. They do not care if the item sits in your closet unworn for 10 years. The store brought it in and they want it out the door ASAP. It’s our job to learn the truth before we buy, not theirs to offer it.

Is the fashion industry really going to come out with 12, or even 6, shades of turquoise? Or are they going to tell you that everyone can wear the colour in the jumbo bolt of cloth they got with the volume purchase discount?  or goddess forbid, is the cosmetics industry going to dream up how to tell us turquoise eyeliner is elegant? Telling you the truth makes their life much harder. They know most consumers will buy the lie and they will never be held accountable, because the next snow job is waiting in the wings to distract us.

For the reporter, the deadline came first. She should maybe have gotten an earlier start.

At 12B, one of my meta-colour excursions, wondering if your clothes can make you (and others) feel greenish about the gills?

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Imogen’s blog is at Inside Out Style. Her webpage is at Bespokeimage, linked from View My Complete Profile under her picture.

I don’t buy into North America’s adulation with the winners of the fame and fortune lottery, so I particularly enjoy sites and blogs written by non-North-Americans. We hero worship celebrities and in trying to look like them, we don’t like our own looks. But it’s THEM that look crazy. We’re the ones who look normal.

You know I think the whole “anti-aging” gig is a marketing assignment to sell you more stuff. I’m all for health, but beyond that, I don’t agree that younger is worth admiring as much as we do. Which one of us was our best self at 25? or 35?

Colour Analysis and Style go hand in hand, but I find few sites showing clothing styles I could see myself in. This one, I relate to. There is advice here I really would use. Her posts of Jan. 7 and 8 discuss women’s sizes and body image concepts. Everyone of us has a position on these topics.

Imogen discusses many of the same colour theory topics that I do. Sometimes, reading another explanation of the same topic can help clarify it for you. If you have an interest in colour theory,  the posts filed under Colour Guide are great.

As an Image and Style Consultant, you’ll find many categories addressing clothing specifics for various body types and concerns, all described under Labels in the right side column.

Here’s a great video about why black is NOT slimming on light people, a point that can’t be made strongly enough.

She has wonderful taste, real-world, sensible taste, but she’ll still tell you to ignore the rules (and how to do so) and find ways to wear what makes you feel good. We tell others who we are with our dress, and it never feels quite right when our message isn’t truthful. We can’t settle in and feel fully confident in what we’re projecting.

The shoe section is a favorite. It’s the style choice that is most often forgotten or wrong, with little good advice out there. You’ll find so many good articles here. Seeing women hobbling around in heels that are too high, just to look sexy to some man, makes me feel humiliated. Heels are terrific, you feel long and look better and stronger, but within reason. If it hurts, you feel weak. If you’re unsteady, you look weak. You will not be taken seriously by anyone in either situation. Why do we do it to ourselves?

What Colour Shoes To Choose is great, illustrating the concept that shoes should connect with hair colour to present a unified (read “in control”, “organized”, and “strong”) appearance.

You might find a few places where our policies diverge. I don’t pretend to be an Image Consultant. When I talk about clothes and makeup, it’s only what I think looks good according to the principles for that Season. We use different Personal Colour Analysis systems. Imogen devised her own system and I look forward to reading about it.

With links to articles regarding the 100% meaningless truth behind most cosmetic and skin care marketing claims, encouraging the consumer to get herself informed, and her love of chocolate, Imogen seems a woman like us – intelligent, empowered, style conscious but not at the expense of sense, spending, and time.

I completely enjoyed wandering about her blog for when Sally introduced me to it. From an organization viewpoint, the Blog Archive is a treat. Just click on the arrow beside each month and the list of article titles opens. I visit frequently. It’s realistic, refreshing, and not about celebrity culture.

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The first one is Core Challenge by Moira Stott.

Type:  Pilates

Length:  37 min.

Moira Stott makes a whole lot of Pilates videos, some longer, some shorter, with or without bands or balls or bosus, etc.  They have two overriding characteristics:  they are pure, unadulterated Pilates and they are all very similar.  This is the queen of modern Pilates, after all, and with her, you can be sure you are getting the real deal.  She is very precise and the only thing that varies really is the level.

