How To Look Fashionable and Fabulous at 50

My abject apologies for not updating my blog over the last few weeks. My fiancee has returned from sea and I have been up to my neck in wedding plans (only two and a half weeks to go!)

Last week I went for the first fitting of my wedding gown (after ordering it 5 months ago) and I was profoundly grateful that I could actually get into it (ok so I could probably lose a couple of pounds for comfort - but what's comfort got to do with anything!!)

As I was trying it on, I remembered my daughter's comments when I was trying to decide which dress to go for back in April. The one thing she kept repeating as I tried on gown after gown, was "Don't forget mum, it needs to be age appropriate"!

Looking good at 50 is very much about understanding that your limitations. Being fashionable at 50 is great but looking like 'mutton dressed as lamb' isn't! Having said that, neither do you want to be mistaken for your grandmother!

The following simple rules can help to make sure you look like Helen Mirren rather than Dame Edna Everage!

• Wear high heels. I know most of you will groan and say that you can’t possibly walk in 4 inch heels but get used to it. High heels will make your legs look longer and more shapely.
• Wear dresses and skirts no shorter than your knee and, unless you're attending a red carpet event (you never know!), they should be no longer than the bottom of your calf. Think sexy but elegant..!
  
• Cover the tops of your arms. This doesn’t necessarily mean long sleeves. Tops that support your bust but reveal your shoulders can look incredibly sexy while still hiding the bingo wings!
• Always suck in your stomach. This becomes natural after a while and helps to give you height, pushes out your boobs and streamlines your torso.
• Always wear a good bra. Nothing is guaranteed to make you look more frumpy than a sagging, ill fitting bra. You should choose a bra that lifts your boobs while making sure that it fits correctly. It is always a good idea to get professional help if you’re unsure of your cup size – most good department stores provide a free bra fitting service.
• Choose a good foundation. It is not necessary to put your foundation on with a trowel just because your face is not as young as it was. The key is to make sure that you choose the right color for your skin tone. An orange line around your chin is not a good look. Ask for professional help at a make up counter in a department store if you are unsure what color/coverage works best for you.

So, if you keep the phrase 'age appropriate' in your head when you're trying on clothes, then add 'sexy but elegant' to the mix, it really is actually quite easy to look fashionable and fabulous at 50!

I hope my partner agrees on the 16 October!

Formerly Hot!

I have recently read a review of a bestselling book by an American journalist called 'My Formerly Hot Life'

Apparently there are several clues to indicate that you are no longer 'hot', including "You've noticed the undersides of your upper arms have started to flap like the plastic bunting hanging outside used car dealerships"!

Well I have to say that I'm not overly fond of my bingo wings but I firmly refute the fact that I am no longer hot!

I will admit that I am middle aged (reluctantly and only when my girls asked me how many people I knew who were over 100!) but I am definitely not three steps away from a cardy and a pipe. I am in fact having the best time of my life.

I have the confidence and experience that being a mature woman gives you. I love to get dressed up and when I'm out, I don't waste my time wondering if anyone is looking at me, I focus on having interesting conversations with interesting people. I might not have the body of a 20 year old (if I ever did!) but I know that I am fun to be with - I can laugh at myself. I think it was George Bernard Shaw who said that youth is wasted on the young, and he was so right.

Bur most of all I have learned that sex appeal is all in the mind. It doesn't matter if it takes me a bag full of cosmetics to achieve that 'no make-up glow', I know that I have that confidence and inner glow which is so often lacking in younger women.

Would I like to be 20 again? Of course. I bemoan the fact that I have laughter lines, eye bags and can no longer wear some of the latest crazy fashions, but life is too short to spend it wishing, and you know what? Maybe I no longer have the fashion freedom that I once had (hot pants are probably not a good look at 50!) but I do have an amazing collection of shoes!

Bleached Hair, Fringes and Middle Age

Had my hair trimmed and highlighted yesterday, after a week in the sun, it was looking tired and in desperate need of a cut. I'm very lucky that my son-in-law (James) is a fabulous hairdresser and always makes me feel as though my face has had an instant pick me up after he's finished.

He's also very blunt about what I should and shouldn't do with my hair as a 50 year old. A few years ago my hair was bleached blond, short and (I thought) quite funky. After my mother nagged me incessantly to grow it longer (she said I'd never get a man if I kept it short!) I decided to give in and over the next year allowed my hair to grow down to my shoulders. It was still bleached and James told me in no uncertain terms that I was beginning to look just like my mother (who's now approaching 80!)

The problem with bleached blond hair is that it looks great if you're young or you have an ultra short spiky crop and again if you're elderly and don't want to look like a little old lady with gray hair, but when you're middle aged (who me?) it just puts years on you.

I wisely followed his advice and toned my hair down to caramel highlights which everyone said make me look 10 years younger (well ok, maybe 5 or 6!)

I followed his advice again yesterday and had a fringe cut into my hair. He said this would help to hide frown lines on my forehead (what frown lines, I never frown!) and help me to look more youthful.

