How To Look Good Over 40 Without Trying Too Hard
I am going to let you in on a little beauty secret my friends. I’ve started noticing a pattern. A power combination if you will, that I use on myself when I know I have little time to do my makeup. This is usually reserved for when I am rushing out of the door for a lunch date, meeting, or just need to get out of the house to run an errand where I know I’ll definitely run into someone I know!! I’m sure you all have that “place” in town where it’s guaranteed you’ll run into someone you know! Mine are the local Publix, Target, and two restaurants I frequent within 5 miles of my house. I’d love to hear in the comments what places you go in your community where you’ll always run into a friend or colleague 🙂 So today I am sharing How To Look Good Over 40 Without Trying Too Hard.
Aside from throwing on a great oversized solid white or striped button-down shirt (which is a go-to when I’m overwhelmed with what to wear!) here is my secret sauce combination of 4 items I use to decorate my face that makes me look put together and intentional in no time flat…
TL;DR
Jennifer shares How To Look Good Over 40 Without Trying Too Hard
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How To Look Good Over 40 Without Trying Too Hard
How to Look Good Over 40
Fashion Reading Glasses *or Blue Light Glasses for those with great vision. I figure since I am speaking to my over 40 audience, I’m pretty sure most of you need to wear some sort of glasses to see where you’re going or what you’re reading! I’m a big fan of the brands Peepers (super affordable and Oprah’s faves) and Warby Parker (for higher end prescription glasses).
Spectacles with a little pizazz are always a fun way to add interest to the face - no makeup skills needed. The ones I probably wear the most often are clear acrylic ones, style To The Max, that are wonderfully universal for any outfit I throw on.
I also love a good oversized pair in a bold fashion color like red or dark green, which I always get compliments on this Center Stage style. Then I have a couple pair that are more round and tortoiseshell that look super smart and chic in style Stardust. My progressives (which I’m still getting used to!) are similar to the style Esme from Warby Parker..
A Favorite Lip Product. It can be a high shine lip gloss or bold matte shade of lipcolor like hot pink, coral, or red. No bare lips or clear chapstick need apply. Your lips are one of the only parts of your face that are truly visible when wearing eye glasses, so take this opportunity to drench them in color and/or shine.
Applying lipstick or gloss is the quickest, easiest, and most foolproof way to look like you cared a little about your appearance and distracts from lack of makeup elsewhere.
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Some of the shades I’m wearing in these photos range from:
Green glasses: My bright poppy red matte shade, is the Colorstay Suede Ink in “First Class” with built-in lip primer, by Revlon, $10. It’s such a fun drugstore shade.
Clear acrylic glasses: Sheer cherry pink lip oil is the PhD Hybrid Hydrating Lip oil by Haus Labs, $26. Also wearing a red longwear combo by Maybelline of their Vinyl Lip Inks in “Wicked” + “Red Hot,” $10 each. You can see how I layer them in action on my Instagram reel here.
Round tortoiseshell glasses: It’s the nude pink gloss on everyone's lips! The Fenty Beauty gloss bomb luminizer in “Fenty Glow,” $22.
Brown + green tortoiseshell frames: My bright orange red matte lips are by GXVE Beauty I’m Still Here Clean matte liquid lipstick, $24, in shade “Space Buns.”
Clear progressive lenses: Iconic Nars “Schiap” lipstick which is the ultimate bright vivid fuschia pink, $26. This shade is certainly not for the faint of heart, but when I put it on, I actually feel unstoppable and extremely empowered.
Lots of Mascara. If you’re gonna wear ONE piece of eye makeup, it must be a great mascara to amplify your peepers in an instant. My current recommendations of mascaras I rely on are: for a clean tubing mascara, the Caliray Come Hell Or High Water, $24, is incredible at giving gorgeous full volume lashes. My affordable must have that I could be on my 5th tube so far, is the Essence one I mentioned here in my “Drugstore Makeup I Rely On” post, if you missed it! It’s only 5 bucks and hasn’t gone up in price - even during inflation! Ha!
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And it can’t be restated enough - take 30 seconds to curl your lashes with a lash curler beforehand for ultimate mascara impact. I promise you - you’ll be amazed with how much more open your eyes will look. The rose gold Tweezerman pro curler, $24, is one of the best.
Big/Statement Earrings and/or Necklace. I don’t shy away from large or statement earrings or layering of necklaces. They’re an accessory to the face in the best way. In the words of the late fashionista, Iris Apfel, when it comes to accessorizing - “An outfit is only as good as the accessories you pair it with!” She also compared them to the herbs and spices of an outfit - it’s like giving zest and zing to a boring dish!
If you worry about your earlobes continuing to stretch as you age because you like to wear larger earrings like me, buy these Amazon earlobe support patches, I wear them constantly.
Accessory-wise, you can’t go wrong with these big double hoops from Target I’m wearing in this post, $8. And if you’ve never owned lucite clear earrings, they literally go with every outfit but they have to be big! These Alexis Bittar ones, $195, look like ice sculptures on the ears.
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When it comes to color, you’ve probably noticed how often I wear my Sequin Emilie Gem chunky initial necklace, $168, with the multicolored jewels in it. It goes with everything in my closet and is a total statement piece. Investment pieces like these are fun to layer with some of their more simple necklaces of different sizes as well.
The remainder of my outfit details: Blue + white striped midi skirt from Old Navy, $20 (I’m in a small, it’s got an elastic waistband, yay!) Another option from Talbots here, $109. // My Etsy gold and silver bangles, $34 I wear every single day because they're so lightweight and I can wear them to the pool or beach too. I love supporting small business Etsy artists as well when I can. // My nude chain slide sandals, $10, are everything! These Shein sandals come in a bunch of other fun color options and are cheap enough to buy in a couple different options. // My stainless steel watchband, $20, from Amazon for my Apple watch along with the sparkly rhinestone topper case for the face of it. // Of course, hair wise, I live for dry shampoo because I only wash my hair twice a week. Living Proof perfect hair day, $30, is expensive IMO but also worth it.
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