Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm giving this book 2 1/2 stars because it falls somewhere between "I Don't Like It" and "It's Okay." It's an OK book for the pictures especially Christie's modeling photos interspersed throughout. It's also lush looking with a positive message but you know what....that's not going to get rid of wrinkles. Nor is smiling a lot, and I am tired of being told by 50 and 60 year old actresses and/or models that this is their secret to staying young. My mom had the most positive attitude in the world and smiled all the time and it didn't prevent her from aging or keep her skin taut.. So here is another book that tells you to eat right, exercise, drink lots of water, and do good in the world [which in my mind does not include a deal with Walmart that still uses child labor in other countries, has a terrible reputation in paying and promoting women and has many employees collecting food stamps because of low wages] and you will look great. Granted, you will look better than women who don't exercise and eat unhealthy foods but to say that foods are "anti-aging" is hyperbolic at best because there is no proof that they are. Being married to a scientist, I want to see a peer-reviewed, double blind study that says that "Kiwis" prevent free radicals which can prevent wrinkles." I think that Christie believes every word that comes out of "Dr. Oz's" mouth at the same time he is being excoriated by other doctors for making ludicrous claims on his show. And Christie is also on the anti-gluten bandwagon which is ridiculous. There are no tests for gluten intolerance and no reason to avoid it unless you have Celiac Disease. Same with dairy. My doctor told me that the natural calcium and Vitamin D that you get from drinking milk far outweighs any risks [unless you are lactose intolerant]. Christie also says she takes calcium supplements which has now been shown to have the REVERSE effect and is not recommended. Christie did an awful lot of hawking of her own products in this book: Total Gym, Hair 2 Wear [I bought one of her wigs and while it looks terrific and natural became awfully uncomfortable after awhile because it's synthetic] and her own skin care line which is ridiculously expensive. According to scientists, there are only two ingredients in skin care that will make an actual difference and those are retinoids and peptides. There are a lot of terrific products out there [Boots No. 7 and Olay Regenerist comes to mind] that you can get with these ingredients at a fraction of the cost of Christie's line. So a lot of this book reads like one big infomercial. But here are my two biggest complaints about the book: The first is that because she has a personal chef, there was no prep time listed for any of the recipes. Now that might not seem important to Christie, but for real working women, knowing how much time it takes to fix a meal is important. The second was that she was completely disingenuous [sorry Mindy Moak and your dishonest review which shouldn't be up there in the first place because you are her best friend] about the amount of work she has had done. Anyone who has seen pictures of her in 2006 and now can see she has had a lot of work done and not a titchy little injectable filler here and a titchy little filler there. And she's sporting breasts that she didn't have in her earlier modeling career. One only has to look at her Sports Illustrated covers to see she's had implants since then. Now all of this is her absolute right and I am absolutely not knocking anyone who has anything done cosmetically [I live in California where it's practically de rigueur] but if you're going to write a book entitled "Timeless Beauty" please don't tell me your biggest secret is smiling and not tell the entire truth under the title "Does She or Doesn't She." Christie said she had "one brush with Botox" so how does she explain the lack of wrinkles in her forehead, and around her eyes? Fillers don't paralyze the muscles [that's what Botox is for] so it wouldn't be efficacious in these areas. Only Botox would. Also please don't tell me that I can look this good at 61 if I eat right, exercise and drink lots of water with a personal chef and a positive attitude. Because along with all those things, I am going to need Botox, fillers, laser and all manner of cosmetic procedures to prevent aging plus incredible genes to begin with. And it was doubly disappointing because I really loved the book she wrote 30 years ago. The food she ate, the exercises, the pictures and the advice were all far better than in this book. Back then, Christie's favorite dish was "Insalate Caprese" a delicious salad with mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, basil and olive oil. It's still my favorite salad but then I refuse to give up any food because it's "trendy" and right now giving up dairy is just that. A fad.