hadaka no tsukiai: banishing winter skin blues with Eminence Organics

The Japanese have long-standing, deep cultural traditions surrounding health, healing, and hot springs. The term "hadaka no tsukiai" translates to "naked companionship" but refers to the bonding that happens between two people when they share in the ritual of submerging their worn injured bodies into to thermally heated water that erupts from the earth's surface. My in-house spa treatments this weekend called for another person. Luckily for me I have a dear friend who was a willing volunteer and I am happy to report that Japanese hot springs are not the only place where healing self care rituals invoke this kind of bonding refered to as "hadaka no tsukiai".

Tonight I am ready for summer to arrive. I spent parts of the day and evening walking around the new path cut by a lake in my neighborhood. The warmth was teasing me, whispering that summer is close but not here yet. Last year I was laying out by the pool in March. Then the terrifying thought came to me...."Oh god! Laying out - winter skin. I have winter skin” My skin needs a tune up badly. On returning home from my walk I dug through the growing pile of beauty products that crowd around my laptop like stuffed animals around a child’s bed pillows and found the perfect remedies. Eminence's Pear and Poppy Seed Microderm Polisher and Lime Stimulating Masque. I can not think of two better tonics for dreary winter skin. After applying both of these masques I am confident that if I were suddenly forced into a bikini, my skin does have the ability to go from winter blah to summer stunning in about 15 minutes. The wonderful ladies of Beauty Gone Green warned me that these two products act as intense exfoliating agents. This confirmed my hunch that I should try them out on my back before my face. I really still only trust Teri with my face. So products in hand, I wrangled Gigi out to my country abode for some Hadaka no tsukiai (John we are waiting for you and Alan to start Beast's Spot and tell us all about your male bonding adventures ;). With Gigi as my esthetician for the night we bravely set out to say goodbye to the winter skin blues. First she washed my back with Jason's Organic Citrus Soap. Then she applied the Pear and Poppy seed Microderm polisher. I could feel the dead skin being scrubbed away. The gel like substance is packed with actual pear and poppy seeds. After two minutes of scrubbing we put a hot towel on my back and left it in place for five minutes.

Beauty Gone Green accurately lists the benefits of the Pear and Poppy Seed Microderm Polisher as: • Natural microdermabrasion action • Perfectly exfoliates uneven, dry and rough skins • Minimizes fine lines and wrinkles • Relieves congested skins and prevents breakouts • Helps to increase micro-circulation and stimulates cell renewal • Supplies nutrition to the epidermis

The ingredients that make this incredible organic exfoliation possible are: • Pear: bioflavonoids, hydroxycinnamic acids (antioxidant) • Green Apple: Vitamin C, fruit flavonoids, quercetin (anti-inflammatory) • Poppy Seed: gentle exfoliation • Fine Walnut: Vitamin E, gentle exfoliation • Green Tea: antioxidant, phenol and Vitamin C rich • Apricot Kernel Oil: softening and soothing • Alfalfa: vitamin rich nutrition

Next Gigi applied the Lime Stimulating Masque. The label, not unlike infamous red chili based hot causes, cautions this product is hot. It's not heart attack warning label hot but it is in fact Vietnamese red chili sauce hot. It tingles and almost instantly turned my skin bright red but it is refreshing and I like instant gratification so for me this is a top notch product. You can actually see in this picture where the product was applied and as Gigi remarked as she left just now: It's incredible my skin really does feel like a baby's.

Benefits include: • Deep active stimulant for cellular renewal • Detoxifies the skin • Assists in increasing oxygenation in the skin • Clears blemished or acne skin • Reduces fatigue in the skin • Increases the absorption rate for other products

Ingredients include: • Lime & Lemon: supplies Vitamin C, antioxidant agent • Thermal Water: supplies minerals to the skin, softens and nourishes • Nettle: assists in increasing stimulation and oxygenation of skin • Biocomplex™: an antioxidant booster of Vitamins A, Ester-C, E, Coenzyme Q10, Alpha Lipoic Acid

The combination of the two has left my back shinny, bright, smooth, and suntan ready. Now I'll wait for the weather to catch up.