Gardening in the Fall is Wonderful but Tough on the Skin

Gardening in the fall is wonderful. I’d rather put on a couple layers and work in the garden than deal with the heat of summer. Plus I don’t do the garden clean up I used to when I believed the mantra that every hour spent in the garden in fall was equivalent to three hours work in the spring.

Today my mantra is to garden in a way that’s better for the environment and in a lot of cases that means better for the pollinators and for the birds and predatory bugs that keep the insect population in balance.

Still I love to spend time in the fall garden, enjoying the winter interest plants but also in planning next year’s garden. This year that’s meant pulling out some old plantings and replacing them in time to get a good start before our Northern Michigan winter sets in.

The cool weather of fall along with the sometimes harsh winds that accompany the cooling temperatures are hard on my skin though. I’ve always had fairly sensitive skin and as it ages I find it’s even easier to dry out. That led me to browsing online for a great moisturizer solution and I found an old favorite that’s become a new favorite again.

Years ago when I used to shop at department store makeup counters — focused on getting the correct corporate look — I often ended up bringing home the sample packages of products from cosmetic companies and one of my favorite finds was in an Elizabeth Arden package. It’s Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream.

I was intrigued enough to order a tube to try again. Would I like it as well as I had back when I first tried it? Since I pride myself on this blog as a review site I had to try it now, not just hold on to a years old memory. Along with the cream I also ordered a lip protector that includes a sun block as my lips are the first thing to chap when weather turns cold.

The result: I still like the eight hour cream and I like the lip protector as well. I wear it outside and come inside with no chapping. Although it’s active ingredient is petrolatum, it feels light to wear and doesn’t have to be removed once you’re inside. I’ll be using it for the next few months as winter graces our northern climate. I’ve also gotten my husband to try it since it doesn’t have a “girly scent.”

According to the Elizabeth Arden website it was created in 1930. A little further research uncovered the story that they cream got its name when a customer used it to soothe a child’s skinned knee and the result was that the knee was almost healed in eight hours. Now I’ve never tried it as a healing cream so I can’t vouch for that but I do wear it when I go outside!

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