Just
because everyone tells me I should learn to grow old gracefully doesn’t mean I
can actually do it. Aging sucks-- on the outside. On the inside, in those
beautiful fatty tissue-folds of the mind, aging is sheer pleasure—one of the
greatest pleasures I’ve ever known. To accumulate knowledge, to experience the Aha
moments-- like when you really get what your girlfriend is saying-- is like
getting a beautifully wrapped gift. If only our skin grew more beautiful as we
evolved into
our higher selves.
Appearing
tired, even when I am wide awake is what annoys me. To have someone say, “You
look tired, everything ok?” when I am feeling happy and revved up for the day,
is something I have begun to experience in my forties. Ma’am too, is fairly
new, though in truth, I don’t mind this as much. I want to have a presence that
is age appropriate. I wouldn’t be doing the world, let alone myself, any
favors, to don hot shorts with scrunchy boots to the Parent’s Council Meeting.
My uniform of jeans (not hip huggers, but not Mom jeans either), cute tops and
ballet flats works for me. Looking good for the age I’m at, not trying to look
another age is what I’m after—being the best me on the outside to reflect my
fatty tissue folds.
Using the
proper skin care is of course, helpful. Getting regular facials. Exercising.
Staying off the grains and sugar. Recently I’ve tried facial rejuvenation
through acupuncture at our store. I’m on my sixth treatment (the acupuncturist
recommends 12 treatments to achieve results that are supposed to last for
years). And I have to say something is different—people have been asking me if
I’ve lost weight. The lines around my eyes also seem less apparent. For a year
or so I went down the facial injection road, which certainly works to reduce
lines. My problem is that I usually end up looking like someone else—do most
women? Courtney Cox looks beautiful, for example, but am I the only one who thinks
she doesn’t look like Courtney Cox anymore?
My newest
discovery is utilizing anti-aging eye-makeup tricks.
Following
the proper hydration, foundation and concealer, use a non-shimmer shadow in a neutral
color a few shades darker than your eye skin (neutrals highlight the eyes not
the skin) to recess the socket line. This can create depth and combat the loss
of fat that we experience as we get older. Make sure the shadow is not chalky. A
soft matte is a good choice, or a low-level pearl with a subtle luminosity.
Investing in the right, neutral eye palette can make all the difference.
Next,
curl your eyelashes; you will be amazed at the difference curled eyelashes can
make to lift the eye. For eyeliner, massage the tip of your soft eye pencil
into the lash line to create the illusion of thicker lashes. Mascara, too,
should be applied heavier at the base of the lash line. For this, hold the
mascara wand at the root and rock the brush gently to the left and right.
Filling
in your eyebrows is an art form unto itself. Be sure to use the right color—something
natural like ashy, brown or blonde. Once you have your eyebrows professionally
shaped, you can follow the structure and fill in the “hairs” as necessary by feathering
and stippling—never “drawing.”
And voila,’
a soft, natural look for the eye that compliments a gorgeous brain.
