skincare, makeup, and boosting your immune system

there are so many questions about my skincare routine. makeup also ranks high on your list of want-to-knows.  and so does boosting your immune system.  so, i thought i’d roll up all three topics into one mega-post.  i’m definitely not a beauty expert by any stretch of the imagination. but i’ve tried my best through the years to stay current with the latest and greatest beauty products. because skincare products do make a difference with how our skin looks. and there’s good news.  even if you’ve neglected your skin for years, it’s never too late to put a beauty regimen in place. these are a few of the ingredients i look for when it comes to skincare products: vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, peptides, and retin A. it’s not an inclusive list, but it’s a start. i also love products that use natural ingredients too.

nutrition

but i would be remiss if i didn’t touch on the subject of nutrition. yes, those fruits and veggies, the good fats, protein, seeds, and nuts are loaded with nutrients that keep our skin glowing and boost our immune system. consuming them every day keeps our immune system in tip-top condition. and we all want a vibrant, healthy immune system in place 365 days a year. it’s the first line of defense our body uses against alien microorganisms. a strong immune system doesn’t make us invincible, but it does make a difference. there is no doubt about it fitness begins with food. but for whatever reason, as we age, we have a false assumption that gaining weight is a given. if our lifestyle slows down  considerably, then we’ll require fewer calories, so we may need to tweak our diet. but excess body fat increases the risks of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and a slew of other auto-immune diseases, which impairs our immune system. so we need to be vigilante with what we eat. but just like skincare, it’s never too late to change bad habits into good habits. and there’s no better time to work on your immune system than today. a diet filled with the micronutrients and macronutrients is so important. but it can be challenging getting everything we need through food alone, so adding a daily dose of vitamins and supplements is an excellent idea.

beauty routine

but let’s tackle beauty first. here’s what my skin looks like at sixty one sans makeup. yes, i have uneven skin tone and hyper-pigmentation due to worshipping the sun all through the seventies and eighties. if i could turn back time, i’d definitely have worn sunscreen and lots of hats. and, yes, i have fine lines and wrinkles. i’ve earned every one. and, no, i don’t want to look like i’m forty, so i haven’t turned to cosmetic treatments or fillers. i don’t know why we think that looking younger means we look better. for me, i just want to look healthy and vibrant. 

moisturizer | eye cream | cc cream | blush | highlighter | eyeshadow | eye pencil | mascara | brow pencil | lipstick | perfecting brush

secret sauce | brow power | bye bye under eye cream | cc cream | blow out lash | skin perfecting brush

as a lifestyle blogger i try lots and lots of products. IT cosmetics rank high on my must-have list.

boosting our immune system

now onto boosting our immune system. there’s no easy fix or overnight gimmick to a healthy microbiome but we can help mold it to give us the best health that we can. it boils down to making the right choices every day. why is a healthy gut so important? science is learning more and more about how our gut affects every part of our body, including our brain and immune system. most of our immune system is located in our gut so if that eco-system is disrupted then our immune system is compromised. and that’s what we don’t want. our gut health and our immune system go hand in hand so i’ll share a bit about how i maintain a healthy microbiome.

as i mentioned fitness begins with food so let’s start there. first i believe in a balanced diet so i’m neither vegan, carnivore, paleo, low carb, or keto. i may select a keto friendly recipe or a vegetarian recipe from time-to-time as i’m always looking for delicious and nutritious meals. there are good carbs or whole carbs in the form of veggies that we definitely need in our diet. but i do steer clear of bad or refined carbs included in sugar sweetened beverages, bread, pasta, and pastries. protein found in beef, pork, or chicken is so important to our overall health as it is a macronutrient that builds muscle and bone and repairs tissue so that’s included in my diet too. again, i think in terms of balanced.

a healthy diet – eat lot’s of food rich in micornutrients. spinach, kale, broccoli, bell peppers. think green leafy salads. and don’t forget about the healthy fats found in salmon, tuna, sardines, anchovies, avocados, olive oil. add mushrooms, garlic, onions, ginger and turmeric into your diet as they munch up virus and bad bacteria and are loaded with anti-oxidants. bone broth is rich in collagen and it helps repair our gut. eggs got a bad rap for years but they are a good source of vitamin D and choline an important nutrient for our brains.

supplements – we don’t always get all the nutrients we need through diet alone. that’s when vitamins and supplement step in. here’s what i add to my daily regimen.

fish oil is a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids that decrease inflammation and boosts your immune system. magnesium helps adjust blood glucose, keeps our immune system healthy, and has anti-inflammatory benefits.

vitamin D3 helps with the absorption of calcium, promotes bone growth, regulates your mood and helps fight disease.

B12 boosts your energy, improves memory and helps prevent heart disease.

prebiotics and probiotics work in synergy with each other to support the microbiome by maintaining a healthy colony of bacteria and other microorganisms. you don’t have to take a prebiotic for a probiotic to work but prebiotic acts as a fertilizer for the good bacteria. probiotics are called the ‘good’ bacteria as they keep our gut microbiome healthy. probiotics also help replace the ‘good’ bacteria when it’s been lost by taking antibiotics.

vitamin C supports collagen, and provides antioxidant support.

here’s a recipe to give your immune system a little extra support right now. both ginger and turmeric have powerful nutritional value that includes iron, calcium, magnesium and copper.

everything we eat matters. the healthier the foods we eat the better we feel and the better our skin will look. any number of chronic skin problems can be linked to our diet. the less attention we pay to healthy food choices the more problems we’ll see with our skin. if we starve our skin long enough it’s going to show. but if we want fabulous looking skin it all starts with a healthy, balanced diet.

Beth Djalali

is the Founder and CEO of Style at a Certain Age. She writes Sundays-Fridays on all topics ranging from fashion, health, wellness, home design and more.

She’s 65, 5’8, and size 8.

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