Virtually every woman has a girlhood memory of a stunning woman with Fabulous Skin who became her barometer for beauty. Perhaps it was her mother, always chic and ever so pulled together every time she stepped out of the house. Maybe it was a favorite aunt, the one who was a little bit wild but always wonderful, the one who was striking even in the way she draped a scarf or tilted a hat. It could even have been a much-loved teacher, the scent of whose fragrance today immediately transports you back to her classroom and the warm ambience created there. Whoever she was, her sense of style was her beauty, leaving an indelible mark on that young girl who was awed by her.
The fact is that the mélange of factors that makes each woman beautiful is quite distinctive, an inimitable combination of nature and nurture that produces style. The commonality is in the upkeep, if you will, the little secrets women know that augment their beauty. It all begins with great skin. Indeed, if Coco Chanel was right in saying, “Nature gives you the face you have at 20. But at 50 you get the face you deserve,” beautiful women know that caring for their skin from the outset gives them a face they are proud to have at 50.
Sharing their secrets to fabulous skin after 50, here are tips from seven beautiful women:
- Become an enemy of the sun. Elaine tells a cautionary tale of a close friend with whom she spent countless days sunbathing, disregarding warnings of the sun’s wrinkling effect on skin. As it turns out, the danger was far more insidious as Elaine’s friend developed melanoma that cost her an eye, and ultimately, her life as it subsequently spread to her liver. The moral of the story is that avoiding the sun as well as tanning booths protects the health and beauty of your skin and may well save your life.
- Fight acne. Georgette points to the importance of battling acne. While she laments having ignored the acne that marred her skin during her youth, Georgette notes the plethora of products, from prescriptions to the over-the-counter creams, that can become your allies in this fight, preventing the scarring that can last a lifetime. She also recommends consulting a dermatologist to assist you in the battle.
- Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. Trudy recommends moisturizing your skin twice per day, after morning and nighttime cleansing. Fine lines and wrinkles are held at bay simply by following this single piece of advice.
- Never sleep in make-up. Jane cannot emphasize enough the need to remove make-up every night. Despite a long day, exhaustion or mere laziness, cleansing your skin every night removes dirt and bacteria that can clog pores, lifts dead skin from the surface and allows your skin to breathe. The result is a beautiful, glowing face.
- Drink plenty of water. For Christine, the watchword is water. Cleansing your skin from the inside out, drinking water removes toxins, creating a clear, dewy effect on your skin. Moisturizing nourishes your skin, retaining the moisture on the skin’s surface while drinking water provides both the cleansing and the moistness that is enhanced by moisturizing.
- Befriend retinol. Nancy’s beauty secret is retinol, a product she has used since her 30s. An active ingredient in both prescription and over-the-counter facial products, retinol encourages the turnover of skins cells, tightening pores and boosting collagen production, giving skin a firmer, more youthful appearance. The caveat is that retinol should only be used at night as it immediately makes skin more sensitive to the sun and its damage.
- Love your imperfections. As Kim notes, once you have done all that you know how to do to maintain your health and beauty, relax and be at peace with yourself. Learn to look in the mirror and love your reflection. Those minor imperfections are what make you uniquely “you,” adding character and incomparable beauty to your face. Speak words of love to yourself, imperfections and all.
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