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.
I don’t particularly like roses. I’ve nothing against them really, they’re just a little traditional for my taste. And my favorite flowers—tulips and peonies—aren’t readily available this time of year. I’m also not a big fan of going out to dinner on Valentine’s Day, largely because February 14 usually falls somewhere in the middle of the work/school week, which means we have to be up early the next day. What I really want today? Cozy ambiance—at home.
If every anti-aging product on the market really did what it claimed, we'd all look 18. And while there are many effective products that help make the most of our looks as we age (and I, for one, like the way I look better at 45 than I did at 18), there are also many that are nothing but snake oil. Thus, I've created this series, Spend or Skip?, in which I will apply my twenty years as a beauty guinea pig to objectively road-test and review buzz-generating, anti-aging products that everyone's talking about. The mission: to help you decide whether to buy—or bypass—the latest fountain of youth.
When I got pregnant with Heath in 2002, all of my exfoliating options were suddenly forbidden. I couldn’t use Retin-A, get microdermabrasion (which was the hot exfoliating treatment at the time) or use anything with salicylic acid. Within six weeks, my skin was a mess: breaking out, uneven, rough, dull, you name it.
Generally, a large pore equals a clogged pore. But most of us are well past our oily teen years, so why would our pores be anything but squeaky clean—and teeny-tiny? Lots of reasons.
When I get really busy, the first thing to fall off my to-do list is working out.
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: Michelle Pagoda, MD, a Manhattan facial plastic surgeon and ENT
A classmate from grade school recently DM'd me, asking if I’d write a MediumBlonde post on how to create an effective anti-acne skincare routine for teens. And while MB is not a parenting blog, I figure most of us probably do (or will soon) have a teen or two in our lives (son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandchild, even a friend) who could use help combating acne without wrecking his or her skin.
We know that sleep, eating well, regular exercise and consistently following a good, anti-aging skincare regimen keep skin looking healthy and radiant during winter's sun-deficient days. But who’s disciplined all the time? (If you are, congrats. You can stop reading now.) For the rest of us, when life gets in the way and we slack off, it helps to have a backup plan.
In my mid-twenties, when I was a poorly-paid assistant editor at Redbook in New York, I earned extra cash by working for a friend’s catering business, prepping tea sandwiches and serving glasses of champagne for swanky bridal and baby showers on the Upper East Side. And while the gorgeous apartments where those parties took place were undoubtedly stuffed with priceless art and antiques, what I remember most about them is the hand soap.
When I was the beauty editor at Shape, the stories I edited walked the line between beauty and health, so I received a fair number of wellness pitches and products.
The hair-washing mantra these days is less is more. The longer you can stretch time between sudsings, the healthier your hair. Right? Not quite.
When I’m traveling, I aim to carry my luggage on board the plane. I was not always like this (just ask my beauty editor friend Didi who, for years, counted on me to pack the entire contents of my bathroom vanity when we went on press trips, enabling her to bring like a toothbrush and then borrow the rest). But, after losing my luggage too many times, and nearly missing flights because I was waiting in miles-long lines to check my bag, I finally learned how to minimize my beauty gear. My secret? Primp in advance; here's my strategy:
The first time I tried Mario Badescu Glycolic Foaming Cleanser, I was pregnant with Heath. My hormones were see-sawing all over the place, and I was breaking out like a middle schooler.
It’s not your imagination: Your cheeks and lips are paler than they were twenty years ago. Like hair, skin loses color with age, and the increasing sallowness can make us look drab and tired, even when we’ve had eight hours of sleep. Fair? No, but fixable.
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: Lisa Price, founder of Carol's Daughter
