July/August 2008 Newsletter

Packed with valuable advice on how to look your best through your forties, fifties, sixties and beyond, Colour Me Younger is the definitive guide to keep you looking younger through the decades. From choosing the right supportive underwear to wearing the right colours to choosing the right glasses, everything you need to know is in this book. Colour Me Younger is available from mid-July. Contact Sue on 01242 577688 to order your copy now.

There is a saying in the USA that ‘you can tell which year a woman graduated high school by her make-up’. Here in the UK the benchmark may have a different name, college or university for example, but the message is the same. Each season we update our wardrobes to keep us feeling current and younger, but when was the last time you updated your make-up routine? As we move from our late thirties into our forties and beyond we need to adapt our make-up to suit our changing look. Using the right products will help keep us looking younger, and don’t forget; less is more!   Mature skin will, naturally, have more flaws than younger skin so to help even it out start with a skin adjuster. A yellow adjuster will help even out blemishes or discolouration and a green one will tone down high colour or rosacea/broken capillaries. The tone of your skin will have changed over the years too, so it’s important to make sure you’re using the right shade for your colouring and that it blends in with your neck, you don’t want to look like you’re wearing a mask! Try to test it in natural daylight if you can. Concealer is a must-have for women of all ages. Just a small amount will tone down an unwanted blemish and those with light diffusing properties do wonders for reducing dark circles under the eyes. If face powder makes you think of your grandmother’s tan compact think again; today’s products are lightweight and come in subtle shades suited to your skin tones. They are lovely to use and will secure your make-up and keep it looking fresher for longer. You may feel safe using the same eye colours for years, but do they really work with your colouring now? As we get older our make-up should look more natural so make sure you are choosing the colours that enhance your eyes but don’t overwhelm them. Cream shadows are best avoided if your eyelids are prone to creasing, powder shadows are much easier to blend and look more subtle. The same principle goes for eye liners, stick to the soft pencils and stay away from harsh liquid liners. An eye base is a must have to keep your shadow in place all day. Your mascara should look natural too, thick spidery lashes are fun when your twenty but look harsh and over the top on mature faces. Find a shade that matches your colouring, blondes should use a brown or a navy mascara, redheads should stick to browns, darker colourings can wear black and brown. Most of us need a bit of cheek colour to make us look healthier and as we get older it gives us a more youthful look too. Cream blushers feel great on the skin and are easy to apply, but if you feel they are a little too glossy for your look then apply a little translucent face powder over the top. In your 50’s and 60’s a matt blusher is recommended to avoid looking too shiny. Again, colour and texture is the key here, you shouldn’t be wearing the same colours you wore in your twenties. As your natural lip colour begins to fade you’ll need to keep a couple of good cream lipsticks in your best colours at hand to immediately give your face a lift. For thinning lips, a lip gloss over lip pencil or lipstick gives the effect of fuller lips. Using a lip base will keep your lip colour in place and so keep you looking brighter all day. When you’re familiar with a trusty make-up routine it’s not easy to change without knowing what really suits you. Book a make-up prescription or make-up lesson with Sue to get the best advice on colour and make-up for you.