Menopausal Mother

I have often mentioned on my blog the woes of perimenopause and the effects it has on the skin---especially dryness and the appearance of wrinkles. Today I'm excited to introduce you to Celeste Lee, Co-Founder of Caire Beauty, Skincare for Grownup Women. She's here to share tips on the breakthrough science behind the company's awesome products that help hydrate and nourish your skin. If you want healthier skin for the new year, check out this amazing facial serum and mask! 

Yep, it’s true. One of the VERY first signs of perimenopause – before you even know that it’s happening is drier, duller skin. Then you wake up to an undereye bag or little eye lines. Some women see horizontal creases in their neck and forehead and others are appalled by brown spots, redness, or out of the blue bigger pores. 65% will have acne. Meanwhile, you’re still faithfully cleansing, toning, moisturizing, and sunscreen (maybe not every day on the sunscreen but still!). What’s going on? 

Aging or as Caire Beauty likes to say, “growing up” is hard on our largest organ. In skin, it turns out there are 2 major causes of aging. The kind that 99% of skincare solves for is external – which is UV radiation and pollution (think free radical damage here!). This starts the day we’re born and is ongoing. 

But who knew that internally caused skin aging also existed! Sex hormones like estrogen & progesterone do much more than drive sex drive! They influence all manner of biological functions including skin cell production. “Keratinocytes, Langerhans’ cells, melanocytes, sebaceous glands, collagen content and the synthesis of hyaluronic acid are under hormonal influence,” says Dermatology Review. But like so much associated with peri/menopause, the beauty industry has traditionally ignored it. This is why your skincare isn’t as effective as it used to be. It only works to defend your skin from the outside, utterly ignoring how the wild west of hormones is slowing up things on the inside. 

Caire’s breakthrough science fights the estrogen-related Collagen and Hyaluronic Acid slowdown that DOUBLES in perimenopause (38 – 44 onset and lasts 4 to 10 years) and then contracts another 30% at menopause (age 51-ish). Their Pro-Growth complex includes a full spectrum of hyaluronic acid molecules including their signature ‘Tiniest HA in the World’ and a customized peptide that ‘talks’ to the skin, telling it to make more skin cells. It’s like a new ‘good’ boss for your skin. Because the stronger skin is inside, the smoother, suppler, brighter it will look outside. 

Caire’s Theorem Serum Boost ($56) and Triple Lift Molecule Mask ($52) are multi-tasking miracle workers. In addition to the hormone-defying science, all Caire is clean, vegan, fragrance & toxin-free. The Serum should be used twice daily, the tightening gel Mask up to 3x a week. Some women even like to sleep with the Mask on, so as to wake up to younger, softer skin. Aging is unique, meaning you might have large pores, brown spots & fine lines and your bestie might see sags, jawline softness, and dryness galore. 

Caire is a new science for today, and their recent Clinical Test results are super supportive. The Theorem Serum clinicals showed 100% of women experienced smoother, firmer, suppler, more radiant skin. 97% of women said their skin “looked & felt more like it did 5 years ago” and “that circles under the eyes were visibly diminished”.  The Triple Lift Mask clinicals showed 100% experienced “immediately softer, plumper, glowing skin” with “visibly reduced lines” on both the neck and face. 

Their customer reviews in all honesty are even more compelling because these are totally objective experiences from real women from ages 35 to 75 all over the United States of every skin tone, skin type, and living in all different climates. Caire formulas that are naturally anti-inflammatory are becoming a cult favorite for those with newly sensitive skin (caused by that damn estrogen change) as the clean and gentle formulas benefit and soothe redness, irritations, rosacea, and other sensitivities.  See for yourself at www.cairebeauty.com

Use code MENOPAUSALMOTHER20 for 20% off a purchase! The code is good thru Feb 2022

     I'm always excited to feature one of my fellow Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop authors on the blog. I've known Janie Emaus since we met in 2014 at the convention, and we've been good friends ever since. I admire her writing style, and she never fails to make me laugh when she writes humorous stories about aging (because I can sooooo relate!). Her essay that I'm sharing today is one of my favorites because I have been in this situation before. Janie keeps it real, so I'm sure you'll be laughing with me on this one, too.....

