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, hear 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 into existence 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

The older you and I get, and I just turned 68, the more important friendships become. We also speak a lot about de-cluttering, which, especially for those of us who have lost a spouse, moved to a new place or country, or simply want to live a simpler life, is an important part of letting go of what simply no longer serves.

I want to address the equal importance of de-cluttering our lives of friendships which also no longer serve.

As painful as it can sometimes be, those whom we have loved for a great many years can end up as disappointments. That goes both ways, of course. Political leanings change, or in one way or another a choice made forms a crack in the great strong castle that used to house our friendship.

How Friendships Can Change

Sometimes a subtle shift in how a friend treats us, or refuses to respond to a call or email, gets our attention. Once is understandable. A pattern, well. Something may be amiss.

Or, they are no longer available, they are always too busy, when before there was always and forever time for “just us girls.”

Worse, you may notice that the kindness that used to define your connection has been replaced by the occasional snarky comment, or disapproval, or an outright insult.

What on earth?

If you’re like me, you would want to know what’s going on. It’s perfectly reasonable to think that there was a misunderstanding, and that there’s every reason to expect that the strength of your friendship will, as it always had before, support walking through the hard stuff. There is always hard stuff in lifelong friendships.

But not all friendships survive all hard stuff. As with everything, it depends.

Childhood Friends Don’t Always Last a Lifetime

At 68, I don’t have any childhood friends in my life. They have fallen by the wayside, either because of marriage and family responsibilities, my penchant for moving, or some other reason. In one case, a few years ago, my best friend from middle school wrote a very angry comment on a Facebook post of mine.

I’d shared a video about life regrets from people close to death, and I was making a gentle exhortation to my fellow grey hairs. If there had been a dream, I hoped they would find a way to realize it before life closed the door on them.

My friend wrote with real venom that “other people didn’t have that kind of money.” Okay, well, I don’t either. This woman had approached me some years prior about writing a kid’s book. I’d just published my first and was happy to help. She didn’t choose to do it, using her grandkids as her constant excuse.

Money can’t write a book for you. Rich or poor, you still have to do the work yourself. While I can’t know her inner thoughts, it appeared that she resented me for choosing to live my dream. That choice, like all big life choices, has been costly. But money has nothing to do with it.

We haven’t spoken since.

When Things Get Cold

If you have gotten the cold shoulder, or the occasional hostile remark, it might be time to take a look at the status of your connection. Over the last three years, I’ve had to release one 40-year friendship and another 20-year friendship for different reasons.

In one case, my long-term “best friend,” as she liked to tell others, had little more than a single lunch all year long to share with me.

My adventure stories became baubles that she shared with people whose time she did value, as a way of claiming to be my friend but no longer wanting to put any time or affection into our connection.

If I traveled to Africa to swim with Great Whites, she would show the photos to her real friends. That’s her perfect right, but it would perhaps have been kinder to let me know – rather than saying “Honey, I can’t talk right now” every single time I called – that I’d been dropped a few rungs on the friendship ladder.

To the bottom, apparently.

I walked away from her with great sadness.

At some point, you and I need to get the hint. We are no longer that important, and we need to find people who really do want to be with us. Perhaps even more importantly, it’s not about us. It is about their choice, their journey, unless you and I have been cruel or mean in some way to deserve being demoted.

But that’s another story.

What De-Cluttering Does, and Why It’s Such a Gift

In the same way that clearing out the garage or that old closet allows the house to breathe, and puts air, light and space into our places, allowing people to move away from you creates space for new friends.

Since moving to Eugene last year, even under Covid, I’ve found new friends. And with those who are still very close to me back in Denver, I talk more often now than ever we did when I lived close by.

There is, for once in my life, a guest bedroom in my house. I am busily decorating it, the same way that I’ve been opening my heart for new people to find a welcoming space.

My departure from my old friends’ lives opens them up to people they prefer, too. As Bob Crachit (as played by Kermit the Frog in The Muppet Christmas Carol) says to his children, “Life is about meetings and partings; that is the way of it.”

The great gift of partings is that they so often open up the way to new meetings.

And those meetings so often lead us on the most exquisite of journeys.

What have you learned about letting friendships go later in life? How has trimming your tree allowed more light, love and laughter be part of your world? Please share your letting-go-of-friendship stories.

