Carla Bruni-Sarkozy: "Makeup ages you"
A recent International Herald Tribune article on Carla Bruni-Sarkozy's humanitarian visit to Burkina Faso included a little dish from France's first lady:In private, Bruni-Sarkozy has no trouble making down-to-earth small talk: that Daniel Craig is good-looking but Sean Connery will go down as the best James Bond; how some of her friends have become paranoid that their phone conversations with her are monitored by French intelligence officers; how women over 25 - 28 at the latest - should stop wearing makeup because it ages them; how she longs to have a child with Sarkozy, but knows that at age 41, she is "just at the edge."
I wonder if she means foundation, which can sit in lines and look cakey. But... 28! Just at the age when you begin to realize your skin won't look flawlessly fresh forever, Carla urges you to junk your kit.
On the other hand, she has a point. I met with a woman recently who had that telltale orangy line around the bottom of her face, the masklike result of the wrong shade, badly blended, and thought foregoing foundation would have looked so much better.
I changed my makeup around Carla's present age, realizing deep red lipstick made me look crazed, not racy- though I still keep a tube of in my drawer and occasionally put it on to read in bed. (I still keep my toenails red!)I also axed aggressive coral and bright fuscia, which I thought were perky, but which made the makeup expert at Bobbi Brown shudder. He moved me into those neutral 'lippy' colours I've stuck with.
Maybe at 60 I should revise my makeup palette again. Have you changed your products or colours as you mature? What do you recommend for your gorgeous, post-50 friends?
Comments
I've never liked wearing foundation make-up. I've tried every brand in every shade over the decades and have never ever found one that looks natural. Not only that but it also takes the natural dewiness out of my complexion rather like nail polish remover takes the natural shine out of your nails.
Now I use a fine layer of fake tan (Lancome) on my face in the winter months, applied once a week after gentle exfoliation. Much more comfortable and doesn't highlight the fine lines.
I really have looked at a lot of pictures from France, and truly the women with less makeup look best. I think it starts with getting your skin in the best shape possible, and I am working on that. I can't go with no makeup, I would look dead. But I am trying to perfect wearing it while not looking like I am wearing any.
Sophia Loren said that the pursuit of beauty is one of the great joys of being a woman.
I have found the makeup -foundation answer for me at least: Tinted moisturizer! It gives enough coverage to even out my already pretty good old skin,never looks cakey or gives colour lines and comes with SPF if you want it. You might have to fool around to get the type which works for you: matte, shiny, rich, light. Even the cheap ones (Cover Girl) are good but my current favourite is the the VICHY line; lumineuse or matte.
I eschew powder (which makes me look old) of all kinds, including blush, preferring the TARTE line of sheer cheek stains. I like the sheer long lasting lipcolors in the Revlon ColorStay line, particularly Sheer Pomegrante for the winter when I am pale and Sheer Rosette for the summer when I have some colour and like a less red lipstick look. Eyeliner in gray and MAC shadow in Shale. Voluminous black-brown mascara and I'm done in 5 minutes.
Oh, lordy, I love makeup! It turns me from a plain hausfrau into a tolerably pretty woman. Magic!
sjcyogi
As for the lips, I've watched for years as a dynamic older friend (in her 70s) transforms herself magically from wan and tired to vibrant and beautiful with the sweep of a gorgeous fuschia lipstick -- it may simply be a combination of charisma and placebo effect, it may break the rules about ageing and makeup, and it may be purely individual, but it's damned impressive -- I say ignore the rule-makers and find what lets you shine (altho' it doesn't hurt to let the Carlas inspire you to take an honest, clear-eyed look in the mirror from time to time)
My husband once said that, while we have different shares of beauty when we are young, as we age, we start to look more and more alike. So life becomes more fair. That struck me as a wise statement.
Blush is a must as it gives back some colour, mascara and lipstick are the essentials - after that you can play, but avoid eyeshadows with sheen.
sjcyogi: Maybe when we have lunch Friday you would help me pick the right shade?
materfamilias: Oh how I wish I could pull off bright lipstick! Good for her!
Fugal: That remark of Mr Dr's makes me think... may apply more to men than women, I'll have to observe for awhile. Interesting idea.
mardel: That's an intriguing way of applying moisturizer. Almost like the airbrush but without all the fuss.
