I must say that at first thought I had to chuckle when asked about “Liplady1″ because Marlies Walker was such an elegant, genuine lady that I would never be able to refer to as Liplady1. It brought a smile to my face knowing that her customers had that “close relationship” with her and they all praised her dedication to incredible prompt customer service.

I wish you could have witnessed Marlies standing on stage at our SeneGence conferences’ accepting her many awards for top sales achievement. She always received them in a humble, most gracious fashion as she appeared absolutely regal on stage…
Such a polished lady almost reminiscent of yesteryear movie stars…Beautiful!

It is with much regret and sadness that I had to share with those customers that Marlies’ had pasted away recently.

I am happy to offer the following information from The Chronicle as well as associated links should you be interested in donating

MARLIES D WALKER

“Marlies D. Walker was born in Hamburg, Germany to Max & Ilse Schoenke in April of 1940. Growing up, Marlies loved to read and took part in ice skating and ballet. She took great lengths to stay at the top of her class scholastically and, at age 15, her determination shown through when she won an ice skating contest. She particularly enjoyed choir and literature classes during high school and graduated in 1958.
For many years Marlies worked handling movie stars’ finances in Beverly Hills. Later she moved on to work in the dental field and then into business on her own. She was a member of many women’s business associations and won top marketing salesperson three years in a row for her SeneGence sales. Marlies’ most memorable vacations included horseback riding in Hawaii, Jamaica and Aruba.
Marlies married Larry Walker in May of 2000 in Las Vegas. There she added two step-sons, Mike and Scott, to her own son, Eric. Boomer, her Maltese and loyal friend for fourteen years, was also an important part of her family life.
Marlies continued working until June of 2008. She had by then relocated to Rochester for a peaceful existence. She had a couple of alpacas, two collies and a cat, Garfield. She grew roses and liked riding the train and traveling for as long as she was able.
Sadly, Marlies passed away after a brave battle with cancer on November 13, 2008 at Providence St. Peter Hospital.
Her husband, son and step-sons all survive her.
A celebration of her life will be held at the Centralia Rail Road Station on November 22, 2008 at 1:00pm.
Inquiries may be made to Mills & Mills Funeral Home in Tumwater. In lieu of flowers you may make donations in Marlies’ honor to the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org.”

This Vitamin C serum marks a breakthrough in the anti aging category due to three main properties.

This Vitamin C Serum that contains SenePlex Complex is and Olive Oil base Squalene (non shark source).

This is so important because it will perform for all skin types in addition to being non toxic, non irritating & hypoallergenic.

FIRST TIME EVER!!! Stabilized Vitamin C is combined with SenePlex Complex in a WATERLESS environment of vitamins, antioxidants, fruit and plant butters. Due to fact that SeneSerum C is waterless it allows the ingredients to be in the absolute higest concentration and purity possible. A complete moisture rich environment the will

ENHANCE THE ANTI AGING PROPERTIES OF VITAMIN C

INCREASE THE SKIN’S ELASTICITY

INCREASE SKIN’S FREE RADICAL DEFENSE MECHANISM

INCREASE THE SKIN’S ABILITY TO ABSORB NEEDED FATTY ACIDS

INCREASE THE LUMINOCITY

This Vitamin C Serum is in a category all its own and you have to try it because you really will not believe it. SeneSerum C will give your skin the neccesary elements to produce the most healthy, beautiful radiant skin… Naturally.

Well, I did this morning. My new business venture with my family (Clifton Web Group) is a dream come true.

When we were in the beginning stages of planning last October, I was convinced the men would push me in a direction away from SeneGence. I FOUGHT HARD for these products that I am passionate about but… would not give up the family! LipSense and all (Women, knowledge, success etc.) it has brought my way are critical to my being. Matt kept saying that we would build this website sometime in the future. Not for one minute did I ever think that the rest of the partners would go along with Matt’s way of thinking. VOILA!!!! I am actually working on writing/editing the front page this morning. YIKES! It is a little difficult for me to comprehend because it is just text(as Matt would say)that I can edit although so much more to me.

Find something you are passionate about and you will find the key to happiness & success.

Lucky girl I am.

Carol Clifton – Senegence

Joni writes the following:

Hmmmmmm……another week of pondering……. What are the issues that affect MY LEADERS (I am quite possessive of you, you know) and what topic do we need to ‘get out into the open’ and deal with so that we can together grow, build, and prosper? After several phone calls regarding a variety of topics with many of you………I think we’ll talk about…
Working with Difficult People…..or DP

Before we forge forth…..let me say I LOVE DP! They make me smile inside and out from ear to ear; as they tax my mind beyond my limits and force me to grow and try to better myself. Often mystified by a statement or action – difficult people demand of me to learn to be more empathetic, more compassionate, more understanding of the frailties of the human psyche and its vulnerabilities. As a mother – DP make me acutely aware of the impact that one’s back ground and rearing (and the various related personalities of the caretakers) has on an individual and how it influences and ultimately shapes a person’s attitudes and presence of mind. DP have actually helped to make me more aware and a better mother.