                               THREE GENERATIONS OF BUTTS

Hair whitens. Butts droop. Arms sag. Aging is not a pretty picture, is it?  
No butts about it. 

     I'm always so happy when I get a chance to showcase my dear friend Anne Bardsley's work. We became pals when we first we met at the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop in 2014 and she has kept me laughing ever since with her hilarious tales. With her permission, I snagged a funny story from her blog because it is 100% relatable to my life, and I think some of my readers might be able to relate, too. Enjoy!


                         YOUR BODY IS LISTENING

     I'm so pleased to have Molly Stevens back on the blog today! She has a new book out that I know my readers will love. Boomer on the Ledge is described by Molly as "a little doll whose daily surprises reminded her how being a boomer is both harrowing and hilarious."

     A few months ago, Molly gave a full description of the book on her blog, Shallow Reflections. Today she is sharing an interview with the doll, Boomer in the Ledge, which is hysterical.

     If you're familiar with "Elf On A Shelf" (who isn't??) then you understand why we Boomers need someone like this little doll watching over our antics as we age. Check out Molly's website from the info below and be sure to grab a copy of her new book!

         It's a book! It's a doll! It's Boomer on the Ledge!

     I have a special guest on the site today. Please welcome Lorraine Miano, author of The Magic Of Menopause: A Holistic Guide To Get Your Happy Back. Her new book is filled with informative tips and covers all aspects of the menopause experience. Lorraine is an Integrative Certified Health Coach who is very passionate about helping women who are dealing with menopause, and her book speaks to many of us in this phase of life.

     Below is an excerpt from her book. If could like to order a copy, you can fund the link below. Please welcome Lorraine to Meno Mama's site with lots of comment love!

So, you may ask, what is so magical about menopause?

     It starts the moment you receive an email that your classmates are organizing another high school reunion. Your knee-jerk response is complete and utter denial: THERE'S NO WAY TEN YEARS HAVE ALREADY PASSED SINCE THE LAST REUNION. Once this little fact registers in your brain, panic sets in....and all hell breaks loose as you prepare to spend a weekend with people you probably haven't seen since Boyz II Men were on their first tour and everyone was wearing Hammertime pants.

     There are three stages to every high school reunion that follow the initial days of denial: The Preparation, The Event, and The Party Afterglow (Alas, for some, this is also known as the "Relief Stage"....because it's finally over and they can go back to wearing their comfy stretch pants and arch support sandals).

THE PREPARATION STAGE:

The first thing you do is check out the photos from the LAST reunion to see how much you've changed. This is followed by a close inspection of your reflection in the mirror. HOLY CRAP, WHEN DID I PUT ON ALL OF THIS WEIGHT?? This is when the real panic sets in. You dust off that gym membership and survive on rabbit food for weeks in an earnest attempt to drop two clothes sizes before the big day. When that doesn't work, you buy something in black that will at least make you LOOK ten pounds lighter (or prove that you're in mourning from the loss of your youthful appearance). And then you cry in the parking lot at Dunkin' Donuts while you scarf down two French Crullers and a Boston Kreme donut.

It's not just the weight gain that bothers you. It's the elephant skin around your eyes, the thinning grey hair at your temples, and those pesky age spots along your droopy jawline that disturb you the most. Like a soldier preparing for battle, you line up your defenses. Hair appointment, check. Facial, mani and pedi, check. Teeth whitening, eyebrow shaping, nose hair plucking, leg waxing....check, check, and double check. You've spent a small fortune on all of these things, but desperation kicks in when you notice your pasty white thighs, and you have no problem shelling out an additional $75 for a tanning booth to give your skin that natural, sun-kissed glow.....which will have faded by the time you pay your final bar tab at the reunion.

THE EVENT: 

You wake up the day of the event as jittery as a prepubescent teen embarking on her first date....or a sacrificial virgin preparing to be thrown into a live volcano. The reunion could go either way.

