I was browsing around on wowowow.com and found an article by Shirley Lord who works for American Vogue magazine. She’s been in the beauty business for a long time. She previously was the beauty editor of Harper’s Bazaar before she left in 1980 to go to Vogue.

She says being in love and being loved back and having a good SEX life is VERY, VERY good for the skin.

The late and great cosmetic scientist, Marguerite Maury (a founder in London of aromatherapy, the use of essential oils to cure problems from acne to obesity), pointed out in The Secret of Life and Youth: “The sexual life of a woman is of the greatest importance to her appearance. Whereas the functions of the man are exogenous and extroverted and he will suffer most from premature old age by abuse of these functions (in other words overdoing it !), the woman- being introverted and endogenous –will grow older and swifter by deficiency” (not enough sex in her life).

In fact, the way you cope with life – your temperament and whether you can handle your problems or not — can also show significantly on your face. Losing your temper on a regular basis can age you. You have only to look in the mirror after a lover’s quarrel, tears or no tears, to see its affect on your looks. And what you see is your skin disturbed by signals sent from the brain.

She’s got more to say about how sex is good for your skin, so click to read it right here. The woman in this photo probably NEVER gets out of bed!

Let’s say you and your spouse haven’t had sex for so long that you can’t remember the last time you did. Not the day. Not the month. Maybe not even the season. Would you look for gratification elsewhere? Would you file for divorce? Or would you turn to your mate and say: “Honey, you know, I’ve been thinking. Why don’t we do it for the next 365 days in a row?”

That’s pretty much what happened to Charla and Brad Muller. Another example of an erotic adventure to increase intimacy, a second couple, Annie and Douglas Brown, embarked on a similar journey of 101 straight days with some sex every day.

Most committed couples have sex an average of twice a week so it’s a big thing for a couple to do it 365 days a year. The couples thought that this sex marathon they were living in would recharge their relationships. I guess if they really enjoyed it but I wonder if just once I’d wish, “not tonight!”

It is always possible that these two couples may also be on to something. I know I’m more in love just after having sex, so maybe they’re really really really in love with each other.

It started out when one of the women wanted to give her husband a spectacular 40th birthday present. It didn’t cost anything and it was something really special only she could give him. It’s got me thinking, I gotta tell you.

Her husband thought it was a good idea but apparently she’d had lots of good ideas that she never followed through on. Once he realized she was serious, he jumped on board in a jiffy.

Each couple has written a book about their experiences. “365 Nights” was written from the woman’s perspective and “Just Do It’ was written by the husband, although the idea came from his wife who said, “”I thought we don’t have anything else going on. It might kick-start our marriage.”

They changed venues frequently - a cabin on an ashram, a yurt in the Colorado Rockies, and in a hotel room in Las Vegas. “That’s why we scheduled all these little trips,” Annie said. “We knew it had the potential of getting monotonous.” And were it not for her competitive zeal, their streak might have died well short of 100 days. Annie even forced her husband to have sex during a bout of vertigo. “I’m not a quitter,” she said. “The night he had vertigo, I said, ‘I’m sorry, guy, but you’ve got to keep going.”‘

Once they reached their goal of 101 days, they didn’t have sex for a month. That tells me that I was right when I said I’d need a break in there on some days. Hell, she even made him have sex when he had vertigo. I’ve had vertigo and I swear I couldn’t have had sex with the world spinning around. It would have definitely have been called “barf sex.”

The women are regarded with admiration, if not always envy, by their girlfriends. “My first reaction was ‘please don’t tell my husband’,” said a friend of one of the women involved.

Can sex every day re-invigorate a relationship? If a lack of sex is the problem, maybe but I suspect there are a lot of things wrong when a relationship starts to fall apart. Addressing the problems and enjoying sex, even if it’s not every day is probably a better way to have a happy relationship. My sweetie told me early on that we’d always have just the right amount of sex and he’s still right.

Shoshana Bulow, a psychotherapist and sex therapist in Manhattan, points out that sex is a lot more complicated than frequency. “There’s all sorts of reasons people lose interest in sex with their partner - disappointments, life cycles, financial issues,” she said. “Just having it isn’t going to resolve those.”

Today, the Browns report they have sex approximately six times a month, or double their frequency before their adventure. The Mullers decline to discuss their habits, except to say that they fall well within the national average.

Would you want a relationship where sex was a requirement every day?

I know I was born in the first half of the last century (holy cow that sounds old) and perhaps my friends and I have a very different perspective about sexual issues than say a women of 24 might have. I know I would never discuss my personal sexuality with my friends other than in general terms.

However, through my work on SexyAds.com and other places around the net, I find women who will tell everything right down to the smallest detail. There is a group who will say that this kind of talk will lead to the destruction of our society because the Bible says it’s wrong. The Bible talks about concubines but I’d venture a thought that the local pastor wouldn’t approve.

No, I think we should use what’s important to us and let our own internal guidance system lead us in what’s right and wrong. My own personal belief, so don’t waste your time being crappy in the comments.

There is also another group who believe much differently. They feel the sexual openness and information that the Internet has brought about and they’re happy about it.

One woman who’s about 45 now says that before she got online and started playing on adult chatrooms and forums, she’d only ever had sex in the missionary position and thought it was always supposed to hurt. It was a curse that women had to bear, just like the pain of childbirth. After talking with women who reported how much they enjoyed sex, she realized that maybe the problem was not sex but her own body.

After some searching, she found that the soap she was using to wash the vulvar area was causing real pain. Using a harsh soap can affect the area much like getting soap in your eye. So she switched to using plain water and within weeks she was looking forward to having sex with her husband.

Another woman on the more mature side confided to a group of women that she had always held a secret fetish about spanking and felt dirty whenever she gave thought to it. What a blessing when she found out she wasn’t alone. There are many women who are really into domestic discipline. She moved from feeling dirty to feeling normal.

We are sexual beings. That’s how we keep the human race going. We’re designed to crave sex and there’s nothing wrong with that. Of course we need to be safe and the Internet helps there with up-to-date information on sexually transmitted diseases, condom use and AIDS. Learn all you can and have a great time.

It has come to my attention that some of you actually lust after your ex. I mean, really. Didn’t you get hurt badly enough the first time around?

What’s that? Have I ever lusted after MY ex? Oh no, dearie no, I have never lusted after my ex. Hell, I didn’t lust much for him when we were together, but that’s a story for a different day.

The rule for today is put that relationship behind you. One of you has made it perfectly clear that what you had between you wasn’t working. You might still be friends or supportive of your children but face it, the RELATIONSHIP is over. Remember when the judge said so?

I have heard of a few instances where couples have resolved their issues and gotten back together but most of them have done so for the children or for economic reasons. Very few couples get back together because they truly love one another and if that’s not the case, why be together? You aren’t doing the kids any favors by living in a loveless, probably argumentative situation. If it’s economic, you can work out how you can both live independently. Move, get a different job, bring in a roommate (not your ex) — see where I’m going here?

It always comes down to the sex, doesn’t it? I can’t argue with you that ex sex is comfortable sex. You know what to expect, you know what buttons to push so you both get the big O and then go about your business. But in the end, it’s not that satisfying “I love you” kind of sex. The joy of life is to have the good kind of sex. The sex that ends with a cuddle and a sigh that makes you feel all tingly in the good bits and all the other bits.

So ditch the ex both emotionally and physically and find a relationship that’s good for you. You’ll know it when that person comes into your life. We’ll have to slap you silly to get the grin off your face.