As I write this column, I am in the midst of my Kissing Cancer Goodbye Campaign, a fundraiser I started to raise both money and awareness for breast cancer research.
When I started my beauty business years ago, I simply sought to offer women something I had been in search of myself - painless aging!
I could not have imagined that it would lead to hundreds of women opening their hearts and sharing their stories of tragedy, triumph, joy, and sorrow – all the many things that weave our lives into the complex and beautiful stories of who we each are. In the emails I received, I have witnessed “beauty” in so many forms - and it has been both heartwarming and inspiring.
This led me to recently pose a question to my numerous contacts on social media, “What makes a woman beautiful?” The answers surprised me.
The question was given to men and women, ages 18-93. (Yes, my oldest friend on Facebook is my 93 year old Aunt Ruby - one of the most beautiful women I know!)
As the responses came in, there were two things that both sexes gave as their top choices: a woman's smile and her eyes. Coming in a close third, was a woman's kindness.
Many expressed that no matter how gorgeous a woman was, without a kind heart, her outer beauty did not matter! While we all want to look beautiful on the outside, so much of how we feel and act towards others also helps to illuminate our outer beauty!
With the importance of eyes and smiles in mind, I thought I’d share the latest trend in eyes and lips! Much like matching shoes and a purse, the current idea is to have the eyes and the lips match - and your nails too if you want the full look.
While I have seen younger women take this trend to really fun color extremes, that look might not work for all of us. Blue lips as a senior is hard to pull off!
Remember you can always follow a current trend, but it may be better to tailor it to a softer look.
At 60 years old, I find that less is more.
One option for a fun, but softer touch is to use a very dark purple eye shadow on top of a neutral brown shadow. The brown provides a nice base and the deep purple is subtle, yet noticeable.
Apply the shadow as you normally would and add a touch more purple to the crease of your lid. Then, if you go over the whole lid with a quick swipe of a pink powder blush, it creates a subtle, sun-kissed highlight.
If you have green or blue eyes, this really makes them stand out even more! And with brown eyes, it adds a dramatic twist!
For your lips, try a lip color with a hint of mauve. If you prefer a more natural lip color, you can use a nude lip color, but layered with a pinkish gloss.
The pinks and the purple will tie together beautifully and really make both your eyes and your lips stand out! Match your nails to your lips and you are trending!
I want this to be a space where we can all share ideas and tips, I would love to hear from you!! Please send your thoughts, ideas, tips or questions to me at info@fullips.com
*Please note, this is a reprint as originally seen in my beauty column "Timeless Beauty" for The Vegas Voice newspaper in Las Vegas, NV