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How Not To Look Old When You’re Fabulous Over 50

by: Susan Tolles

Ahh, the effects of being a woman over 50. We have wrinkles around our eyes, fuzz on our faces, sagging boobs, expanding waistlines, and gray hair. It’s harder to find a decent pair of jeans that fits. We prefer house shoes to high heels. Clothing seems to be designed for either our mothers or our daughters. Style over 50 definitely becomes a bigger challenge.

But there’s nothing that says we have to settle for our looks and accept our bodies just because we’re aging. In fact, there’s a whole new you that can be uncovered with just a few simple changes to your makeup and wardrobe. Not the changes you get from a plastic surgeon–we’ve all seen women who looked much better before they had “just a little work done.” Rather minor tweaks in things like hair, lipstick, skirt length and even nail polish that will make us look younger and feel better about ourselves.

I recently began reading How Not to Look Old by Charla Krupp. Charla has been the beauty director at Glamour magazine and an editor at In Style, as well as appearing on television countless times on The Today Show, Oprah and Tyra. I’ll share her pointers with you here in the next few articles as I explore ways to look younger while staying away from the doctor’s office, everything from clothing to nails to hairstyles for women over 50. As Charla says,” We’re going to fight aging, and we’re going to look great doing it.”

The first thing Charla recommends is evaluating your “maintenance level.” Are you high, medium or low maintenance?

•You are high maintenance if you never leave the house without a full face of makeup, you wear business attire when traveling, your favorite store is Neiman Marcus, you would spend your lottery winnings on a facelift and your crow’s feet are all gone.

•You are medium maintenance if you never leave the house without some lipstick and mascara, you wear pants and a nice sweater when traveling, you shop at Sephora instead of Neiman’s, you would spend your lottery winnings on a whole new wardrobe and your crow’s feet are a constant source of worry.

•You are low maintenance if you never leave the house without a clean face, you wear whatever is comfiest when traveling, you choose Williams Sonoma over Ann Taylor, you would spend your lottery winnings on a new car and crow’s feet never cross your mind.

Are you a purist, or a mix of all three? Whichever category you fit in, there are beauty tips just for you. You can look like a high maintenance beauty even if you’re a low maintenance gal. Follow along to look your best in your over 50 life!