Style Archives : Page 7 of 7 : Good Enough Mother

GOOD ENOUGH MOTHER TAKES IT ALL OFF

Posted by Rene Syler | Aug 12, 2010 | Health & Beauty, Style |

Good Enough Mother did something today she’s always dreamed of doing and will certainly mortify the children; I was photographed naked. Well, not fully naked, but naked enough!

I got to be part of The Estee Lauder Companies digital social campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness. The 2010 core campaign features a woman taking a pledge with her hand over her bare breast. Today, we recreated that, using a handful of what they called “digital influencers” and they included lil’ ol’ me in that group (I KNOW, RIGHT?!).

For those of you who may not know, I am the daughter of two breast cancer survivors; my mother was diagnosed at 63. She found it on a mammogram, had a lumpectomy and radiation and is now 12 years cancer free! My father also had breast cancer, which always surprises people, as they don’t know men get the disease. But they can and they do; roughly 1900 cases are diagnosed each year in men.

In 2007, right after being let go (YOU’RE FIRED!) from my gig at CBS’s The Early Show, I had a preventive mastectomy. I had been diagnosed with the stage right before breast cancer and four biopsies in four years had taken their toll. Did you know breast cancer is diagnosed in more than 200-thousand women each year and 40-thousand a year die from the disease? Did you also know that family history only accounts for 5-10 percent of breast cancer cases? The rest come right out of the blue to people who have no family history. Did you know that, while not perfect, mammography is the best tool we have to date for finding early breast cancer? I have made it my life’s work to spread the word about early detection and treatment.

Which brings me back to today and the doffing of the top. So here are a few snaps from the shoot. Thanks so much to the folks at the Estee Lauder Companies and Marissa Thalberg for including me in this vital campaign!

THE TRANSFORMATION OF RENE

Posted by Rene Syler | Aug 11, 2010 | Style |

GOOD ENOUGH MOTHER was rushing around yesterday, having been called into CNN at the last minute. That meant I had about 30 minutes to shower, change out of my sweaty workout clothes, slap on some make-up and get behind the wheel of my car and point it toward the big city.

I made it, like I always do and as I was walking into the studio, I caught my reflection in the building’s large window. My hair was wild and untamed, a perfect reflection of my personality as it is now – and my clothes, easy and carefree, a reflection of what I want my personality to ultimately be. I am about 180 degrees from what I was when I left the world of TV news behind four years ago. Gone is the timid woman I used to be, trying to please corporate bosses who didn’t understand me or really want to for that matter.

CNN had asked me to come on and talk about a blog post I wrote on Rod Stewart becoming a dad once again. I used that news as a jumping off point to talk about my own life being married and having children with an older man.

HAIR, HAIR, IT’S ALL ABOUT THE HAIR!

Posted by Rene Syler | Jun 23, 2010 | Style |

Summer is officially upon us and you know what that means? Lot’s of swim and sun. We wear sunscreen for our skin but what do you do to protect your hair? This is doubly important if you color it! Come on, you spent $350.00 for highlights and don’t do anything to keep them from turning green in the overly chlorinated vacation swimming pool?

I found this great article on summer hair care and it’s chock full of good stuff. Love the tip about wetting hair before you get in the pool. Who knew?

Hair is a big deal for me. As a former television anchor, I was quite partial to mine, until it started falling out of my head by the handful! In late 2008 I was hospitalized with asthmatic bronchitis. When I got out I went and had my hair straightened, which I had been doing for 32 years. But the combination of the chemicals and the medication I was on, caused my hair to break off and fall out. Needless to say it was horrifying! But sometimes in life, good things are borne of trauma and it was then that I made the decision, like so many other African American women, to leave the chemicals behind and embrace my natural self.

That was almost a year and a half ago and I have not looked back. I love my hair because it fits my personality; each curl wildly unpredictable, just like I am. I have yet to have a bad hair day since going natural because I am allowing my hair to do what it was designed to do, instead of trying to mold it into something that it is not.

In fact here’s a little video montage I made celebrating my new natural style!

RENE RECOMMENDS: MY FAVORITE SUNSCREEN!

Posted by Rene Syler | Jun 20, 2010 | Beauty: GEM Recommends, Health & Beauty, Rene Recommends, Style |

Hey GEMs…

It’s the summer season and that means we’ll all be spending a lot more time outdoors. You know, cramped in a folding chair, on the sidelines of your kid’s soccer/baseball/softball/track meet/swim meet ALL DAY LONG!

Now, you girls know I wouldn’t steer you wrong. I’m not the sell-out type and given the fact that I have not a single line on my face, I must know of what I speak. Okay, that and a good dermatologist who provides copious amounts of Botox and microdermabrasion, but I digress.

When I was a kid, my mom told me if you want to look young for a long time, wear sunscreen. I protested, “ But mom, ‘WE’RE BLACK!” thinking perhaps she hadn’t noticed that before. “We’re not going to burn.” Oh to the contrary. And burn we did, in the California summer sun.

So check this out. Having been around the horn on this sunscreen issue, I finally found one that works to protect against UVA AND UVB rays. The pesky UVB’s will burn you but the UVA are the ones will make your face look like a map of the Himalayas way before your time.

It’s the daily moisturizer called Anthelios by La Roche Posay. I cannot speak to any of their other products but I LOVE this one. I put it on in the morning right out of the shower, under my make-up. It’s lightweight, not greasy and doesn’t smell funny.

Wish I could say the same for my husband.

Fair warning, it is expensive. I found it online, 30 bucks for about three and a half ounces. But a facelift runs between $6,000 and $15,000 bucks. Even Good Enough Mother, with her piss poor math skills, can figure out the bargain here.

What products do you have to have to get you through the summer? Come on now, share…..