For years, I never thought about my face, not really, except to wash it, primp it and apply the least amount of makeup.
I've always had a resilient face, nice laugh lines around the eyes, a little knit in the brow that made me feel, well, thoughtful, and the slightest downturn around the mouth.
It's always been a nice face, a kind looking face, a face that blushed at the appropriate moment and one that showed just the right amount of emotion. My eyes sparkled, one of my close friends often said.
But like most women, my face wears every experience, from the joy of chasing around three little kids to the tragedy of losing my mom, from the hope of new love to love lost. That experience is etched in every corner for the world to see.
The good times have been as hard on my face as the bad times. Late nights, too many bars and conventions, not enough sleep, too much sleep, not enough water or moisturizer.
My face has become the topography of my life.
The beautiful actress Cybil Shepherd said that around 50, she stopped looking at her reflection in the mirror. She didn't want to see what time had done to the world's most famous Covergirl so she did her makeup in soft lighting and she hid her body in the shadows.
That's what a lot of us do. We give up, stop wearing makeup, live in our yoga pants, waiting to die.
That's what I've done for the past 10 years. Working at home, I've chosen to live the life of a hermit, to withdraw from the world like Greta Garbo in cheap perfume, maybe more like a bat that has retreated into her cave to hang upside down and ponder life.
But nobody can live in a cave forever.
Sometimes life happens while you're making other plans.
And so it was, my daughter Marissa announced her engagement to the wonderful Jeff.
They will be married next year in the Dominican Republic.
I am expected to attend in a dress and heels.
No pants, mum, was the way Marissa put it.
The whole wedding thing got me thinking.
Maybe it was time to come out of my shell, to start taking care of myself again. I'm already at the gym trying to lose the spare tire, and I've put the cap back on the red wine and started eating better.
But what about my face?
I knew I could save my body, but was my face a lost case?
I remembered back a few years when I was lucky enough to be a model subject for a series of videos on non-surgical solutions to improve the middle aged face. I had Botox and dermal filler and I must say, I thought I looked fabulous.
Then I thought, why not try explore the latest advances in technology and products to make me look my best in those wedding pictures, the ones that will be around long after I'm past my expiry date.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not getting a face lift or any thing that makes me look like plastic.
I'm looking for solutions that make me look better, more rested, like I've been taking care of myself.
Think Sally Field, not Joan Rivers.
I've booked a consultation with Dr. Greg Antoniak a leading Ottawa board-certified specialist (www.face.ca) whose office offers a complete array of products and procedures to freshen up the sagging skin, get rid of the bags, the rosacea and the ruddiness brought on living life in a dirty and weary world.
My aim is to put together a one-year plan, so that I'll be able to put my best face forward at Marissa's wedding.
And the big surprise is I'm taking Marissa along for the ride. I'd like to stop her from making the same mistakes I've made over the years so that when she's my age, she won't have to undertake skin rehabilitation.
Together, we'll record our progress in this blog and on video so you can see, firsthand, the state-of-the art products, treatments and procedures that are being offered today. Hopefully, we'll also help others steer clear of bogus treatments that are not only ruining women's faces but also endangering their lives.
Good skin care is, after all, an education process.
So come along, won't you? We've got a lot of work to do, so let's get started.
Next: The Consultation
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