Love, Life & Beauty After Fifty

Like all mental illnesses, social anxiety isn’t the easiest of conditions to understand. That goes for the people who live with it every day so it’s little wonder that those with no experience of its struggle to get their heads around it. I am not sure why I suffer from social anxiety and can’t even pinpoint when it started. I certainly don’t fully know what the triggers are and why on some days I feel confident as hell and on others, I can’t even leave the house. But there are some things that I do know and, with the knowledge that I am not alone, here are 15 things people who experience social anxiety need you to understand. 1. We’re not rude We can certainly be construed as such – and I have found myself on many occasions kicking myself for accidentally coming across this way. Incidentally, the fear that we are offending people can exacerbate the anxiety that has caused us to go into our shells in the first place but being quiet, not responding to calls or declining invites isn

It's been a few years since I've traveled to Disney (Disney World in particular) but this July I will be visiting Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure Parks for the first time while I am attending a conference in Anaheim. I have been a little lax in my exercise routine over the past little while (OK, I admit I haven't been exercising all that much) and as such, I have put on a bit of weight.  Ultimately I would like to lose about 20-25 pounds before I leave for Anaheim, however, I have a problem with food. Over the past few months I have been trying to follow the Keto diet, but unfortunately, my love for carbs is something I am finding very hard to give up.  I love my bread, pasta and rice just too much. The other day I got on the scale and was shocked that I gained almost 10 pounds since I jumped on the Keto bandwagon in December 2017.  I admit I haven't followed the Keto diet as closely as I should have (yes those darn carbs get me every time) but I

Yes, I admit it ... I snore ... quite loudly for a little person.  I'm not proud of it, but there, I said it. As I'm getting older, it seems my snoring is sadly getting worse.  A lot probably has to do with my overbite, and of course, we snore more as we get older because our muscles become increasingly slack with age. In an effort to combat my snoring and get a better nights sleep (and give my husband a better night sleep) I decided to look into a mandibular advancement device.  I did some research and decided on the VitalSleep Anti-Snoring Mouthguard because of its ability to be adjusted using two screws, plus the option to choose one specifically made for women.  I should also mention that along with my overbite, my teeth are not exactly straight which influenced my choice in deciding what to purchase. The cost of this MAD wasn't cheap - $59.95 US plus shipping - but if it worked, I was willing to shell out the money, so I ordered one directly from their website.

I was one of the lucky ladies chosen to review the new Nude by Nature line here in Canada through Chick Advisor Included in my package were: 1) Nude by Nature Radiant Loose Powder Foundation 2) Nude by Nature Perfecting Primer 3) Nude by Nature Mineral Brush #11 Let's get down to the review: 1) Nude by Nature Radiant Loose Powder Foundation I have previously used powder mineral foundations and was excited to try the Nude by Nature one. The powder comes in a nice clear tub with an interesting mesh sifter. It was hard to pick a color without actually seeing the powders in person but the color I chose matched my skin tone closely enough. That's where the good ends. My main priorities for a mineral powder makeup is that gives my skin a healthy look and they do not look cakey. Unfortunately this one failed. Nude by Nature made my mature skin look really bad, it seemed to accentuate lines and wrinkles I did not know that I had. I looked like I aged a few years i

I love my Beauty Blender ... I really do ... It is my preferred method of applying foundation or BB Creams. Enter the L'Oreal Blend Artist Infallible Foundation Blender - which I saw in the beauty section at WalMart.  It was half the price 😮 I was intrigued so I decided to buy it and give it a whirl. The next morning, I excitedly opened the package.  The sponge was, dare I say, even softer than my beloved Beauty Blender.   I ran the sponge under the faucet.  First thing I noticed is that it soaked up a lot more water (and I do mean a lot more) than the Beauty Blender.   After squeezing out as much water as I could, I went to work applying my BB Cream.  I must say, it applied the BB Cream wonderfully - and the sponge felt oh so soft on my skin. For the next week, I put aside my Beauty Blender and used the L'Oreal sponge exclusively.   Pros: - about 1/2 the price of the Beauty Blender - incredibly soft on the skin - blends make-up nicely Cons:

I admit, am a sucker for a good sale and even more of a sucker for Sephora's bi-annual VIB sale. So what did I purchase from the most recent Sephora VIB sale? This Caudalie Anti-aging trio was one I've had my eye on for some time.  I had been wanting to try these products but couldn't justify paying the expensive prices for each individual product.  This set is perfect.  This set contains: - 0.5 oz/ 15 mL Premier Cru The Eye Cream - 0.33 oz/ 10 mL Premier Cru The Elixir - 0.5 oz/ 15 mL Premier Cru The Cream My second purchase was another gift set I had my eye on - the Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter set. Winter has arrived early here in Western Canada, so am looking forward to trying these. This set contains: - 8 fl. oz/ 240 mL Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter in Vanilla Apricot - 2 fl. oz/ 59 mL Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter in Lavender Citrus - 2 fl. oz/ 59 mL Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter in Vanilla Pine The third set I purchased was the