A veteran magazine beauty editor/writer (and a member of the 40+ club), Genevieve Monsma created MediumBlonde to help Gen Xers and Baby Boomers age the way they want.
For most of the month of December, my motto is: Stay warm. As I write this, it’s 39 degrees, raining sideways and I’m wearing a turtleneck sweater and my thickest ski socks. The only skin showing? My face—and only barely, thanks to my high neckline. Thus, bronzed legs and décolletage are not high on my priority list. (Neither is shaving, if I'm being honest.) But, by next week when the parade of holiday parties (and cocktail dresses) commences, they will be.
Blow-drying is damaging to hair. Period. But it’s a necessary evil for most of us, so figuring out how to do it, while inflicting minimal harm, is the goal. Here’s my strategy.
As part of a regular series, I’ll be asking inspiring, in-the-know women (all 40+, of course) to share their best tips and favorite products. The point? As always, to find out what works. This week's beauty insider: Tiffany Masterson, founder of Drunk Elephant Skincare
Nude: a beigey hue that appears so benign, so neutral, so easy to wear—but is actually not. At least not past the age of 25. Most nudey lipcolors I’ve tried leave me looking washed out, like I applied concealer to my mouth. However. Stop the presses (or, more appropriately for 2016, press the refresh button): I’ve found a formula, at long last, that’s wearable, that should work on most skin tones—and that will be the perfect complement to festive, smoky eyes this holiday-party season.
I’ve written a lot about what I do to promote healthier hair growth—and minimize age-related loss. But I also have a strategy for making the fine hair I have right now look and feel fuller too.
Raise your hand if you owned MAC Spice Lip Liner in the 1990s. Me too. I also had pencils in pink, peach, red and plum—a rainbow of colors to match whatever lipstick I was wearing. Then, around the turn of the millennium, we all stopped wearing lipstick and started swiping on gloss. Which rendered lip liner kind of obsolete—unless you wanted that ring-around-your-lips look when your gloss faded. (P.S. No one I knew wanted that look.)
I’m generally not a fan of skin highlighters (e.g. glimmery creams and powders that claim to boost radiance). And just last Friday I posted that anyone 50+ should consider steering clear of them. But I’ve decided to amend that statement.
Whoosh. It’s been a long week. So, rather than write another post on what we need to do/add/improve, let's cut ourselves some slack and discuss what we can skip.
Don’t get me wrong. I love it when friends bring me wine. But prior to a recent dinner party, a fellow guest gently suggested I not bring wine to the hosts.
As part of a regular series, I’ll be asking inspiring, in-the-know women (all 40+, of course) to share their best tips and favorite products. The point? As always, to find out what works. First up: Sharon Dorram, NYC colorist extraordinaire
As we age and gain a stronger sense of self (one of many upsides to being 40+), we're often encouraged to select a signature scent, a fragrance that promises to project to the world our best traits: confidence, complexity, spontaneity, wit, warmth, elegance, [or whatever describes you].
Retin-A. Botox. Latisse. Shellac. Mention any of these words to most beauty-savvy women and you’ll get a nod of recognition. They know what these innovations are and they’ve probably even tried them. But say the word Minoxidil, and you’ll get blank stares.
For years, I wrote in magazine articles to avoid powder after 40—unless you wanted to resemble a beignet.
We’ve all read about choosing foundation or lipcolor formulas that are flattering to aging skin. But I discovered, while researching a More story that never made it to print (RIP More), that you might want to take skin texture (crepeyness, laxity) into account when picking an eye pencil too. Here, experts weigh in on which products will work best for you right now.
