Today I am wearing a beautiful ring that I save for special occasions. I saw it this morning and decided that I should start really enjoying my stuff and stop "saving it for good". When my dad died and I went through his dresser drawers, I was amazed to find package after package of new underwear and socks. Gorgeous cuff links that were never worn, brand new dress shirts with the tags on them. None of his everyday stuff was ratty, it was all in good shape, but I wondered why he didn't use some of the brand new things which he'd had for a year or two. I have been trying, just lately, to use and enjoy my stuff. I'm not going to wear a $200 dress to the office, but I will try to wear some special occasion things more, and enjoy them more. If life is as short as I think it is, why are my amazing emerald cut amethyst earrings sitting in a velvet box? They were the first jewelry gift my husband gave me. Pietro the jeweler showed him the huge amethyst stone they were cut from. They're so special to me, but they're reserved for weddings and formal affairs. Why not wear them to Macaroni Grill?
Tomorrow belongs to no one. Wear your pearls and most expensive perfume today!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Aging and Beauty: DON'T GIVE UP!
Now that I've turned 57, I am grateful that I look younger. Most people guess me to be around the 45 - 47 range. At 45 I looked 30, at 30 I looked 20, and at 20 I looked 12. I must have looked like an embryo at 12. I don't know if I'm holding up because of genetics, or my devotion to skin care. I do know that it's an ongoing battle, as time marches on, all over my face! I also know that I won't give up. I want to be a pretty old lady, wearing makeup and fashionable clothes. I find it so sad that some women seem to give up by their mid 50's or early 60's. I see women who automatically let their hair go grey and have it cut into a unisex style. I recently sat behind a row of seventy-something couples, and you couldn't tell the men from the women from the back. Going grey can be a beautiful option, but you need color elsewhere to warm and liven your face. Amazing what a little lipstick or a bright colored top can do, or even an interesting piece of jewelry. A scarf adds color and interest, so even if you aren't the makeup type, you brighten yourself. My gorgeous friend Bobbi is sterling grey and beautiful. When we met for lunch this week, she wore a soft grey sweater, her trademark eyeshadow and eyeliner, neutral lipstick, and she looked amazing.
Last month I met two women. The first was 65, and between her steel wool hair color, her colorless sweatshirt, and her makeup-free face, she was almost invisible. Her entire appearance was greyer than a tomb. Then I met a vibrant 79 year old lady with pretty soft brown hair
(salon maintained), tastefully applied makeup, a lovely sweater in a soft red shade, and black slacks. She was obviously blessed with good genes and good health, but the biggest difference between her and the first woman was that she cared!
I adore makeup. It is never a chore for me, it's a delight, a hobby, a love. I know not every woman feels this way, and plenty of women look great without wearing makeup, but they know to add some color in another way. A color need not be a huge splash of brightness. A white, ivory or pale pink blouse or scarf brings light to your face. Black can be stunning, and earrings or a necklace stir things up. There are so many options, and they're fun!
I will not give up. And if I start to, it's my daughter's sworn responsibility to fix me or see that I get fixed. I began applying my mother's minimal makeup at 13, before I was allowed to wear it myself. She didn't know how to do her eyes, so I did it for her. If you're not a practiced hand and want to learn the basics, a Sephora sales associate will help you. He or she will do a simple makeup application on you, tell you what they're using, and you will not have to buy anything. You can even request a few samples so you can practice at home. If you don't want such up close and personal help, YouTube makeup instruction videos are an invaluable source. Not computer savvy? Books by Bobbi Brown, Kevin Aucoin, and other world famous makeup artists are available. Or ask other women shopping in the cosmetics aisle in the drugstore. Believe me, most women in that aisle will be more than happy to give an opinion! Or two!
Don't give up! Age like a fine wine, not like a flat soda!
