By: Michele Fieldson

Aging with grace can sometimes seem like a big ask, but with age comes so much freedom – freedom to live our lives with purpose, freedom to let go of all that doesn’t serve us, and a freedom that comes with accepting ourselves as we are.

“I’m baffled that anyone might not think women get more beautiful as they get older.

Confidence comes with age, and looking beautiful comes from the confidence

someone has in themselves.”

~Kate Winslet

I’ve been obsessed with skin care since I was 16. With sensitive, reactive and dry skin, I struggled to find something that would actually nourish and soothe my delicate skin. I wanted skin that could come even remotely close to the flawless skin of the women behind the beauty counter. Yeah, that never quite happened.

It’s strange, though, when I look back at pictures of myself in my 20’s, 30’s, I wonder how I could possibly have been so dissatisfied with my looks. My skin wasn’t flawless, but it was the skin of youth. Very few wrinkles, no sagging skin. I looked, dare I say, youthful, yet somehow I didn’t see it or appreciate it.

But there’s been a lot of life lived through the years, a lot happening along the way.

In January 2012 my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. We are so close, and watching someone you love so deeply endure chemo, radiation, a dozen surgeries in two years with side effects that are too many to mention, in addition to the emotional struggle she tried so hard to hide from her family is beyond heart-wrenching. Today my sister is thriving and cancer-free, but it was a long, courageous battle for her to get to where she is today.

And scars remain – for her and those who love her. My outlook on life, one that had been slowly morphing and evolving, especially as other serious life events happened, got another jumpstart.

My sister’s hypersensitive skin during treatment made my skin issues seem so inconsequential. From this horrible diagnosis came the decision for me to live my passion and was the catalyst for creating Laurmé Skin Care.

As I threw myself into reading and researching all I could about skin care and ingredients, I was stunned at how many toxins and fillers and unnecessary ingredients are in our skin care products. I don’t want a facial cream with a shelf life of 7 years. I don’t want on my skin what it takes to make that happen.

I wanted skin care that was safe, effective, no harsh chemicals or toxins (especially ingredients like parabens that are endocrine disruptors and potentially linked to breast cancer), and that could deliver results – effortlessly. (And it had to be cruelty-free. I’m an avid animal lover and abhor any kind of testing on animals!)

I want my skin to look like I care. I want it to look nourished, healthy, radiant, but I just don’t want to spend a lot of time getting there.

Fine lines, wrinkles, sluggish skin, hyperpigmentation. Typical concerns of aging skin. I kept thinking it all shouldn’t be so complicated. I don’t want to feel like I need a Ph.D. in biochemistry to maneuver through the beauty aisle. I just want something that targets my aging concerns, let’s me look my best effortlessly, and lets me get on with my day (or night).

I don’t mean to shame anyone who enjoys the multiple-step, luxury beauty routine or who opts for fillers, Botox or cosmetic surgery. If you’re not hurting yourself or setting out to hurt another with your life choices, and what you’re doing makes you feel better, go, girl!!

For so many of us, pressures of family, career, maintaining a home, taking care of our health are all by-products of modern life. So while there is much in life we can’t control, there is also much we can control.

For me, I’m trying to simplify where I can – slowly, day by day. That means letting go of clutter around me, letting go of the negativity, the judgment, not being around people who suck the life out of me.

At age 20, we worry about what others think of us.

At age 40, we don’t care what they think of us.

At age 60, we discover they haven’t been thinking of us at all.

~Ann Landers

Life is a process. While I can’t say I celebrate getting new wrinkles, I do accept that it’s inevitable, and I’m good with that. I can say I am so much more accepting of myself and less concerned with the telltale signs of aging. I can look in the mirror and detect a sparkle in my eye. And, actually, just the fact I can look in the mirror and see a reflection back, wrinkles and all reminds me how very much I have to be grateful for.

Please visit: www.laurmeskincare.com

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