Once again he was right

Sun, Sea and...Haemorrhoid Cream!

Well here I am back in front of my computer listening to the pouring rain in good old England after a scorching week in Tenerife doing nothing but relaxing in the sun.

Of course during my holiday I was eating too much rich food (and drinking too much wine!) which in turn lead to a flare up of the dreaded haemorrhoid (had since I gave birth to a 9 pound baby 25 years ago I'm afraid-I'm sure many of you can relate!) I immediately headed to a local pharmacy and bought some very effective cream.

Lying by the pool some time later I was told by my sister that she'd recently heard that haemorrhoid cream can be very effective in treating under eye bags and wrinkles!

I don't know about you but the thought of putting something under my eyes that actually should be used at the other end of my anatomy does not appeal at all..! Does anybody actually do this?

Think I'll stick with my Naturally Skinsational ebook skincare recipes. Now going off to try the firming facial mask which involves egg whites, gelatin, mint leaves and grapefruit - much more healthy I think!

Will let you know how it goes.

Commerical V Natural Skin Care Products: Which Should You Use?

Since turning 50 my thoughts have inevitably turned to towards finding effective skin care products that won't necessitate eating nothing but beans on toast for the foreseeable future (although I suppose I might lose weight!) We are constantly bombarded with adverts telling us about the latest 'must have' miracle cream with a list of ingredients as long as your arm (which I can't read unless I've got my glasses on, but it all sounds very scientific so it must work - mustn't it?!)

Seriously though, if you really do read the small print, you begin to realize that most anti aging skin care products out there are based on some form of natural ingredient containing anti aging properties together with a lot of chemical additives and stabilizers which are actually included to prolong the shelf life of the product.

This led me to thinking: Is it possible to use the natural ingredients without the fancy packaging?

Well amazingly it is.

I found a brilliant skin care recipe ebook called 'Naturally Skinsational'. The author, Sue Dolan, M.Ed., is a researcher and instructor on anti aging skin care and facial rejuvenation for the Skin Care Resource Center and is an expert author on aging skin concerns. Sue spent years researching in to the simplest, most natural and cost effective skin care treatments which then evolved in to a book.

In Naturally Skinsational there are some wonderfully simple and very effective natural recipes that you can put together yourself using ingredients can be found right in your own kitchen!

So far I have used the following skin care recipes which left my skin feeling wonderfully vibrant:

Honey Almond Scrub - this combines the natural anti aging properties of honey (which include antiseptic; antibacterial; anti-inflammatory; healing and emollient attributes), along with almonds (which have a number of rejuvenating properties including a natural source of copper, iron and vitamin E).

Rich Avocado Face Mask - avocados have a treasure trove of anti aging attributes. They are full of vitamins A, D and E, along with proteins lecithin; beta-carotene and potassium. They are also high in emollient qualities which work to heal sun damaged skin, scarring and reduce age spots (I will definitely be taking a tub to Tenerife tomorrow!)

There are more than 150 rejuvenating skin care recipes in the Naturally Skinsational ebook including masks; peels; moisturizers; spritzers; steams; under eye treatments and facials and I can't wait to try them all!

This book is an absolute treasure. If you're interested in seeing your skin look younger, healthier and more vibrant while saving yourself ridiculous amounts of money (and, face it, aren't we all...?)

Click Here!

Why are we still dying for a tan?

I read an article with above heading this week. I was amazed and appalled to see that, despite all the education and dire warnings, people are still being just as irresponsible in the sun as they've always been. It appears that young adults are the worst culprits with one British teenager telling the reporter that her parents thought she was wearing factor 15 but actually it was cooking oil! In fact malignant melanoma is the second most common cancer in young adults (aged 15-34) in the UK today. This, quite simply, scares the pants off me.

I am quite obsessive about slathering factor 30 regularly all over my body while sunbathing and am very careful not to put any of my face in the sun (I really don't need any help with the wrinkles!) I also nag my two daughters (aged 28 and 25) incessantly about the dangers of sunbathing without a high factor protection and, up until reading the above report, I fully believed that they were listening to me. However, now I'm not so sure. Next week I am taking them both away on holiday to Tenerife and you can rest assured that I will be handing out the bottles of sun creme bought by yours truly at the beginning of the holiday and sniffing them every morning. Woe betide anyone who smells like a bag of french fries!

Star Facial Treatment

My fiancee has now gone off to sea so I have a little more time to devote to pampering myself and my first step was to go to a local beauty clinic for a 'Hydradermie' facial. This is an exclusive Guinot treatment which claims to make your skin look 'brand new' in one relaxing hour. Well, it was definitely relaxing - my own snores woke me up on a couple of occasions! My skin looked rested and clearer after the treatment but it certainly didn't knock ten years off me. However, I was told that I should follow a Hydrademie course of three treatments followed by a maintenance treatment every month which will (I am reliably informed) result in my skin looking clearer, smoother and younger looking. I am due to go for treatment number two at the beginning of September. Bring it on...!