I Enjoy Being a Girl ...?
Remember that song from the Broadway musical The Flower Drum Song? I've always hated that number (though I do adore the melody). And do you recall the stanza that goes, "When I have a brand new hairdo, With my eyelashes all in curl, I float as the clouds on air do, I enjoy being a girl!" I have always thought it was clear that this was not written by a woman (and it wasn't, the credit goes to Richard Rogers who wrote the music and Oscar Hammerstein who wrote the lyrics). It takes a woman to know that that "floating on air" is the result of a lot of hard work. I understand what it takes to get a brand new hairdo that works and is easy (or relatively easy) to style without the help of my stylist. And "with my lashes all in curl"? Putting makeup on and removing it is not enjoyable. It is time consuming, and the lashes don't always stay curled. So, while I do enjoy the results, the effort, time, and cost is a topic that this song does not address.
Certainly, there are many things I relish about being a woman, but maintaining the social necessities is not one of them. There are very few parts of female upkeep I enjoy. I hate shaving my legs and underarms, and I now resent the cost and trouble of considering laser hair removal. I resent wearing makeup and taking meticulous care of my skin, day in and day out. The short time period that a manicure lasts irritates me. Trying to prevent calluses on my heels and elbows is a never-ending, tedious battle. Tweezing eyebrows and struggling with other unwanted facial hair, dealing with blemishes, dying my hair,... And none of that includes flossing or brushing my teeth twice a day, and on and on. And so, putting together what I do for a living and my lack of patience, I have found some shortcuts that I believe may be of help to other women as well, and I want to share them with you. Take them as suggestions—they make my life easier, and hopefully they will do the same for you.
Laser hair removal—if you can afford it—should be a definite consideration for your face, underarms, and bikini area (though doing your legs really adds to the cost). It really works, though not forever, and it does require upkeep, but your skin does stay looking truly smooth and you barely need to shave.
Keep the pedicure file for the calluses on your feet in your shower or on your bathtub ledge and use it every other day or so. If you don't keep it in the shower you won't remember and it really does make a difference if you do it regularly. You can have smooth heels all year long. Just don't overdo or you can end up with raw heels instead of smooth ones.
Keep the foot moisturizer, lip balm (which you can use on your cuticles), and hand moisturizer next to your bed along with the dental floss. That way, as you're catching up on all the reruns of Law & Order, you can get a lot done without getting out of bed. This is based on the principle we all know: once you are lying down in bed or sitting on the couch, it is almost impossible to get up and "get ready for bed"!
Now that my hair is long I found that washing it at night and letting it dry while I sleep makes it easier to get ready in the morning. In fact, when I wear my hair curly it looks even better this way. Just be sure to use hair serum to keep it feeling soft and then add gel in the morning to shape. Take advantage of the messy look, it is a style made for women in a hurry (though this doesn't work as well for very dark, black-colored hair because it can look "witchy," or for gray hair, in which case it can just look strange).
Don't waste time applying layers of different creams and lotions for dry skin. Some women have written to me that they are using five or six. If you buy the right products, it should take only one, or two at the most.
The new flat irons that can be used on wet hair save a huge amount of time. If you want straight hair these work great and it saves a step and a lot of time.
BlissLabs
 Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Mask ($52 for 3.4 ounces)
brings us another improbably gimmicky product from this popular spa line (I can only assume some women just love gimmicks that waste their money and won't help their skin). The "complexion brightening" formula claims to use "every technology in the book to work to furnish you with a fresher, younger-looking face"—but that doesn't explain why the backbone of this formulation is closer to a cleanser than any age-erasing treatment product. The second ingredient is methyl perfluorobutyl ether, a mild solvent used most often for industrial, not cosmetic, purposes, and it can release oxygen in the presence of water. But how that can get into the skin is a mystery, and there's also the issue that supplying oxygen to otherwise healthy skin isn't beneficial, since oxygen is a prime source of free-radical damage. Further, if Bliss is pro-oxygen, why did they include antioxidants in this product that would in effect block the oxygen from having any impact? This product is a waste of time and a bigger waste of money at the ludicrous price of $52.
