In his book, Servan-Schreiber talks about conventional treatments, vitamins, processed foods, organic foods, teas and household cleaning products. He makes a really compelling case that if we take care of our “terrain” – our own bodies’ health by making sensible choices on all of the above, we stand to live in good health. This is by far one of the best and most worthwhile books I’ve read in the last several years.

One thing he talks about is deodorant. The aluminum contained in many mainstream deodorants are carcinogenic and harmful to our terrain. In fact, he talks about how such anti-perspirant/deodorants are particularly harmful because they are applied when the skin is warm and pores are open following hot showers. Switch, instead, to a deodorant that is aluminum-free.

You’re probably thinking “but does it work?” The answer is yes it does (with a small caveat)! Over the last few years, I have tried a number of different organic, aluminum-free deodorants. Some work better than others. But when I am doing a speaking engagement where I know I will be a little nervous and a lot hot, I will revert to the old school super dry anti-perspirant (yes, aluminum). But let’s say I do that 8-10 times a year instead of 365 days (sometimes more with multiple showers in one day!). I’ll take those odds.

I personally love Lafe’s Natural and Organic Deodorant Twist Stick- Fresh. It comes in a variety of flavors – tea tree, lavender, powder and unscented, among others. My husband, who was a naysayer, now uses it everyday too.

Look, there are a million things that we can’t control in our environment – the air we breathe, the oceans we swim in. But we can take control of the products that we use. Check out an aluminum-free deodorant for yourself!

Well Serena did a little research and look what she shared…

I just had to share it with all of you: Antidote’s SUMMER GLOW! Summer Glow and it’s a pasty person’s answer to a rich natural looking tan without the sun. This luxurious self-tanning lotion is packed with powerful antioxidants and anti-aging ingredients that help nourish and hydrate the skin. The dark tan is achieved by using DHA, a sugar derivative, which reacts to your own body’s amino acids resulting in a browning effect on the surface of the skin. BEST PART FOR US – NON-TOXIC, PARABEN-FREE AND NO ODOR!!! OMG it must be my birthday! This is just too good to be true.

It doesn’t smell while the color is developing! Their innovative fragrance technology actually encapsulates the nasty smell, so you get to smell like a flower, not like you were dying Easter eggs all day.

How does DHA in a self-tanner work?

Through a safe and natural process, the DHA attaches itself to the amino acids in your epidermis, the top layer of the skin, and goes through a chemical change. This process is similar to the browning that occurs when you cut open an apple and leave it exposed to the air.

The resulting effect is a gorgeous golden color. It’s NON-TOXIC and only affects the upper layer of your skin, which is made up of dead skin cells. Our bodies naturally shed dead skin cells daily so unfortunately your tan won’t last forever! However, you can expect the beautiful color to last up to a week or two.

To order: www.antidoteskincare.com -Summer Glow will run you about $39.00 a bottle. It is a bit pricey but a lot better for you than the real sun, much less expensive than a spa self-tanning treatment and no toxins! No wonder we’re glowing!

Venus tip: While in the shower exfoliate with a body scrub and apply the tanner once you are dry.

Thanks Serena!!!

I’d been using YSL’s Touche Eclat for years, and I really just went to get a refill on it. But the woman helping me suggested Touche Veloutee, and I promise, I will never look back. The brush applicator is so soft – I love the way it feels on my skin. But even better, the stuff is infused with botanicals that hydrate and plump your skin and the concealer itself, while liquid, actually feels powdery! Because of its plumping mojo, the concealer doesn’t allow for cracks and crevices, which sometimes become more apparent with other concealers.

I’m in love.

A few years ago, I was shopping the beauty floor at Barneys and had discovered By Terry. I especially loved their liquid foundation (don’t wear that any more) and their rose lip balm (apparently their best seller). Today, I found a new face powder. It’s triple-milled (the saleswoman kept repeating that) and natural – no parabens. It’s light while providing coverage. I also liked that the first ingredient in the products is often hyaluronic acid and other anti-aging stuff. The hyaluronic acid in particular is meant to hold onto moisture. Who doesn’t want makeup that will help keep us looking young!

The other product I found was an under eye concealer – you know those dark circles we like to cover? I have been using Yves Saint Laurent’s Touche Eclat for many years, and I asked the sales person if I could buy another one. And she said – “oh but By Terry makes one too, and it’s better!” Of course she did. But actually, I think it is better. My issue with the YSL product was that sometimes the concealer would just sit within the crevices under my eyes. But the By Terry product is made with hyaluronic acid which plumps the skin (extra moisture? plumper skin, I guess). So it looks more natural.

The last thing she made me do was look in the super well-lit mirror (“it simulates sunlight” – ugh). And I did (even though I don’t always enjoy looking in the mirror). And I did look better than I did when I walked in. Success! New face powder (Light-Expert Compact)! And, unexpectedly, under eye concealer (Touche Veloutee)!

Just a warning, though. This wasn’t as good a deal as I’d hoped, but I was happy with the results.

There’s my beauty discovery for today.

* VIB has no interest, financial or otherwise, in promoting By Terry products.

