Over 50 Beauty and Health Right Where I Am

August is slipping away. I struggle to not worry about the winds and damp weather ahead. Fear creeps in since September will bring challenges. After two and half months of medicine for Lupus, it was stopped. I’m recovering from the damage it caused. The new specialist is unsure the disease causing chaos is Lupus or my original diagnosis of Crohn’s at age 18. While the root cause remains unclear, I am getting clearer in the absence of cure. I seem allergic to everything from weather to sleep to healthy fats. But the intensity of my negative moods, joint pain, and muscle aches has calmed. Nails, hair, and eyelashes are growing. My skin’s texture has improved. My sense of resiliency is stronger. Small victories bring a spark of hope. Over 50 Beauty & Health Finds share where I’m at as I move forward as an almost 60, magnificent, divine specimen of a work in progress.

I independently selected products in this post—if you buy from one of my links, I may earn a commission.

Over 50 Beauty and Health

Skin Matters: Over 50 Beauty and Health

Summer to fall transitions are the worst for my skin and hair for as long as I can remember. I have learned to be extra gentle and mindful to minimize familiar flares.

It’s not just weather changes and ultraviolet light which may compromise skin. We need to also absorb nutrients our cells and organs need to stay healthy. With inflammation issues, damage often shows up in the health of skin.

Lip Color That Lingers & Protects

Here is the lip stain I have worn for many years to lock in moisture. I recommend ordering it online since this color (Miracle Mauve) is ALWAYS sold out and missing from drugstore shelves. That should tell you something!

I’m still sold on this hydrating lip gloss which is also technically a lip plumper and the BEST color (Unbuttoned). No tingle, no sticky business, no nonsense; just plumpy goodness.

One of the perks of being almost 60 is relearning your worth. If you have yet to sense that you are a cosmic goddess devouring the moon, DON’T LOSE HEART.

You can discover or rediscover your worthiness. Life provides a diverse collection of wondrous joy and suffering as your education. Staying open to the discoveries with curiosity is the hard part but where the fruit is. 🙂

As seasons change, the needs of our skin do too. Let’s chat about products for extra dry/mature/sensitive/sun-damaged skin.

Healing Benefits of COLOSTRUM

Heard about colostrum? I included it on the mood board below because I am noticing positive effects.

ARMRA colostrum was not on my radar until someone who works in healthcare and knows of my complicated autoimmune condition and GI woes suggested I peek at peptides. This led to looking into how colostrum with its 400+ bioactive nutrients could influence health at the cellular level. I watched an interview with the brand’s founder, a doctor who nearly lost her life to a rare GI complication and needed to get well enough for a lifesaving surgery.

Her desperation feels familiar. I started dry scoops of ARMRA colostrum at the height of my unwellness without much expectation. Turns out my gut, skin, hair, and nails responded to this lovely colostrum powder. Within a week, I was seeing and feeling the GI and skin benefits.

There’s always something new in health and wellness offering hope. I’m so grateful this source of nutrition adds a layer of healthy protection and goodness to my everyday.

Some folks decide to try ARMRA simply to battle bloating. Bloating?

Wellness, Weight & Under the Skin

What would an underweight menopausal woman know about bloat? Girl! Lifetime of GI woes here! Bloating can happen even when you’re stuck in the 80s (so to speak) like me. (Fun fact: cellulite doesn’t budge or disappear for me until my weight falls below 88 pounds. Seriously! It tells me something about the insanity of standards imposed by modern culture.)

Cellulite for me now signifies softness, curves, and protective feminine cushioning for the preciousness underneath. “Ballerina bod” and severely thin bodies online sell clothing and everything under the sun, but my own physique reflects not discipline but detriment when things are not working harmoniously.

Aging isn’t a sudden sorrowful decline we make after age 35; it’s a process our whole lives through.

Uncomplicated Skincare Routine

My sensitive, rosacea-prone mature skin needs all the soothing help it can get.

If fewer steps in a routine appeal, bet you’ll dig mine:

If you have considered Jenni Kayne’s skin care line (Oak Essentials) and need a nudge? USE my referral CODE here to get $25 off!

While the whole routine offers value ($100 savings when you order the set rather than separate products), I was initially unsure about the investment and ordered the mask. Soooo good that I immediately wanted the full routine!

And then, BOOOOOO, the set was sold out for months. I recommend at least ordering the mini/travel skin care routine or this Oak Essentials Ritual Oil.

