The following blog entry was submitted by Elizabeth C. from Chillicothe, Ohio. Elizabeth is a Paula’s Choice customer and fan of Paula’s work. As the presidential election draws closer, Paula and her team thought that Elizabeth’s musing were timely and amusing!

I will apologize for this short zinger right up front, it is just a late night rant. While the entire world frets about financial and credit crises, someone must be alert to the more mundane items. I don’t know who will win this election, and for purposes of this discussion don’t very much care who deserves to run the country. I am however irritated when I catch video or photos of the inimitably handsome Barack Obama and less handsome but still dapper John McCain during the more important of their myriad press encounters. McCain appears so pink you’d think he’s got sunburn and the foundation coverage so heavy his eyes, brows, and lips seem to actually LOSE definition. Obama’s natural skin color is a beautiful cool-toned deep African shade of mahogany that is gorgeous on its own, regardless of the owner’s political credentials, yet every time a big press event arises he is coated down in streaky layers of over-yellowed BRONZE that I find distracting and offensive. In both cases these men look worse for having consulted a make-up specialist. What’s up with all this? I have even seen Bill Clinton recently looking like he also was visited by an intoxicated Pancake Fairy, with suboptimal results. Can’t we get men’s make-up right? It appears I was not the only one to notice these cosmetic blunders, because after watching snippets of the last presidential debate, I had these observations concerning the candidate’s appearance:

The TV set was built to create a more intimate feel, I saw more angular shadows in general, but did not feel either candidate was sitting ‘in the dark’ a great deal. Bill Moyers appeared not to have been as lucky for either facial enhancement, camera angles or lighting. Didn’t see streaks or obvious jaw-line cut-offs with foundation, didn’t catch any shiny foreheads or scalps. McCain struggles with facial lymphedema and he could have used more contouring, his brows begged for better definition which would go a long way toward de-emphasizing the lymphedema below. Likewise a pale lip liner even without filling in would have been helpful. Once again Obama’s naturally dark lips appear to have been muted with pancake or lip color, which just doesn’t do a thing for him. A little espresso lipstick would be more like it, as far as I’m concerned. All three esteemed gentlemen suffered with overly pale eyelids which was unattractive, but won’t change my voting preference.

Happy Election!

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A very attractive, young, pert, blonde receptionist who had just heard me do an interview on the radio station where she worked asked me on my way out, “Should a 25-year-old start using anti-aging products?” I thought, what does she want to do, revert to birth? But I knew what she meant and I responded by saying, “the only thing you really need is a great sunscreen, and be sure to never get a tan, and you will do fine; the rest is just skin care, important but not as relevant in any way in comparison to being sun smart.” She sat up and in a 20-something kind of way, said “But I love the sun and I love getting tan, I just don’t want to wrinkle.” I said, “Well then, you might as well buy a lottery ticket, because you probably believe you will win that windfall as well! False hope springs eternal; the reality you live in isn’t how skin works.”

Okay, I was in a mood. I usually just smile and walk away, but it’s getting worse out there, not better and my frustration is at an all-time high. If I believed in conspiracy theories I would say the media is in bed with the cosmetics industry, but alas it isn’t theory, it’s fact. Every time I do a talk show I’m always asked if I’m going to be critical of any of their advertisers, of if I’m going to say anything that might be of legal concern (sort of like Oprah Winfrey saying she didn’t want to eat hamburger). Advertisers are in control of what I say on TV or radio, and even to some extent in print (fashion magazines are a foregone conclusion; they treat me as if I don’t exist or simply don’t know what I’m talking about).

Reporters all over the world ask me what works, but the answer assumes that something must work to get rid of wrinkles. The endless press releases from mainstream cosmetics companies, physician-owned cosmetic companies, and spas and salons of all kinds have created the ultimate, anti-wrinkle products, you just have to find the ones that aren’t lying to you (somehow we know everyone can’t be telling the truth, but the notion that everyone is lying to one degree or another is something most women just won’t believe) and the one in front of you at the moment (especially if you’re feeling vulnerable) or that’s endorsed by a celebrity or has an attractive ad wins every time.

Women seemingly never tire of a product promising it can firm the skin, erase wrinkles, restore youth, fight aging, and on and on. There are literally thousands and thousands of anti-aging products perpetually using the same nebulous yet miraculous claims that often stop just short of lying (or blatantly lie). In some ways it is beyond belief how many products are launched every month, year after year. But because women keep believing the claims from the endless assault of anti-aging/anti-wrinkle products, I guess for me, it’s job security!

The View is one of my favorite shows to do, mostly because it has one of the best Green Rooms in the world. For most of the shows I’ve done over the years (and I’ve done a lot) celebrities are kept separate from the other regular guest like me and you never get to see them. The View has everyone sitting in the Green Room together before the show starts and for the entire hour until they are on. I’ve sat next to Alanis Morissette, Debra Messing, Dermot Mulroney, Donald Trump, Angelina Jolie, Andie McDowell, Michael Douglas, and Jerry Orbach and Jesse Martin (actors from Law and Order) to name a few. Now that’s worth a trip to New York any day!

Over the years I’ve been interviewed by each of the women, and of whom did great interviews, especially Barbara Walters, (though Star Jones was much more kind and happy once she started to lose weight and fell in love, before that, well, that’s fodder for another blog). Perhaps one of my favorite View  stories is the time Barbara Walters was interviewing me and at the end of the interview wanted to know if she could take some of the products I had showcased. Of course I said yes, though I’m fairly certain she thought the companies had supplied the products gratis. They hadn’t. These were my own purchases! It was truly adorable, I was flattered that she respected my recommendations and amused that getting them for free was her prerogative. In any event, I look forward to my next appearance on The View. Maybe I’ll get to share a few words with some other fascinating celebrity!