A unique part of the spa and salon service industry is a category known as “MedSpa.”  these are minimally invasive medical services are provided for cosmetology purposes, and include things like Botox, lip and cheek fillers, laser hair removal, Hydrafacials, and micro-current.  

These services tend to be more expensive and require special licensing and training.  And they also tend to be services that the average person thinks of when we look at the stars of a Real Housewives or Kardashians show.  But the reality is, one rarely talked about effect of the pandemic is that more and more people like you and me are turning to medspa services.  In fact, according to The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, in 2021 over 7 Million people worldwide received a Botox treatment. The on-camera remote work meetings had many of us looking at our skin and face in a new way, which was certainly Harper's experience!  

BRAND NEW BONUS CONTENT!

After the episode, Harper heads over to her friend Tonya's skincare spa to ask a few more questions. Hear why not all machine-supported facials are the same, and what the real difference is between Botox and Dysport.

Then, let us know what you think we should try in 2024! We are busy building our content calendar for next year, and are looking for your suggestions.

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Once upon a time, we loved going to the mall. Shopping from store to store for hours on end? YES PLEASE!

These days, that sounds a bit like torture. The stores at the mall either feel too frumpy, or they make clothes that don't fit our aging bodies quite right. Worst of all, we get into fashion ruts buying the same 4 pieces over and over again from the same stores.

Jen got asked by a listener to talk about how she uses subscription clothing boxes, and Jen in turn, asked Harper about how she finds success at clothing resale stores. In this episode, we share our fashion and shopping secrets for staying out of the frump-zone, dressing in clothes that work on our bodies, and keeping variety and style in the rotation.

If you have tried a subscription or clothing rental service, tell us your secrets! Have an affiliate link or referral code? Please share it with us and we promise to give it a try!

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Please like and subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen!!

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As women in our upper 40s, Jen and Harper are regularly surprised and horrified at the growing list of health issues, wrinkles, and maintenance required to feel well. But we refuse to buy into the following:

- Everything that acts up mysteriously is somehow as a result of menopause, hormone imbalance, or some version of an autoimmune disorder. We refuse to buy into the idea that physical issues that are confusing and systemic always deserve a "well you are just aging" label. Get the damn blood test and keep asking for answers!

- Caring for your physical body and appearance is just vanity. We can love our bodies with all of our mommy pooches, gray hair, smushy and saggy bits, and still invest in procedures that help us feel great. Bring it on botox! Do that workout! Buy the weight loss inspiration dress! You do you babe. Embrace the sag, but don't give up!

- Being in our 20s and 30s was better. It wasn't. It was different, sure, and there were fewer wrinkles and aches, but we would never want to go back there, even if we carried what we know now. Today is just too good. Wisdom hereby supersedes all aging BS. Growth wins. Leave those fuxxx behind and bloom into the next understanding of who you are.

Come and laugh with us as we exchange woes, like how getting botox sent Harper to the eye doctor for a new contact lens prescription, and that time when Jen totally forgot how to do her job for a week. Share your stories of aging woes and aging delights. We love hearing from you!

This week, we are sharing a short but sweet Thanksgiving episode, talking about all of the things and people we are thankful for today.

To our patient and wonderful husbands - we love you! Thank you for your unending support.

To Rue Spence, our wonderful production support for the past 4 months - THANK YOU!! We are so much better because of you!

To our Confessionistas - Your Engagement Makes This Podcast Possible! And from Harper in particular - thank you for helping her HEAL.

In this episode, while we do give thanks, we also share a few funny tales and discuss how we feel about entering our "crone" years. WTF. So come for the Thanks, and stay for the Silly.

We are thankful for you! xoxoxox Jen & Harper

Hooray! It's November and the holiday season is upon us! Family time and parties galore! But wait...that also means high potential for drama, the annual dredging up of past conflicts, and that one person that drives you to the brink (and beyond).

Holidays can be filled with wonderful moments and challenging memories. They may come with a side of grief, a heaping helping of manipulation with guilt gravy, and Aunt Becky's famous obligation salad. It's the season of feeling like you have to do more, be more, and give more, while your cup rapidly dries out.

So this week, we are revisiting and remastering a previous published episode on how to stay internally aligned, have good boundaries, and find your square when all the holiday forces charge up and try to shake you off of it.

As a bonus, we share a special never-published Confession of the Week called "Succ-u-pots." This rage-crafting magic is well worth sticking around for, and might give you some ideas for activities to bring with you to Grandma's house...

Take care of yourselves and each other out there. Be gentle, say no regularly, and cuddle up close with your sanity-check people who will remind you who you are, and tell you the truth even when you don't want to hear it.

And don't forget to subscribe to this podcast so you can come back and relisten whenever you need it!!

It's October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and we are bringing you a special episode with Harper's lifelong friend Alison. They grew up a block away from each other, and have taken care of each other through thick and thin. Alison was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2013, and is 10 years past that diagnosis and the years of treatment that followed. She is in remission, but still lives with cancer every day.

Whether it’s the daily worry of when cancer might return, the guilt of surviving when so many others don’t, the stress of navigating insurance and our broken American healthcare system, the grief of losing her breasts and the trauma of the reconstruction process, and even her sense of identity and sexuality, Alison was willing to share her entire experience with us.

She has generously shared this candid confession with us about it all, in the hopes that those who haven't been through cancer can better understand what life looks and feels like after cancer. It's not easy, and it's not always triumphant. The grief, anger and worry are still close companions. And yet, there is also laughter and regular life.

At the top of this episode, Harper also shares her own very emotional confession of the very real, physical healing that her time in Jen's nail studio and working on this podcast have brought. It's thanks to The Confessional, and thanks to YOU, our listeners! So please support Harper's healing and like or subscribe wherever you listen.

Your Engagement Makes This Podcast Possible!

Raise your hand if you have recently diagnosed youself with ADHD! [Harper raises her hand].

In this episode, Jen welcomes another client Bets, and her partner Kendra into the confessional to talk about ADHD. Kendra has been diagnosed with ADHD, and Bets is a professional in special education with experience working in this area. Together, they are adorable, and helped us understand how ADHD can impact relationships in both challenging and wonderful ways.

While Bets gets a manicure, the 4 of us talk about ADHD, and Harper finally admits she's diagnosed herself with ADHD, and hopes her husband Hudson decides to listen to this episode [note: He.Always.Does.]

Tell us your experience with adult ADHD! We want to hear from you! [email protected].

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What are Popcorn Days? Jen & Harper describe them as the days when times are tough, money is tight, your soul is in disarray and you have some growth to do. In times like that, nourishing your body with healthy nutrition is pretty low on the priority list. Having a bowl of freshly popped popcorn and a glass of wine for dinner is easy, satisfies the "crunch" factor and the "warm meal" requirement, and takes one more thing off of the list of to-dos for the day.

As a result, our popcorn days were SKINNY! But were we happy & healthy? Not so much. We were working hard to figure out life and get to the next better place. In those days, Harper had a coach who told her "There is nothing more important for you to do right now than get your soul right." Jen had to move herself and her pre-teen daughter back in with her parents, and what was supposed to be a few weeks turned into 8 excruciating months.

Strangely though, we wouldn't trade these periods of trial and growth for a million dollars. Because of these times (not in spite of them!) we grew, we learned, and we did the work to evolve into our next better place. We have what we have today, we are who we are today, because of our Popcorn Days.

Harper even shares the story of the time during Popcorn Days that her future self came to her in a vision. Weird and woo-woo sure, but also beautiful and transformative.

Tell us about your Popcorn Days!! [email protected]

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