Finds for Healthier >50 Skin & Makeup

Fashion Finds

I thought this was a cheery color that could work across the seasons:

In fall, I like to layer a denim or chambray shirt over a turtleneck and wear a ponytail and bronzer for a very understated everyday classic look.

What about flattering eyeglasses? I need to decide on new frames!

Leggings

When you are after organic cotton and fair trade certified clothing:

Should you be serious about smoothing and extra support…

If you’re into superior stretch Lycra power and a not too high waist…

Coach Crossbodies

I’m into this Coach bag’s size and style.

Pajamawear

If you have been hangin’ out here for any length of time, you may recall I’m a pajamanista. This style is still my reigning favorite:

Gourmand Scent

This is now a daily essential, and even if you feel you have tried every vanilla scent out there, end your search here!

I also wear this vanilla layered with Phlur’s coconut skin which is fantastic as a hair fragrance too.

Over 50 Daily Hair Favs

Over 50 hair and chemically processed hair can be fragile and require extra TLC. Here is a leave-in treatment for dry ends prone to split. Organic bergamot, mandarin, ylang ylang and more plant essences impart their pure loveliness.

I actually use this Redken acidic bonding concentrate every other time I wash my hair…instant gratification.

I remain enamored with this eye color (in “Slip”) after seeing it on a favorite vlogger and reading reviews from fans over 50:

Psst…good to know:

Favorite Foundation, Blush & Mascara

Lately I have been skipping regular foundation in favor of wearing RMS Beauty’s Unconcealer (below) just where I need it.

But for special occasions, this luxurious Chanel foundation works like skincare and leaves the skin unbelievably smooth and soft at the end of the day. How does it do that?

Soooooo expensive and not for everyone, but it lasts a good long time. 🙂

Westman Atelier Clean Makeup

I find watching makeup artist Gucci Westman apply makeup très relaxant. Gucci approaches makeup as an artist less interested in transformation than revealing beauty.

If you’re serious about investing in good-for-the-skin products that multitask, this one is concealer AND foundation:

Cream blushes work so well for over 50 skin, and these below can double as lip color:

I continue to depend on this cheek and lip color (in shade Werk) from MILK. Very sheer and looks equally good on my eyelids which is surprising. I think pinks are tricky to wear on the eyes, but this makes mine look healthier.

If you love the clean makeup line Ilia, you may also be interested in this kit at a great price.

Pro SHOWS Us How We Apply Makeup the Wrong Way

So helpful!

Another helpful makeup tip gleaned; I was using a too dark shade on my light brows…didn’t even know a shade like grey (which I need for its light ashy-ness) existed.

Personal Reflections & Health

Happy to report some much needed relief from autoimmune symptoms since I stopped the medicine we hoped would calm my immune system. I have never experienced months with that level of joint pain, muscle weakness, and rage in my entire life. I also continued to lose weight even though there was some improvement in GI symptoms. (My hunch is the flare was resolving at the time the medicine was started.)

I continue to do embodiment work and address emotional health. The mood disturbance from medicine brought both grief and relief which I can’t yet easily describe. My compassion has grown for folks who live with chronic back pain and joint issues. So many new thoughts about what it means to heal in the absence of cure. (And what healing even means…is it the absence of pain or the presence of aliveness!?!)

For months I was in a mode of survival, and I’m not yet thriving or feeling much confidence. But I’m finding new sources of stability and strength as my focus turns to wholeness and not some aspirational idea of what “recovery” or long remission look like. I’m letting go of expectations. This path is sacred. I need grace. I want to grow more permeable to it so that grace is also flowing outward.

As I journal and write a book which is taking far longer than I imagined, I am opening to new understanding. I’m not special. My suffering and your suffering truly are one suffering.

A year ago when I felt like a big ol’ mess, I imagined my Southern relatives describing me as ‘bless her heart, her cornbread isn’t done in the middle.’ That remains as true as ever. But I am detaching from ideas of “doneness.” I am more cake than cornbread. There are worse things than underbaked brownies.

There’s work to do. I’m trying to grow more compassionate toward myself.

I’m grateful for the good days that arrive. For the love I feel in my heart toward life and humanity.

Thank you for reading.

Right where I am, I consider how REGRESSION, RESURRECTION, and RESTORATION are reflected in my present reality so I can have hope and see the story is ever unfolding.

Peace to you right where you are.

-michele

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