All day long, you make decisions – some large, some small. Each one of them reflects the things that you feel are important, your values. What is the basis for this or that decision? It’s something that may not be immediately apparent as you go about your day, dealing with events, people, circumstances.

In fact, you may not even think about this at all. Many people base their ideas and decisions on what they have been told is important or what they feel they ‘should’ be taking as their priorities.

For example, most people feel that they would like to have more of something than they currently have. Specifically, it’s a common feeling that there is not quite enough money in the bank or coming in for the week. What makes this so?

What Do You Desire?

For many people, money is the symbol of happiness. We are constantly being flooded with images that portray having more of everything as being desirable. But is it, really?

Why do people want to have more money, more cars, more ‘busy’ things to do? It is because they believe that this will make them happy. People want things because of the way they think that they will make them feel.

If you unplug from that version of life, you can notice other things. For example, it was Socrates who pointed out that “Contentment is the wealth of Nature,” and therefore true wealth consists of feelings of contentment.

What is the price of knowing that you did your best in a situation, that you didn’t turn your back on someone who needed your help?

Are You Feeling Content?

What if it were true that having less distractions gives you more time to feel truly alive? What if that made it more possible for you to experience true happiness, which is without external cause?

Real happiness cannot be bought or even created. It is always there, waiting to be noticed, even in the smallest details of your life.

What you do in each moment is a small portrait of who you are on the deepest level. Every moment is a chance to embrace the sacredness of your life and of the world. Every person you meet has a hidden message for you.

Embracing the ability to notice these things, as your priority, to be your mission, will free you from the burdens of ‘not enough,’ and of ‘too much,’ which are the twins of discontent. You will then be truly in the moment and ready to understand yourself and life in a different way.

Let Your Feelings and Desires Take Priority

How can you take that little step back from appearances and go a little deeper into what your life truly is, and truly means? What would it be like to let your own feelings and desires take priority, instead of always letting others define what you are doing, and where you put your attention?

Appearances can be deceiving.

We all want to be useful and of service to others. However, without taking the time to dive deeply into our own deepest knowing, we have less wisdom and more busyness to offer, less true openhearted life to live.

When you truly take time to love yourself, to understand what is important to you – and to honor it – you will be in contact with your own riches, which can never be reduced in any way.

How do your decisions reflect your values and priorities? What is the key priority in your life in your 60s? Please share your own ponderings in the comments below.

Lisa Barlow’s Neon Green Purse

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Finale Fashion

I have to say Lisa Barlow came onto the Salt Lake Housewives scene and quickly became one of my favorite Housewives ever from a fashion standpoint. I love her accessories, her edgy, borrowed-from-the-boys style and her ability to use accessories to make a statement, ie her padded neon green purse meeting with Jen Shah.

If you told me I’d be drooling over a nylon bag before I saw this bold little accessory last night, I would’ve said hell no. But now that I’ve seen Lisa’s fab fluo companion, I’ve gotta say pass the padding.

The Realest Housewife,

Big Blonde Hair

Click Here to Shop her Hard-to-Find Prada Fluo Tessuto Clutch 

Originally posted at: Lisa Barlow’s Neon Green Purse

I’ve tried a lot weird things for the sake of beauty, from using a lip-vacuum device in attempt to fake a plumper pout to dousing my lackluster locks with a bottle of IPA beer to restore some shine after a bleach job gone wrong. One thing I never imagined doing however, is spreading warm candle wax on my body with the hopes of achieving supple skin, but alas, here I am.

Before you assume that this skincare-candle hybrid is a product of kink culture or a sexy Valentine’s Day gimmick, here me out, because apparently skincare candles are the latest thing in the beauty and wellness space. I’m guessing you’re either intrigued or horrified at this point, so I’ll go ahead and get on with my Neom Organics Skin Treatment Candle Review.

To offer some much-needed context here, I’ve been a huge fan of Neom’s luxe candle range for some quite some time now, but I have to admit — when I stumbled upon their Skin Treatment Candle, I was a little hesitant — not to mention kind of confused. But, in the name of beauty (and my job, of course) I figured I had to give it a try for myself. Spoiler alert: it’s not scary, painful, or kinky (unless you want it to be, that is) at all.

