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 just passed the twelve-week mark, and have seriously l-o-n-g lashes, corner to corner. As I noted at the eight-week mark, I was hoping another month of Lash Boost use would bring improved density.
Two weeks ago, I had by my brows shaped by arch expert Kristie Streicher. Here are the products she recommended (and/or used on me), many of which I’d never have thought to try on my own. And after two decades in the beauty business, that's saying something.
I had a fascinating chat with brow guru Kristie Streicher (clients include Emily Blunt and Mandy Moore) on my recent trip with Mary Kay to Blackberry Farm. I’ve assumed for years that my thin(ning) brows were the result of DNA. So, I’ve become fairly adept at using a pencil to fill in sparse spots—and have come to (mostly) accept that anemic arches are just one of my lots in life. Turns out, this may be wrong.
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.
If you read Monday’s post, you know I spent the past week on the road (and in the air). I discovered so. many. amazing. products. But, to avoid overwhelming you with a list as long as my arm, I’m parceling them out in a series of posts. To start, these three dusty-blue finds are surprisingly versatile— neutrals (but not) that will break you out of a beige/brown/pinky-nude rut.
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.
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.
Moving to Ann Arbor two years ago provided one gift I’d like to give back: spring allergies. Each year, I sail optimistically through March, convinced I won’t get stuffy this spring. But by mid-April, I’m buying the value pack of Claritin at Costco. Taking meds does help, but on some days my eyes are still itchy and puffy no matter what I do. And that inflammation around my eyes isn’t just annoying; it creates under-eye circles. Concealer has helped a bit, but not as well as tapping on Urban Decay’s new Naked Skin Highlighting Fluid in Skywalk.
In the 1990s, I loved a matte lip. For day, it was brown, like Rachel wore on Friends; for night, it was red-brick a la Gwen Stefani. And MAC lipsticks were the ultimate, with their rich, opaque, uber-flat finish and vanilla scent. But when grunge and MTV’s TRL went away, so did matte lipcolor. For about ten years. Then, a few daring brands began to dabble in mattes again, and as an editor, I championed the comeback. Then I swiped one on. Things were good (and nostalgic) for five minutes. Then it was hell.
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: Maria Halasz, 51, CEO of Cellmid/Advangen
It works. So many of you have been messaging me, asking when my next Lash Boost update will appear, I didn’t want to bury the lead. So there you go: Lash Boost delivers. Here’s the scoop.
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.
