Diane Keaton isn't just a role model. She's my aging inspiration.
When I asked her about adding a few years, the style trendsetter explained how she looks at age and beauty.
"I do care about what other people think. I have my issues with my looks. But I feel if I frame it right, I'll look just a little bit better than what I was given."
What great advice! You don't have to look 20. You don't have to look like a certain celebrity. What if your goal was to look a little bit better than where you started?
This brings me to my trip to my hometown Chicago last weekend.
I was there to see family and cover a Bruce Springsteen concert at Wrigley Field. I promise I won't gush about Bruce here. We'll save that for another blog!
Between the show and visiting, I managed to grab my fabulous Aunt Cheryl and say, "My wedding is in 30 days. I need a makeover."
Off to Michigan Avenue we went to Bloomies where it's actually tough to leave the floor with the makeup and shoes. In fact, you could spend a week there.
Here is what happened after I sat down in that navy blue Chanel chair and said, "I'm the bride. I'm not 20. Help!"
A few Chanel lessons for all of us to incorporate into our daily makeup routine:
*Ditch the eyeliner. My fabulous makeup artist said to get rid of my black and brown eyeliner pencils because they're just too harsh at this age. Without wetting his brush, he took a swipe of dark eye shadow and did a thin line on the top of my lid and a thinner one on the bottom. It was a much softer look – and far easier. No more worrying about making the line too thick. Genius!
*Update your shadow. I suggested my favorite eye shadow base in Lily (a safe light pink) and my expert shook his head as if I was living in the dark ages. Ignoring my pledge that pink was it, he started grabbing brushes and swirling product. In the end, he tried a pearl grey, which is a color I wouldn't have thought of in a million years as an eye shadow. It looked so great that I'm using it daily. So keep an open mind and let the experts experiment. You don't have to buy what they try, but take this opportunity to try something new and get out of your shadow rut. By the way, I learned that pink tones can actually be aging on your eyes.
*Use a little foundation. I take great care of my skin, but my expert said that you don't have to wait for a bigger occasion to take a little foundation, put it on a foundation brush and give yourself a quick once over. It's amazingly de-aging, easy, and even provided some SPF for my skin. Just make sure to wash at night. You don't want to sleep in foundation – even Chanel foundation.
*Think gloss instead of lipstick. I'm a big fan of the amazing Chanel lipsticks, but my expert suggested a deep rose gloss covered by a dot of clear gloss that I smushed around. (And I do mean a dot. You don't want your lips to look like an oil slick). Again, it was a deep, rich lip, but it had softness to it that you can't find in a lipstick. Plus, the Chanel glosses are such high quality that they're also moisturizing. Tip: Take a washcloth, wet it with warm water, and give your lips a gentle exfoliation once a week. Yes, your lips are also covered in dry skin that makes it impossible for product to seep through and work. Get rid of those dead skin cells. Just don't rub too hard. You don't want to give yourself chapped lips.
*Try two coatings of mascara done each eye at a time to prevent clumping. Of course, he did curl my lashes first, which really does open up your eyes. TIP: At home, heat up your eyelash curler by using your blow dryer to warm it (don't get it too hot). It turns your eyelash curler into a bit of a curling iron.
*Walk away. After a quick swipe of light colored blush, he was done. And the entire look could have been great for a day at the office or with a little deeper application of shadow could have gone out on the town.
In the end, it was just like my hero Diane Keaton said. Me. New and improved.