How much money have you forked over at the hair salon for blowouts that last one or two days (three if you’re super lucky or somehow avoid sweating at the gym)? The blow out is fleeting beauty that is nonetheless costly.

I personally got tired of running out for blow outs, and I also despised the effort it took me to blow my own hair out, only to have it frizz up the second I would walk out into fresh (all right, maybe humid) air. Summers and trips to Hawaii educed continual bad hair days for me. So I did two things. One, I got my hair straightened a la the Japanese perm. My friend Sarah turned me on to this wonderful, inexpensive (relative to the Madison Avenue salons) place down in Greenwich Village called Sei Tomoko, where Japanese hair stylists painstakingly straighten each and every strand of hair (my fabulous guy is Motoki).

That said, I’m not particularly diligent about doing this on a regular basis (the process takes a super looong time), so the second thing I did was to get (and my suggested gift for today is) a Hot Tools 2″ curling iron. Women juggle so many things. For me, I seemingly have 3 or 4 jobs, take care of my kids and organize their social calendars, pay the bills, organize my own social calendar, exercise, have fun with my husband, play tennis, volunteer, etc. I don’t have the time to either sit for the straightening, or organize regular blow outs. (But when I do – time saving trick – I bring all my bills and unpleasant paperwork so that I can get stuff done while I’m sitting in the chair.)

But I love me my curling iron. I’m not talking about Cindy Brady ringlets in your hair. This 2″ curling iron is genius b/c it smooths and straightens your hair without making it stick straight. Plus it gives you a bit of wave and style. It looks like you’ve stepped out of a salon (hey, isn’t that from a commercial?). Saves money. Saves time. Looks fabulous. Easy. What more could any woman want? By the way, Hot Tools is the brand that many hairstylists recommended to me. Take their word for it. I did only the first time (I have two), and my second curling iron (not Hot Tools) just doesn’t do the trick.

Happy fabulousness!

* VIB has no financial interest in promoting this product.

As I creep closer to the last year in my 30s, I am conscious of every nook and cranny on my face. Sure, I am glad to have graduated from the alcohol- and chocolate-induced puffy face of my college years (I just saw some pix courtesy of one of my best college buddies – yikes! If I can muster up the courage, I will post for you to see too.), but a wrinkle in my time is also a slightly unwelcome development.

Good news, though. In addition to the good nutrition and body care that we promote, I have two tricks up my sleeve to combat the aging process… Put these on your holiday list!

• SCO Hydrating Eye Cream: I have just realized that this is a product that I absolutely cannot live without. A few months ago, after nine years of never deviating one step away from Theresa Ma’s innovative skincare system any many years of personal product trials before that), I decided to try some new stuff. Big mistake. This Hydrating Eye Cream, which the SCO staff infuses with customized active ingredients designed to meet your specific skincare needs (this can vary from season to season or just for whatever reason), is the best eye cream I’ve used. It is luxuriously hydrating, but it simultaneously lets your skin hold on to makeup. Since September, I have tried a number of eye creams, and they’ve either been too slick (makeup runs off, resulting in raccoon eyes), or not creamy enough! In fact, I think my crow’s feet are a bit more apparent these days… My favorite infusions are caffeine (anti-puff) and what SCO has termed “topical Botox” (anti-wrinkle!). I won’t (although never say  never) get Botox needles stuck in my face, but I’ll take some on top of my skin if it works (and it does!!). Hello again, SCO!
• Electric Micro-Current Facial: If you haven’t tried one of these, put it on your list! Designed to tone and strengthen your facial muscles, the micro-current also refines lines and creases in your skin. Result? Your skin looks smoother and more radiant, and I promise, it ends up tighter and firmer too!  The first time I submitted to this wonderful treatment, Ildi Pekar, my genius esthetician, showed me as much of a before and after on my own skin as she could. She did one side of my face, showed me a mirror and pointed out the (very obvious) differences. In addition to decreased puffiness (get a sense for what I’m sensitive about?), the one line on my face I’m particularly obsessed with was significantly diminished! I was amazed. And now I’m hooked. If you’re in NYC, check Ildi out (her client list reads like a celebrity/fashion mag, oh and then, there are run of the mill people like Susan and me!). If not, see what spas offer this micro-current facial in your neighborhood. You’ll be hooked too!

Happy beautifying!

* VIB has no financial interest in promoting these products.

I remember one cover in particular – a gorgeous and newly discovered Paulina Porizkova with long brown hair and beautiful pink lipstick. I went right to the credits to find the lipstick – the pink lipstick! I had to have it!! I saved up just to buy that lipstick. Surely this magical tube was the answer to becoming beautiful. Did I look anything like that cover? NOOOOOOOO and, just for the record, my coloring forbids me from wearing anything pink. The only thing that happened was I was about $10.00 poorer (and a wee bit wiser). I was also far too young to be let in on the secrets of makeup artists, hairstylists and retouching.