It took awhile to learn to appreciate DP. I used to get upset, I took things they said or did personally… until I understood the challenge and rewards that comes by learning to work with them….which is ‘to become a better and stronger Leader’ by developing the skills required to work with ALL people – difficult or not (as long as they are law abiding).

Who are these DP of whom I speak? You know them. Maybe you work with them, live with them, or even hang out with them. (Why do we do that? Could it be habit and fear of change or disruption of a comfortable routine?) To call these people negative is an understatement. They complain, they vent, they criticize, they blame. DP make an impact and require a greater amount of stabilization and maintenance of your own person. Until, that is, you learn how to handle them.

Negative Nancy prefers complaining about anything and everything to finding a solution. Quick with the “buts” whenever a possible solution or new idea is offered, she sucks the energy out of a room like a backwards typhoon within seconds. (Nothing is left in the room – not even the furniture. There it is….you can see it bulging from her!) Often, this type of person couches the negativity within the realm of a joke – none the less she’s still an effective energy drainer. When you escape her you feel lucky to have made it out alive – You have to rush home to take a nap!

Venting Vicky likes to swoop in, dump her frustration all over anyone who will listen, and then go on her merry way. Venting Vicky needs an outlet for every minor annoyance, frustration, and issue, and if you’re her target of the day, you’re left feeling dumped on – immersed in a puddle of doodle. (Just who was that who ‘upchucked’ all over me?) Checking your clothing for stains……. You need to rush home to take a shower!

Beatrice Blamer is constantly critical, demanding, and berating she blames everyone and everything when things go wrong. She doesn’t take responsibility; rather, she deflects it. Beatrice Blamers create a negative, guilt-ridden environment. It’s usually them against the world, and you’re left holding the bag – dented and all bent up from the impact. You feel as if you’ve been involved in a hit-and-run – Swoosh! Bam! Thank you Ma’am! You have to go home and check for dents in your body and psyche! Sometimes the dents are so bad you have to seek the help of someone who can help you remove the dents – inflicting even more unproductive maintenance time upon you!

(Okay…I am rambling….) And you’re frustrated and tired of dealing with these wasteful interactions and DP…..and – if you are like me – until you learn to handle them – you’ll always feel as though you need some type of cleansing after talking with them!

While the most effective strategy for dealing with some of these people is to eliminate them from your life, in many cases, that’s just not doable. You can’t fire a coworker – distributor unless you’re the boss in a formal business arrangement. You can’t, or don’t want to, cut off ties with your family and so you’ve learned to put up with their negativity… most often always to your detriment.
Too much negativity can be toxic. It drains you, frustrates you, and it does infect you whether you admit it or not. After being with Negative Nancy or Venting Vicky, you find yourself feeling negative; or you note you begin to vent to others. You get sucked into their world, their communication M.O. and your usually positive outlook starts getting dark – you become skeptical and doubtful about things. Like Beatrice Blamer you walk away deflated, feeling as though the world has let you down again.

You may wonder why they have to be this way and find yourself constantly wishing they were more positive, happy, or sensitive to others. The truth is that asking why usually doesn’t change much. Unless the answer allows you to be more accepting—to come to love their negativity—knowing the “why” doesn’t solve your problem. You need to know how to avoid the slippery slope of getting sucked in, frustrated, annoyed, and negative.

What can you do to stop the downslide short of cutting them out of your life or being rude? Here are three proven strategies you can implement immediately.
1. The extinction strategy…. Make them dinosaurs- a thing of the past. Extinction simply means to stop meeting their needs. Once their needs aren’t being met by you, they’ll move on to other ways of getting their needs met.

What attracts negative people to you is that you give them what they want or need….. which is mostly your time. Not intentionally, of course. In fact, you are probably trying to be kind, patient, and friendly. But the truth is that if they weren’t getting some need met by spewing their negativity all over you, they wouldn’t be doing it. Negative people need one of two things from you. They are either looking for someone to commiserate with, or they want someone who will provide lots of cheerleading. Commiserating gives them affirmation. “You can do it” support gives them energy (by taking it from you).
Become a no whining zone. How? Simply refuse to engage. If you’ve been caught up in the “Ain’t it awfuls,” it’s time to stop. If you’ve been relentlessly cheerleading, stop. Have a simple phrase that you can repeat in a “charge-neutral” tone (without anger, frustration, or reaction, as if you were saying something as simple as “the sky is blue”), such as “isn’t that interesting.” I like to say “Hmmmmmmmm” and simply smile at them (or, if it’s on the phone….silence follows). Say nothing more, nothing less. After hearing that (and nothing else) three times, they’ll start to get the hint that you’re not going there with them. I’ve noted DP actually become embarrassed when they realize they are complaining to you again – they ‘self learn’ to shut themselves up fast!