Last month I met two women. The first was 65, and between her steel wool hair color, her colorless sweatshirt, and her makeup-free face, she was almost invisible. Her entire appearance was greyer than a tomb. Then I met a vibrant 79 year old lady with pretty soft brown hair
(salon maintained), tastefully applied makeup, a lovely sweater in a soft red shade, and black slacks. She was obviously blessed with good genes and good health, but the biggest difference between her and the first woman was that she cared!
I adore makeup. It is never a chore for me, it's a delight, a hobby, a love. I know not every woman feels this way, and plenty of women look great without wearing makeup, but they know to add some color in another way. A color need not be a huge splash of brightness. A white, ivory or pale pink blouse or scarf brings light to your face. Black can be stunning, and earrings or a necklace stir things up. There are so many options, and they're fun!
I will not give up. And if I start to, it's my daughter's sworn responsibility to fix me or see that I get fixed. I began applying my mother's minimal makeup at 13, before I was allowed to wear it myself. She didn't know how to do her eyes, so I did it for her. If you're not a practiced hand and want to learn the basics, a Sephora sales associate will help you. He or she will do a simple makeup application on you, tell you what they're using, and you will not have to buy anything. You can even request a few samples so you can practice at home. If you don't want such up close and personal help, YouTube makeup instruction videos are an invaluable source. Not computer savvy? Books by Bobbi Brown, Kevin Aucoin, and other world famous makeup artists are available. Or ask other women shopping in the cosmetics aisle in the drugstore. Believe me, most women in that aisle will be more than happy to give an opinion! Or two!
Don't give up! Age like a fine wine, not like a flat soda!
Friday, March 2, 2012
Goodbye Davy
These days most celebrity deaths don't upset me too much. I may be sad to hear of their passing, or feel like they were stolen from me, in the case of Amy Winehouse. I may never again feel the inconsolable grief I felt when John Lennon died. When a celebrity dies from their own excesses, after the momentary shock no one is really surprised. But when a celebrity dies of natural causes it jolts us, because they're just like everyone else. Cancer, heart attack and stroke don't respect fame or fortune. The velvet voice of Luther Vandross was silenced by stroke. George Harrison had lung cancer. Both culpable because of their human weaknesses, Luther's a genetic predisposition to high blood pressure and diabetes, George's metastatic lung cancer from years of smoking.
And now Davy Jones. Still "boyish" at 66, a fit and active vegetarian, dead of a massive coronary. This one particularly stings, because he was one of my childhood crushes. His small stature and baby face made him endearing and non-threatening to young girls. He was a child actor long before he was a Monkee, known back then as a "song and dance man". He was simply adorable. Still performing, devoted to his family, his horses and farms, one here in Pennsylvania, he seemed to have either avoided or overcome the perils of celebrity. He did not surround himself with sycophants and enablers. I've heard he was a womanizer, which used to be called, more elegantly a "ladies man". How could someone so eternally youthful, charming and vibrant die of a heart attack alone in hs car like he were anyone else? Because he was human, with frailties like the rest of us. And when it was time for him to shove off this mortal coil, he was gone. Goodbye, Davy, from the seventh grade girl who wrote you all those letters. I always wondered what it would be like if you were a "real boy" instead of a tv star. Now I guess I know.
And now Davy Jones. Still "boyish" at 66, a fit and active vegetarian, dead of a massive coronary. This one particularly stings, because he was one of my childhood crushes. His small stature and baby face made him endearing and non-threatening to young girls. He was a child actor long before he was a Monkee, known back then as a "song and dance man". He was simply adorable. Still performing, devoted to his family, his horses and farms, one here in Pennsylvania, he seemed to have either avoided or overcome the perils of celebrity. He did not surround himself with sycophants and enablers. I've heard he was a womanizer, which used to be called, more elegantly a "ladies man". How could someone so eternally youthful, charming and vibrant die of a heart attack alone in hs car like he were anyone else? Because he was human, with frailties like the rest of us. And when it was time for him to shove off this mortal coil, he was gone. Goodbye, Davy, from the seventh grade girl who wrote you all those letters. I always wondered what it would be like if you were a "real boy" instead of a tv star. Now I guess I know.
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