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 Makeup
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.
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.
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
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.
Victoria Secret models, drag queens and Kardashians share a common trait worth copying: They can rock falsies.
I’m talking about lashes, people. And while I’m not suggesting we all apply fake fringe every day, I do think, as we age (and our lashes become thinner), becoming adept at glueing on extra flutter (or finding a makeup artist to do it for you) is time well spent.
Many makeup artists wax poetic about eyelid primer because it helps eye-shadow go on smoothly and stay put. I agree; those are good things. But the main reason I can’t live without lid primer is that it camouflages red, puffy eyes (today’s swollen, mottled lids are courtesy of staying up past my bedtime to watch last night's debate).
Prior to the demise of More Magazine, I was researching a story for the August issue on the most flattering makeup in your forties, fifties, sixties, etc. I figured the makeup artists I was interviewing would advise choosing a more hydrating foundation as you got deeper into menopause—or maybe they’d suggest sweeping on a brighter blush to counteract increased sallowness. What I wasn’t expecting was to hear this. . .
Applying bronzer hardly seems like something that requires instructions. You sweep a big, fluffy brush over copper-colored powder. Dust it over your face. Done.
Not quite.
I believe in the confidence-boosting power of beauty products. I'm talking about the way wearing Chanel's black-red Vamp Nail Colour made you (okay, me) feel current/cooler/chicer in the mid-1990s.
As we age, there are some things we hope to increase: retirement savings, vacation time, wisdom. Makeup opacity? Not so much.
Around the same time we start seeing hair where we don’t want it (on chins and necks or, worst of all, growing out of noses), we suffer the double injustice of having it grow sparser where we do want fullness, like along our lashline. Thanks very little, hormonal fluctuations.