I think the less is more idea for everyday is true if you want to look youngish...But the true goal should be to look fresh, healthy, alive. That means making the eyes stand out by using a little coverup on your "spots" on your face. Once they recede, your eyes have the chance to be the focus of your face.
All you need is a little concealer under the eye, a flick of black mascara and well-groomed eyebrow.
I love to dab a bit of Bobbi Brown creme blush on my cheeks for a healthy flush.
Light lips in neutral pinks work great on most women.
Giorgio Armani Shaping Foundation is the best for when you really want a nice base layer...IE weddings! I have no idea what's in it, but it is just superior for coverage that looks imperceptible, and it gives a very subtle glow, and I don't mean "shine" or "sparkle." It blends beautifully and lasts much longer than you should keep any cosmetic!
Sjcyogi: Thanks for finding me the great feather-light makeup (a L'Oreal product) and teaching me to blend with moisturizer for a "custom colour" that's probably 1/6 the price of Prescriptives. You are my makeup guru!
Cultures are different.
I don't wear much makeup in daily life, but I'd love to know how to update it - one of the reasons I tend to eschew it. All the best-before lipsticks I have in that drawer are various reds. I'd look ghastly in pinky stuff, but red looks wrong. Honestly don't know what to wear and don't find most magazines very useful for an artist in her 50s who doesn't want to look like the proverbial mutton alert, or corporate.
Unlike Anonymous, I tend to agree that too much makeup ages you, but that doesn't necessarily mean that some isn't a great help. I do see a lot of women over 40 (on up to 90 and on) who look ghastly with all the makeup they cake on.
Most true southern women know how to blend their makeup and wear it well. Sorry, it's just a fact.
My friend Anita lived and now lives in Michigan, but for many years she lived in Atlanta. Here's her reaction to my earlier posting about southern vs. northern women:
I can tell you first hand what the difference is in Northern and Southern gals. After moving south, I had to learn how to dress.
Living in Atlanta for several years and coming back north once a year, my husband and I could plainly see the difference. On one such visit, we landed in Grand Rapids (Michigan) and stayed the night at a hotel. In the morning I looked at the people there having brunch and said, " Look at these women! They are colorless !!" The women were all dressed in mainly solid browns, blues and grays. There was nothing outstanding about the design of their clothing. They only wore a trace of make up and nothing flashy in the way of earrings and jewelry. And plain shoes. It was summer !!! Were these woman not pretty? I think they were not using what they had.
Southern gals just know that if one is good, two is better and three is better yet. They go for the total package look from a very young age and time and effort is put into looking nice. Little girls have ribbons and accessories for their hair and there it starts.
The difference in using make up is night and day. The vast majority of Southern gals wouldn't go anywhere without make up. If the Northern gals put on a light coat of mascara they are doing good. With Southern gals, if the jewery isn't big enough to be seen at an arms length, it isn't worth having including earrings and a diamond engagement ring.
Just sitting in the parking lot of a Michigan Wal-Mart vs the parking lot of a Wal-Mart in Fayetteville, Georgia tells it all. Michigan gives gals in jeans, printed tee-shirts, dirty white running shoes, little or no make up or jewery. In Fayetteville, the girl can be wearing jeans and a tee-shirt, but the tee is tucked in, she has a cute belt, her shoes are dressier, her hair is done, she has make -up on and a showy pair of earrings. Is one girl better looking than the other?? All things being equal, the Southern gal is more pleasing to look at.
The shoes that are offered in the South are so much nicer than the ones in the North. While living in Atlanta, I bought some really stylish shoes ...... soft green suede, suede and snake skin heals in eggplant color, multi color leathers of teal, tan and coral with satin ribbon ties. I haven't seen such offered in this area. They most likely wouldn't sell.
To conclude. Southern gals have a more polished look.
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Category: Eclectic Miscellany Posted on Tuesday, April 8
And sometimes I see a woman looking so amazing (to my eye) that I wish I could borrow an ounce of her style!
The challenge is when one moves (or visits for work)- whether to try to fit in or keep the look habitual to you.
I lived 4 years in the American South and I lived 5 years in Paris and, to my eye, the women of both places were hideously unappealing compared to New York women. Just goes to show you how we all have different opinions of what is pleasing.
And I have seen more bad haircuts in NYC than in other cities of over 3 million.
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