Sounds Good

Health, beauty and confidence hit shelves this season
Tax-free weekend is about back-to-school bounty, but there’s also a time for grown-up pampering.
From purse hardware and fresh breath to a perfume I’m anxious to see in action, this edition of Sounds Good offers ideas for glamming it up.

Purse perks
Every woman ought to have a little leopard in her life. Je Marie sister inventors have given us the FUMI: It’s a bracelet and/or purse decoration and/or purse hook so you can hang your bag from the restaurant table. You can also add inspirational charms, but I’ve always found classic leopard to be enough. I’ve had lots of compliments on the gadget, made from recycled metals, and I love to tell admirers what else this PurseHook item does. A super-soft bit of leopard print cloth on a hook can also snap onto your purse for attractive hardware. The cloth cleans your glasses and buffs up your cell phone. Double-action activity. This Scarlett cloth comes in other patterns, if leopard is too much for you.

Anti-aging perfume
It may sound like a movie plot, but Ageless is called the first anti-aging perfume. When applied, women are apparently believed to be 8 to 12 years younger. “No joke,” say the makers at www.agelessfantasy.com. How do you test that?
I loved the light, invigorating essence of pink grapefruit, anti-oxidant rich pomegranate, jasmine, mango and soft musk that’s supposed to interact with the skin. It smells authentic and fresh.
This must be a fun business, because Harvey Prince’s even newer follow-up is Eau Flirt, which is called the “world’s first perfume clinically proven to make men flirt with women.”

Let’s do lunch
Lunch time was always a highlight of my school days. I still have my plaid metal lunch kit plastered with stickers. Nowadays kids are going green with goodies such as Ecobags Reusable Lunch Bag, made from recycled cotton fibers. It’s reusable and machine washable and, in my mind, encourages a healthy meal. Shaped like a paper bag, the flat-bottomed cotton sack has a closure and a map of the earth with the message Think Global, Act Local. This bag wants a pear and yogurt, not processed, fatty foods.

Outlast
A scalloped lid and bottom-heavy base make the new Scope Outlast mouthwash bottles look like a genie is ready to pop out. The bottle will look good in the bathroom and the product is designed to make breath feel fresh up to five times longer. Crest has added Outlast to an extra white long lasting mint blend of toothpaste that sparkles and Oral-B put it in those pirate-looking floss picks with textureslide technology. I’m finding these products to have superior flavor and I want to share the picks with someone I know who has quit smoking. He’s already a floss pick fan and may fancy a change from the cinnamon sticks he’s been carrying. Crest sent an Outlast promotional batch. Look for them on shelves in September.

Career savvy
The Complete Idiot’s Guide series third edition of “The Perfect Job Interview” has pages of winning-edge tactics. Here are a few:
To get a handle on nerves:
• Instead of deep breaths, try taking in a shallow breath and then exhaling deeply, letting out more than you took in. Repeat a few times. This tends to reduce or prevent panic.
• Grab the sides of the seat of your chair and pull up while silently counting to five. Repeat as often as you like.
Body language that signals fear: leg swinging, lip licking, nail biting.
Getting a mentor is just one helpful suggestion in the series’ guide to Career Advancement.
ddoiron@panews.com