It's Summer! Do's and Don't's If You Are Over 50!

1. DON'T wear panthose. Now I love pantyhose and hate the bare leg look when it's the least bit cold. But in the summer, pantyhose don't just look hot, they look sweltering!

2. Do: Use a spray tan just on your legs, a light-colored spray tan if you don't use it on your arms or the rest of your body. Otherwise, use leg make-up. I know, sounds awful, but it looks great, actually much nicer than most spray tans! Sally Hansen makes a great one that you can get at the drugstore.

3. DON'T have arm swing. If you like your arms, you can show them off.  But be realistic; are they really toned and smooth? Did you look at your arms from behind, too?

4. DON"T go as short as you can!  Save the mini-skirts for winter when you can wear opaque tights with them.  With bare legs, the mini on someone over 50 just looks wrong... sometimes almost naked, even if your legs are beautiful.

So many things wrong here! 

5. DON'T pile on the bronzer. Be judicious and use a lighter color bronze than you may think you should use.  You don't want to look like a terracotta pot.  What you want is a glow.

Everyone has seen her, but are you sporting the same look with makeup?

6. DON'T go more than one shade darker with your summer foundation. Again, you want a bit of color, but you don't want to sweat brown or have streaks on your face.  Add most of your color with powder.

7. DO: Change your colors.  Try pinks and corals and lighten up on the red.  This not only goes for your lipstick and blush, but also for finger and toe-nails.  Pinks are especially flattering to older skin.  Dark red polish will age your hands and feet.

8. DO: Wear a sunscreen.  All the time, and all over, not just on your face.

9. DO wear underwear the same color as your skin, especially if you are wearing a lot of white.  People who have to look at you from behind will thank you.  By the way, this tip is good for any age, not just those over 50.

10. DON'T wear short-shorts.  Do I even have to mention this? Good.

It's Good To Shiver, Watch Out for Coral Lipstick and Dark Nail Polish

Some researchers have "...found indirect evidence that the body's response to cold, which consists of shivering and hormonal actions, plays a major role in energy expenditure. Regulation of body temperature, they say, is associated with weight."(Fiona Johnson, University College, London, 2011) Also, shivering burns about 400 calories an hour!  You may have heard the oft repeated advice to drink ice cold water since it takes more energy and burns more fat than drinking lukewarm water, but  supposedly even lowering the temperature in your home a few degrees will help with weight loss. Of course, where I live, all I have to do is go to the local grocery store where I swear they keep the temperature deliberately below 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

As you get older, your hands are one of the parts of your body that shows aging, and there hasn't been a lot that you can do about it.  One help though is to avoid very dark polishes or brown polishes which seem to accentuate wrinkles and make your skin look older.

Everywhere you will read that the hottest new lipstick color for Spring is coral.  But if you have less that white teeth, beware.  Coral is a color that will cause your teeth to look dingy - as will most red lipsticks that have a lot of orange in them.  Instead, go for a coral with a lot of pink in it rather than orange - or opt out of coral totally.

Off to Artomatic

Off to Artomatic on Saturday! Artomatic is a wonderful even where an entire office building is taken over (this year in Crystal City) in order to display work from artists using different media. The art we saw was so interesting we only made 2 floors of the 8!  But we were rewarded with fabulous and interesting works and installations.  The wonderful part of Artomatic is that any artist who pays $110.00 can have a space to showcase his/her art, so even artists who have never shown before get a chance to display their work.
    Dress had to be very casual since we walked for hours; comfortable shoes a must!  My shoes are by Blowfish, very comfortable criss-cross wedge sandals. Casual Old Navy tee, and Land's End pants in khaki (flat front, side zip with no pockets).  Bag is Prada quilted navy tessuto with chain straps.

Gucci watch. Cluny Grey gemstone necklace featuring aquamarines, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and 14 karat gold-filled accents. My favorite necklace is this Portuguese cross, a Christmas present from my husband when we were in Portugal. 

Perfume: Fracas

Nail Polish: Essie, A-dor-a-bal

A Few Little Beauty Tips To Try Today

• Put clear lip balm on your cheekbones? Try it!  Vanessa Axente, a Hungarian model who is also the star of Endless Euphoria fragrance ads, uses Chanel's Rouge Coco Baume on her cheekbones, then follows with a bit of blush.
• The highest part of the arch of your eyebrow should be jusst above the outer edge iris of your eye.
• Drink 1 1/2 litres of water a day and a good hyaluronic serum should follow your antioxidant serum. Hyaluronic acid can hold and bind up to over 1000 times its own weight in moisture.
• Remember to put sunscreen on your hands and reapply it throughout the day.  Hands show age dramatically.
• Try soaking your feet in apple cider vinegar to make them especially soft.  It's cheap, too!
• Squeeze water out of your hair, but don't towel dry it so that you will avoid the "frizzies"!