Surprisingly Affordable Secret to Fabulous Skin

“You don’t have to be rich to have a little luxury and treat yourself well. I have a secret for soft, smooth skin that anybody can afford!”

Those were the words of Carol Franklin, the wonderful woman who was doing my pedicure at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis TN where I attended the IBC’s this past February. Ms Franklin not only gave me a terrific pedi, she shared with me that her grandmother, who had raised her, had butter soft skin despite hard work and a meager income. Her secret? Milk baths!

“She just got that generic powdered milk and put a cup of it in under the taps. Then she’d soak in it till the water cooled off.” Carol told me. “Her skin was fine till the day she died!”

I’d long heard of the virtues of milk baths, but thought “How do you justify putting all that milk in the tub and then just draining it away?” It seemed an out of reach luxury only rich women could afford, but Carols’ grandma had something I was eager to try.

On my last trip to the grocery store I picked up a box of generic powdered milk, costing about $4 + tax. I got it home &amd put a cupful under the tap as I ran a hot bath. As promised, it made a lovely, warm, milky bath which I enjoyed even more when I turned on the jets of my Jacuzzi. A diva must have jets, it’s strenuous keeping in shape and one must have a few consistent luxuries! The jets whipped the milk into a frothy foam, different from bubble bath in it’s creaminess.

Soaking in the tub, I meditated on my next music project, putting the foam in my hair and on my face, until the water cooled. I washed the milk foam from my hair with that great Redkin shampoo from Ulta 2 and finished with a rinse under the shower.

I can happily report that the milk bath left my skin so soft I didn’t need to use additional moisturizer and my hair is softer than I’ve ever experienced at this point in a hard winter. Best of all it only cost a few pennies. In fact that one box holds 8 cups of powdered milk, giving me 7 more spa quality treatments to look forward to at about 50c a piece! Thank you Grandma Franklin.

Feel More Fabulous: Use a Humidifier!

“Everything’s better when wet!”

proclaims Steve Miller in his '70's rock classic JUNGLE LOVE. Steve is right on so many levels. That goes double for the air in your environment too. Has winter got you wheezing, coughing and flaking? Don’t know what to do about it? Here are some suggestions on how to survive winter and come out the other end completely fabulous!

“Get yourself the best humidifier you can afford & run it all winter long!”

These sage words of advice come courtesy of my longtime friend and vocal guru Doug S. Winter’s indoor heating dries out your mucus membranes and makes you more susceptible to sinus infections, colds, and General Malaise and nobody likes him. In towns like Chicago, the tap water has lots of minerals in it. That’ll shorten the lifespan of your humidifier. To prevent that we use distilled water. 

Notice to you musicians who don’t run a humidifier in winter: you're not just hurting yourself, you’re practicing unnecessary cruelty to your axes! If you’re a singer, like me, you need to keep a moist throat to prevent laryngitis. Singing with a dry throat can lead to glottal nodes or calluses that build up on your vocal chords. The only way to get rid of them is surgery &/or silence! Be it your voice, guitar, drums or piano, do them a favor and keep it moist. Non musicians, your body & wood furniture will thank you for the humidity.

If your town has an indoor garden, or even a greenhouse, visit it regularly!

When I was a kid growing up in Milwaukee they built these three wonderful geodesic domes based on designs by Buckminster Fuller. They populated them with gardens, one tropical, one arid & the third had seasonal flowers. My mom would take us for weekly pilgrimages to “the Domes” in the winter and she always had an incredible complexion. Visiting a garden really lifts your spirits and you’ll find your head is clearer too.

If you’re on the road hotel rooms are notoriously dry.

Working the plains states of the US & Canada I developed strategies for protecting my most valuable asset. If you’re in town more than one night look around for a health club/gym that has a steam room. I try to find one in every town, get a day or week pass, depending on the length of my engagement and use it. Working out while touring actually gives you more energy for your show and the 10 minutes in the steam room is priceless.

Make your own steam room!If that’s not an option you can turn on the hot water in your hotel bathroom and fill it with steam. Then go sit in there for 15 minutes. When you get back after your gig wet the hotel hand towels and drape them over the heater before you retire. Put a shoe on em to hold them in place or the heater will blow them on the floor and they do you no good there.

Another thing to try is a vaporizer.

Frankly, I don't know the difference between a humidifier and a vaporizer. They both put water into the air, but some vaporizers have a spot where you can add eucalyptus or essential oil to take that “cheap motel” smell out of your air. I have one I keep in the van for dry hotel rooms. Try running it in the room you sleep in and see how much better you feel after a night of tropical moisture!

Super Secret To A Fabulous Hollywood Body!

Everybody loves Hollywood!

We all want to look like fabulous Hollywood stars, but they have cooks and trainers and coaches and nannies and prescriptions and surgeries. Honey, we just don’t have that kind of cash flow! So how do we get that fabulous Hollywood body "on the cheap?"

Well it just so happens that I know a fabulous Hollywood star

and she told me one of her super body secrets!

Wanna know it? Of course you do!

Picture this:  it’s mid-afternoon and you’re starting to have that “siesta time” slump but you don’t want to cave in and eat a bag full of calories or anything that might make you look bloated on camera! So you take your ever present water bottle and add to it

one packet of Emergency (1000 mgs Vit C and only 25 calories) and

one teaspoon full of Bene-fiber (9 grams of fiber and only 45 calories).

Now shake it like a Polaroid picture and drink it when it’s uniformly pink.

This is the new Hollywood Power Lunch!

You just did a decent for your body giving it a full days supply of Vitamins and Minerals, which helps your immune system. It also promotes good skin and a shiny coat. Plus, doctors say Americans don’t get enough fiber in our diets. Fiber can make you feel satisfied so you don’t eat as much, it lowers your cholesterol and helps keep your insides clean. Most of us reach for coffee or a soda to pick up, but the caffeine and sugar don’t give you the low-cal benefits of the Emergency and Bene-fiber cocktail. AND It fizzes!

I know you're whining "But Liz, I can't go to Hollywood to get these magic potions!"

Don't get your panties in a bunch, Francis. You can get Emergency (or a generic eq.) at any drug store.
(My friend Jowita found a box of 36 Strawberry-Lemon flovored packets at Sam's Club for $10)
It comes in a variety of flavors so drinking water will never be boring agian, did I mention IT FIZZES?!?!

I buy it by the box and keep a bunch of packets in my bag so I stay healthy while traveling and during flu season. Sometimes you have to sing into a mic after somebody else had their mouth all over it or  (in Tommy McCracken’s case) down their trousers, that 1k of Vitamin C is all that stands between you and whatever alien virus might be lurking there.

Bene-fiber is the only brand of fiber I recommend for a Hollywood power lunch. The other ones don’t have as much fiber per serving and most of them turn into a disgusting viscous fluid after they’ve been in water for a few minutes. I got married so I don’t have to drink that kind of stuff anymore. If this is too much clean living for you, add a little Vodka. That'll add about 70 fat free calories, but it might make it hard to stay on the treadmill! Remember darlings, little choices made regularly can make big changes and summer is just months away.

Ready for my close-up, Mr DeMille...till next time, stay FABULOUS!