Caroline Manzo: Beauty Tips from "The Real Housewives of New Jersey"

You can take the housewife out of the house.

But you can't take "The Housewife" out of the woman. Right now, Caroline Manzo, the spitfire redhead, is talking about her newfound life of fame.

"People know your dog's name!" marvels the voice of reason on "The Real Housewives of New Jersey." "They know so much about my life. Strangers are invested in my day.

"I hear from tons of women over 40, 'I really relate to you, Caroline,'" she says.

Now, it's time to go out and meet the fans.

Caroline Manzo likens the "Real Housewives" live tour to running away to join a band.

The tour kicks off on Oct 1 in Atlantic City with Caroline, LuAnn de Lesseps ("New York"), Kyle Richards ("Beverly Hills") and Vicki Gunvalson ("Orange County").

She joins other "Housewives" on the tour including Nene Leakes ("Atlanta), Lisa Vanderpump ("Beverly Hills) and Jill Zarin ("New York"). Tickets range from $49.50 to $170 for the red carpet package (you get to have drinks with the ladies!).

Before she hit the road, I wanted her beauty secrets.

She's from Jersey!

Can you say open book?

CAROLINE MANZO'S BEAUTY SECRETS

Ask Caroline – with her great short red 'do and beautiful baby blues – for her beauty secrets and she seems flattered and flustered.

She says beauty is actually on her mind now that she is a midlifer.

"Beauty is an evolution," she says. "Now, I'm older. I'm not so worried or invested in my kids anymore. They're gone. Now, it's time for me.

"I'm not Mommy," she says. "It's about shifting your attitude and thinking, 'OK, Caroline, how do you want to feel today. What can you do to make yourself happy?'

"It's not about do the kids have their homework or do I have to drive to baseball, dance or a parent teacher conference.

"Now, it's my turn," she says.

Part of that evolution was actually chopping off her longer locks of the past.

"Yes, I had long hair for many years," she says. "I cut it off when I was pregnant ten years ago. I don't want to stand in the mirror and worry about what I look like or if my hair is perfect.

She says the color is thanks to the supermarket. "I do bottled red," she says with a laugh. "There are no products in my hair at all. My hair just has a natural wave to it. It feathers back all by itself."

She says the rest of her beauty routine includes "wearing more makeup now."

She also keeps the fashion simple. "I usually wear flats. It's rare to see me in heels. "Again, I'm more worried about what I do rather than what I look like," she says. "Of course, I don't want to look like a hot mess."

She does refuse to dress up to go buy pasta at the supermarket.

"I refuse to go to the grocery store looking like I'm at a photo shoot," she says. "I'm still me. I ran to the grocery on Christmas day with a bare face. I ran into fans and said, 'I look this way.'

"Do I put on makeup to go to the store? No," she says. "If I'm cooking for 40 people and run out of milk then I race out with no makeup."

SKIN CARE AND DIET: DON'T HOLD THE PASTA

Caroline says she reaches for skin care products from the good doc.

"I love Dr. Perricone. His products are the best. I take his vitamins. But I also like Oil of Olay," she says. "It shifts."

She says eating right in her Italian kitchen isn't easy.

"It's very hard to lose weight because I love bread. I love cheese," she says. "I love pasta.

"That's my real challenge these days," she moans.

She will jump on the treadmill. "I've done weight and Pilates. But I'm not a big fan. The treadmill is what I do. It's especially important at my age."

"I just turned 50 last week. I have to really start thinking about the health aspect rather than the vanity aspect of it," she says.

LIFE AS A REAL HOUSEWIFE AND TURING 50

What did she do for her 50^th birthday? It didn't involve any of her show's famous or should we say infamous table flipping.

"I had a great birthday. I spent it with my kids and my husband. It was very low key and I enjoyed it," she says.

She doesn't have an issue with 50.

"Listen, it's better than the alternative. I'm 50. I live a wonderful life. I have no regrets.

"There is nothing wrong with aging," she says. "I plan to age gracefully. I'm not going to fight it.

"Aging well comes with a sense of self," she says. "I'm going with it. I'm going to do the best with 50 that I can."

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