Real Beauty goes more than skin deep...

As I started writing this, I decided I needed a little inspiration and, let's face it, a little bit of a pick-me-up.

It's beach time already - and I still haven't lost the last 15 pesky pounds that I was determined I was going to lose by this summer.

And right now, if you took a picture of my skin and stuck it in the dictionary, it would be the picture for the "Sahara."

So, I decided to run (figuratively speaking of course), over the to the Dove "Pro Aging" Website. If you haven't see the commercials yet, you need to.

The first one is what started the whole thing for me - and for hundreds (if not thousands) of other women as well. It's called "Evolution" and it rips back the curtain and shows you what goes on behind the making of a glamour ad. It shows a rather ordinary woman who comes into the studio for hair and makeup before having her photo taken for a beauty advertisement. Which is fine - we all know that the professionals who work for the studios, the beauty advertisers - could make anyone look gorgeous with the right hair and makeup and lighting. But it goes further than that. After the photo shoot, the real "make up artists" take over and they do a little "tweaking" of the model. And what you end up seeing - the completely distorted end result - which is the fantasy that we all use for our measuring stick of what is beautiful - is a fake.

After the success of that advertisement, Dove went a little further. They actually had the nerve to find real women - wrinkles, gray hair, 50 year-old-bodies and all - and used them for their models of the new product.

And guess what? The women are beautiful, and glamorous - and REAL.

I love it!

Check them out and see what you think.

And in the meantime, I'll find what I was originally looking for, which are some tips for skin care in the summer sun...