This is a level 3 (her rating scale).  She presumes that you have learned the basic moves already, so there are not a whole lot of explanations.  You roll from one exercise to the next without much break in between, which makes it quite difficult.

If you are just starting out, this one is not for you, but there are easier versions in the series (Stott Pilates Level One The Secret to Flat Abs).

Overall, I like Moira for her purity and precision, but you don’t need to own a whole lot of these since they are all so similar.

The second is Quick Fix Stability Ball with Keli Roberts (available at, and linked to, Amazon; Collage used to carry all the Quick Fix series and I wish they still did-C.)

Type: Toning

Length:  35 min.

Keli Roberts is one of my favorite instructors.  One of her first  fitness videos was with Cher, and it is worth watching just to see Cher’s outfits.   Keli is precise, not cheerleader in style, and very strong.

This dvd is split into 3 x 10 minute workouts:  lower body, abs and upper body.  You can try all three segments, or just one.  All of the moves are do-able and it is easy to make it harder by using heavier dumbbells or adding ankle weights (I personally never try to make things harder).  If you do all 3 segments, you will have covered all body parts.  It is not too long, so you can do it after your power walk or just on its own.

What I mostly like about her style is that she is very low key but really solid.  There will be no whooping and hollering and no one is wearing black lace spandex (except Cher, but that is a separate video).

The third one is Reach by Kari Anderson.

Type:  Toning

Length:  60 min.

This is a really super workout.  It is very fluid, graceful, well cued and calm.  Kari has a  quiet, soothing voice and I like her personality. In fact, everything about this class is relaxing, from the colors in the studio to the women’s outfits, to the soft music, it is a sea of brown and gold.

The movements are somewhat dance and somewhat yoga.  I am not fond of the twistiness of yoga (back trouble) but Kari sticks to basic moves. In this one hour long class, you cover a lot of ground including strength, balance and flexibility.  Your heart rate will not get very elevated, I do not consider this to be an aerobic workout, but you will sweat because these are long, sustained movements requiring control and this is a different kind of difficult.  At the end, I always feel that I have worked my muscles but I do not feel like I have been yelled at for an hour.  I am tired but calm.

Might I clarify that I’m not yawning OR drinking tea. I love Patrick (the most fun and funny instructor), Kari (SO pleasant to spend an hour with), Moira (LOVE her voice, and the body on the female student in Core Challenge, wow), and Kelly (one solid teacher). We’re first-name friends from way back, though they don’t know it. Thought Balletone from the Part 1 post looked superb. The Quick Fix series are all brilliant. I bought Play Ball today. It’s hard to go wrong with any of these instructors, but they often have several choices. Do read the Reviews for each video before you choose. You’ll find them extremely helpful.-C.

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Intermediate level exercise is sounder from many perspectives. It gives the same result and is more appropriate for way more people. Read along to see which videos my sister, Sonja, recently bought and why she likes them so well – C. (The videos are linked to the Search page for that instructor. You can watch the essential 1 min. clips on that page. Or, click on the title of each program to learn much more about each video).

Recently, I have started working out at home. My husband has been away and I just can’t get to the gym, which makes me sad.  This was my “alone” time, nobody bugged me, I did my thing, and I came home happier.

Solution:  I brought the gym to me and ordered some workout videos from CollageVideo.  Now, unlike Christine, I do not like videos that have the words “attack” , “combat”, or “killer” in them.  My choices are all intermediate and more gentle.  I have reviewed them here so you can see what you think.

The first is Prevention 3-2-1 Circuit Workout with Chris Freytag.

Type:  Circuit

Length:  49 minutes

I really enjoyed this video.  There are 6 circuits and they work like this:  3 minutes of aerobics, 2 minutes of strength work featuring a specific body part and 1 minute of abs.  The aerobic segments are challenging if you use a large range of motion and can be low or high impact.  Since the choreography is straightforward, you can easily adapt the moves to your level.  The strength work focuses on one muscle group at a time but still keeps your heart pumping, and the abdominal exercises are Pilates based with focus on the core.

Overall, I liked this workout a lot.  It made me sweat, I was not frustrated with complicated steps and I loved the circuit, since no segment is too long. (I live in fear of 40 minute cardio sections!)  All muscle groups were covered and Chris is an encouraging teacher.

The second video is Beyond Balletone with Shannon Fable.

