spa demons

Melania Trump is my secret crush, just when I think that nobody could be more vacuous, she reveals hidden shallows, despite this, I am hopelessly fascinated by her.  Possibly it is because I do not envy the lifestyle in any way; all that gold leaf, fake louis XIV and all that Donald Trump.  But we love a Cinderella story and Melania certainly fits the paradigm.  I applaud anyone who can live their life with total conviction.  My life is a daily dither, questioning every tiny detail of everything that I do.  But Melania is very clear about her goals and aspirations and is 100% sure of every choice she makes. Her Youtube appearances chatting about her hideous (although my 8 year-old-magpie-eyed inner self secretly would wear the diamonte and turquoise inspired by Versailles) jewellery range are quite something to behold.  Her comments about New York, Palm Beach and Paris being the only places in the world, pretty much says it all.
This picture is shot at the Ritz spa in Paris, it is how I aspire to look on a spa day, relaxed, happy and relishing all that pampering.
I have never been a good spa goer, I have perservered, but have succeeded in a grand total of two facials and three manicures in my life. I once had a massage but left half way through as the therapist said she could feel me getting tenser as the minutes ticked by.  It is the time to think, my mind whirrs and all I can think about is getting out to make a start on whatever plan I have hatched.  As for the manicures, the first coat was like torture and the prospect of a second one too much to bear.
And so as part of my new regime of slowing down and savouring life, I have a few spa days booked with friends in order to overcome my bete noir.
I have invested in some suitable attire, namely an orange one piece (I am taking no risks on getting any of this wrong), which was tougher to track down than would be imagined. I found one, it was a size 14, and the size snob in me wanted to send it back, but actually it fits like a glove.  These are before and after shots of my fake tanning, there is trickery with the light since it is am and pm, but it does show the tan quite well.  I look a little more two weeks in the Caribbean than a weekend in St Tropez.

I am trying out a new formula for a friend of mine who is slightly altering his range, it gives a great colour and smells sublime, quite heady like an expensive fragrance from Caron or Fragonard.  I love it but am not sure about how much mass appeal it will have.

Apparently Gisele Bundchen uses the current formulation and she positively glows so this is one treatment that I will keep up.

epiphany

Bourbon and Pearls and her ReAura laser has been stimulating my grey matter, not just for collagen production it seems.  This weekend passed in a kind of grey chilly fug and my mood was similar.
However on this supposedly statistically one of the most positive Mondays of the year (apparently first paycheck after Christmas has arrived for most people) I think I that I have crystallised my stance on letting it all hang out, getting old, growing vegetables, allowing grey hair, fat and wrinkles to proliferate without even a pretence at halting the advance.

Ladies, we simply can't, it is our social and fiscal duty to fight the good fight.

An article in the FT today predicts that 20% of the US population will be over 65 by 2020 and in the UK that figure will be even higher.
We should feel no guilt at our attempts at maintenance, it is not about trying to compete with the 20 year olds (my horror is that anyone might assume that I think that I could!), the simple fact is that the NHS  will not be able to deal with the numbers of infirm and those who are fit and well will need to be able to work well into their 70s.
What we do now will make this possible, it is a simple truth that on the days that we look in the mirror and see nothing but old and tired, we lose all of our self-esteem and energy, this is no use in the workplace. The biggest help that we can be to the next generation is to work and pay taxes for as long as possibly can.  My enlightment has made me change my mind on surgery, again, it is our responsibility to invest in a facelift, tummy tuck, boob job, whatever it takes to ensure that we maintain optimum health and psychological well-being.  And this kind of significant spending stimulates the economy much more than saving it under the bed for a rainy day.

Of course a secondary complication for today's young, is that with nobody retiring, those really desirable jobs in larger companies are simply not being freed up for the next generation.  Youth unemployment is at an all time high and unless you want to work at a supermarket checkout, I struggle to see what the options are for the kids today.
Anyone with their own kids is immediately protectionist about their money and time as they know how tough it will be for their offspring.  But those with knowledge and cash to impart and no vested interests are in the position to really help the 20 and 30 somethings who are living in one of the worst periods in our financial history.  And it is about getting local.  Spend your money carefully and wisely and get a certain satisfaction in knowing that every penny does more than just acquire your own goods and services.
Today I am going to book up the following;
IPL zapping from a girl who has just paid out £14,000 to buy all of the machinery to start her business from home.
Fruit and veg delivery box from a local farm.
Weekly food order from the tiny local shop, which stays open I have no idea how and selling only pints of milk to 3 people a day.
I have been promising myself for years that I will buy a piece of jewellery and there is a lovely girl called Lucy Sylvester who makes all of her jewellery by hand and I have made an appointment to visit her workshop this week.
As this is more of a manifesto than a nice touchy feely post, there are no pics, sorry if it is boring, but I feel positively uplifted! Any more getting local tips that you have I would love to hear, join me for the revolution!