Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Celebrating The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

Here we are in the midst of the holiday season, the most wonderful time of the year!
 
The music, the shopping, the festivities, and of course, the stress that often accompanies this fabulous season.
 
As we all know, stress ages us and it's terrible for our health!  It makes us look older, and certainly "feel" older.  For our health, sanity, and appearance, keeping the stress level down is imperative, so all that holiday merriness does not go right out the window! 
 
To look and feel our best during the season, here are some reminders for managing the craziness and looking great while doing it! We can make it to the New Year healthy, happy, and joyful!
 
·       Don't sweat the small stuff.  Those cookies you were going to make from scratch...buy them!  That present you were going to wrap all fancy...put it in a bag and go.  Take the pressure off of yourself.  No one that loves you will care!
 
·       Don't add anymore to your list and keep things simple.  There's already enough to do, adding more to your plate will lead to a lot less holiday spirit. Relax with a Gingerbread Latte, admire the decorations, lovely lights, and listen to the music.  Enjoy the season!
 
·       Before that holiday party, grab a quick nap, but make sure to lie only on your back to avoid those dreaded “lines” on the face. Placing cooled cucumbers on your eyes really helps refresh them too!  Your beautiful outfit, hair, and make-up always look better when you're rested. 
 
·       For your holiday attire, think color! It’s fun to go bright and festive. Bright colors can actually make you look younger and more vibrant! Local designer Bunker Bradley, and partner Roselyn Poon, have a great line for women called Cobra Couture, it’s fun, sexy and comfortable – they even have swing coats! You can dance the night away (great exercise), while looking and feeling good. 
 
·       Holiday make-up tends to be bolder, so have fun with it! Red lipstick is very popular for evenings out during the season.
Tip: As we age, our lipstick also tends to bleed a bit more, so if this is a problem for you, there are many great products out there to help prevent this. One good, cheap trick is to use a double liner. First, line around the outside of your lips with a nude color liner, blend. Then just inside that line, use the same color liner as your lipstick and apply your lipstick as usual. The idea is to create a double barrier to prevent the color from bleeding. Practice before that special night out though—I have learned to never experiment with something for the first time right before a big occasion!
 
·       Last, but most important, remember that time together is the best gift to others, and yourself. Isn't that what the season should be about? Go have a hot chocolate and enjoy the weather. Meet up with friends and just have fun with one other.  It’s good for your health, makes you smile, and overall makes you and the season even more amazing!

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and blessed 2016! 
 
Hugs,
Linda

Monday, November 16, 2015

Timeless and Trending Beauty

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