In fact, it’s the ultimate me-time selfcare product I’ve been subconsciously dreaming for the past year (I mean, let’s face it: we all could use a little extra TLC after the dumpster fire of a year that was 2020.)

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

Basically, you simply light the candle as you normally would, wait 10 or 15 minutes for the skincare-grade wax to soften and pool into a liquid, and then you’re ready to drizzle this yummy skin-enhancing wax-to-oil formula all over your skin — just don’t forget to blow out the flame. Clearly, Neom’s Skincare Treatment Candle isn’t formulated with any old candle wax. The soybean oil base is infused with not only twenty-four different de-stressing essential oils, but also a slew of nourishing skincare ingredients, including jojoba oil, cocoa butter, almond oil and rapeseed oil.

Courtesy of Neom Organics.

Neom Organics Intensive Skin Treatment Candle

It probably goes without saying, but this candle also happen to smell like straight-up heaven on earth — i.e. lavender, jasmine and Brazilian rosewood.

Full disclosure: while I was ever-so-slightly concerned about getting burned, rest assured, it wasn’t an issue. In fact, this is one of the most relaxing nights to myself I’ve had in a hot (pun intended) minute. Neom recommends that you make a night of it too — draw a warm bath, pour a glass of wine, and get ready to have the literal softest skin ever after massage in the moisturizing oil and breathe in the relaxing blend of anxiety-erasing aromas.

Neom offers two versions of their Skincare Treatment Candle: the Scent to De-Stress and the Scent to Sleep. I tried the de-stress version, and as someone with an apparent inability to fully unwind, I found that it really did the trick.

Courtesy of Neom Organics.

Neom Organics Perfect Night’s Sleep Skin Treatment Candle

For all of the restless night owls out there, it’s time to give this sleepy time candle a try. Not only does it smell and feel amazing on the skin, but it also helps you wind down and prepare for some solid shut eye with the help of English lavender, calming sweet basil, and jasmine.

Buy: Neom Perfect Night’s Sleep Candle $46

I’ve tried a lot weird things for the sake of beauty, from using a lip-vacuum device in attempt to fake a plumper pout to dousing my lackluster locks with a bottle of IPA beer to restore some shine after a bleach job gone wrong. One thing I never imagined doing however, is spreading warm candle wax on my body with the hopes of achieving supple skin, but alas, here I am.

Before you assume that this skincare-candle hybrid is a product of kink culture or a sexy Valentine’s Day gimmick, here me out, because apparently skincare candles are the latest thing in the beauty and wellness space. I’m guessing you’re either intrigued or horrified at this point, so I’ll go ahead and get on with my Neom Organics Skin Treatment Candle Review.

To offer some much-needed context here, I’ve been a huge fan of Neom’s luxe candle range for some quite some time now, but I have to admit — when I stumbled upon their Skin Treatment Candle, I was a little hesitant — not to mention kind of confused. But, in the name of beauty (and my job, of course) I figured I had to give it a try for myself. Spoiler alert: it’s not scary, painful, or kinky (unless you want it to be, that is) at all.

In fact, it’s the ultimate me-time selfcare product I’ve been subconsciously dreaming for the past year (I mean, let’s face it: we all could use a little extra TLC after the dumpster fire of a year that was 2020.)

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

Basically, you simply light the candle as you normally would, wait 10 or 15 minutes for the skincare-grade wax to soften and pool into a liquid, and then you’re ready to drizzle this yummy skin-enhancing wax-to-oil formula all over your skin — just don’t forget to blow out the flame. Clearly, Neom’s Skincare Treatment Candle isn’t formulated with any old candle wax. The soybean oil base is infused with not only twenty-four different de-stressing essential oils, but also a slew of nourishing skincare ingredients, including jojoba oil, cocoa butter, almond oil and rapeseed oil.

Courtesy of Neom Organics.

Neom Organics Intensive Skin Treatment Candle

It probably goes without saying, but this candle also happen to smell like straight-up heaven on earth — i.e. lavender, jasmine and Brazilian rosewood.

