We Are Family

"We Are Family" 2/26/2010

When I was asked to write about beauty and family, my mind immediately leapt back to the early 1970's and Saturday afternoons at my great grandmother's house. Jennie was a beautiful Italian woman with nearly seamless olive skin, green eyes that didn't miss a trick and auburn hair that was always perfectly styled, even if she was just spending the day at home baking. It is for my great grandmother Jennie that I am named. I loved playing beauty parlour with her! Giving each other facials using Jergen's Face Cream, rosewater toner and Oil of Olay lotion, then painting each other's nail's pink was sheer bliss! Of course our routine wasn't over until we'd carefully applied our Lady Esther face powder (Bridal Pink for me) and Revlon's classic Cherries in the Snow lipstick.

Just typing these words brings the scents of these magical unguents back to me. Curious about other gals' beauty rituals, I asked around. What I discovered was this: with huge grins on their faces, my girlfriends were eager to share their beauty stories. From sisters giving each other Queen Helene green face masks, moms giving daughters foot rubs with peppermint lotion, cousins "down the shore" coated in Quick Tan and sprayed to hilt with Sun-In, to bubble baths at grandma's with Jean Nate bath powder as the grand finale, the overall sentiment was universal: pure joy.

Why not start your own traditions with side by side pedicures in the spa, or do-it-yourself home pedicures with wonderful products like Lollia's Relax bath salts, My Sweet Garden lavender scrub and Solar Oil cuticle oil? Pick a funky color from OPI's new Swiss collection for dazzling toes with sparkle to spare. Go on, make some memories of your own; you'll be glad you did