So - Maybe the Answer WAS Lassie?

I recently had a minor surgical procedure (nothing serious, just a follow-up diagnostic), and while getting prepped for the anesthesiologist, the nurse getting my IV line in kept looking at me.  Finally, she said, "You look SO familiar.  Are you an actress?"  I thought, "Hmm,  "Julianne Moore? Helen Mirren?  Big Bird?  Lassie?    I had to tell her I wasn't, but she said, "I could be" and also commented that I looked nowhere near my age.

Sunscreen helps, no alcohol, tobacco, and a 'heavy on plants' diet helps (with a daily Moringa Supplement from 

Maruyama Jones Farm

 in Hawaii and a couple of drops of their Moringa oil mixed in with my daily sunscreen (moringa has a natural spf, enhancing your sunscreen and also makes mine easier to apply as I use a mineral sunscreen balm from Badger that's great but is a bit thick.).  

But most importantly, I use natural skin care products without chemicals, preservatives, and harsh exfoliants.  There are several women-owned product lines for skin, hair, and body I use depending on the time of year and whether my eczema is flaring (usually stress-related), but one I've had in my "go-to bag consistently for the last 14 years is Frangipani products, created by Tracy Land from Indianapolis.  (Her little travel-sized kits are great for travel or for trying new things and can be easily refilled)

 Frangipani Body Products specializes in all-natural skincare and body products and has won the esteemed Annual Beauty with a Conscience Award.

When I first saw the products in a local magazine, I didn't know it was an Indy-based company. When I checked out all the positive feedback on Facebook from others with similar ages and skin types, I HAD to order some. The owner and creator of the products, Tracy Land, originally had been making them to heal her own skin, as she battled the skin condition rosacea (which I have as well), then sold it to a few friends while she worked in the Quality Assurance end of IT.

Tracy continued to develop the concept, and when her position was eliminated, instead of just picking up an unemployment check, she started refining the products, producing the products, and selling to the public, using word of mouth, farmer's markets, trade shows, etc.  I can only imagine how much telephoning, strategy, business planning, and leg work that was. The product was a hit and is now carried in a number of stores, including Whole Foods in addition to being online.

My skin has done so much better with natural products in the long term.  My skin is very fair and cantankerous on a good day, and the rosacea has made my cheeks irritated and red since grade school.  I love the Frangipani products! They may cost a bit more than what you can get at the drug store, but conventional products use a LOT of water and fillers to keep production costs down. But they are SERIOUSLY less expensive than some of the high-end "organic" lines out there.

Frangipani products contain only plant-based ingredients and almost NO water. Only a small amount is needed so the product is long-lasting, making it a value.  Compared to what I spent at the Lancome and Clinique and Estee Lauder counters over the years for things that only made my skin redder and more irritated. . . a bargain!

Sure, I could go out and get buffed, abraded and bo-toxed, quick, fake fixes. I prefer products that heal the skin long-term, helping it glow from the inside out.

I have no desire to be 20 again (which is like 2 in dog years). Aging gracefully is wonderful, whether you're a famous black lab or his redheaded "Mom."

65, no makeup, no filters.  Just good skincare and nutrition.

The Frangipani products:  So many - cleanser, creams, serums, Shea butter creams that would be perfect for gals OR guys to make work-worn hands feel like velvet, lip balm, a clay mask, deodorant, Tracy has it. The skin care selections range from oily teenage skin to OMG, I remember 8 track tapes! My favorites are the cleanser and the facial serum. I love gel cleansers but they dry my skin.  Cream cleansers remind me of Grandma's Ponds Cold Cream and make me break out if I use them daily. The Frangipani cleanser is smooth and very creamy, but it lathers just enough to clean and rinses completely without rubbing, leaving my face soft without irritating it with a washcloth. To exfoliate, there is an exfoliating product that's plant oil-based with little jojoba beads that gently get rid of dry skin, as they gently dissolve.

The facial cleanser also works well for guys for shaving.  The faint coconut and olive oil-based scent is very pleasant but NOT girly. Tracy does not use fragrance oils in her Frangipani line, but only essential oils, much gentler on the skin while still smelling wonderful and retaining their skin healing properties.  

I also love the body oil (you have to try that one). It's rice bran oil-based, so it soaks right in after bathing, avoiding that whole, "Honey, I just got out of the shower and moisturized and would love a hug," wherein he complies and you go shooting out of his arms like a watermelon seed and bounce off the walls, ruining the mood). And both the grapefruit and the lavender blends smell incredible but not overpowering

Check their website out (just click on the Frangipani name in purple at the start of the post). There is info on what stores carry the line (like some of the Whole Foods up here in Chicagoland have).  Everything is always shipped promptly, and the beautiful amber recyclable glass bottles are carefully packaged so there is no breakage (and trust me on the body oil thing.)

Now if I could just do something with my hair - maybe Lassie WAS the correct answer.

  - L.B.