Nonna's beauty tips

Nonna's beauty tips

The day my nonna's beauty secrets came into my possession was a reality check on my appearance. I was in the middle of a busy schedule at work and remember how much I wished I could be done with all the noise and piles of paper and people coming by with endless questions. All I wanted to do was hold the little handwritten priceless gift and sneak away from my watchful boss.

As I was on the way home, sitting half-absent-minded in a taxi, memories started rolling in my head like ocean waves. I remembered a beautiful early evening in the backyard of our country house in Italy. As a young girl, I swayed in the air and all my senses were filled with the sweet, intoxicating scent of roses, sage, calendula and lavender. The sun, quickly receding from the horizon, cast a soft glow from behind the olive trees, like a Renaissance painter who had found the perfect combination of colors to express the magic of light. In the midst of my floating between the ethereal world of fantasy and the bounty of nature, I discovered my Nonna sitting in the garden like a giant bunny, snipping leaves and herbs for the “beauty potions” she made and sold cheaply to the women of our city. She had balm for every beauty whim and desire a woman could invent, and she was an expert because there were always visitors in the house.

The taxi driver announced that we had arrived and suddenly I felt a pressure creep into my heart. To be honest, I dreaded the moment when I would have to re-evaluate my appearance, and that moment was right there, like a brick wall, and there was nowhere in the world to hide and nothing to do but deal with reality. Now!

With a deep sigh, I reached for the magnifying mirror. Now I know from my friends Anna and Lizetta, with whom I drink espresso once a week, that the magnifying mirror is a woman's worst nightmare. I held the mirror and said, "Mirror, mirror in my hand, show me how much I have to spend." I looked into the mirror and Mamma mia, a huge, bulging creature, but strangely familiar to me, stared at me with the look of a judge who wanted to say, "If we don't see your best side, we'll find your reflection Guilty with a capital G!"

Yes, it was time to act. “I’ll open the book, I thought, and the recipe I see first would be the right one for the moment.”

"Wait, child, wait, I heard Nonna's voice in my heart. First you need to relax. How about some soft music and a scented candle? And open the window. Then get a blanket."

Did! I was ready. I held the book to my heart and closed my eyes. Instantly I became the earth and the sky and all the flowers and herbs and all the golden sunsets. Oh, and my Nonna's smile.

I share with you the mask I found when I opened her book.

Rejuvenating mask

Ingredients:

1 egg yolk (ha ha ha) but it's true!

¼ teaspoon organic olive oil

¼ teaspoon of lemon juice or other fruit is enough

Wash your face, but do not dry it. Apply the mask liberally and keep it away from the eyes and upper lip. Relax on the couch and listen to soft music. Do not talk on the phone or watch comedy on TV with this mask on. Hold for 20 minutes. Then wash the face with cold water. Use a soft, damp cloth to completely remove the mask.

Then look in the mirror!