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 tagged It Cosmetics
Today in Ann Arbor, it’s sunny, 93 degrees and feels like mid-July. To me, this signals it’s time to start spritzing Bobbi Brown Beach again—and indulging in these warm-weather finds:
As I slipped around on my mat during a recent hot yoga class, I felt grateful for the steamy studio as blustery snow fell outside the window. But that comfort was short-lived, as another thought elbowed that one aside. . .
I’ve tried dozens of primers and tinted moisturizers that promise luminosity. But they’re often laced with shimmer that make my skin look older by sinking into and emphasizing pores and fine lines. One time I showed up at the office of my dermatologist, Neal Schultz, MD, wearing a radiance-boosting CC Cream, and he sighed in relief once the makeup was removed, saying, “Your skin looks so much better with that off.” However, I’ve just discovered a new duo that gives me the healthy glow promised (but not delivered) by those makeup products. Even better, they're not even makeup.
All month long, I’m asking discerning beauty insiders to share their favorite hot-weather staples. Today’s expert: Kristen Comings, VP of Integrated Consumer Communications at L'Oreal Paris
My skin is not sensitive. But it is occasionally sensitized. That means it looks and feels like sensitive skin (red, flakey, sore), but the condition's temporary and self-inflicted—often the result of over-aggressive at-home exfoliating (or, in the winter, wind-burn). When this happens, I seek out skincare formulas that are gentle, soothing and low on active ingredients.
By now, most of us know that the effects of beauty products are more than skin deep. They don’t just make us look better; they can make us feel better too. Thus, my new It Cosmetics bronzer makes me feel like summer’s around the corner—and, like sunsets at 10 p.m., a full glass of Whispering Angel rosé, and days where I wear a bathing suit all day, this releases happy chemicals in my brain.
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’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:
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.
For years, I wrote in magazine articles to avoid powder after 40—unless you wanted to resemble a beignet.
