Beauty advice to a 12 old . . .

One of my boys' friends - a cute little 12 year old named Arianna, was over at our house yesterday.
She was kicking Zach and Dillon's butts at video games, got a little bored, and came back to my bedroom to watch me finish up my Saturday afternoon Pilates routine. She studied my movements curiously.

"How old are you?" she asked as I was rolling up my mat.
"How old do you think I am?"answering her surprising question with one of my own. I braced myself for her answer.
"Probably as old as my mother."
"I'm forty-five."
Silence. More curious studying, this time my face.
"You're way older than my mother," she finally said.
"She's thirty-three."
"Hmm," is all I could come up with.
"What is your secret?" she asked.
"Oh, I have no secrets, sweetie."
"So, tell me everything you know," she said matter of factly.

I thought about this for a while.
"What about me writing something, just for you?"
"Beauty secrets?"she asked.
"Well, just some hard learned advice regarding what being beautiful is really all about."

"K," she sang.

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And now my work begins.
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In random order

• Sun never hurt anyone with a brain. Just don't bask in it without a sunscreen. Especially if you're fair. Don't allow yourself to burn. There are a lot of products out there to prevent it. Use them. One of my best friends is a maniac about protecting herself from the sun and still she deals with tons of wrinkles. (So did her mother. A lot of it is hereditary.) And besides looking pasty, I'm sure she has a vitamin D deficiency.
• Laugh at yourself. Don't take yourself, or anyone else, too seriously.
  
• Count your blessings every day. Be serious about it. Count 'em in detail.
• Drink a lot of water. For many reasons.
• Believe in a higher power of your choice. I find mine in nature.
  
• Study classical ballet at sometime in your life, even if for a short period of time. Dancers carry themselves differently. They enter crowded rooms differently. They are exposed to classical music and move with it. They are in tune with their bodies.
• Forgiving others (and forgiving yourself)-- is the best gift you can give to yourself.
• Expose yourself to the outdoors. I'm not saying you have to become an outdoorsman. Just get out of the house and seek out nature's beauty on a regular basis.
• Listen to live music as much as possible. All kinds.
• Learn how to cook at least one great meal. From scratch.
• Don't smoke. Devastating to your body, skin, hair . .
• Own at least one white linen blouse.
• If you fill up on fresh fruit, whole grains and vegetables, then you can eat some of the junk.
• Choose to be a big picture person. Take off the blinders. The view is much better.
• Eat dessert. Just be smart about it.
• Easy on make-up. Especially during the day. And always follow the rule: Strong eyes, nude-ish lip. Strong lip, light on the eyes. Otherwise you're going to look like a French whore. Ah -- and, light and sheer foundation with just a touch of rosy color on the apples of cheeks. Make-up is to enhance what you already have. Not mask it.
• Don't get too far off of your natural hair color. Nature is pretty good about coordinating your hair, eye color and complexion to complement each other.
• Eyebrows should always be a shade or two darker than your overall haircolor to give you some depth.
• Stretch daily. Not just in bed before getting up. Create your own stretching routine. Look for one online.
• On clothes: If the first thing someone notices about you is what you're wearing -- then you've got it all wrong. YOU wear the clothes. Not the other way around.
• If you are going to blow a lot of money on clothes, go for the accessories. Shoes, purse, watch. They pull your whole look together and make your garments look expensive.
  
• Get plenty of sleep. Invest in luxurious bedding, including the mattress. Well worth it.
• Follow your big, bold dreams. Not someone elses. If you pursue your passions wholeheartedly, then everything will fall into place.
• Love an animal. (The four-legged variety.:))
• Learn a second language. Even a third and fourth.
  
• What goes around, DOES . . .eventually . . .come around. Do the right thing and reap the rewards.
• Always, ALWAYS, ALWAYS listen to your gut. That little inner voice. It will never steer you wrong.
• Be true to yourself. Completely and totally. Sometimes this is a lot harder than it sounds.
• Don't trust blinkers.
• Be kind to your knees.
• At 40, cut back on your daily caloric intake by about 200 calories and increase your daily exercise by 10 or 15 minutes. Don't ask why. Just do it.
• Department store make-up is not one bit better than drug-store make-up. I know this but still still buy Clinique.
• The same holds true for skincare products.
• Stand up for those who cannot, for whatever reason, stand up for themselves.
• Dare to venture outside of your comfort zone. It can be exhilarating and life-changing. Or just plain fun.
• Break a heart-pumping sweat at least 20 minutes daily. MAKE the time to do it. It is a natural stress reducer, it improves your mood, controls blood pressure, keeps pounds off.
• Understand that there are always two sides to every story. Sometimes more. Listen before jumping to conclusions.
• You are going to make mistakes. Big ones. Little ones. The key is never-ever look at them as failures. Embrace them. Learn from them. They are life lessons and they make you a stronger, more empathetic person.
• The written word can be interpreted many different ways, absent of voice inflection and tone. Be aware of this when e-mailing. Especially in the workplace.
• Become the most compassionate person you know.
• They make bras to lift and separate. But there's not a garment out there that you will want to wear that does the same thing for your behind. TAKE THE STAIRS.
  

More later.