Type:  Aerobic, ballet style

Length: 42 minutes

This is one of a series of 4 Balletone workouts, all of which I enjoy.  If you took dance classes as a kid, or just love ballet style workouts, you will like this series.   All of the Balletone videos look deceptively easy.  It seems like you are not going fast or doing much, but you soon find yourself out of breath and sweating. |

The steps are not too complex, you will not find yourself dancing the Nutcracker in your living room and there are no pirouettes or leaps.  The moves, however, are challenging, partly because there is a balance component which is incorporated throughout the workout and this requires core bracing.  I really think balance is important, particularly as you get older.

The emphasis here is definitely on the lower body and there is no mat work. If you find this one too complex, you can try Sole Synthesis with the same teacher.  It is more basic.  Shannon, by the way, is enthusiastic without being overbearing.

The third one is Play Ball with Patrick Goudeau.

Type: Aerobic

Length: 30 min.

This will definitely get your heart rate up.  Patrick uses a medicine ball (I did not use a ball) throughout the workout and boy, do you sweat. The first 18 minutes are cardio and the rest is the mat workout, which is also cardio.  I did not know that you could make a plank an aerobic move.

He is an excellent instructor, the steps are a little tricky and I will have to do them a couple of times to get them all.  I do confess that I looked at the clock at the 16 minute mark, not that I couldn’t make it (really, I was fine!), I just that I felt the need to know how much more there was.  I found that I had to make some of the moves easier, so adding the medicine ball would be the next step for me.  Since it was only 30 minutes, I added on a short Pilates workout.  I was totally cooked after that.

Of the three workouts, this is the shortest and the hardest.

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I had to do it twice because she didn’t feel these colours could be hers. (True Summer). She saw only grays and old lady colours, instead of the fabulous roses and blues.

She felt the personality was nothing like her. She sees herself as a firecracker, but that’s only a small part of her being. She can soothe everyone around her into loving one another, even if they don’t like each other. She is highly capable, steady, diplomatic, and sensible. Courtesy and decency are central to her nature. She also has beautifully shaped hands. She is a True True Summer, and not even the darker version.

She said “they don’t make clothes in my colours”. I’ll grant that professional clothes are hard to find, but I know for sure that there are True Summer clothes out there. In fact, it’s the Winters who need full colour saturation who have trouble finding interesting colours, except in workout wear. There’s loads of black and some generic teal and plum thing, but not much really beautiful stuff. (There’s more True Summer and saturation talk in Elisa Is A True Summer, at 12B).

This was before we shopped for makeup. We tried eyeliners. The energy was wrong. It felt sticky. Her eyelashes looked too thin. We went for coffee to think about it. We finally settled on some lovely colours.

She called me recently. The makeup was dull and made her look old. Even the foundation that was perfect 6 months ago, was off.  People told her she looked better in the crimson and black she used to wear. She wanted makeup that would make her look more alive, or even a bit alive.

Make no mistake, I enjoy these challenges A LOT. I like to encounter the resistance. I lived it too. I also feel sorry for her frustration. It most certainly takes time to teach your eye how to find your colours, and to resist the observations of your Book Club and the lady at the post office. You have to exercise big patience while you go about getting the elements of the picture working together. But Karen’s is more than usual.

The thought that came into my head was “You are MAKING this be hard.”

Yes, we all have things we’re better at, but this was like going looking for obstacles. So, why?

Next thought : Do I do it too? What am I making be hard?

Revealing answer : “This is how Karen felt watching me trying to register a business name and deal with Revenue Canada!” I was all in a fluff and she was thinking “Why are you MAKING this be hard?”

Next example : Christmas gifts. People tell us that they want nothing, but we still go sweat it out on our own on Dec. 23, worried that they won’t like it. Why did we make that be hard?

We make things hard if we NEED them to be hard. Is it about not being able to release the control over the situation? Is it that we need to feel just a little under-appreciated?

Watching men think is fascinating. Generally, they are great simplifiers. They do the obvious and don’t worry. They ignore whatever doesn’t agree with their first assessment. Very seldom does a man choose the harder path intentionally.

