The Beauty of Acceptance

About 8 weeks ago I visited my doctor and spoke to her about menopause and weight gain and her response was “what shape is your mother?”

This got me thinking.

I have spent all my life trying not to be like my mother. My mom is just 20 years older than me and in her younger days was always very hip and trendy. All my friends wished their Mothers were more like mine.  My mom wore short dresses and embraced slacks when they became all the rage in the late 60’s.   Mom worked very hard for a florist before opening her own shop when I was 10 but knew how to live life too. Mom and Dad would go out dancing every Saturday night and on Friday night would come home with her hair in rollers, sleep like that and then have her hair done on the Saturday. I remember sitting at the window eagerly waiting for Mom to get home so that I could see what “do” she had and what color her hair would be. Each week her hair was tinted to match the dress she was wearing that night. When I was chosen to be part of an Afrikaans folk dancing group, one of thousands I might add, Mom took me to the hairdresser to have my hair quaffed into an enormous beehive that I am sure was taller than me at the time. The very young boy partnering me was too scared to do all the twirls in case my hair fell off.   Mom obviously influenced my sense of occasion and I too like to dress up and am more often than not over dressed for the occasion.

I have always looked a lot like my mom and people would always say “she’s the splitting image of you but where does the red hair come from”

As a very young girl I idolized my mom but as I went through those horrible awkward teenage years trying to find my own identity I started to resent the continual comparison. I remember one well meaning lady asking “Now which is the mother and which is the daughter?” I have a photo of my mom and dad taken about 25 years ago. In the early days of our relationship my now husband, who had never met my mom, once asked me  if that was me in the photo. I replied that it was my mother to which he commented “thought it might be – her face is much thinner than yours!”

So I have spent most of my adult life consciously trying very hard to fight the inevitable – my genes.

Over these past few weeks I have had a good hard look at myself and have realized that even with a great big ocean between us and not seeing each other for 13 years I am my mother’s daughter and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it but accept it and stop fighting. I am what I am because of my mother, not just in looks but mom has shaped my outlook on life and instilled in me values, morals and a great work ethic that have stood me in good stead thus far.

Now I am working hard at changing my mind set. This is who I am and who I will be for the rest of my life. I have embraced the things I cannot change and working hard to improve the things I can.

And there in is the beauty of contentment.

Finally it has all clicked and that huge chip on my shoulder has lifted. That is not to say that this going to be easy. I think it may be a long term work in progress but there are the benefits of being at peace with who you are and acceptance of yourself. I will never be Elle Mcpherson but

I am Jaki Crow and plan to be the very best version of myself that I can be - because of, and not in spite of, the influence of my Mom - good and bad.

As we head towards the end of 2011 and start to make our new years resolutions remember to be kind to yourself and accept the things you cannot change and maximize the potential in the things you can. Just be the very best version you can be of yourself!

Wishing you and your families all a very Merry Christmas and make 2012 your year of contentment.

Bye for now!

Pakenham Gazette Oaks Day Best Dressed - Marlene Burhop

A big congratulations to Marlene Burhop who won the Best Dressed Mature Lady award at the Pakenham Gazette Oaks Day on the 3rd of November, 2011. Marlene amazed the judges in a canary yellow dress, complimented with a long deep purple jacket and matching lace shoes and gloves as well as a new season patent black Mimco clutch. 
Marlene also had her make up done on the day by one of our very talented Estee Lauder Ladies..


So there you go ladies, it doesn't matter what age you are, a little pampering is always fun!! 


Upcoming events?? Needing to have you make up done?? Please phone us on 9707 1555 and speak to one of our friendly staff members who will be more than happy to answer any of your questions.


Bye for now!!

Memories Are Made Of This...

What a week it has been!!

The lovely Trish and I spent two long days at the Gift Fair choosing a range of giftware including Father’s Day and Christmas 2011. We believe we have chosen an exciting assortment guaranteed to have something for everyone. Some have already arrived in store and are selling fast. We have not bought great volumes of each item so if you see something you like I strongly suggest that you purchase it straight away to avoid disappointment.

Tuesday found me at JURLIQUE Training in the city. A great day spent updating my knowledge on this fantastic brand of all natural skin care. My hands have never felt so good after all the product we were able to sample. This training reawakened my interest in essential oils and I went in search of my “ recipe book” looking for blends and remedies that could help with some issues I am having – oh! The joys of menopause!  More on the benefits of aromatherapy in a later blog.

FAB FIND FROM JURLIQUE: Hydrating Essence a fabulous hydrator available in Lavender, Rose, Chamomile, Lemon-Lime and Calendula that can be added to any skin care regime. Call in and see Sofia who will happily explain the benefits of this product to you.

