Stacy's Favorite Beauty Secrets and more...

#1. Okay, for those of you who know me - you really are going to snicker at this first one, but I have to say my #1 Beauty Secret is.... SLEEP, SLEEP, SLEEP! us girls have some crazy hormones that run through our systems and unlike guys, it takes a bigger toll on our bodies. Guys statistically have more energy and age a lot slower. The greastest time for your body to repair and renew itself is while you sleep, this is when the pituitary gland releases natural Growth Hormone (the hormone that keeps us young) and I am not talking about five to six hours a night, I mean 8, 9 or yes even 10 when you can! If you are a party girl, or just a hard worker or if you have high levels of stress -you defintely need a few days out of the week where you can get in a 10 hour/night sleep. I looked back at pictures of me when I was 19-20 and I swear I looked so much older, why? Because I used to stay out every night partying and rarely got more than 5 hours of sleep. Of course this 10 hours of sleep idea is a "Stacy Theory", but medical studies are truly showing that people who get an hour more of sleep a night add years to their life, and with today's enviroment worsening and stress levels of the average American rising, I think Doctors soon will be giving the same advice.

#2 I am really bad at this one, but I have to include it or a lot of people will want to kick my tush because it may be the most important thing you can do for yourself. Drink lots of Water! My Skin Care Technician Tammy once told me this analogy; Imagine in your head a picture of a Raisin, now imagine a picture of a Grape. A Raisin and Grape really come from the same fruit don't they? A Raisin is the dehydrated Grape. Do you want your skin to be wrinkled like a Raisin or firm and smooth like a Grape? Water is the Key. We've all heard it all our lives and beleive me I am so bad at drinking enough water - but when I do, I feel so much better and my skin always looks awesome. Sometimes I have days when I wake up and see lines on my face and that day I make myself drink at least 8 glasses of water or more if I can and by the next day my lines are gone. This goes the same for Cellulite girls, water plumps everything up!

