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.
All in Health
Earlier this fall, I battled a cold that morphed into bronchitis. Walking up and down our basement stairs winded me, so I stopped working out. One week turned into two, turned into three. Once I started to feel better, I knew it was time to head back to Orange Theory, but inertia had set in. Driving Heath to school in my pajamas, then coming home to work at my desk in sweats and fuzzy socks had become my new norm. So, in an effort to break out of this sedentary rut, I employed these tricks:
As part of a regular series, I’ll be asking inspiring, in-the-know women to share their best tips and favorite products. The point? As always, to find out what works. Today's beauty insider: Sara Happ, founder of an eponymous lipcare collection
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. Today's beauty insider: Brenda Wu, General Manager of SkinCeuticals
All month long, I’m asking discerning beauty insiders to share their favorite hot-weather staples. Today’s expert: Mally Roncal, makeup artist and beauty mogul, on best bets for her busy life
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. Today's beauty insiders: Lynne Florio and Renee Tavoularis, founders of Well Within Planted In Beauty
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. Today's beauty insider: Erin Cotter, GOOP's Vice President of Beauty
Before I left for New York, my son Heath had a bad cold—the kind that starts with a sore throat, then morphs into a stuffy nose…and lingers for weeks. So, when my plane touched down at LaGuardia and I felt the start of a scratchy throat, I knew what I was in for. Two days later, as I circled Central Park for the Shape Half Marathon, I was drugged up on DayQuil and sucking on Chloraseptic lozenges. The morning after the race, I headed out for meetings armed with a wad of tissues. Yuck. Thus, I was grateful when I met up with my friend Jaime, a beauty publicist, for lunch, and she slid Farmacy’s Honey Savior across the table to me.
In the past week, I’ve been to New York City, Greenwich, Bronxville, Jersey, and Tennessee. All this traveling did prevent me from posting—but not from stockpiling new beauty and health info. My trip to the East Coast was peppered with breakfasts, lunches and cocktails with editors and publicists (and I took copious notes). Then Mary Kay took me—and about two dozen other beauty editors—to Blackberry Farm outside of Knoxville to showcase their new spring and summer launches. I’ll be weaving info from this weeklong trip into posts for weeks to come, but here, to start, are five (surprising!) tips and tricks I picked up along the way.
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: Jane Park, CEO and Founder of Julep
When I was the beauty editor at teen magazine CosmoGirl!, we frequently published recipes for skin and hair masks made from common kitchen ingredients like honey, avocado, yogurt and eggs. The treatments were easy to make (albeit messy) and mildly effective. The new Facial Moisturizer Kit from Ktchn Apothecary is kind of like that, but with more grownup, potent ingredients—and far less cleanup.
Of course pictures help recall a memorable vacation. But, for me, nothing brings back a treasured trip like a scent. Jasmine whisks me back to my honeymoon in Bali. Lavender conjures our tenth wedding anniversary in Napa. Cherry blossoms call to mind a magical trip I took with Shiseido to Tokyo. And rum punch and cigarette smoke remind me of Key West Spring Break 1994 (hah). Thus, when we travel, I always look for an aromatic token I can bring home to evoke happy memories of my trip, later on.
I have been using the Évolis Reverse Activator for about a month now. It is worth noting that I did not stop using minoxidil because Maria Halasz, Évolis' CEO, said that could cause shedding for a few weeks, making it hard to properly review Évolis. So I’ve been applying a one-two punch of minoxidil topped with the Evolis treatment twice daily, and although it is still early days, I do have new hair growth. For sure.
I know the abundance of anti-aging options can sometimes feel like more of a blessing than a curse. They can be time-consuming. Expensive. And ever-evolving. Just when you commit to a skincare or haircare routine, you're told it's time to upgrade to something newer and better. I get it. But like most things in life (especially as we're older and wiser), I believe you pick and choose what matters most to you, then allocate your time and money there. That may be Botox, private yoga lessons, gel manicures, salon haircolor, acupuncture, or even blepharoplasty. The bottom like is that you get to choose what treatments make you feel good at every age—then skip the rest. However, there is one exception. If you're not whitening your teeth at least once a year, I think you're missing 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: Naomi Whittel, 43, founder of Reserveage Nutrition and current CEO of Twinlab
