This is fun. I love the comments as well. In the fifties, during summer break from college, I worked at Jordan Marsh (now Macy’s). I worked with na woman who said that her daughter was a top model in NYC. She said that she bought all her cosmetics at the Five and Ten. According to her, the only difference is the perfume…of course, that was 50 years ago!

My favorite make-up is a line made for 40+ women by the eternally gorgeous Lauren Hutton. I love this stuff. I’ve never had problems with breakouts, make-up settling into wrinkles & caking up, discoloring, etc. It’s easy to take off, too. I’ve never had problems with the delivery system. Take a look at the face disc; contour, blush, etc. in one place. Each item can be replaced, so if you use one item up (like the lip balm) but have plenty of contour & so on, you just send away for the lip balm & pop it into place. You don’t have to replace the entire system. Lauren Hutton has great sales on new products & periodic free-shipping deals. http://www.laurenhutton.com/?cid=GooglePPC&jkId=8a8ae4cc1a30c9d9011a3a25… However, before you buy the face disc, or anything else from Lauren Hutton, except for individual brushes or replacement items from the face disc, check out the Lauren Hutton section at HSN. “Systems”, such as the all-in-one Face Disc or “Passport to South Pacific” with co-ordinating contour, concealer, etc. do tend to be cheaper there (though the selection at HSN is constantly changing & is never as good as at Lauren Hutton’s site). I used to use the make-up for older women from Revlon called Vital Radiance. I loved the face primer & the foundation, though I thought the shiny eye colors too young for me. I was heartbroken when Revlon stopped making it, & scoured sales bins at Walgreens & Target to buy up all the foundation in my color.

About 2 years ago I was unhappy with my make up it looked to much and not at all natural to me any more. A friend told me to try Bare minerals and I did. The starter make up kit shocked me but low and behold my 60 dollar kit lasted for well over a year. I did go on to add blusher and eye shadow with liner to my make up routine and love the Bare Minerals make up, it looks and feels like I have nothing on. I love it. Have never gotten into their lip stick and mascara but the loose powder make up, shadow and liners rock! If your interested in finding them check out the Sephora.com or go to a local store. Terry E

I use Bare Escentuals (that is spelled correctly; I typed it straight from the jar) and have never turned back to powder in a compact. This is loose powder in a wide range of shades. I use the very lightest shade. The great thing about their loose powder is you can take a small shaker jar (Sephora sells these for about $4) and mix small amounts of different shades until it is exactly right for your skin tone, if you wish. Other than that I like lipstain for lips and cheeks because it looks so natural. I hate a “made-up” look. And keeping teeth healthy is a no-brainer. Floss and brush every time you eat—it helps keep your system healthy too—less bacteria for your body to contend with.

Well, this is fun ! I’ve never gone into Sephora, WAY too much stuff !, but I will go in to get Bare Escentuals and give it a try. I will not leave my house without at least some shadow and liner, and find lipstick an absolute necessity. I have many friends ( we are in our 60s ) who always looked great with the “natural” look, but now they just look plain O-L-D. As you age everything washes out and is replaced with lines & droops, eyes look tired and lips look like wrinkled white prunes. I went to a funeral this afternoon of a wonderful 98 yr old lady ( went to grammar school with my mother, an end of a generation ) and she looked better dead than my “natural” friends alive…. WHY ?? Makeup. Case closed.

Agreed….a made-up lady looks better than a natural, sans make-up, one. I think, and always have, of my face as a canvas and have been trying to look natural with make up for years….not always works but I do love to experiment and have never had my kids or close friends tell me that I had too much going on. And believe me, my kids would love to tell me if I was over the limit. I think make-up has protected my skin and I have much smoother skin than so many of my peers who have lived in the sun without sunscreen and all the goodies that I have loved and lavished on my skin so much. I do visit a dermatologist yearly and he has always helped me with my skin care. I had to nag my husband for a year to go to see the doctor; he had a sore on his ear that wouldn’t heal and he said he just kept pulling off the scab while he slept. I said “basal cell” and the dermatologist said the same when he called with the path report. Reconstruction surgery before Christmas, now a beautiful new well-formed ear. Please, everyone, especially those who love the sun, have your skin examined each year for possible lesions that should be removed. It will save your life if not a valuable part of your body.

I’m all for teeth whitening (I love Crest Premium White Strips) but not so sure about coloring the hair “down there.” That’s one of the beauty trends I’m letting pass me by. To see the other trends that leave me cold, check out my blog entry “Confessions of a Prude” at http://fortyfabulous.blogspot.com/2009/01/confessions-of-prude.html

I am *almost* there in letting my hair go natural. One more cut, and it’s all the real me. Because of my new white colour, I need to go have my make-up critiqued and have someone help me select a new look. As for “down there”, I’ll be hot pink or purple. Hell, why not.

I love make up. When I turned fifty I started using Retina-micro for acne I got from an overzealous derm who did a glycolic peel on my ultra sensitive skin and also found Bare Escentuals. And for the first time in my life I got compliments on my skin. I thought the first person was making fun of me; I never had good skin. I’m dead white (use Fair in B.E.) and the lightest shade in any other foundation. I was in the first trials of sunblock in the U.S. and have used it since my teens (I don’t have enough melanin to tan) so that and avoiding the sun have kept the wrinkles at bay. I’m like Carmel though, I have blonde hair and green eyes and pink undertones and pinks just don’t work on me, I go apricot or even red for lips. I did m/u for the drama dept in college and I learned to use high and low end products, but my acutely sensitive skin and eyes determine that. And yes, it takes a lot of m/u to look natural. To quote Dolly Parton: “it takes a lot of money to look this cheap.” I also think younger women underestimate the power of fragrance. Jackie O wore Joy; Princess Diana, Diorissimo. I’ve worn Diorissimo since I’ve been sixteen, but fragrance is now politically incorrect. I’m so afraid of offending anyone. I guess when people stopped smoking they started being able to smell. If you live in a dry climate or one that has harsh winters a humidifier is crucial for skin. Helps the furniture and plants too.

I only wear lipstick and eye make up. Never did anything else. Now the eyelashes have thinned, a lot, I can’t afford the extensions but I found the new L’Oreal Double Extend does deliver.

Olay has a product called Definity Color Recapture that I love. It’s a mix of moisturizer and a light foundation. It’s just slightly more coverage than a tinted moisturizer. Then I like to dust over it lightly with L’oreal Bare Naturale mineral powder. It gives me coverage without looking gloppy or gathering in the lines.

After reading all of these, I’m almost embarrassed to say “I’ve never worn make-up in my life.” I have gone to Mary Kay parties and have had make-up on, but didn’t enjoy it. I always felt like I was wearing a mask, a cover up. Oh, I realize women have to look nice, but for me personally, never been interested in the stuff.