On Wednesday at the Estee Lauder Awards night our very own Glenda was the first inductee into the Lauder Hall of Fame. Well done Glenda and very well deserved. We are so lucky at Berwick to have a team of such experienced and professional beauty consultants who are always ready to help and advise you on all your beauty needs.

 Saturday I braved a very chilly morning and met my trainer for our usual run in Jells Park. Feeling very lethargic I quickly put a few drops of basil, peppermint and eucalyptus on a tissue and tucked into my bra. My secret mix of herbs and spices! Despite a sluggish start the run went well and as we passed the tip the smell of mulching eucalyptus was overwhelming but uplifting and put that extra spring in my step to finish the run a bit faster than usual. What a great start to the weekend. Movies Saturday night. Highly recommend RED DOG!!

Woke with another headache on Sunday but reached for Basil oil instead of the usual pain killer. I massaged this into my neck, spent an extra 15 minutes in bed waiting for it to weave it’s magic which it did.  Feeling energized I decided to clean out my fragrance stash. What a roller coaster ride that took me on. After working with fragrance for nearly 20 years I had amassed quite a stash. Smelling them all to see if they were still ok to wear spiraled me down a vortex back in time. Who would have thought that a fragrance could evoke such emotion and bring back so many memories?  I cried and laughed and quietly contemplated people, places and events that have shaped my life.

From Paco Rabanne’s  La Nuit given to me by a friend when I was still very ignorant about fragrances.  I had sprayed myself lavishly with this very rich fragrance after my shower only to be woken in the night by my now ex husband who demanded that I shower again as my fragrance was too strong and  keeping him awake.

Coolwater man the first fragrance I launched for Coty way back in 1993. The first men’s fragrance to have floral notes of jasmine and geranium and an TV advert to die for – so risqué it could only be screened after 9.30pm. Still one of our best sellers.

Champagne by Yves St Laurent now called Yvress after a law suit forced the name change. Still in it’s original packaging with the original name. Strong, loud and overwhelming. This I wore to visit my son on his 13th birthday as he was living with his Dad.  As I walked through the door I remember him calling from his bedroom, “Mum’s here I can smell her”. I never wore that fragrance again and still avoid spraying it in the shop. Some things are best left in the dark corner of the cupboard.

All About Eve by Joop! a beautiful crisp floral launched in 1997. On that day in February we went into the city for training as we watched the Dandenongs burn in the bush fires. I remember leaving my Mom and two sons watching the fires burn in Ferny Creek through my bedroom window thinking how trivial this fragrance training was at such a time. The worst fragrance launch I have ever done.

What About Adam “brother fragrance” to All about Eve launched a few months later. With tomato leaf in its top note What About Adam was unique and distinctive. I had an immediate affinity for this fragrance as the smell of tomatoes takes me back to my childhood in South Africa. My Mom was a florist and in the morning before school we would head off to the rose farm which also grew tomatoes which we bought by the boxful. Sitting in the back of the ute on our way to school my sister and I were surrounded by roses and tomatoes and the fragrance was pungent and aromatic. Even today when  I walk past the gourmet tomatoes in the supermarket  or the tomato plants in Bunnings I have to stop and drink in the smell – so many memories captured in a simple tomato .This is when I miss my sister the most.  My son Gareth still has a bottle of What About Adam and I can recognize it straight away when he visits. Sadly What About Adam was ahead if his time and is no longer available – pity

 Father’s Day 1997. Another fragrance launch. Another event and the death of Princess Diana and the classic” where were you when -------.?” The stillness, disbelief, sadness  -her two boys the same age as mine now without their mother!

GOODLIFE by Davidoff warm, rich and luxurious with fig in the top and base notes. I was launching this fragrance when I had my first, un -chaperoned, date with my now husband number 2. That Friday night after work we met at the movies and saw Lethal Weapon number? – can’t remember but forever that fragrance will take me back to that one night in October 1998. Whilst the movie house and the fragrance are no longer thankfully he still is.

Hypnotic Poison by Christian Dior  - New Year 1998 our first new year  together when I drank way too much and  future husband  nursed me through my first hang over – don’t wear that much anymore, can’t think why!

Manifesto by isabella  Rosselini  a getaway in Daylesford Xmas 1999.

Glow by Jennifer Lopez considered the first of the celebrity fragrances (although really Elizabeth Taylor was with White Diamonds).What a huge launch, everybody was buying it from teenagers to Nannas. Clean fresh and sexy with a powderiness that lasts all day. Soon every celebrity had to have their own fragrance and a new era in fragrances was born. While their stars no longer shine quite so brightly there are still new kids on the block as we nervously wait for Justin Bieber’s  SOMEDAY ,Keith Urban’s PHOENIX and Taylor Swift’s WONDERSTRUCK.

