What Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month?

One night exactly one year ago — ironically this very month — El Hub and I were sitting in our small living room watching TV when the phone rang.

El Hub answered the call: “Hello?”

“Hi, my darling son,” said his mom.

“Hi, Mom,” he answered, and his eyes locked on me, his face a mask of worry.

It was a night just like any other, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve learned that that’s how these things usually are, these life-changing moments. One second everything’s fine — you’re watching America’s Best Dance Crew, doing your nails on the floor when BAM!

That night started my immediate family’s personal journey through breast cancer, which we’re still working our way through. Things happened fast right after the news — a barrage of tests, long talks with doctors about options, and you’re going along for the ride because the procedures get scheduled before the news has even had time to settle.

Didi, my mother-in-law, is classified as “in remission” now. She’s fine — well, not exactly fine, but she’s hanging in there. She had a double mastectomy shortly after receiving the news last year (first one, and then, two weeks later, the other) and four rounds of chemo. Now she’s dealing with less serious (than cancer) complications resulting from the chemotherapy, as well as the mental and emotional trauma of being basically housebound and afraid for 12 months.

I know it all sounds brutal to hear… The words come flooding out from time to time, but that’s another thing about life — it has a funny way of surprising you when you least expect it.

Every October, women around the world take time to remember friends and family and to increase breast cancer awareness. They promote the importance of early detection, help to raise funds for research and treatment and offer information and support to those affected by the disease.

For us, there is no more worthy cause than this one. Breast cancer targets us (women) at a rate 100 times greater than men.

Here’s a statistic that shocked me when I read it, but one in every eight US women will develop breast cancer… That means some of us, here.

So what are we going to do about it?

Answer: we’re going to stick together.

There are many ways to help and many worthy organizations. No one can possibly support them all, but I would still like to see if we here can raise $250 by the end of the month.

I’ll match your donations (up to $250), which means that if there’s $250 on the ChipIn widget below here, then we’ll have raised $500 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the organization I’m choosing for the donation.

About Susan G. Komen

Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever.

In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find a cure. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure, the group has invested nearly $1 billion to fulfill Nancy’s promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.

How to Give?

How Much to Give?

Every dollar gets us closer to that $250, but there are other ways to help. One way is by commenting on this post about your experiences, thoughts or fears about breast cancer. Ask any questions you might have, and I’ll do my best to find the answer.

This month is about getting the word out there and about reminding each of us that we’re not alone, even if we’re miles apart.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

I still can’t believe Estée Lauder pulled the plug on Prescriptives…

It must have been a difficult decision for the maker of MAC, Clinique and Bobbi Brown. Any time you shutter doors on a 30-year-old cosmetics line it has to hurt, even if sales of the line have been underperforming for a while.

Global distribution will end about four months from now (Jan. 31, 2010), so there’s still time to stock up before the counters disappear. After that, any remaining stock will be cleared out through the website.

I can’t say I’m heartbroken, but I will miss certain things about Prescriptives, like their approach to color, specifically their range. Even as far back as the ’80s and ’90s I could count on Prescriptives to carry foundation shades that matched my skin tone.

But it wasn’t enough to fend off the competition, and they grew to be overshadowed by EL’s other brands.

Will you miss Prescriptives?

• Yes, I'm devastated!
• I'll miss them a little
• No, I won't miss them at all
• I'll tell you in the comments

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For whatever it’s worth, fellow fans of Prescriptives’ still popular Calyx fragrance are in luck. We’ll still be able to get our hands on it through Aramis at department stores and online. I guess that’s better than nothing… I do like fruity, fresh Sheer Calyx Exhilaration.

Farewell Prescriptives…

Prescriptives Mineral Bronzer in Warm, $30

Prescriptives Eye Color Compact in Warm from the Well Suited Collection, $40

Continue Reading…

It’s called the Slendertone Face, and there’s a waiting list thousands of ladies long at Harrods in the UK today, despite the whopping £300 (about $500) price.

The headset device, compared to a natural facelift, uses electronic muscle stimulation to strengthen facial muscles. Clinical trials showed that regular use reversed some of the muscle weakening that comes with age.

“It’s very gentle and doesn’t hurt at all,” says Dr. Trish Smith, cardiologist and chief executive of Slendertone, “As it’s hands-free, you can wear it while you’re cooking or ironing.” Electronic panels sit directly over the cranial nerve (scary!), just in front of the ear from where all the facial nerves branch out, so the pulses gently stimulate every muscle in the face. source

Video interview with the developer of the Slendertone Face…

The trials, overseen by Dr. Michael Hennessy, head of neurology at the University of Galway, suggested that using Slendertone Face for 20 minutes five times a week for 12 weeks increases the volume of facial muscles by up to 46%, with the average improvement being 18.6%.

Not bad at all.

Electronic facial muscle stimulators manufactured by other companies have been used in salons for years — the CACI Non-Surgical Face Lift is one of them — but the Slendertone was the device examined in the latest trial.

What do you think, ladies? Electrifying new development or future class-action lawsuit?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Hi, ladies. Have you noticed any problems lately accessing MBB? Any weird errors or hangups? The past couple of days have been filled with technical challenges for me. Day before yesterday I attempted to upgrade the software I use, which is called Wordpress, because of this warning about a new worm, which is like a virus that in this case infects blogs.

I thought things went well, but now I’m not so sure. A couple of you have emailed or commented to report glitches.

If you’re getting page errors or other weirdness when you visit, would you mind leaving a comment or sending me a note to let me know? Any details would help, like the type of web browser you’re using (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc.), a description of the error, and approximately when the glitch occurred.

It’s either due to the Wordpress upgrade, a new caching plugin I installed (to speed things up) or Godaddy (the company that hosts the blog, like its landlord). If I can figure out what’s causing the problems, maybe I can undo the change.

Thanks a lot for your help.

Have you had any problems accessing the blog?

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• Nope, seems fine to me

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Hi, ladies. I clicked the wrong button this morning and accidentally deleted the last few posts and ALL of the comments from the past 24 hours or so.

I can republish the posts… but everything we’ve commented on over the past 24 hours is kinda lost.

No, not kinda lost — it’s just plain lost.

I’m very sorry, especially since you guys left some absolutely fantastic and helpful comments on the makeup expiration post in particular.

Your friendly neighborhood (clumsy) beauty addict,

Karen