The day my Nonna’s collection of beauty secrets came into my hands was a reality check day for my appearance. I was in the middle of a busy work schedule and I remember how much I wanted to be done with all the noise and piles of paper and people coming in with endless questions. I just wanted to hold onto the priceless little handwritten gift and get away from my watchful boss.
As I headed home, sitting in a taxi half-distracted, memories like the waves of the sea began to roll in my head. I remembered a beautiful afternoon in the backyard of our country house in Italy. A girl, I was swaying in the air, and all my senses were filled with the sweet heady fragrance of roses, clary sage, marigold, and lavender. The sun, rapidly receding from the horizon, cast a soft glow 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 imagination and the abundance of nature, I saw my grandmother sitting like a giant bunny in the garden, cutting leaves and herbs for the “beauty potions” that she prepared and sold cheaply. to the women of our people. She had a balm for every beauty whim I wish a woman could think of, and she was an expert, because there was always a visitor in the house.
The taxi driver announced that we had arrived and suddenly I felt a pressure in my heart. Truth be told, I dreaded the moment to reevaluate my appearance, and that moment was right there, like a brick wall, and there was nowhere in the whole world to hide, and nothing to do but deal with reality. Now!
With a deep sigh, I reached for the magnifying mirror. Now, from my friends Anna and Lizetta with whom I have espresso once a week, I know that the magnifying mirror is a woman’s worst nightmare. I held up the mirror and said, “Mirror mirror in my hand, show me how much I need to spend. Because in the end it all comes down to that.” I looked at myself in the mirror and, Mamma mia, a giant, bulging yet strangely familiar creature, was staring at me with the gaze of a judge who was about to say, “On the charge of not seeing you well, we find your reflection Guilty.” . with a capital G!”
Yes, it was time to act. “I’ll open the book, I thought, and whatever recipe I see first will be the right one for the moment.”
“Wait, girl, wait, I heard Nonna’s voice in my heart. You need to relax first. How about some soft music and a scented candle? And open the window. Then grab a blanket.”
Done! He was ready. I held the book close to my heart and closed my eyes. I immediately became the earth and the sky and all the flowers and grasses and all the golden sunsets. Oh, and my Nonna’s smile.
I am sharing with you the mask that I found when I opened your 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 any other fruit will do
Wash face but do not dry. Apply the mask abundantly, avoiding the eyes and upper lip. Relax on the sofa and listen to soft music. Don’t talk on the phone and don’t watch a sitcom on TV with this mask on. Hold for 20 minutes. then wash your face with cold water. Use a soft, damp cloth to remove the mask completely.
Then look in the mirror!