Men are also able to proceed without all the information. So, not only will they choose the easiest path every time, but they will also make a move to get on that path without knowing what lies ahead. Sometimes, all they know is that they want the end result, that they will follow the most obvious path in getting there, and they will fill in the rest of the blanks as they go along. You know, it makes a lot of sense. Women, on the other hand, we clutter up our lives with over-emotion and over-analysis.

I am delivering the intention to look for the most effortless and uncomplicated solution. The difference between 80% and 100 is not important. 99% of people won’t even notice. Whenever I start feeling freaked out, my first words to myself are “Christine, LET this be easy”. I am exploring the possibility that most things really are as easy as they seem, before I muckled on to them and made them hard.

Chances are nobody else watching is finding your particular difficulty very hard except for you. For some reason, we chose for it to be hard. Time to stop that.

Try it for one whole day. Decide to let everything be easy. Don’t make it be hard till you are given a reason to.

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Kefir is a special type of fermented milk. Only 1 Tbsp. a day delivers all the good bacteria you need. 5 billion. I’m not sure what the going levels are, but that seems like a lot. And some of these nutrients are not available from any other source, and will disappear without a daily top-up.

I once thought Kefir was the next level of buttermilk, just a yogurt-like fermented milk product. It is actually far more than that, in its history, production, and nutrition. The difference between Kefir and yogurt is well-described here, at Body Ecology.

Does anyone remember reading about those communities in Russia where people live to be 110? In the news articles, drinking Kefir each day was stated as the reason for this healthy longevity.

Kefir begins as fermented milk but once combined with particular bacteria and yeast, it becomes a living, dividing entity known as kefir grains. The history of this fascinating food is here. Sure enough, my container says “probiotic fermented milk made from authentic kefir grains from the Caucasus in Russia”. Of course, you probably only go to Russia the one time. After that, it’s self-perpetuating like sourdough.

I buy the organic version. It was explained to me that in regular milk products, cows are fed antibiotics. These make their way into the milk and kill enough good bacteria that the yogurt won’t set. This is why they add gelatin. Organic dairy products would have no antibiotic exposure so the good bacteria levels are kept at a maximum.

I love all the yogurts made by the Liberte company in Quebec. It really is hard to stop eating them till the tub is empty. Their Kefir is equally great, though it is a learned taste.  At the bottom of the home page is a link to USA products, or  here.

The US page is very comprehensive, but doesn’t appear to include Kefir. If you ask, it will happen. The link to the US site is here.

I don’t for a moment buy into the marketing concept that younger is better, or that aging is bad. I most definitely do line up with the belief that healthier is better. Not the same thing. I think this is something we should be doing, with a big long-term health payoff.

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After 2 weeks of going around to different people’s homes, sitting on different couches and eating anything I want, where wrapping gifts was the most strenuous activity, I’m on a cleansing kick.

I’m not a big detox affiliate. The closest I get is a cup of hot water with a slice of lemon and a generous grating of ginger several times a day. That alone feels like hitting the reset button. You could add honey but the less simple sugars, the better, at this point. Bill asked if it will improve my shit zing (the closest he could get to feng shui, as he clumps all forms of personal wellness, growth, energy, etc. as one).

Two wonderful days in Freeport, ME, have taught me that LLBean has now moved into the top spot for my favorite clothes, for outerwear at least. I was there with my Starbucks at 5 AM, by no means the only one in the store. It feels very interesting to actually buy something that I may never have to (or want to) replace. They make coats you sweat in. The boots are beyond great.

Their marketing strategy is interesting. Like Apple, there’s never a strong upsell. You find yourself involved in an engaging conversation about the merits of this fleece or that fleece.  By the time you’re done, you’re thinking “Well, I gotta have that”.

These gloves were among the best of my purchases. They have little suede insets sewn into the fingertips and palm. You can dial a cell phone without hitting 2 buttons at once. You can grip a steering wheel with finesse. You can separate the 2 sides of the filmy plastic produce bag to get it open (works better than bare fingers!).  You can separate bills in your wallet with fingertip precision. They’re warm and stylish, without being quite as proper as leather gloves. I wear a size 8 ring and bought the Large, which just fit.

I don’t have a new professional wear favorite, or an old one for that matter. I believe it does not exist. Banana Republic maybe (badly in need of PCA’d clothes but they could take over the world).