To calm your nerves, you soak in a warm tub and wonder if it's too early to have a cocktail. As the hour of departure draws near, you decide to be bold and wear the pink tunic instead of the black dress.


Once you arrive, you make a beeline to the bar to bolster your courage and suddenly catch a glimpse of yourself in the foyer mirror. It's at that moment you realize that wearing the tunic was a mistake. You look like a lumpy potato wrapped in pink Saran, ready for the microwave. Better make that martini a double.

Three cocktails later, you're on the dance floor with your friends, busting a move from the 1980's and praying that both your knee caps and the Spandex that fits you like a sausage casing will hold up under the strain.

People are hugging and reminiscing about prom and homecoming and bonfires, all of which you were never a part of since you were incredibly awkward in high school. But none of this matters, because the martinis have sufficiently numbed you to the point that you've forgotten that you look like a potato. No one else notices either----they're too busy having fun with you, chowing down on a platter of elf-size quiches and photobombing your selfies.

Even though you were never accepted as a "cool kid" in high school, by the end of the evening you've become one, because at this stage in life, you're all members of the popular clique known as the "Old Farts Club."

THE AFTERGLOW:

The morning after the reunion, you bask in the afterglow of renewed friendships and chuckle over the barrage of tagged photos on social media as you contemplate the best way to cure your martini hangover. You're also incredibly grateful that many of the photos have been doctored to make you look ten years younger.

Once the aspirin kicks in, you realize what a damn good time you had and how proud you are to be part of such an inspiring group of classmates. They've reminded you that even though you've aged on the outside, you're still just as fun and youthful on the inside. And for this, you love them. You've gained a new tribe of friends and you can't wait to see them again at the next reunion in ten years.  Even if you still look like a potato.

     Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall group blog postings, hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today, nine bloggers are inviting you into their homes for a glimpse of what you would see and hear behind closed doors.

     When I participate in these Fly On The Wall posts, most of the comments I share come from my husband, who certainly has a way with words. His quick wit is what attracted me to him in the first place. Sort of like flies to honey (see what I did there?). He had some zingers this past month, and I've been grabbing my pen and pad every time he says one of his off-the-wall comments.



"I have my own floatation device in the pool----it's called an 'inner tube waistline'."

"You know you're getting old when you have to keep floss in every room."

"I forgot to shower and my armpits smell like tacos. I've sniffed them so many times today that now I'm craving Taco Bell."


"I just got carded. But not for looking under 21. The clerk wanted to know if I was entitled to the senior citizen's discount."

"My food traps are so bad, I need a pressure cleaner to get the extra food out of my molars."

"Ancestry.com has a package deal on sale today. You should get one so we can finally find out what your DNA is."
"No thanks. I'm too afraid to find out that I might be kin to a schnauzer."

"I picked up the bedroom furniture you ordered. It's the wrong size."
"What do you mean? I bought a dresser and two end tables."
"The furniture is for a baby's room. The drawers wouldn't even hold a stack of onesies, let alone my t-shirts."
"I'm not sending it back. We just have to make it work."
"Then you can forget about filling it with adult diapers when you're old. And don't be surprised if the nightstands come with baby bottle holders."

"THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 21 AND 61: AT 21, YOU'RE FULL OF ENERGY AND EXUBERANCE. AT 61, YOU'RE LEFT HOLDING A BAG OF LEFTOVERS"


"I just don't feel attractive anymore. My skin is as saggy and wrinkly as an elephant's, and no one wants to f#@k an elephant."

"Male UTIs are the worst. It feels as if someone put a cattle prod up my urethra."


"Why do you always attract so many mosquitos? They're swarming all over you."
"Because my DNA is made up of 40% crap."

"I look so old----people probably mistake me for the grim reaper."

"Our favorite doctor is no longer on our insurance plan. I really need to get an endoscopy for my esophagus, but with my luck, I'll be sent to a doctor named 'One Tooth Fred' who'll put the tube up the wrong orifice."


 
    Is it any wonder why I've been married to this guy for 33 years? He keeps me laughing, and laughter keeps us both young. It's a win-win situation. I think I'll keep him.