STILL by Jennifer Lopez this I chose as my wedding fragrance, with earl grey tea and sake in its notes STILL is quiet, serene and very feminine. I spent hours trying to choose a the right fragrance and eventually chose STILL because it represented exactly as I felt  - very at peace with my decision , tranquil, ultra feminine and quietly confident. Love it STILL.

Daisy by Marc Jacobs  -one of my last launches for Coty after 16 years and what away to end my life as a fragrance consultant.  Innocent, playful, pretty and totally captivating. the eau de toilette with strawberries, grapefruit , violets and soft white woods and the eau de parfum slightly richer with added jasmine and violet leaves  and gardenia, Marc Jacobs’ signature flower. Everybody loves Daisy and it will always remind me of all the friendships I formed and the very special people that crossed my path. Now there are more Daisies to choose from and her big sister Lola is also a stunner.

So many fragrances, so many memories and so many more to come. Choose your fragrances well, wear them, enjoy them because even when the bottle is empty the memories remain forever and you never know when a sudden aroma will take you back to a place you thought you had long forgotten.

My emotional roller coaster ride of memories over. I called my sister and ended an eventful week with a nice long chat.

That was my week that was.

Bye for now!

Congratulations to Glenda Senior - Hall Of Fame 2011

Last night, one of our very own, Glenda Senior - Manager of our Estee Lauder Team at Terry White Chemist in Berwick was enlisted into the Estee Lauder Hall of Fame.

Glenda was invited to the Victorian State Awards held at Carousel, Albert Park Lake. There she was presented with her award and a beautiful bouquet of flowers by Terry Little, Brand Manager of Estee Lauder.

Recognised for her immense hard work, commitment and loyalty to her customers. Glenda has been with Estee Lauder for over 17 years and was last night rewarded for her achievements and dedication, not only to her customers but the company as well.

“Over the last 17 years I have been working towards building loyalty with my customers. It is about my customers getting an experience they will remember and will make them want to return. But this isn’t only done by myself, but also by my wonderful team and their hard work. Our commitment is to ensure that each customer that arrives at our counter is given the best possible service and leaves with a smile on their face. Last night was a wonderful achievement and I’m very grateful to have the privilege of working for such an amazing company.”

A well deserved congratulations to Glenda for her commitment and hard work.

An old forgotten love... ANGEL by Thierry Mugler

I love my job but some days I love it even more and today was one of those days. I was re-introduced to an old long forgotten love. Way back in the early 90’s when I first entered the wonderful magical world of fragrance there was talk of this beautiful unique mystical fragrance called ANGEL by Thierry Mugler. 

ANGEL was an enigma that everyone wanted to experience but very few had. Finally a friend brought back a bottle  from Paris and I fell in love. From that first mist I was totally captivated into the Thierry Mugler universe. Angel smelt exactly as I imagined an angel’s breath would - fresh, sweet, pure and comforting. It evoked all kinds of emotions just as a good fragrance should and this is the only fragrance I have ever had to have.

 Finally in 1998 Angel came to Australia.  Angel is a fragrance like no other, the first truly refillable bottle revolutionary at the time with the first classification as an oriental gourmand containing absolutely no flowers and rumoured to having chocolate as its main ingredient.  And so the enigma lived on as the exact ingredients were never divulged and the mystery continued.  That is until  today…

 I was fortunate to be invited to attend a training by Cyrille Jahin from Thierry Mugler   - Paris. With his lilting French accent Cyrille enchanted us with the history of Thierry Mugler and detailed in depth the composition of Angel and all the other exquisite fragrances in the Mugler universe: Alien, Womanity, Angel Innocent, Amen for men and the soon to be released ANGEL Eau de Toilette.

I would love to introduce these fragrances to you and share with you this very magical universe of unique and diverse fragrances and find the fragrance just right for you. If you would like to know more about these fragrances please come and see me in store and let me inspire you with this very special collection.

Bye for now!

Welcome friends to our blog!

My name is Jaki Crow and I hope to keep you informed and entertained when you read my Terry White Chemists Berwick blog. My blog is part of our new website (hope you like it!) and I will have lots of information for you about our prestige beauty brands. As you know, we have regular Gift with Purchase promotions (which sell through quickly) so if you follow my blog I will alert you when the next promotions are about to be released.

We also have exclusive in store events, so yes, I will let you know when they are happening.

And who doesn't want to know the latest colours and fashion styles, it's all here for you at Terry White Chemists Berwick.

We would love to see you visit in store, please come in and say hello. Our prestige brands include Estee Lauder, Chanel. Clarins, Jurlique, Clinique and Napoleon Perdis.

Bye for now!