The boot cut fitness pants are awesome. I’m a 7-8 and bought a Small, which is a little too big. After my brother told me to stop dressing like a teenager, I’ve been looking for something I can wear on weekends that are not wind pants, jeans, or cords. These are great and not too tight, cut more like a trouser pant than yoga pants. I’m 5’4” and they fall well below the ankle.

I bought no makeup. What is the world coming to.

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Someone may have to ride on the roof to make room for all the hair products.

We’ve blocked all the Christmas carol radio stations. Bill hasn’t gotten over the Bananaphone cassette episode and that was 15 years ago.

The back of his seat is cushioned so the child who keeps kicking his seat (and claiming it was her brother, though he is sitting in the back seat) will not cause any tension.

We shall tighten our core muscles and get through this. Whyever would we do that? Well, picture a fire pole going down your body lengthwise, from your head to your feet. Tighten your butt muscles around it, like grabbing on to your own vertical midline. Now vacuum seal your abs back against your spine, so you’re steady on your own horizontal axis. Would take a lot more to knock you down, wouldn’t it? Road trips can put you to the test.:)

I wish each of you a bright, open-minded, reflective, and inspiring Christmas. May it be followed with an energized, growth-oriented year.

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My search for good quality AND colour in cosmetics, laid out intelligently so women could understand how to use them, led me to MN. I don’t use the skin products because they’re not at Beautypedia, but I relax that rule for makeup. It’s hard enough to get colour right.

I care more about colour than finish or ingredients. As long as I don’t react, it’s fine.

Sunscreen doesn’t matter to me in foundation because I wear Clinique Super City Block every day anyhow. I don’t take chances with misleading labeling. The sunscreen ingredients in this product are not those I recognize to provide UVA protection.

Timeless foundation has been a happy find. I’ve sent several clients to try the product and they’ve all returned with an impressive colour match and true skin effect.

The #1 happy thing that caught my eye was that I’ve never had a better colour match (I bought Sesame). The colour range is very broad, organized by warm and cool, for very light to very dark skin.

The next pleasant surprise was that the product feels quite moist. It can be spread to create an extremely thin layer that still provides perfect real-skin coverage. I dab a little more on the sun spots because I have no time to fool around with concealer. The less makeup you put on skin, young or mature, the better the effect. Too much makeup can look like gunk all too quickly.

Happy finding #3 was that, unlike most foundations that make lines under eyes more noticeable, this foundation does not – or at least, less than any other I’ve tried. I still dab a little moisturizer over the lines at the outer corners of the eyes as the final makeup step. It softens the lines that much more.

#4: Still looks great at the end of the day.

#5: Weird but true, it seems to fluff up the hair on my face less than other products. We all have it, let’s be real here, and some makeup seems to make it stand on end. I paint downwards with the foundation brush and the powder brush, and it’s good!

They gave me a great big sample.

Age-defying? Anti-aging? Who knows? It’s not reviewed by a reliable independent source that I can find.

Light-diffusers? Blurred imperfections? Not obvious. It looks great and doesn’t sparkle. Just really, really good skin. Supposed to have these optical diffusers, and various percentages about how skin appears lifted 44%, and so on. Nobody buys that. It’s old fashioned marketing trying to sound like good science.

It would be suited for normal to dry skin. As I said, I think more about colour than finish. My skin is oily so I use powder. I don’t touch up any more than usual. I’m grateful for the moist look and feel in this dry season.

The old-fashioned plastic bottle is neither great nor awful. Packaging doesn’t matter to me as long as it doesn’t deteriorate the product and isn’t a huge inconvenience to use. Fancy packaging doesn’t sway me to buy. I’d far prefer a soft opaque plastic gravity-fed tube with a narrow opening, but I keep the bottle in its box so light doesn’t alter the colour.

With makeup, they try to distract you to keep you dropping money like a trail of breadcrumbs. The cosmetics industry must seem different and new all the time or the consumer’s attention goes elsewhere. Must be a rough racket to be in. Bottom line, I LOVE how this product makes my skin look.

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Lora follows a slightly different analysis process than I do, but many of the concepts and palettes are very similar.

This is an announcement for the release of her new book.

It is available from Amazon or from the publisher.