Years later, I met Paulina. I was working for Estee Lauder, and we were producing a how-to makeup video, which featured Estee Lauder’s face at the time, Paulina. It was a three generation project: Paulina, her mom and her niece. Paulina walked in without a stitch of makeup and was just perfect to behold. She sat next to me at lunch at read my palm! I was in my 20’s at the time, and this was so huge for me AND she was into the same types of things I loved (palm reading, tarot, yay!). Guess what guys – she was beautiful, smart and nice! Some women just have it all.

Fast forward a few decades – have I changed? Of course. Do I have more confidence? On most days. Did that keep me from purchasing the new face cream that promised to be botox in a tube? Even though I knew with every fiber of my being that no cream can really take those lines away, I bought it. I like to think of this as my eternal optimist taking over!

This search for eternal youth is as old as time itself. In the early 1500’s Ponce de Leon headed out from Spain to discover the fountain of youth. The healing/anti-aging waters were reputed to be on the East Coast. What did Ponce de Leon discover? Florida (and a few Bahamian Islands)! Maybe that is why I always feel better after a few days in sunny Florida.

Many of us have the same love affair with beauty. We are brainwashed by Madison Avenue with a collective culture that tells us to be beautiful, you must be young, and stay young. Here at VIB, we want you to feel good in your skin. No matter how old that skin is. As a matter of fact, at VIB we want to grow old, very, very old! Are we saying to accept defeat? NO! 40 is the new 30 and so on. We want you to take good care and put the best quality products (this doesn’t necessarily mean the most expensive) into your body and on your skin.

Nutrition, exercise, career fulfillment, relationships, laughter and a positive outlook are the best anti-agers available to us.

I love shopping for all things beauty. I love the colors, the textures and the fragrances. I love the density of the offerings – so much stuff to choose from in such a small space. I love the way beauty products can transform and am fascinated by how lotions, moisturizers and balms can feed the skin. I always told my mother that if I hadn’t gone to law school, I would have gone to school to learn to be an aesthetician.

As a confessed beauty product junkie, this excursion was a diversion from my usual routine. At Whole Foods, I loved the low-key atmosphere, with attention from a down-to-earth and un-made up associate interested only in my needs, rather than what he could up sell. I looked at beauty products containing organic ingredients that would nourish my skin in the same way organic foods to nourish my body. Bonus? These beauty products, despite their high quality, were a shocking fraction of the cost at my regular beauty haunts on Madison Avenue.

Why the change? Don’t get me wrong. I still love my current products from SCO (check out www.scocare.com which has really done wonders for my skin – their eye cream is the BEST I’ve tried!) and also have loved exotic and expensive products from La Mer, Natura Bisse and Decleor. You name it. I’ve tried it. But I’ve just realized that while I pay so much attention to whether food products are organically or conventionally produced, I pay no attention to that same issue with my skincare products. The thing is, our skin absorbs the nutrients in anything we apply to it – just like when we eat our foods!

Now that I’ve had this aha moment, I’m on the lookout for organically made products and products that don’t contain ingredients like parabens in my face cream, my lip gloss and my body lotions. There’s a ton to choose from!

And there’s the added bonus of cheaper during times when we’re all trying to shave off some expenses. Whole Foods. Your local health food store. Check them out.

I love my husband and my son, and while both happen to be funny guys, nothing heals my soul like a night out with my girlfriends where we just laugh and laugh and laugh.

We are sending out a call to laughter. Send us your best (really worst) beauty and fashion disaster stories – and if you are so bold, evidence of such disasters! We’ve all had them, and this discussion could keep us all laughing for days.

I have already shared some of mine – red leather Michael Jackson jacket, shoulder pads bigger than me… Did I also mention too much makeup, bright lipstick and big hair with earrings to rival the ‘do? I also wore gold spandex pants with a matching tube top (still the 80’s, people!) with high heels and the big hair of course. Then there was the time that I danced the night away at Studio 54 in a strapless Betsey Johnson number paired with four-inch suede pumps in none other than fuchsia! They let ME in?

Okay, but I have to say that Karen still wins the fashion disaster award with her crotch-length pony skin skirt. Agreed, mini (micro) skirts may not be all that unusual, but if you knew Karen this makes the story extra hysterical. Karen is such an elegant and refined lady (but younger and much cooler than the term “lady” denotes).

We want to know what have you done for beauty… we are giggling already.

I’d had it in my head I wanted to try this line that I was familiar with from my days on the King’s Road in London – Korres. Famous for their botanical and natural lines, I thought I would try their mineral face powder and their mascara. Well, I just love their Wild Rose Brightening Powder. It’s light but provides really thorough coverage, and as it’s name indicates, it contains Wild Rose oil that’s a great source of vitamin C. At $28 a pop, it’s not much different in price than MAC or other cosmetics lines that I touch and covet at the fancy department stores.

I tried their mascara too. It’s super natural, free of all kinds of stuff that we don’t want in our food or our makeup (parabens, GMOs, synthetic dyes and fragrances, etc.). I found that the mascara, fortified with Abyssinia oil, did the trick. My lashes were long, and the mascara stayed on strong.

Good to know that Korres is easy to get (isn’t there a Sephora at every mall in America now?), and that it won’t break the bank.