Beauty at Every Age
My 16-year-old niece Alanna and her brother Andrew, who’s 17, just spent their annual week’s vacation with me at my home in New York. I was definitely burning the candle at both ends during their visit, but every sleepless moment was worth it. I adore them! We started each day at the crack of dawn exercising with my trainer Mike Gostigian. This was a huge thrill for them. They are both great athletes and Mike is a three-time Olympic Pentathlete and an all-time great guy. After an hour or so I would run to the salon to tend to my appointments while they stayed with him in Central Park doing double and triple sessions running, biking, and maintaining their strength and conditioning programs. They would show up to work after lunch and spend the afternoon learning different aspects of the salon business. At the end of each work day, we had always had a plan. We went to the theater, New York’s hottest restaurants, and, of course, always found time for shopping.We ended a spectacular week at the Today Show for Friday’s “Plaza Ambush Makeover” segment. I always go to bed early the night before the show, but not that night. We were out and about way past my bedtime. Morning came very early and I looked like I needed a quick visit to a plastic surgeon. My niece and nephew woke fifteen minutes before our driver arrived and looked like angels. I looked raped by age.
At first thought, the aging process can be quite depressing. As everyone of a certain age knows, youth is fleeting and aging is progressive. This is only terrifying until you realize the alternative – and then you happily embrace your years and are grateful for your health. Nonetheless, when you look in the mirror, you wonder who is this older person staring back at you? And what can you do to look like your younger self? The first step is to pray that you are lucky in the gene pool. The second step is to look at yourself realistically and decide what small steps you can take to restore a more vital and youthful appearance. Extreme measures usually don’t work. Small changes keep you looking fresh and vibrant. Extreme changes usually just make you different. Often the more extreme the change, the more difficult it is to tell if you are old and look young or young and look old.
Madonna is a super skinny and toned woman who looks older than her
years because of her low body fat. She also makes the mistake of trying
to stay ahead of the trends. At a certain age this just doesn’t work.
One of my closest friends from London once told me something I will
never forget when I was trying on a pair of skinny jeans. He said, “Louis, there is nothing worse than mutton trying to look like lamb.” No truer words were ever spoken.
So how do you keep a youthful appearance? The biggest tip I can give you is to keep your look as natural as possible. This doesn’t mean trying to look like you did ten years ago. This means looking the best you can today.
Pick a haircut that works with the shape of your face. Is your chin line a little softer? Do you have jowls that were not there a few years ago? Wear your hair in the appropriate style to camouflage your changing face shape. A good hairdresser knows how to place layers that can erase years from most faces.
Hair color is the easy way to turn back time. Eliminating grey hair 95% of the time will make you look younger and prettier. I find that most people can appreciate grey hair on other people and almost never on themselves. Most of us eat healthy, exercise, and do all we can to take care of ourselves. Wouldn’t it be ironic to let our hair look grey and faded when this is perhaps the easiest part of our grooming to maintain?
The most difficult part of hair color is picking the right shade. I would go to a hair color specialist for your first application. The hair colorist will be able to look at you with a fresh eye and know what color shade is right for you. You can maintain your color at home if you choose after the color decision has been made. Remember, this is the year of natural looking color. Avoid extreme changes. If your color looks like it comes from a bottle, it will make you look older and out-of-date.
Makeup is key. Remember that less makeup is more flattering on aging skin. Heavy makeup exaggerates wrinkles in a matter of minutes. Lipstick and lightly applied eye color is all most woman need to look more vibrant.
Keep your beauty routine age-appropriate and you will always look timeless. Looking fresh, vital, and your most beautiful can become frustrating with age. Remember the most simple beauty routines often keep woman looking their best.
More from Louis Licari
So how do you keep a youthful appearance? The biggest tip I can give you is to keep your look as natural as possible. This doesn’t mean trying to look like you did ten years ago. This means looking the best you can today.
Pick a haircut that works with the shape of your face. Is your chin line a little softer? Do you have jowls that were not there a few years ago? Wear your hair in the appropriate style to camouflage your changing face shape. A good hairdresser knows how to place layers that can erase years from most faces.
Hair color is the easy way to turn back time. Eliminating grey hair 95% of the time will make you look younger and prettier. I find that most people can appreciate grey hair on other people and almost never on themselves. Most of us eat healthy, exercise, and do all we can to take care of ourselves. Wouldn’t it be ironic to let our hair look grey and faded when this is perhaps the easiest part of our grooming to maintain?
The most difficult part of hair color is picking the right shade. I would go to a hair color specialist for your first application. The hair colorist will be able to look at you with a fresh eye and know what color shade is right for you. You can maintain your color at home if you choose after the color decision has been made. Remember, this is the year of natural looking color. Avoid extreme changes. If your color looks like it comes from a bottle, it will make you look older and out-of-date.
Makeup is key. Remember that less makeup is more flattering on aging skin. Heavy makeup exaggerates wrinkles in a matter of minutes. Lipstick and lightly applied eye color is all most woman need to look more vibrant.
Keep your beauty routine age-appropriate and you will always look timeless. Looking fresh, vital, and your most beautiful can become frustrating with age. Remember the most simple beauty routines often keep woman looking their best.
More from Louis Licari
- Try on new hairstyles from Louis Licari with Makeover-o-Matic
- Get more info from the Today show on iVillage
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