A good friend just phoned me from overseas to tell me that she’s found the man of her dreams, and over the holidays, she’s decided to marry him. What finally pushed her over the edge (she’s been stalling on the matrimony thing)? His toenails.

Allow me to explain. The gentleman in question has asked my friend to marry him every Christmas since they were kids. This year, before he asked, he removed his socks. In a crowded London restaurant. Not necessarily advised in the handbook of smooth-guy moves.

In his case, however, it was the deal-maker, because his toenails were freshly painted a minty-green. Not just any minty-green—my friend instantly recognized the shade she’d coveted for months, Chanel’s “Jade”. It was a limited edition, overnight cult status, sold out instantly, yadda yadda yadda. Her wily suitor scored not one, but two NWT bottles on eBay, each with a price-tag in excess of $100.

He took off his socks and she said, “Yes, I’ll marry you, Clarence.”

But as a skin care advocate who places our Dermalogica product line into the arena of health versus beauty, I have to warn you: most consumers of beauty products aren’t as lucky as our hero Clarence. They do not get instant results, i.e. a spouse, simply by purchasing and applying an overpriced, much-ballyhooed cosmetic product.

The great thing about skin care is that you already HAVE a skin. Tending it, understanding it, supporting it, is not about adding something or acquiring something—it’s about nurturing what’s already yours. And making the most of it.

My gf insists that the Jade toenails bring out, and I quote, “the sexy green in Clarence’s hazel eyes”—now that’s what I call taking the long view. The real green is in the pockets of a couple of enterprising eBay-marketers, but all is fair in love and shopping.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 at 9:56 am and is filed under under my skin with jane wurwand, founder of dermalogica.