The Four Ages Of Woman

According to Anna Johnson and her book "all you need to survive, Three Black Skirts", the best makeup for women of all ages is fresh makeup; anything that looks like a compliment rather than a sculptural imposition.  A lot of women get through their twenties with a stump of black eyeliner and a red lipstick only to find ten years later that these tools serve to make them look mean rather than pretty.

TEENS

• Young dewy skin can get away with just about anything you throw on it: glitter, super-bright lipstick, henna body tattoos, too much or none at all eyeliner.  Pale pastel and tropical colors also look amazing.

• Even though you don't want to look like a little girl anymore, the less makeup you wear now, the better.  Youth is for the young and the naturally rosy.

• If you have breakouts, don't plaster foundation and powder over them.  Keep the skin clean and let it breathe.  Don't fry your face in the sun to clear it up, either.  Whatever you do, don't squeeze!

• Everyone says , "you're young, you're beautiful, don't worry."  They're right

TWENTIES

• This is the age of trying to be taken seriously.  Job hunt, love hunt, identity hunt.  There's time for sober looks later.

• Enjoy red lipstick; later, fine feather lines will gather around the mouth, and lips will tend to shrink with age. 

• Liquid eyeliner and other dramatic eye makeup styles look great on eyes with no crow's feet.  Protect your face from the sun and keep the puffy look down with cool tea bags.

• Party on but be frugal with cigarettes, caffeine, junk food, alcohol and drugs.  Later the body pays.

THIRTIES

• Don't  go into neutral at the first sight of a line or a "crepey" eyelid!  Colors can lighten up and lipsticks can soften up, but not too radically.

• Look at your lipstick.  What is it doing for your mouth?  Rosy reds, fleshy pinks, and stains and sheers work better when lips start to get leaner.  Use a lip pencil as a sealant to disguise fraying edges and avoid matte, powdery lipsticks.

• Try using eye shadow instead of a hard, blunt eyeliner to accet the upper and lower lids.  The smudge factor requires skill, so apply delicately.

• Don't scrimp on health care, skin care or rest.  Try to protect the delicate skin around your eyes.

• The thirties are hard on hair.  May start to get thinner, grayer, or generally less lustrous.  Stock up on essential fatty acids found in linseed and fish oil and foods rich in vitamin E and B.

• If motherhood taxes your hair, skin, and body, look into your diet.  Do you need a supplement?  Are you getting enough sleep?  Perk up with a sensual bath scented with geranium, orange, or rose oil.  Don't expect to look like a babe when you're in the thick of the most responsible time of your life.

• Get frisky with a subtle brush of blusher.  Better still, get your circulation going with a few headstands.  Yoga is a great beautifier.

FORTIES AND BEYOND

• Hair matters more at forty than before.  Now is the time to frame your face and define your style.

• Enhance everything you lobe about your face.  If you have gray hair make it dramatic with beautifully shaped brows and a black velvet ribbon.  If you have deep cheek bones, highlight them; if you still love red lipstick, then just wear it!

• Enjoy womanly perfumes, powerful clothes, and dramatic style, or even complete naturalness.  If you're not you now, when will you be?

• Some women hit fifty and don't need to primp like teenagers anymore.  Many striking older vixens simply choose to cut their hair short and wear wild jewelry.  

Anna Johnson should be proud of this book.  It's smart and funny.  It's a down-to-earth survival guide that includes, health, dating, money, career moves, style, sex, nutrition, responsibility, home decor, home repair, body image and friendship.  

Oh yeah, the indispensability of owning three black skirts - one to seduce, one to succeed, one to slob out in.  What else is there?

http://paperrunway.wordpress.com/2011/09/17/meet-anna-johnson-author-of-savvy-chic/  This link will take you to a current guest post by Anna Johnson, where she talks about her most recent book (fourth), Savvy Chic.  She still has that charming wit that I loved so much in this book.