2. Draw the time line – Set limits and boundaries. You can’t afford to spend 20, 30, or more minutes listening to someone rattle on about everything that’s wrong in the world. It’s far too costly to your peace of mind and productivity ($). With Beatrice Blamers you need a zero tolerance policy. Get to a place where you simply won’t tolerate the rant (abuse). “I am sorry – I have a meeting I’ve got to get to. Can we talk later?” With Negative Nancys or Venting Vickys, set a time limit, and stick to it—somewhere between three to seven minutes, maximum. “Hello, this is Joni”. “Oh, hello Nancy .” “Listen, I just have one minute before I have to run to an appointment – Do you need something from me?” “No? Well, then – why don’t you call back and we’ll try to find time to chat.”
Or…..Once Negative Nancy or Venting Vicky has hit the three-minute mark, cut off the conversation. If you’re at a Glam N Gloss, say something like “I really have to get back to the training now.” If they continue (they will), be ready to get stronger. Stand up, create more space between you, and begin to move away. Say “I’m going to get back to my customers now.” It can be easier on the phone. Make your “I’ve got to go” statement, and insist on hanging up within the minute.

3. Be unconditionally constructive and turn everything into a positive. You may have tried being positive, but positive doesn’t work. When you’re positive, you are trying to build the other person up (a form of cheerleading). This can be very draining because you are trying to move someone from extreme negativity to extreme satisfaction or happiness. That’s like pushing a large rock uphill. Alternatively, when you’re unconditionally constructive, you’re helping the other person build something for himself.
Instead of saying “You can do it! Here’s what I think you should do . . . ,” you could say “I’d really like to hear how you solve that.” Or instead of saying “I’m really tired of hearing your criticisms all the time,” you could say “I’d enjoy hearing your ideas about what would work.” By consistently doing this, you can teach the person that you will only engage with them when they are unconditionally constructive, too. You only have room in your life for people willing to bring solutions, ideas, and energy.

These strategies can and do work as long as you are consistent and clear. If you waiver, the negative people in your life will sense the opening and pounce on you like a panther looking for a dance partner. You have to commit to it and stick with it. Expect that they will test you – bobbing to and fro up and down & all around looking for new ways to infiltrate your space – like finding an opening to a porthole. You will likely see an escalation of the negativity, drama, venting, or blaming at first – as they are trying to break through a wall that’s been thrown up in their path. This is when holding strong to your time limits, charge-neutral tone, and higher standards is a must. Once you’ve passed the test, usually after three to five incidents, you’ll see dramatic change. If these people stay in your life – you have got to teach them what forms of communication is acceptable to you and what forms are not. They will change or they will move on.
If they choose not to change, Beatrice Blamer or Negative Nancy will move on to other sources of energy. Venting Vicky will vent less or seek out a new dumping ground. And you’ll feel lighter and more energetic. Most importantly, you will start to attract people just like you—unconditionally constructive, with healthy limits and a passion for what’s possible….making more of your day, your relationships, and of your productivity.
Hope this helps you…..as it has me!

Thank-You! Joni

Carol Clifton – Lipsense Lip Color

Did you know that the real culprit is in your towel….not the water. Skin absorbs moisture while you bathe. Instead of rubbing your skin after your bath, it is better pat it gently or whisk off the water, leaving some moisture behind. Then, immediately apply a good moisturizer. If you use your towel briskly, it is like taking sandpaper to your skin, leaving it chaffed and dry.

2. Use mild soaps, avoiding deodorant soaps, which can be more drying.

3. Apply moisturizers to skin immediately after a bath or shower, and apply a cream, ointment, or lotion to trap water in the upper layers of skin to decrease drying and itching

4. Shave using lotion or hair conditioner instead of shaving foam.

5. Dab petroleum jelly on problem areas to seal in moisture and heal very dry skin.

Carol Clifton – Lipsense

Vitamin A is considered a good antioxidant in some of its forms, particularly retinol (the technical name for Vitamin A) and retinyl palmitate. There is research showing that retinol and retinyl palmitate can have the same action as tretinion (the active acid form of Vitamin A). For retinol or retinyl palmitate to have as tretinion, these two substances must become tretinion at the cell’s receptor site if they are to do the same thing. Retinol can be absorbed into the skin and if certain enzymes are present, it has the potential of being converted to tretinoin. There is research showing that retinol can increase the epidermal thickness and can function similarly to tretinoin.

The reason retinol is not used “as is” in formulations is that it is unstable and thus packaging becomes a big concern. Any container that allows the product to be exposed to the sun or air means the retinol will not remain active very long.

