Delving into the spiritual a bit... via cosmetics

I had a notable moment the other night. A bunch of us went out to Cabana for a classy birthday dinner for the Babish, and our friend Sunshine showed up looking gorgeous and tan. Turns out it was a fake tan (sorry to call you out, Sun) and she told us what she used. Naturally, LP and Babs and I immediately went to Target when dinner was over.

All of that is largely irrelevant, though. The real thing was that I decided to check the aisles for a new facial moisturizer while I was there. I am heartbroken - Pond's discontinued my favorite face lotion. I noticed last fall that it was no longer on the shelves, but I emailed Pond's (yes... yes I did) to ask about it and they said I just needed to ask my store to stock it. Well I'm not that much of a go-getter, but when I went to an Ulta store to try to find a replacement, they had two of my Pond's left on the shelves... and they have lasted me until now. But it's going to run out in a matter of a week or so, so proactive searching is necessary.

Phew, that was too much information. Continuing on...

So I've always been leery of Olay products, thanks to the advice of my mom who has allergy-sensitive skin and my nana who was a Mary Kay lady. (Remember how it used to be OIL of Olay?) But, given the circumstances, I looked. And I found what I wanted - a non-comedogenic (how do you pronounce that? it means it won't clog pores) and oil-free lotion without SPF (unnecessary when I spend all day inside, so why add something else to my skin?) and preferably with an anti-aging component... face lotions with this combination are surprisingly rare these days, it seems. But, when I had been frantically searching the 'net for my Pond's product, I found an article about the dangers of parabens in the products we use (my old one was paraben-free... thereby solidifying its perfection). I checked the ingredient list on the Olay and it, of course, uses parabens. So I put it back so I could go home and do some research.

This story is way too long. But I just completed my graduate career, so I have time on my hands. (!!!!!!!!!)

Two hours later, I went to bed feeling defeated by all the information I found about how much "bad stuff" (much of it is pre-research speculation) is in the things we use, and stressed because I can't find "safe stuff" in the normal places I shop and because they tend to cost more than I want to pay. I mean, I was really stressed and defeated, thinking I would just have a dry face and never take showers or put things in my hair or on my skin (nahhh, I love showers too much, so when the thought flitted across my brain I quickly squashed it).

So I prayed. I haven't had many moments where I pray and immediately feel relief, but this was one of them. The preacher at the church I go to down here has talked about giving our worries to God, which has alway sounded a little silly to me - I mean, He's got plenty going on, He doesn't need my silly stuff, too. But I just asked for guidance - how do I figure all of this out?! - and suddenly I felt an overwhelming reassurance... I don't need to figure it out. God has given that responsibility to someone else. The best I can do is make the smartest decisions I can, and redirect the energy I could use for worrying about protecting my body from parabens and chemicals and toxins (oh my!) into doing good things that use my (God-given) talents for others. Of course it's important to take care of my body, but I don't think taking care of ME is my main purpose here. So now I think I understand how to give my troubles to God, and it's glorious.

I slept pretty well that night. And I'm probably going to get the Olay lotion and not worry about it unless I start breaking out in zits or hives. Also, I used the self-tanner last night and showered this morning (lathering and rinsing twice), and still smell like self-tanner. Awesome.

I've felt inspired to share that story, so since good old Blogspot is here for that purpose, here you go.

Also... after 21 (?) years straight... I AM DONE WITH SCHOOL. Just sneaking it in here.