Aging Beauty

Have you ever had an interest in freshening up your look? I have taken a natural approach most of my life regarding makeup. Everything had gotten more casual for me during the pandemic, including my make-up. Recently, I have returned to the office more regularly, and I had a sudden interest in updating my look. Last spring, I found a class titled Make-up Bootcamp for Women over 40 and Better. I quickly texted a friend I thought would be interested. Luckily for me, she was, and we took the course together.

The instructor of the class was Julie Sherman. Julie is a regional make-up artist and has been in the industry for over 30 years. She referenced Bobbi Brown’s Make-up Manual as an excellent guide in the course. I picked it up at the library and agree it is exceptional and deserves a place in my library. The class gave me some new ideas to modify my look. During the course, I realized my friend already knew much about make-up. She recommended Ulta as a great place to shop. It has something for every price point, from department stores to drug store products. Therefore, the two of us met there a few weeks later. Through these experiences my learnings came in the following areas: face shaving and color highlights. In today’s post, I share those tips. I hope they will be of interest to you as you step into your star-stunning self.

Face Shaving

Face Shaving was a new concept to me. Its goal is to remove the peach fuzz on your face. The result is softer skin prepared and ready to receive your moisturizer. I researched brands and found a recommendation in a Cosmopolitan Magazine and decided to invest. The article outlines simple instructions. First, ensure your face is clean and dry. Second, take the razer and, in a downward motion, brush the razer against your face and remove the peach fuzz. This can take less than fifteen minutes. It leaves my face surprisingly soft, and your skin is prepared to receive your moisturizer better. In my experience, every other week is enough. You can use each razer 3 or 4 times. This method does not make it grow back course, thinker, or darker. The hair returns as peach fuzz.

Color Highlights – Lips

I have always been very timid about my choices of lip color. I tend to gravitate to the mauve tones. In the class I learned how to determine natural tones in your body composition. Your natural tones are identifiable on the inside of your mouth. This is helpful in choosing lip and cheek colors. The best way to do this is to turn the inside of your lip down. Now look in the mirror, and identify what color hue it is. Is it coral, pink, reddish, or burgundy? This simple step gives you a hint of your overall skin tone. This exercise indicates the colors you should gravitate towards for your highlights, including your lips and cheeks. Once you do this, you may be amazed at how off your past selections may have been. My choice of mauve was far from the coral tones I found in my lower lip.

When trying different lip colors, Julie Sherman also encouraged the class to be bold. This lead me to search for a deeper toned lipstick. I found a fabulous lipstick shade called Red Hot from Clinique I also purchased a corresponding called Intense Passion.

Color Highlights – Cheeks

I also selected a blush from Clinique to keep with the coral theme. In applying the blush, the instructor taught me the importance of raising your face. In your twenties, you may have learned to put it on the apple of your cheek. As we age, the apple of our cheek is not the correct location. We want to lift our cheek line. Start with the brush at the corner of the eye. Next, move the brush slightly below that location and brush up towards the side of your face. I follow a make-up artist, Kristen Arnett, who has a great video on how to apply blush.

The highlights I chose for my lips and cheeks are much bolder than I have experimented with in the past. The class and my friend’s reassurance gave me the confidence to go with it. These are now my everyday colors. One of the first comments I got from my new look was, “you look colorful today.” In my book this is a great complement. It was instant validation that I had accomplished my goal to freshen up my look.

I hope the ideas I shared today inspire you to try new things. Simple things like face shaving and color highlights can freshen your look and build confidence. These minor changes improve my overall well-being and help me step into my star-stunning self on an average workday. Give it a try, and let me know what you think. Or if you have other ideas, I would love to hear about them too.