Friday, November 20, 2009

Let's see, if I tweak a few things I can look five years younger....

When My dad was in the service during World War 11 he was stationed in Jacksonville Florida, dad was a flight instructor. My mom desperately wanted to be a WAVE but my dad said no to that, so she worked on base selling shoes. They loved living in Jacksonville and made friends there for life.

We traveled to Jacksonville one summer when I was quite small to visit friends they had made during their time in the service. My mom was happy about that, but could not hide her excitement about going to visit the Fountain of Youth to get a drink from it. I picked up on that excitement and was intrigued to say the least. "Why did momma think that was gonna work?" I thought to myself. When I was 6 or 7 the fountain was huge and important looking.

Years later we took the kids to visit the Fountain of Youth and as an adult I was taken back how very small the fountain was and really unimpressive...once again I thought, " Why did momma think that was going to work?"....

Can we really get our youth back again or even stay youthful?
Maybe a sip from the fountain can't hurt but...
I believe yes, we can if we work at it!

Here's an article copied from Vibrant Nation about ways to look 5 years younger, I liked it..


I'm always eager to learn ways to look younger. That's why I was keenly interested in the beauty feature in this month's InStyle magazine on "10 Ways to Look 5 Years Younger." So, what did the 10 beauty tips say?

1. Brighten Up with Concealer - According to the makeup artist Mally Roncal, who is quoted in the story, if you use concealer "People will start asking who your surgeon was." (Yes, I do use concealer under my eyes every day. However, no one has ever asked me who my surgeon was...which is good because I don't have one.)

2. Be Careful With Color - By color, they mean hair color. According to New York colorist Louis Licari, who is quoted in the story, "If you over-highlight your blond hair, you lose the golden tones that keep it looking youthful and pretty. And hair that is dyed too dark is unnatural." (I am careful with my hair color. I have a fabulous colorist who puts just the right amount of highlights in my hair and doesn't dye my hair too dark either. Ah, glad I am complying with Lou's suggestions.I agree with you Lou. I do. I do.)

3. Perk Up A Saggy Butt - This tip says that 'our bottoms tend to be less buoyant as we age...gravity pulls them down.' Susie Crippen of J Brand, says to "check the label of every pair of jeans before buying to make sure they have at least 2 percent stretch, like Lycra. Pants with more than 98 percent cotton can stretch out as soon as you wear them." (Wait, J Brand is the brand of jeans that my daughter A raves about. I should listen to Susie, she must be smart when it comes to perking up saggy butts. I do love my Not Your Daughter's Jeans which also perk up my butt.)

4. Shine On - This tip says that years of blow-drying and styling our hair can leave it lackluster...that adding conditioning gloss or a shine serum can help hair sparkle. (I'll have to try the conditioning gloss. As for the shine serum, I already have that product in my repertoire of haircare products and it seems to weigh my hair down rather than sparkle it up.)

5. Find the Perfect Bra - According to New York stylist Annabel Tollman, "A good bra elevates your chest to a higher altitude, giving you a longer, slimmer-looking waist." (Hmm, hmm, maybe I will have to listen to Annabel and go to Victoria's Secret and buy one of those new Miraculous bras.)

6. Give Some Lip Service - This tip says that our lips lose volume as we get older and that dark matte lipsticks accentuate our aging lips. It says to switch to pink gloss to look younger. (Okay, after I go to Victoria's Secret to get my new perfect bra, I'm going to go to MAC and buy some 'pink gloss' for my lips.)

7. Fake An Eye Lift - Ooh, ooh, I think I am practicing this tip already. Yes, I am. I put my eye makeup on just like the tip that N.Y.C. makeup artist Paula Dorf says. Sorry Paula, I learned this tip from the MAC makeup lady when she did my colors several years ago. I think it was when I was 5 years younger and I'm still practicing this tip. I do 'use a light-colored shadow near my lash line and a deeper shade in an arc above the crease where my lid is dropping.'

8. Get A Little Cheeky - The Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Gabriel Chiu says that "as we age the fat pads in our cheeks fall" and that to defy nature you can either get a filler or you can use a bright pink blush, which illuminates the cheekbone and draws the eye upward." (No fillers for me. I'm not putting any fillers in my cheekbones. And I've tried bright pink blush once before and it doesn't look good on my cheeks. Guess I won't be practicing this tip. I wonder, if each tip is worth .5 years and I practice all the other nine tips, will I look 4.5 years younger? You think?)

9. Lose the Powder Makeup - Paula Dorf says that "As you get older and your skin produces less oil, dewy makeup is more flattering." (No wonder why the makeup artist at Bobbie Brown recommended that I start using an oil based foundation when I had my 50th birthday makeover. It's been almost two years since I had my 50th birthday makeover and I've been practicing this tip ever since.)

10. Mix Things Up - This final tip says to "always throw in something unexpected, like messy hair, a casual jacket, or flats with a fancy dress." (I can do messy hair, I have several casual jackets in my closet. I don't like flats with a fancy dress, they tend to make my pear-shaped body look more hippy. Personally, I like pumps with a fancy dress or a sandal.)

My yoga teacher N, also had a few yogi cures for aging that she shared with us during tonight's yoga class:

Yogi cure #1 - The first yogi cure for aging is to do a 10 minute inversion every day. An inversion can be a head stand, or a hand stand, or the dead bug pose (which is my favorite. I look like an upside down dead cockroach when I do this pose.)

Yogi cure #2 - Massage your face outward every night. Start at the top or bottom of your face and stimulate your skin and then put your moisturizer on your face. Stretch out your neck too by pulling your face forward. (This will add an extra step to my evening skincare ritual, but I'll try it if it will help me stay forever young.)

If I can find 10 more beauty tips to help me look younger, I wonder if I can look 10 years younger? Wait a minute...wait a minute. How does the chorus in the "Forever Young" song go? Think I need to stop, breathe, and sing...

Forever young,
I wanna be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever and ever
Forever young I wanna be
Forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, forever

2 comments:

Renie Burghardt said...

Great looking younger tips, Maree. I do practice some of the things you mentioned, but never heard of filler. Is that like putty? Haha.

I have a favorite quote on staying young "Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul." So, I may have a few wrinkles on my face, but not on my soul!

Have a great weekend!

Renie

Memaw Barbie said...

Great post. Love the ideas. When you have a genuine smile on your face (due to the joy in your heart) a few wrinkles and sags are not even noticable!! ( That's my motto).
Blessings