Before my wedding, I remember people telling me a million things starting with the word “don’t.”  The “don’t” list included things like…

“Don’t cut your hair before your wedding.”
“Don’t go tanning the day of your wedding or the day before because you might burn.”
“Don’t eat too much before you put on your wedding gown.”
“Don’t lose too much weight before your wedding day or you might not fit into your wedding gown.”

Fortunately, I received a lot of great “don’t” advice.  Now, if only someone told me “Don’t trust your dermatologist even though he is a doctor and you think he knows best!”  

Six months before my wedding, I experienced what many women might consider the ultimate nightmare… My wish to look beautiful on my wedding day was no different from any other bride to be.  Unfortunately, that want led to an awful experience.  Having suffered from a pimple or two in my lifetime, I wanted the perfect skin for my wedding day.  My dermatologist suggested a laser treatment to even my skin tone and give me a healthy glow. Obviously it seemed like a no brainer.  I made an appointment immediately.  The following week, I sat through two hours of the treatment expecting genius results.  Much to my surprise, and my dermatologists, the results were not so pretty.  I left the office with a puffy face which looked like it had burns all over it.  The marks were in the shape of little honeycombs.  I asked what it was and my dermatologist said the infamous word followed by some more words… “don’t worry, it’s perfectly normal to have a reaction after a treatment like that.  You should be fine by tomorrow.”  Well, weeks went by and I still was NOT fine.  I had 3 other appointments with him, all resulting in similar responses… “Don’t worry… It won’t be like this forever.”

Six months later, my wedding day came.  I still had honeycomb marks all over my face.  I spent my honeymoon poolside with a bag of makeup at my side. Every chance I got, I would rush to the bathroom and reapply so nobody would see the disgusting marks all over my face.  It has been 9 years and I still have a few lingering marks which are visible.  Since that experience, I have struggled with the thought of leaving my house without makeup on.  I know I no longer look terrible but the experience made me a bit insecure about my skin. Recently, I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a product that I had to share!  NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 St. Moritz 1.9 oz!!!  I realize that many people know about, and use tinted moisturizer but try to understand, I would never have thought to use anything without maximum coverage until recently.  This stuff is AMAZING!  I put it on, it evened my skin tone, gives me just the right amount of coverage, does NOT make me break out and has sunscreen!  Even better, I can sit poolside, put it on as often as I want, look fantastic and never feel like I will have nasty makeup running down my face while I swim… It’s simply fantastic!