The latest Mom’s the Word on Dinner from Ragú® – dinnertime inspiration. As you can hear in this video, my inspiration comes from a very old school source. Click on over to Ragú®’s Facebook page to share your tips!

I have tried several multiple-step skin care regimens over the years.  The first one I remember is Lancome – in the 80′s my mom sent me to teen modeling school at Macy’s in New Haven, CT and it must have been sponsored by Lancome because we used their skin care and makeup products.  I loved their Clarifiance hydrating lotion, but it was pretty expensive.  I also remember the product lines from various old-school home party direct sales brands:  Aloette, Jafra, and Mary Kay.  My mom has been an Avon fan for years, so there was also Avon at some point.

I’ve always found those regimens too time consuming and/or expensive to really make them a daily habit.  I have always defaulted to a simple process of washing with a mild cleanser and then moisturizing with whatever sample of expensive product that I like that is still around (to the point where I scrape the dregs from the bottom of the container with a bobby pin) or when those are truly gone, Oil of Olay.  Skin care specialists get all shaky when I say that.

And so it was with great anticipation that I attended Therapon’s Face 2 Face event here in Los Angeles at the end of January.  Dozens of lady bloggers from as far as San Diego descended upon Rob|B Salon, where we were treated to a manicure using OPI products and a facial using Therapon’s products.

With event hostess Romy Schorr, left, and Sugar Jones

There was food (here I am pictured with fried chicken on a waffle – delish), drink – cocktails mixed with ONE Coconut Water, and lots of great conversation with friends I usually only see at things like this.

And then there was the gift bag.

My pal Melanie Waldman and I sat in her living room dissecting the gift bags that night.  Hair bling!  A full pedicure kit from OPI!  Eyelash conditioner!  A leopard-print scarf!  A delicious candle!  The very same lip gloss that we had tested at the salon and thought was so awesome!

Y’all know how I love a good lip gloss.

The gift bag included the full Theraderm Skin Renewal System and the NuPeel Natural Enzyme Peel, the same products that were used in the mini-facial, which left my skin soft and glowing.  I’m usually freaked out when I’m offered a free peel.  Ever since a fateful spa event had me basically tearing my face off for days afterward, I’m skeptical when I hear the word.  But after a lengthy interrogation, the aesthetician  convinced me to try it and it didn’t hurt me.  Yay!

I was impressed that Therapon gifted us with the full line of products and not just in sample sizes.  The Skin Renewal System retails for $137.50 and the NuPeel is $20.50.  The cost alone prompted me to at least give it a go.  One other thing in its favor is that the System includes the Gentle Action Application Pads, so I don’t even have to rummage around for my own.

Here’s what you do:

• Wash with cleansing wash
• Apply 10 drops of Fruit Acid Exfoliant with the pads
• Apply OPC Reparative Gel with fingers
• Apply Facial Moisturizer (choice between Enhanced or Gentle)

That’s it.  In their words, this is all “a simple, daily regimen developed to optimize skin health by enhancing skin’s natural ability to restore itself. The result is younger, healthier-looking skin.”  You can kick it up a notch by using the NuPeel twice a week.  It’s a mask that you apply, leave on for 60 seconds, then rub off in a circular motion.  The facialist told me that the little white things on my hands are dead skin.  Ick?  Still, my skin feels better afterwards.

Okay, so four steps is still a lot for me.  But for some reason, maybe because I experienced it at the spa and so I associate the whole process with a lovely memory, when I wash my face in the morning I feel like I’m one of those ladies in a fashion magazine, dutifully tending to my skin and sure to be graced with a flawless complexion in return.  (I started out doing the recommended nighttime routine too, but let’s be honest.  My kids are little.  I pass out at night.  I no longer “get ready for bed.”)

I’m also clocking the endurance of the products.  I started using them on January 30.  True, they will last longer for me since I only use them once a day, but this will give me some idea as to the relative cost.  If $140 goes a long way, then $140 doesn’t seem too steep a price to pay for the way my skin feels and looks.  And it looks marvelous.

Not a St. Patrick’s Day trick, alas, just fruitless wheedling to get my kids to eat healthy food. This series from Ragú®, Mom’s the Word on Dinner, is actually really enlightening. Go to their Facebook page to join the conversation and learn tips from other moms (some of them rather funny) about enriching your family dinner.

This post was created in connection with my involvement in the Ragú® Mom’s the Word on Dinner Program.