The quote from the publisher is as follows:

Color Revival aims to simplify the advanced 12 Season Color Analysis system. Easy to understand charts and photos help explain it in its simplest terms. Included are full palettes for each of the 12 seasons, as well as plenty of case studies of ‘real people’ who have been successfully color analyzed by the author. Besides understanding the principles behind it, people will see how color analysis in general will help one save time and money while always looking their best.

I am in the process of buying my copy. Having seen some of the preliminary work, I know that it will provide a modern and comprehensive explanation of the topic. Lora has the experience to know where people get tangled and what the most common questions are. She will address those, and more, in this book.

I love the title she chose. The time is right for the next wave of Colour Analysis for the year 2010.

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NARS Outlaw blush.

I’ve had this issue on my Product Search list for months.

90% of what’s out there can be canceled for being too brown or peach. The defining premise of this skin tone is that any amount of heat causes unattractive results.

I zeroed in on Estee Lauder Fresh Plum awhile back. It has a soft colour deposit. It’s not as blue as Lancome Aplum, my Dark Winter personal favorite (though it could be improved on with a breath of brown, just enough to turn it mulberry).

True Summer skin is usually not colourful. By December, Fresh Plum’s dusty softness doesn’t perk it up enough. Bronzer looks crazy on True Summer skin in the hands of real-world women because it adds heat to skin that inherently has none.

MAC Breath of Plum is too pink.

Most of the Rose Somethings out there are too warm. The trace of peach they add just ruins it. It looks coral.

What I wanted was a cool, fairly light Summer red-rose.

Here are a few other contenders:

MAC Breezy blush.

MAC Mineralize Gentle blush.

MAC Mineralize Love Thing blush.

The wonderful Karla has swatched the NARS product for you here.

I am asked if other Seasons can wear the makeup colours I suggest. Because the cosmetic industry offering is disorganized and random and unevenly weighted and I’ll just stop there, you pretty well have to. Soft Summer can wear Outlaw too. Dark Winter could try it ; on my skin, it appeared as a cool coral red.

NARS make beautiful blush. It is to be applied lightly. The shimmer is not enough to get in the way.

Any True Summers who try it, PLEASE let us know what you thought!

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Rosalie is the mango queen.  A Florida resident, she won a prize at Fairchild Tropical Gardens big Mango Day for her Mango Chutney with Coconut Rum.

Rosalie was one of the first women to communicate with me regularly on this website. I’ve been grateful for the many virtual friends I’ve found, and to Rosalie for showing me how easily and comfortably it was possible.

I’m also grateful to anyone who reduces my workload. First, she sent me this fabulous recipe in a format that I don’t have to recopy. It would take away its obvious standing as a favorite if I retyped it. Who can recall where this well-used recipe originated?  It may have been snipped from the Miami Herald years ago.

Every day this week, as I’ve dragged myself through the door, with a long list still to get done that day, the reality of our entire month, I’ve been thinking about the hot bowl of Chicken Chowder I’d be eating very soon. It’s substantial and filling but not heavy. I love the visual simplicity, the digestive simplicity, the time and money ease.

For once, I barely altered a recipe. I chopped in a bunch of chives because I forgot to buy parsley, and some yellow pepper. I added a can of Romano beans.

It is simple and fabulous. In a month of heavy, complicated, demanding, salty, expensive, calorie-burdened food, this is a blessing of a different kind.

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Have you looked at the hair stuff at Sephora? The deals? I couldn’t pick just one. Fekkai’s Glossing Shampoo. Juicy Couture’s hair elastics. The Carol’s Daughter set is $37. Do you have girl children from 15 to 25 to buy for?

2. Free passes to a Les Mills gym. If there’s one in my little town, they cannot be hard to find. Do you know Les Mills? I believe they’re an exercise franchise from Australia. The classes and music are pre-choreographed. There are no bad classes and there are many class styles. I’ve taken several, all outstanding.

No pressure. Go whenever.

3.Chalean Extreme . I really want this. You may remember Chalene Johnson from the Turbojam exercise videos at BeachBody. This series is focused on building muscle with strength training. For women over 40, for anyone, cardio is all fine and good, but equal amounts of strength and resistance training make your frame of body and your frame of mind strong. It deeply roots the “If I can do this, I can do anything” notion in your head.

