Not Just Another Pretty Face in the Stands

I blame my unsightly feet on an ill-fitting pair of Thom McAn blue and red suede shoes my mother urged me not to buy in the third grade (don’t ask me what I was thinking), two sets of Evan Picone pumps I had resoled numerous times walking the courthouse beat as a young reporter and years of running trying to lose those last 5 lbs. But the bottom line is - I’m lazy. I do make an effort in the summer to make them semi-presentable and that’s when my Swedish Clover foot file is used on a daily basis. A pedicurist (who probably wanted me to come back next time with feet that didn’t force her to work up a sweat rubbing away the callouses) showed me hers and said she had had it for years. I am going on my third year and it still looks brand new. I use it on dry skin but can be used on dry or wet feet. It has two sides for rough and fine finishes. The same pedicurist told me that I could slather on as much foot lotion (she swears by plain, old Vaseline) as I wanted each night but my feet wouldn’t look smooth until I got rid of the dead skin. She was right. Available at for $9.59.

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I grew up in a “no-odor household:” my parents would wrinkle their noses at the slightest hint of fragrance. I resorted to spraying “Charlie” (purchased because I was in love with a boy named Charlie and I thought Shelley Hack looked gorgeous in this print ad) in the air and quickly walking through it.

I rarely got away with that, and it quickly lead to living a fragrance-free life. Oh, I had collected perfumes here and there (White Linen, Shalimar, Miracle) but application was sporadic and took a bigger dive into oblivion when I started raising children. Since I never left the house, I thought, ‘Why should I try to smell nice, look nice?” But I recently grew out of that funk and lately have noticed the pleasure fragrances have given me in the most unexpected places. There was the clerk at the local Alsup’s who when asked what she was wearing, responded with a huge grin, “Sexy by Victoria’s Secret”, and the woman who sat behind me last night at a basketball game who smiled wide when she responded to my inquiry with “Opium.” Even though I may be with myself and the dogs during the day, I have started touching my neck and my wrists with the slightest whisper of fragrance, most recently the newly released Chanel Les Exclusifs.

I read about the line at my once-a-day obsession - Blogdorf Goodman. My favorite is 31 Rue Cambon. Before coaches wives balk at the price, I found a site - Fragrant Fripperies - where you can order samples. It was perfect for someone with a tight budget and limited access to sampling fragrances. So, now when I lean over the sink clearing away breakfast dishes and the soothing smell rises above the Palmolive suds, it reminds me that I am a woman, and that gives me pleasure. What are some of your favorite fragrances?

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By the time track season rolls around, I am worn out. Football, basketball and cross country have taken its toll. Also, the little ones are finishing up spring soccer and starting softball and baseball. My time is limited, but I do make the regional track meet which decides who advances to state. My favorite is the mile relay and it may be because it’s the last race run and some years is the only one I see because of my tendency to be behind schedule. The race usually reduces me to tears because of the athletes’ gutsy performances, and this year was no exception. However, I did not experience any tears the next day because for the first time in a long time I did not burn from the sun’s grueling rays. It’s typically my first extended time out in the sun, and I usually blister. But this year, I broke out the new suntan lotion I picked up last month at a makeover. I am a sucker for anything with the word “beach” in it. It reminds me of my summers at the Jersey shore. Bobbi Brown beach with SPF 15 reminded me slightly of the Coppertone lotion I reluctantly slathered on as a child. It wasn’t greasy which is a huge turn-off. It may be better suited poolside than a day at the track but most importantly it protected me from burning. For $25 at all locations that sell Bobbi Brown cosmetics, including Neiman Marcus.

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As coach’s wives, we are forced to make choices. We hold onto things near and dear to us and let other things go. About two weeks out of the year, I paint my fingernails - the other 50 weeks, I let them go. In my rush to get things done, the lack of polish usually doesn’t bother me in the slightest. But when I have time to study them - usually on out-of-town trips for my job, and I get a chance to study them, it DOES bother me. About a month ago, I found the answer to my problem: Sally Hansen Natural Shine Instant Nail Finish. The marketing claimed it dried in “seconds.” This, I had to see. I grabbed the pink tint and applied it in the car while the kids fastened their seat belts. By the time we drove off, it was dry and I had instant shine. It now has a permanent place in my purse. Available at local drug stores for about $5.

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I never wore make-up in high school or college and for several years of working at a television news station. Finally, the kind-hearted news director told me to go to the mall, find a make-up counter and get busy. That was nearly 20 years ago. He didn’t know the monster he was creating.

But I digress: being an avid reader, I remember Lana Turner specifically telling her daughter to never to go to bed with her make-up on. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I have laid down, dead-tired from a 2 1/2-hour trip home from a basketball game on a school night with my DiorShow still covering my lashes. I am a fanatic about going to bed with a clean face.

A week ago, while browsing the Target cosmetics aisle I stumbled upon No. 7 Quick Thinking 4 in 1 Wipes by I had remembered reading about the brand from England in year’s past. I needed a beauty fix and grabbed the package of 30. For $8, I could afford it if it was a mistake. It wasn’t.

Three times in the past week (worked two late nights in the press box typing district track results into the laptop and once burning the midnight oil for my job), I stumbled to the blue package, pulled out the wipe (reminded me of those baby wipe days) and removed my face.

The smell was nice, it wasn’t greasy or drying and removed most of my make-up from the tell-tale signs on the wipe. There may be other products out there, but this one worked for me. Do you have a favorite all-in-one beauty product?

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