To apply makeup or not to—that is the question. Having worn makeup for a only few brief periods in my life, I don’t support its use and I exult when I meet a woman who doesn’t wear it. However…
I went back to Body + Mind Spa (see the Spas section) for a procedure known as microdermabrasion. The decision to do so followed an incident in which my lovely kitten ran across my face (while I was sleeping) and gave me a three-inch-long scratch under my left eye. The scratch took a while to heal, though not as long as I’d feared, probably because I used Skin Shield. By the time I finally arrived at B+M’s doorstep, the scar was quite faint.
I’m not sure if I’d recommend microdermabrasion, though it might be too soon to judge its effects, which include the stimulation of collagen production. In the case of B+M, the procedure was followed by the application of soothing gels and creams and a short but nice leg massage.
After all that, the therapist—a young man named Vu Quang Nguyen, who is originally from Viet Nam—applied a foundation made by a company called Jane Iredale. Not only did the foundation hide many imperfections, including age spots, but it would, I was told, act as a sun block because of its mineral ingredients.
I have been using it since then, and, I must confess, I find it fun to put on and wear. Do I see a new me looking back when I peer into the mirror? Yes, I do. Is it a falsified me, one more perfect than the professor of the natural look? Probably 
