I love red lipstick.  And to celebrate 100 years of Elizabeth Arden, I’m wearing Red Door Red, the brand’s limited edition anniversary lipstick created to commemorate the occasion.

Red Door Red ($20 US) is a sheer red with subtle shimmer that’s wearable for most.

I like that this maraschino red has a slight pink undertone.  So when the color fades a bit throughout the day, you get a pink hue that stays with you for a few hours.

The triple emmolient formula contains vitamins A, C and E which helps to keep my lips moisturized.

If you’ve never owned a red lipstick before, it might be time to pick this one up for a good cause.

When you purchase 100th anniversary Red Door Red, Elizabeth Arden will donate 100% of the proceeds to Look Good… Feel Better, an organization designed to help individuals with cancer look good, improve their self-esteem,and thereby manage their treatment and recovery with greater confidence.

Elizabeth Arden Red Door Red ($20 US) is currently available online and at select department stores where Elizabeth Arden is sold.

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This review contains a sample product sent for consideration by PR.   We do not do paid or guarantee reviews. For more information, please read our Editorial & Content Disclosure.

Jenny Craig Rising Crust Pizza “voluminzed” with mushrooms

Starting Weight (according to my home scale) – 127.4
Starting Mood – very sleepy due to the time change (yuck)

Here’s the planned menu for today – 1,095 calories*:

Breakfast:
1 slice of broccoli and cheese egg white quiche – 230 cal

Lunch:
Jenny Craig Zesty Tortellini Soup – 220 cal
Salad with 1 tbsp dressing – 35 cal

Snacks:
1 stick of low-fat string cheese – 60 cal
1 small red plum – 30 cal
1 small white peach – 30 cal
Jenny Craig Bruschetta Veggie Chips – 100 cal
1 South Beach Living Breakfast Bar, Chocolate – 140 cal

Dinner:
Jenny Craig Rising Crust Pizza – 280 cal
- add mushrooms

Items highlighted are what I actually ate and the ones crossed out didn’t make it to my plate.  Anything extra that weren’t planned are noted below and highlighted red.

Last week I had a Jenny Craig S’mores Snack Bar that really hit the spot, even though I don’t usually have a sweet tooth.  But at $1.99 a pop, it’s too expensive for me.

So today at my weigh-in at the centre, I asked my consultant if I could substitute it for a granola bar.  It turns out, making substitutes isn’t as easy as you think.

Jenny’s planned menus are somewhat of a science, making sure you have enough nutrients, proteins, fats and starches in your body eat day.  If I wanted to substitute my snack bar with a more affordable option, I needed to make sure what I purchased was similar in calories, fat and protein.

It turns out that your basic Quaker Chewy granola bars (what I was originally going to get) has very little protein (1g) compared to the Jenny bars (around 4-5g).  After reading the labels, the most comparable I could find was with South Beach Living’s breakfast cereal bars at 140 calories (same), 5g of fat (slightly higher), and 8g of protein (much higher!).

Now when I want a sweet treat, I can have one at a fraction of the price that will keep me fuller, longer. 

Actual calories consumed – 990 cal

* calories estimated from CalorieKing.com

As with last week, we discussed challenges, not getting in enough physical activity and going off plan a couple of days, and successes, being able to recognize portions and listening to signals telling me when I was full while we were sampling foods at the Expo last Friday.

Then we discussed challenges for this week.

First, I’m eating vegetarian this week, as I have been one week a month for the past year or so.  My consultant and I decided to work off a personalized menu since all their planned menus have a combination of meat and meatless items.

Secondly, I’m going up to San Francisco this weekend to see the Boyfriend, which means eating out or cooking in.  However I’m committed to following the plan until I reach my halfway goal as much as I can so I told her I wanted to bring travel-friendly meals with me, at least one lunch and one dinner for one of the two days that I’ll be up there.

Well kids, the choices for vegetarian are abysmal.  And the travel-friendly choices for non-meat eaters are even worse.  I believe there were only a handful of items (literally) and all of them were either sold out or discontinued.  The only option I had for lunch was the Zesty Tortellini Soup (which doesn’t show up on their menu as vegetarian, probably because of the cheese).