The salt form of retinol used is retinyl palmitate in skin care products because it stabilizes retinol as a salt.

Carol Clifton – Senegence

Carol Clifton – Lipsense

Cosmetic skin-care products can help mitigate rosacea exacerbations, but there are no cosmetic product that can have an effect on the microbe that cause this skin disorder.

You have to ask yourself what does it look like: Someone will have red, flushed cheeks; swollen oil glands; dry flaky skin often with an oily layer underneath; overly sensitive skin that reacts to everything; and red pimple-like lumps is a description of what rosacea can look like. It can be a combination of symptoms, or just one. Regardless, if left untreated, rosacea almost always gets worse and it just doesn’t feel pretty when you have it.

Rosacea can start slowly, with red flushing across the cheeks that develops over time including more and more symptoms. The condition almost always becomes worse without treatment and there simply is no cure. Even more troubling is that the dry, flaky skin responds minimally or not at all to moisturizers, and the acne-like bumps and whiteheads may not respond to typical acne treatments. Not to mention the fact that the irritation on the face can be exacerbated by topical cortisone creams.

So where do you begin? The only place to start is by consulting a dermatologist or physician who has experience with this disorder, because rosacea is often misdiagnosed. Next, make sure the products you are using aren’t making matters worse, and then look at your lifestyle, because what you do can cause flare-ups.

The list below is what the experts suggest and I have my comments in some in italics:

• CAUSES AND TREATMENTS: No one really knows what causes rosacea but it is suspected that some kind of microbe under the skin is responsible. Killing this microbe seems to be the best way to improve the appearance of skin and keep matters from getting worse. Only a handful of treatments for rosacea exist, and they are all available by prescription only. There are five topicals: MetroLotion, MetroGel, MetroCream, Noritate, and Azelaic acid. In some studies, the success rate of these medications, when they were combined with an oral antibiotic, was close to 80%. (When considering an oral antibiotic you must consider the risk of your body adapting to it after prolonged usage. That means it won’t be effective later to help deal with other serious infections).
• GENTLE SKIN-CARE PRODUCTS: The National Rosacea Society surveyed 1,000 of their members, who identified alcohol, witch hazel, fragrance, menthol, peppermint, and eucalyptus as contributing to flare ups. It isn’t always easy to identify those substances on a label when they are listed under the Latin names that are required by the FDA for ingredient labels. Moreover, there are many fragrance and other irritating skin-care ingredients out there. What we have are pretty gentle skin care products.
• SALICYLIC ACID TREATMENT: Salicylic acid is an exfoliant that helps to remove the built-up layers of dry flaky skin on the face, and because salicylic acid is related to aspirin (both are salicylates) it can also have anti-inflammatory properties on the skin, reducing redness and swelling. It stands to reason if this is all true then, there are benefits of using a gentle toner or moisturizer that contains salicylic acid (BHA) in a pH of 3 to 4. This may help because of Salicylic Acid’ properties being so close to aspirin….Don’t know for sure. I just know that climate control helps too.
• LIFESTYLE FACTORS TO AVOID: Several lifestyle factors can make rosacea worse. These include hot liquids, spicy foods, exposure to extreme temperatures (including cooking over a hot stove), alcohol consumption, sunlight, stress, saunas, hot tubs, smoking, rubbing or massaging the skin, irritating cosmetics, and anything else that over-stimulates the skin and blood vessels. Again, everyone is an experiment.
• OTHER IRRITANTS TO AVOID: Rosacea can also be exacerbated by AHAs (though not for everyone), Retin-A, Renova, Differin, exfoliants of any kind, including scrubs and washcloths, and clay-based facial masks. The fewer products you use, the happier your rosacea-afflicted skin will be.

Back to my comments.I would suggest taking our ingredient list to the physician and ask them…if there is anything in their opinion that may cause them to flare up.

From my experience with my clients, they seem to handle Climate Control very well. They are all on the Normal – Dry skin care and one of them has been able to get rid of all the drugs and expensive stuff her physician has prescribed (Pretty cool).

I have no idea about if they handle our Normal to Oily Skin Care because all of my customers have normal to dry skin. I have found that some are ok with anything pigmented, but I have one customer that flares up badly with anything pigmented…..that being foundation, eyeshadows, blushes and the like. Remember… Everyone is an experiment. I’d try our climate control first…..it seems to calm the cells and see how you do, then add in a moisturizer….see how you do, and go so forth….just as you would do with someone that has sensitive skin or allergies. You always want to build slowly for tolerance sake, build one product at a time because…and if you do too many things at one time, you will not understand what is the cause if something goes wrong.

Hope this gives a little better insight to my clients with Rosacea.

Carol Clifton – Senegence