The 4 Hour Body and The 4 Month Face

Even though I wasn't raised by a superior Chinese mother, I still make an effort at self improvement, especially at the start of a new year.

So high on my list is reading this book....although probably the only progress that I can make in 4 hours is to get the book read.  And if I am sedentary for the 4 hours that it will take for me to read this book, I'm not sure exactly what kind of self improvement I will actually be making.

But any book that tempts me with rapid fat loss, incredible sex and becoming superhuman is worth reading when self improvement is the goal.

The 4 Hour Body

A more realistic goal in my quest for self improvement than becoming superhuman is taking better care of my skin.  While not a product person per se, I do see the need to do something besides injections and laser to cope with ageing.

A very nice person sent me an article about the Lifeline products and their near miraculous results. 
All kinds of stem cell biotechnology has gone into creating these serums and they affect the skin by using messaging molecules or proteins.

Basically a bunch of smarty pants research scientists came up with this.

Another long story short, they came up with two solutions. One, they started using a technique from a Japanese nanotechnology firm that enabled them to encapsulate the proteins from stem cell extract inside a nanovessicle in order to keep them stable and give them the ability to penetrate the upper layer of the skin, and then they figured out how to "blow up" the cells in order to harvest the other 90% of the messaging proteins. That is very important, because cultivating stem cells is not easy-it takes time, some very expensive equipment, and cleanrooms. The cells are cultured in numerous batches, because if a batch goes bad it must be thrown out.

Then

And then they started rigorously, indefatigably testing it to get the right mix that produced just the effect they wanted. They conducted all official safety and efficacy tests according to the highest FDA standards, with independent laboratories and physicians. They confirmed the following anti-aging claims: moisture effect, increased skin elasticity, sun protection, decreased fine lines and wrinkles, improved skin tone.

This product doesn't claim to give you great skin overnight, but with consistent usage for at least 4 months one should be able to see positive results.

Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't, but I'm committed to giving it at least 6 months, alternating usage with Atralin, which is the latest and greatest of the new Retin A products. 

Very cleverly the makers of Lifeline, the International Stem Cell Corporation, have stated that the production is limited so only a very fortunate 4000 people will be able to try the product until manufacturing gets ramped up. 
Smart marketing...there's nothing like claiming scarcity to promote demand and justify higher prices. 

But it if works, I'm certainly willing to pay the price...god knows it's cheaper than the laser.

Found Objects

I love this story .

Beladora on Youtube...Who Knew?

I just saw this nice little video on youtube made by the Platinum Guild in 2009.
Beladora.com get's a mention at about the 5th minute.
This makes me so happy...
Obviously, I should have been watching more jewlery videos and fewer music videos.

We love the Platinum Guild people and Niki Ostin at Prlab.

Pausing To Catch Our Breath

The year of the Metal Rabbit promises to bring some much-needed peace and tranquility. If you are like most people, you probably feel like you were on a roller coaster in 2010, the year of the Tiger. That will generally not be the case in 2011, as the Rabbit is everything the Tiger is not.


“Let there be peace -- and let it begin with me” is the Rabbit motto. The Tiger makes waves, but the Rabbit mends fences. Diplomacy reigns. If you want to improve your chances of success, negotiate and cooperate rather than force your ideas on others. It’s also a time to kiss and make up. Forgive and forget. Let’s all get along. Make love not war. If last year the emphasis was on excitement, it’s now is on harmony.



The Rabbit should give most of us an opportunity to pause and catch our breath after a hectic 2010.

Not that I believe in Chinese astrology...or any other type of astrology.
Still, I like the idea of a year of peace and tranquility after a year of turbulence and turmoil.

Having woken up New Year's Day happy, for no particular reason, and then in this first few days of 2011, one friend became a grandmother, another friend is due to have her third child in two days, and another friend just got engaged, I just get the feeling that this year is going to be focused on family and friends.

Other changes in 2011, La Belette Rouge has retired from blogging.  I shall miss her writing and I hope that this year brings her happiness and healing and a house on the North Shore of Chicago.

2011 - A Good Start

I'm really not one for partying it up on New Year's Eve and I generally prefer to stay home with champagne and caviar, but this year Miss de Ville and I were invited out so we put on our fancy duds and made a night of it.

Miss de Ville New Year's Eve 2010 in her mom's Oscar de la Renta

It was cold, really cold for Los Angeles, so I went in full Dr. Zhivago mode and wore my vintage swakara coat with the fox collar and my mink head band. And I'm glad that I did because it was 42 degrees outside. That is like sub arctic temperatures for Los Angeles.

(blurry photo thanks to iPhone)

After surviving the night with controlled alcohol consumption...I was designated driver....I slept late and woke up happy on New Year's Day.  The sun was shining brightly through my window and I just felt that 2011 was going to be a great year.

Resolutions? Yes, I have them.
They are always the same.
Will I keep them? I hope so.
I will try.

New Year's Day was full of friends and football. 
A comfortable and low key way to start the year.

Then today, rain again.

In August 2008 I blogged about the beautiful wedding of my dear friend's daughter in Napa Valley.  It seems like not so long ago that this girl was a student at John Thomas Dye with my children.  Today this young lady is having her first child, and my friend will become a grandmother.
For some reason, like the sunshine on New Years Day, it is a good omen to me. 
Kids get older, life goes on, one becomes a grandmother.

On the agenda for 2011. 
Work, work and more work.

And some travel. 
I'll be off to the antiques and estate jewelry show in Miami Beach in February with a side trip to Palm Beach to visit friends in the polo world.
In the spring I should like to take a trip to the UK and France to visit the blogger babes.  You know who you are.
Also, I should like to work in a trip to Germany to visit friends.
I shall certainly go to Spain at the end of June to see my brother finish up his command and then I would like to go to either Sicily, Majorca, Corsica or the Swiss Alps.  I haven't decided yet.
Oh yeah, Oz is on my short list too. Can I tie that into the Hong Kong show?
(I'm terribly afraid that if I take a trip to Oz, I won't want to come back to the US.)

Last year I didn't see much of my friends. This year I would like to change that.

Cooking.  I need to do more of that.  Perhaps I will start cooking Sunday dinners for my family.

Working out with the wonder woman trainer, that's on the agenda too.

This is enough.
I don't like to make too many plans, because you know happens when you do that. 
Yes, god laughs.

I'll leave you with a song.