Menopause and pre-menopause have brought a lot of unexpected changes to my life. Although I’m happy to say goodbye to monthly periods, I was not so thrilled by some of the new guests that chose to make themselves a permanent part of my life. My blood pressure inexplicably increased right around my 50th birthday. When I say “inexplicably,” I mean within one month it jumped from a lifetime normal of 110/70 to 145/90 and climbing while I was simultaneously increasing my exercise intensity and losing weight. Go figure. Welcome, blood pressure meds. Please sit down and make yourselves comfortable.
Hot flashes and night sweats are stereotypical so I won’t even bother, except to say a small fan on your desk makes life so much better!
Another issue I was not expecting was a change to my skin. I’m pretty good about skin care and have been rewarded with a clear complexion and soft, silky skin. That is, until the hormonal chaos of menopause. My skin suddenly felt rough and dry, no matter what I did. Even microdermabrasion wasn’t yielding the great results I was used to. After a shower or nice soak in the tub I could lightly “rake” my nails across my face and remove so much dead skin it was alarming. Even employing more acceptable exfoliation methods were giving me sub-par skin. What in the world was happening? The search for something better had begun.
Before I go further, let me say this is not a sponsored post. Although I will somewhat shamelessly plug my niece, Kelley’s Arbonne distribution business, it’s only because the products work and she is the distributor I know. (And she’s amazing, but that’s beside the point.)
Kelley launched her Arbonne business a few weeks ago. She gave me several skin care samples to try and I really liked them. The creams are very rich, which is apparently what my face was craving, but I think the product that really makes the difference is the Arbonne Intelligence Genius. These are small, resurfacing pads you soak with solution and gently apply to your face, neck and decollete’. After several days of use that layer of dead skin was gone. My face felt soft and smooth again.
My Arbonne routine includes the Smoothing Facial Cleanser followed by the Intelligence Genius. I then give myself a few spritzes of the Regenerating Toner and follow with one of the different facial creams, such as the Night Repair Creme or the Intensive Renewal Serum. My neck gets a little Lifting and Contouring Cream and I’ll apply either Corrective Eye Creme or Lifting and Contouring Eye Creme around – you guessed it – my eyes. My skin feels so much better and I couldn’t be more pleased.
Am I seeing fewer wrinkles? To be honest, I don’t know. I didn’t take any before and after shots to compare. I can say my skin looks better and healthier though. In fact, I went to work Monday without any make-up! What? It was accidental. I was running late and when I gave myself the once-over in the mirror everything looked fine so off I went. It wasn’t until I’d left the house that I realized I’d forgotten. I think that says a lot about the products right there. Even so, what I’m most interested in is the way my skin feels, and it feels amazing. It’s soft and hydrated – like I have my pre-menopause skin back. That certainly works for me!
If you’re interested in trying the products, find an Arbonne rep in your area or log on to Kelley’s site here. You’ll find a lot of health and beauty products to keep you looking and feeling your best.
I hope you find today’s post helpful. Thanks so much for reading!