Bobbi Brown
 Luminous Moisturizing Foundation ($45)
has an elegant, fluid texture with just enough slip to make blending over normal to dry skin a pleasure. This does indeed have a luminous, satinlike finish, casting a healthy glow (rather than obvious shine) on skin. Coverage goes from light to medium and, as usual with Bobbi Brown, almost all of the ten shades are flawlessly neutral. There are several good options for fair to light skin, but the palette doesn't extend toward deeper skin tones as it does in Brown's other foundations (I was told Bobbi Brown may launch darker shades in the future). While I wouldn't label this foundation "super-moisturizing," as the company does, it will hydrate. Just don't expect it to firm or lift the skin, as the showcase ingredient with that alleged benefit (acetyl hexapeptide-3) is barely present and it cannot work in that manner anyway. Still, the only thing keeping this from earning a Paula's Pick rating is the inclusion of lavender extract, which lends a noticeably heavy lavender fragrance to this otherwise top-notch foundation.
Fusion Beauty
 LiftFusion Micro-Injected M-Tox Transdermal Eye Lift ($89 for 0.5 ounce)
is the eye-area counterpart to Fusion Beauty's original LiftFusion ($140), and another product that claims to work like Botox but with "no needles, no waiting, no kidding." A significant ingredient in this water- and silicone-based moisturizer is amino butyric acid, an amino acid that functions as a water-binding agent and may have anti-inflammatory properties. There is significant research about the role of this amino acid, along with other substances, in pain mediation, but that has nothing to do with expression lines or wrinkles of any kind. It also contains several peptides, although none of them has been shown to mimic the line-reducing effects of Botox. As I often mention, not even Botox works like Botox when it's applied topically to skin. This product has merit as a lightweight moisturizer that can temporarily make skin (and wrinkles) appear smoother, but for the money Fusion Beauty demands for their line-smoothing products, you'd be better off making an appointment for the real deal and enjoying several months of results, unless you prefer making daily applications of this hope-in-a-bottle product. This does contain some film-forming agents which may cause irritation when used around the eye.
The Body Shop
 Cream Eye Color ($10)
is a find if you want a sheer, shimmer-infused eyeshadow with a soft, lightweight, cream-to-powder texture and a silky, creaseless finish that stays put (just as the shine does). The shade selection favors warm nudes and steely silver-to-blue cool tones, but if you find an appealing hue and want to experiment beyond powder eyeshadows, why not?
Dear Paula,
I have been an avid supporter of your products and research since I read your first book. I am grateful for the knowledge that you have passed on to so many truth-seeking women. I am 29 years old and currently use Renova and your 10% AHA Body Lotion along with sunscreen as my primary wrinkle fighters. I felt this was enough preventive maintenance until my dermatologist mentioned Botox injections. I have never considered this and believed that I was too young for such an aggressive plan. After researching the issue I learned that many medical professionals are recommending Botox injections to their younger patients as a preventive measure, with the hope that the wrinkles will never fully develop later in life. Can you please advise me on this? Is this too good to be true or perhaps a miracle plan?
Anna, via email
Dear Anna,
Just to be perfectly clear, the quintessential preventive antiwrinkle fighter is to religiously use sunscreen and never get a tan! Everything else falls under that headliner. Botox is being used on younger women, but whether or not that prevents wrinkles on the forehead and crow's feet area is unknown; right now that is just theory. Although it could be argued that your dermatologist's preemptive approach is a bit aggressive, there is no question that Botox injections do erase lines. A couple of twentysomething women in my office have asked me about this too, using the same logic as your dermatologist. My recommendation to them (again just theory, because there is no research) is this: Who wants to get Botox injections for the rest of their life? Because otherwise, once you start moving your forehead, the wrinkles will most likely start showing up.
Whether or not to pursue this or any other cosmetic corrective procedure is a personal preference. It's just like the decision a consumer makes about any such nonessential treatment after considering the options. If your instincts are telling you that now is not the right time (and keep in mind the expense involved), then that's the path you should follow, while continuing to use sunscreen and topical exfoliants. You may also want to consider adding an antioxidant-rich serum to your routine. And if you do decide to try Botox and don't feel that the results at your age are worth the expense and upkeep, the solution is easy: Don't have any more Botox treatments until you really feel you want to start again.
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