Full disclosure: while I was ever-so-slightly concerned about getting burned, rest assured, it wasn’t an issue. In fact, this is one of the most relaxing nights to myself I’ve had in a hot (pun intended) minute. Neom recommends that you make a night of it too — draw a warm bath, pour a glass of wine, and get ready to have the literal softest skin ever after massage in the moisturizing oil and breathe in the relaxing blend of anxiety-erasing aromas.

Neom offers two versions of their Skincare Treatment Candle: the Scent to De-Stress and the Scent to Sleep. I tried the de-stress version, and as someone with an apparent inability to fully unwind, I found that it really did the trick.

Courtesy of Neom Organics.

Neom Organics Perfect Night’s Sleep Skin Treatment Candle

For all of the restless night owls out there, it’s time to give this sleepy time candle a try. Not only does it smell and feel amazing on the skin, but it also helps you wind down and prepare for some solid shut eye with the help of English lavender, calming sweet basil, and jasmine.

Buy: Neom Perfect Night’s Sleep Candle $46

As I began assembling my new wall shelves, I removed a little teal tag that said: “Do you love it? Show us a photo of your style or leave a review!” It supplied the hashtag to include and ended with, “We gather inspiration from all over the world, but our favorite inspiration is YOU!”

Normally, I dismiss any plea for a product review. Instead of a cute tag on a string, the request typically comes in a follow-up email to confirmation that my purchase has been delivered. Who has time to review?

“I already bought something from these people,” I would think. “If they want me to also promote the company, they can pay me.”

I Use Product Reviews – Do You?

But I recently moved, and the new house needs everything from new bedding and a random desk chair to replacement glass for picture frames that cracked under pressure – okay, under my own foot, if we’re being specific. The only way I’ve felt confident buying so much so quickly has been to trust in users’ product reviews.

Services are the same. Suddenly, I need new medical providers, cleaning help, restaurant carryout. I’m not familiar with this area, so I rely on those who are. But I don’t know anyone personally here yet, so again I turn to online feedback.

Taker or Contributor?

I’m starting to feel like a taker who never gives back. If I use reviews, shouldn’t I write some? I appreciate the effort someone makes to not only rate a product or service but also share a specific opinion.

This is especially true for hotels and Airbnb – I would never book a place without first reading up on real people’s experiences.

Maybe it’s time to even this score.

Marketers do not call me a taker. To them, I’m a “lurker,” the term attached to those of us who read without contributing our own thoughts – and buy without leaving a review.

It’s part of the formerly well-accepted “90-9-1 rule,” coined 15 years ago by Jakob Nielsen. The rule states that 90% of online browsers are lurkers, 9% are occasional contributors and only 1% are frequent – even compulsive – contributors.

Observing a Shift

With the increased acceptance of social media, things have changed since then. While the majority of purchasers still do not Yelp publicly or share deep thoughts on Goodreads, observers of today’s online behavior present much less lopsided numbers than Nielsen did.

One reason for the shift lies in that little teal card that came with my shelves. Businesses are asking customers for reviews and making it easy for them to leave one. Leaving a review of my shelves does not require me to join a website, but just to post a few words of satisfaction on a nice picture and hashtag the brand.

I write for publications in the beauty salon industry, and I know how valuable word-of-mouth is to hairdressers and salon owners. Many report that asking is the best way to get their clients to show off their new look on Instagram, give the stylist or salon a five-star rating somewhere or recommend the business on Next Door.

Our Opinion Is Valuable!

As women over 60, we’ve tried a lot of products and services! When we purchase something new, we recognize the difference between great and merely acceptable, and we have little patience for the duds. We are the ideal reviewers!

I plan to post that photo of my shelves with a hashtag credit – and maybe show other purchases as well. And the Home Depot email I received asking me to review the light fixture I bought to attach to a ceiling fan? I already wrote a review, had it accepted, and felt kind of good that the next shopper will be assured that the fixture is just fine and dandy.

What do you think of product reviews? Do you browse them before purchasing something or booking a service? How often do you leave a review? Please share your thoughts and comments!