They had two travel options for dinner – Cheese Ravioli and Pasta Fagiole.  C’mon people, can we do better than pastas and cheese?  Which was funny because that was my one complaint during the week was that it seemed like I was eating a lot of pasta.  And while I liked what I was eating so far, I was already craving something new.

For the rest of the week, the frozen options were still limited so I ended up working in a meal on my own (MOMO) for one of the lunch days.  Jenny, if you’re listening out there, you’ll need to do better than this if you want to attract more clients, many of which are vegetarian and vegan nowadays (esp in California!).

Total weight loss to date (JC scale) – 4.8 lbs
Total weight loss to date (my scale) - 3.0 lbs

I have no idea how it happened.  But it seems like one day i just woke up and the wrinkles just appeared on my neck and are creeping into my décolleté.

In my 20s, the idea of wrinkles did linger around in my head but because I never saw them, I didn’t give them a serious thought.  Now that I’m 31 and they are blatantly appearing, I can’t ignore them any more.

For the past week, I’ve been diligently moisturizing my neck and decolletage area in hopes that I can at least slow down the wrinkles that are now visible.  You can find lotions and creams that are geared specifically for these areas but for me, I’ve been using…

StriVectin® Instant Moisture Repair ($59 US) is light-weight and unscented, and perfectly formulated for everyday use.  This new moisturizer works to re-build aging skin, layer by layer, and even touts increasing skin’s hydration levels by 30% within the first hour.

Instant Moisture Repair comes in a tube shape but actually has a pump on the end, which I thought would make it easier to dispense.  It’s hit or miss at times and makes me long for the simplicity of just being able to squeeze the lotion out.

The more I use Aveeno products, the more I love the brand.  Aveeno Positively Smooth Facial Moisturizer is a great recessionista option for everyday use that works to improve skin tone and texture.  I feel no guilt slathering on the peach-scented formula on my face and neck every night.

Those with sensitive skin will also love Aveeno’s hypoallergenic and oil-free (double-yay!) moisturizer that won’t break the bank.

And for those who want to splurge, I really want to try La Prairie Cellular Night Repair Cream ($220 US). This restorative nighttime facial treatment that works while you sleep promoting natural skin repair and recovery. It works to reduce inflammation while hydrating, smoothing and firming – just what I need to avoid getting a turkey neck!

What are you using to moisturizer your face and neck?  Have you noticed if you’ve been able to reduce or prevent the lines around your neck?

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This review contains a sample product sent for consideration by PR.   We do not do paid or guarantee reviews. For more information, please read our Editorial & Content Disclosure.

Jenny Craig Penne Pasta with Steamed Asparagus

Starting Weight (according to my home scale) – 127.2
Starting Mood – adjusting to the time change

Here’s the planned menu for today – 1,055 calories*:

Breakfast:
1 fried egg – 80 cal
2 slices of sourdough toast – 160 cal
1 small banana – 70 cal

Lunch:

Jenny Craig Cheesy Enchilada – 260 cal
Salad with 1 tbsp dressing – 35 cal
2 pieces of bruschetta
spinach dip with bread and celery
2 mini pizza pieces
handful of tortilla chips with nacho cheese
2 glasses of shiraz

Snacks:
Yoplait Light Fat-Free Blueberry – 100 cal
a couple of pieces of a white peach – 30 cal

Dinner:
Jenny Craig Penne Pasta – 280 cal
a side of steamed asparagus (free foods)

Items highlighted are what I actually ate and the ones crossed out didn’t make it to my plate.  Anything extra that weren’t planned are noted below and highlighted red.

Today was my friend’s son’s first birthday party!  I meant to eat lunch before heading over to the festivities but the time change threw me off my clock, literally.

We had light snacks at the party, some bruschetta that I made (which meant healthier!), spinach dip with bread and veggies, chips and salsa or nacho cheese, Korean BBQ (too bad I’m vegetarian this week) and cupcakes (which I stayed away from).

I ate in moderation and still had fun.  Check out my princess crown that the balloon guy made for me!

Actual calories consumed – ???

* calories estimated from CalorieKing.com