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, hear 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 into existence 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

MIT AgeLab is conducting a series of surveys to understand changes in public attitudes and behaviors toward smart technologies. As they noted, “The pandemic has served as a propellant accelerating the adoption of devices and related services perhaps a decade faster than might have otherwise occurred.”

Home delivery is now a necessity. Video chat is for anyone. Telemedicine finally took off.

I had the pleasure to interview Shaun Mitra as part of our Caregiver Smile Summit. Shaun is CEO of BrioCare, a technology app to help caregivers and older adults by leveraging smart-home technology.

Why So Popular Now?

Shaun notes that there is “a lot of stress, strain and anxiety associated with caregiving and most caregivers are looking for peace of mind.

He goes on to say: “I personally feel that some of these new voice interfaces through smart speakers like Alexa Amazon, Google Home, and Samsung Bixby can really help bridge and connect caregivers with their seniors. And for seniors, they become a digital companion.”

Shaun notes that before now, seniors found it very cumbersome to interact with technology. But now, you just speak to these smart speakers to make things happen. I personally can relate. Amazon can open my garage, turn on my lights, and my wife’s favorite,s turn on the coffee pot in the morning.

Senior isolation, exacerbated by Covid, has also accelerated the use of technology as well as the willingness for people to want to learn and embrace it.

Covid has also created and accelerated a move from senior living to aging in place. Technology is essential for successful aging in place and it is becoming more and more affordable.

Versatility and Endless Possibilities

As a caregiver, you can pre-program various types of reminders – family event dates, doctor appointments, etc. You can program music to be played. You can schedule important messages so that a loved one remembers to take medications, turn off the stove, etc.

Shaun’s BrioCare allows you to record a message in your own voice and when a loved one turns it on, it is waiting. What a great thing when you have grandkids who can send a message just by following a link generated from the app.

A person with a smart device can reach out to family members as well and of course emergency services as needed.

Medication Adherence Important

Studies have shown that approximately 50% of patients do not take their chronic medications as prescribed. Nonadherence can include delaying or not filling a prescription, skipping doses, splitting pills, or stopping a medication early. This leads to poorer health outcomes for patients.

Shaun believes the ability to automate medication reminders is one of the best features of these technologies. A caregiver can program an app to remind the older person of their medication. Or a person can tell the device to remind them, as I sometimes do when I ask Alexa to remind me to take my cholesterol medicine at bedtime.

You can add the small little nuances about taking these medications, like taking before, with or after meals, how many times a day, etc. With many of these apps, caregivers get a daily report on what is taking place.

A loved one can report their compliance. There are also emerging technologies that integrate pill dispensers with these devices.

Increased Independence

“Our mission is to help seniors lead a much more independent, active and purposeful life,” says Shaun. To that end, we are all probably familiar with how smart speakers make smart homes, which make life easier and safer for families.

Set up lights for home automation; program your thermostats; see who is at the front door. Fire TV Cube allows any Smart TV to become Alexa compatible. Smart speakers can consolidate multiple apps into one device by enabling skills and using apps that integrate with them.

If you have a smart speaker with a screen, the possibilities increase. The Echo Show in my kitchen brings up recipes I can read and watch. I can watch the latest news reports not just listen to them.

There are hundreds of thousands of skills that integrate. However, it is not always easy for the older person to figure it all out. That is why Shaun and other entrepreneurs have created companion apps to make it easy.

The Future

As mentioned earlier, a migration toward video will be one trend continuing. Appliances are becoming integrated and your refrigerator can tell you what you need, send a shopping list to the supermarket, and have everything delivered.

Telemedicine has increased by necessity but will continue to grow. More of these devices will be HIPAA compliant to protect your privacy and your healthcare information.

People are able to do joint cooking, read books to the grandkids, learn new skills. Heck, I am talking to people about embedding our Senior Entertainment/Education Network in these devices.

As the Forbes article noted, “High-tech is not a substitute for high-touch. The help of a virtual home assistant does not provide the same warmth of a loved one’s visit. Likewise, the efficient delivery of a meal kit is not the same as a home-cooked meal delivered by a smiling neighbor.”

Have you embraced smart technology for yourself? Are you using it with a loved one? Which devices have you tried so far? Do you have favorite apps that you use the most?