Here’s what I couldn’t wait for :  Insanity. The hardest workout ever put on DVD. This link takes you to the BeachBody homepage. On the right is the link to Insanity. Watch the video. I can tell you, it is all this and more.

4. Smart Wool socks. So much more than socks. Many places to buy. Being warm goes a long way towards being enveloped by that festive feeling.

5. Wyndham Estate’s Bin 555 Shiraz. At $15 or so, this is a wonderful red wine. Though I don’t distinguish all the flavors wines possess, this one is said to taste of strawberries, plums, licorice, and pepper.  Getting into the Wynham Estate’s site requires that you be of legal drinking age, but you can Google and read many reviews.

6. Towel warmer. Until they build ladders into bathrooms, since which home of 5 has enough towel racks in the bathroom, and it eludes me why they haven’t exploited this vertical design option yet, this is very useful. And such a treat.

There are several designs and prices. The one below is about $50 at Sears Canada.

7. Brie warmer. It is the thing. Arrive with one of these little tubs, like a round ceramic butter dish with a top, plus the Brie inside, a loaf of French bread, a few raspberries, and you are the star of the show. I saw some cute ones at Chapters, though I don’t see them on the site. They were $19.99.

8. Festive Stripe Stemware and table runners at Pier 1 Imports. Whether it’s the glasses that get me festive or the stuff inside, something will work. These are so pretty I’d keep them out all year.

The tablerunners are so beautiful too. I loved this Christmas tree design, and the Starburst. Lovely hostess gifts.

9. The camis at Smart Set. $20 for 2. In nylon/spandex, the feel is light and silky, not cotton, underwear, or sleepwear. They are not childishly ornate. They have a smooth ballerina scoop, rather than a more casual looking V. The straps are set wider apart, better with a more open neck blouse or sweater. The 20! colours are good. The straps are adjustable. It is SO hard to find lower layers that don’t look too much like lingerie or our daughter’s tank tops. It is not too short or too long. The border and straps are satiny.

The link will take you to Smart Set but the Flash viewer won’t let me link further. Just look for Nylon/Spandex Cami under Smart Fashion.

10. These SO-cute mascara samplers. Know a teenager? After they get over the discovery of their own hair when they’re about 13, the next fascination is eyelashes. Ships for free in the US, as does a lot of product at this great store. When will retailers ship free to Canada?

What’s going on at 12B? There is a trilogy of articles in process. The first is What Are Clear And Soft Colours?, because every Season needs to know.

The next one, going up sometime today, is The Mystery Of Brown, where I think about how to choose Spring’s browns from Autumn’s. It’s easier with clothing than makeup.

These are leading up to visiting Louise again, from Louise and Stevan Are Light Springs, and choosing makeup for Louise’s eyes.

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This is the story of a dog born without forelimbs. He was born on Christmas Eve, 2002. Even his mother didn’t want him.

His owner didn’t think he could survive and was thinking of putting him to sleep. His present owner, Jude Stringfellow, wanted to take care of him. She was determined to teach him to walk on his own. She named him “Faith”. In the beginning, she put him on a surfboard and let him feel the movement. She used peanut butter to reward him for standing up and jumping around. Even the other dogs encouraged him to walk.

Amazingly, after only 6 months, he learned to balance on his hind legs and move forward. With further training in the snow, he learned to walk like a human being.

He loves to walk around. Wherever he goes, he attracts people to him. He is becoming famous in newspapers and on TV. There is a book entitled “With A Little Faith” being published. Jude plans to leave her teaching job and take him around the world to preach that even without a perfect body, one can have a perfect soul.

In life, there will always be undesirable things. You need to look at them from another direction to feel better. Try to look from the opposite side and learn to transform a bad thing into a good thing. You will get better and better at doing so.

This is not a story about being happy because there is always someone who has less than you do. This is all about you alone and learning to see in a different way.

I hope this message will inspire you to find new ways of thinking about old problems. Be thankful and appreciate every beautiful day.

“Faith” is the demonstration of the strength and wonder of life.

More about the wonder of life as we look at Dark Autumn Jewelry at 12 Blueprints. The colours and feelings we wear are the outward reflection of the colours and feelings we are. That connection is the bridge. It lets magic happen.

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