High school’s awkward for many people, and Jolie was no exception.  I went to two different schools: for three years, I attended a large public high school in Alpharetta, Georgia, and then voluntarily shipped myself off to boarding school in Santa Barbara, California for my senior year.  (Jolie’s weird like that.  Her Georgia friends were not amused.)  The Georgia reunion was this weekend, and after the awesomeness of my Santa Barbara shindig, I thought nothing could compare…but I was wrong!

From a beauty standpoint, it was excellent to see how great everybody looked: few let themselves go, and many were even more glossy, fresh-faced and well-groomed than I would have assumed.  Sure, our high school closely resembled one of those clique-driven, individuality-crushing battlegrounds that you see in raunchy teen comedies starring Seann William Scott and baked goods, but over the years, the majority of my classmates seem to have matured, calmed, and learned the very crucial differences between good makeup (flattering!  subtle!) and bad (RuPaul!  spackled!).  Jolie, by the way, counts herself among the beauty enlightened, as you will see from the “before” and “after” photos below proving that a little beauty knowledge can make anybody (even me!) blossom.

14-year-old Jolie, in New York City, with her best friend A.  So, that’s what my natural color looks like!

Jolie, at 15, in the middle of her “I will only wear No Fear t-shirts and flannels” phase.  It led to (I kid you not) a style-intervention from my then-best friend’s mom.

At 17, beginning to resemble an actual adult.  (Away, baby fat!  Away!)  A., you will note, looks exactly the same.  (Damn her genes!)

Ahh!  Now, that’s better!  Thank God for highlights and smokey eyes.

Et voila!  You asked for my Vi Peel photos, and here they are.  On the left is the “before” photo, taken six weeks ago.  On the right is the “after” photo, taken this afternoon.  I’m wearing mascara and a little eye shadow in today’s picture, but am not wearing any other makeup; both photos are WYSIWYG.  For a larger, in-your-face (or, rather, in-my-face) version, check out this link. 

Now that I’ve had a chance to compare the side-by-side shots, the difference is actually pretty remarkable and leads me to say that I would enthusiastically recommend the Vi Peel to those with pigmentation problems.  (My doctors at Profiles Beverly Hills performed mine.)  And, by the way, if the scary “Nadine without her makeup!” photo on the left isn’t the world’s greatest advertisement for Bare Minerals foundation (I told you all I had ruddy, messy skin!), I don’t know what the hell is.

Finally, visit my new Jolie page on You Tube for two laughable videos I took of myself the day and night following my Vi Peel with my new Flip camera.  Seriously.  No making fun.  (Um, and maybe you shouldn’t look at the videos while you’re eating.  Day two of the peel is absolutely disgusting.)  Loving my Flip, however!  I’ll start uploading some fun how-to videos for your enjoyment.

xo, J!

I found out this weekend that TotalBeauty.com is sending me to Paris in October!  Apparently, more Jolie readers visited the TotalBeauty.com “Totally Green Sweepstakes” link than those from any other blog…so, from the bottom of my heart, thank you!  (I hope it will make you proud to know that your clicks were more than double those of the number two blog!)  I’ll be attending the Beyond Beauty conference in the City of Lights and will report back to all of you on the latest, greatest and oh-so-chic in beauty. 

Your new mission, should you choose to accept it, is to click on the button below to visit the Spas of America website.  The blogger which sends the most traffic via link clicks will visit a spa and write an article for Spas of America/Total Beauty.  Can we prove, once again, that Jolie readers are far and away the most awesome?  Methinks we can!

By the by, I’ve had the pleasure of visiting a few really spectacular spas in my day, so I’ll post all month on my favorites.  Stay tuned…

I just had something called a Vi Peel, and my face feels like it’s on fire and is going to fall off.  Good times!  It uses exfoliating phenol acids, vitamin C and Retin-A to slough off the top layer of skin in 3 -5 days, and is supposed to be good for all complexions, including African-American skin (which typically can’t tolerate peels without hyperpigmentation).  The actual peel only took about five minutes, and I’ve been instructed to use the Post-Peel Towelettes tonight and tomorrow night to help accelerate peeling, and then to expect the oh-so-sexy snake action to begin on Friday.  According to the literature, the peel will get rid of acne and acne scarring, brighten skin and increase collagen production…but right now all I can focus on is the fact that my skin looks like a tomato, smells like formaldehyde, and feels like it’s been sunburned and then scratched.  (Note to self: Eyes on the prize, J.)