#3 Wear Sunblock or stay out of the Sun! I know we all love to look Tan but we are fortunate enough today to live in world where there are so many other options. I myself use self tanners, bronzers or Mystic Tan. The down side is that they can be messy and sometimes stink. But I'll take those effects over the side effects of Tanning in a tanning bed or out in the Sun. You may think you don't notice anything now, so your not worried about it. But the damage you are doing to your skin now will show up in a few years. Beleive me, I used to rub grease all over my body and lay out for hours and hours, then I got in the Tanning Bed Craze for a few years. I never saw any damage to my skin at the time and I liked being Tan so I never listened to what everyone said about it. But guess what? Five years later and the results have surfaced. When I asked my doctor why my skin is loosing elacticity all the sudden- because I never Tan anymore and haven't for years now, He told me it is damage I did years ago that is now taking it's toll. So even if you think you Tan Well, with no problems and see no effects to your skin yet, you will. So do yourself a favor and stop Tanning. Exspecially on your face, you should always wear sunblock everyday even if your not at the beach. We have Bronzers and Blushes to make your cheeks glow now. You don't need the Sun or Tanning Bulbs! Since I can't stand the smell of the developing self tanners - unless I really need my tan to last a few days, I often use Sally Hansen's airbrush tanning spray that you can buy at any drug store. It is a great quick fix and last until you shower. The main difference is that it is not a developer, its just a paint-on bronzer. So when you spray it on, what you see is what you get. You don't have to wait for it to develop or sink into your skin and it has absolutely no smell since its not dyeing your skin its just painting or rather spraying on a coat of make-up sort-of, and then just washes off in the shower just like you would wash off make-up from your face. The other plus, is that your not left with spots all over like Mystic Tan or Self Tanners leave as it starts to disappear. # 4 Spend at least an hour a day outdoors. I know I gave you the whole "sunblock/ no sun" speech but that doesn't mean to lock yourself inside. I try to do something outdoors everyday. (Well, as long as you don't live in Manhattan or something-if you live in the city, find a park or something.) Since I spend most of my time between Florida and California, there is usually plenty of sunshine. Most of you already know that I am not exactly a big fan of the Gym, (or working out at all, I suppose for that matter) but even though I don't work out, I really love to do things outside. It's really the only thing that motivates me to do anything active since I could easily crawl up in bed and watch movies or spend endless hours in front of the computer. Staying indoors and never seeing daylight can cause depression. Seriously, ever notice when you drive by a nursing home that you usually see nurses sitting outside with the elderly? There is something to fresh air and sunlight that releases endorphens in the Brain. So if you are ever feeling down, sick, sluggish, or any other ailment - go sit outside for a bit, or go for a walk. No excuses! You don't have a yard? You don't live near a beach or near a park? Go sit on the hood of your car in the parking lot then. I am not kidding. If you have a job that keeps you inside all day then roll down the windows on the drive home and let the wind hit your face.(ughh..again, not if you live in a dirty polluted city). Even the short little walks I take my dogs on everyday peps up my mood. Since I am such an intravert... I love my alone time that I get to go for a bike ride or go sit on the beach or take my dogs to the park, but these are also great things to do with a friend or someone special. I promise, try it. I bet you anything, next time you get a cold or next time you are sad about something, or next time your hung-over even and don't want to move. Go outside! Make yourself! Crawl if you have to. If its raining go play in the rain! (not if its lightning, okay silly). If you are fighting with your honey and you guys can't see eye to eye on something, go talk it over outside somewhere. Here are my favorite, favorite, things to do. I love to be on the water. Yes, I know I am lucky to live where I do in Florida because I can walk outside right out to the ocean, or I can drive 5 minutes and be at a big huge park with big lakes and hiking trails. I actually like fresh water lakes and rivers better than the ocean for boating. There are quite a bit of Fresh water Rivers here in Florida that you can go canoeing down for Hours. Hillsborough River is probably the closest one I go out to. It's so pretty and lined with trees and winds back and forth through narrow parts. Its quiet and peaceful, and the smell of the forest around you is uplifting. Also, two of my sisters live in the Land O'Lakes/Lutz area where there are a bunch of big Ski Lakes like every other Mile. I guess I am big country girl at heart. I think my next big purchase will be a summer house somewhere in the mountains near big lakes and lots of trees. Okay, Okay... but I still love where I live on the beach. I can ride my bike or rollerblade, or just go sit under a cabana in my backyard and watch the Dolphins. It's a tough tie between the smell of the Ocean Breeze in the summer and the Smell of trees changing leaves in the Fall. Flordia is pretty flat for waves, but I would love to really get into surfing if I ever spent enough time on the West Coast. (Maybe my other summer home- after my cabin in the mounatins, will be in Hawaii :) ). Don't get me wrong, I like to dine and shop and all that good stuff in the city, but the true Jewels in Life are in Nature. So that's why my #4 Beauty secret is to get plenty of fresh air! #5 You are what you eat! Another club I am a new Member of. My eating habits were terrible, I am always eating on the run or in a hurry so that meant a lot of fast food or stuff like candy and donuts all day and then when I got home, I would be so hungry I would eat everything in my fridge in one sitting. I am one of those people who never gains a lot of weight no matter what or how much I eat. Its just in my genes. So since I never had that problem I really didn't care. People would look at me like I was such a pig because of what I ate, but I was like "hey if I can eat it why not, let me enjoy it". True, donuts and candy, french fries and burgers are still enjoyable, yes sir, but the yuckiness your putting into your body is not. This goes along with everything else written here about Beauty, Vitality and reversing the aging process. You are what you eat. You Big Grease Ball. You big salty-sodium puff face. You big deep fried-clogged artery Cholsterol hound you. Well, you get the idea. My point is... Its not just fat that you have to worry about when eating crap. Its like using Diesel Fuel when you drive a car the requires Super Unleaded High Octane. Don't fill up your body with the wrong fuel. People who age faster or look older than they should often times are people with very poor nutrition. Your body needs certain things to run properly and fight illness and disease. If you accidentaly put Diesel Fuel in your car it would tear up the motor and eventually stop running right? A while back, I had a really tough time with breakouts which seemed like forever. Even though I tried every drug, every cream, endless amounts of money at the doctors, the solution was in my diet. As soon as I cut out all the drive thru food, sodas, and chocolate bars every day, my face started clearing up and even became softer and firmer because I was actually getting the nutrients I was missing. I was also not as tired because eating the right foods gives you energy (and visa versa). I don't diet crazy. Just the simple things like plenty of fruits and vegtables and lots of protein like Fish, Chicken and eggs. Also very important is how much you eat. Even though some people are eating healthy things, they eat very little during the day and then chow down at dinner. Try to spread it out through your day. You should eat every few hours or so. I eat about six small meals a day. This keeps your metabolism running fast and keeps unwanted weight off. If you are not where you can sit down and eat or don't have the time to eat six times a day, drink one of those meal replacement shakes. My favorite is Slim Fast's New one. Its only 2 net carbs and comes in Milk Chocolate, Strawberry Cream and Vanilla. Its not a "loose weight" thing for me its a nutrient thing. Its packed with like 22 vitamins and minerals- everything you need is in there. I bring them to photo shoots a lot with me. It actually tastes awesome too. Its like a milk shake, its not chalky or anything like some other shakes out there either. The other tip I can give you is; watch your caffeine intake. If you are like me there is no way I am giving up my morning coffee. I can not function without my two double expressos in the morning, but if you do have a coffee habit then do not allow yourself any other caffeine through the rest of the day. For all you Soda drinkers, your going to really try to learn to like the Decaffinated ones. My Favorite is Cherry 7-up, or A&W diet Rootbeer. Oh wait can't forget Diet Riet (love the new Rasberry). Anyways, caffeine causes dehydration (therefore causes wrinkles), cravings for sweets, Acne, bladder infections, irritability and so on and so on. In other words... its really bad for you all around, but a little won't hurt you just make sure you are smart about it and limit yourself. I think its also important not to starve yourself completely of all the yummy things in life. I think you should always allow yourself little indulgences every now and then. I give myself a free day twice a month (usually every other Sunday) where I can eat everything I want. Big Pizza with everything on it, extra cheese and Dairy Queen Blizards are my norm. Then I kind of get it out of my system for a while. (If you have been really good and have really kept a clean system -eating good the weeks before hand, then you will probably feel so sick after eating all that junk anyway, that the thought of eating more crappy food totally turns you off.) Yep, all my beauty secrets are age old remedies, but what can I tell ya... these are the things that really work. The same things Mothers, Doctors, Teachers and Scientist have been preaching to us our whole lives. So when people say "what do you do to stay that way?", I really can say it's all back to basics people. Hopefully, I can inspire someone to take action in their health and well being by passing on what I know really works and that you don't have to kill yourself to get there, and beleive me, I have bought into every passing trend from New-Age Diets, to every new exercise craze and machine to Miracle Creams, Super Vitamins and Energy Pills. Some work if you have enough discipline, but for most of us, we have a hard time keeping up or don't exactly follow through as we should and so we often end up wasting our time. I am certainly not perfect and should do a lot of things different in my life too and thats why I am always working on it. Your self worth is everything and you ARE worth it! Never settle for less. Live Big... and Dream Bigger!