Looking fabulous at any age, not just your 20s

Welcome, baby boomers, to the process of aging. With the first members of the baby boomer generation just cashing in on Social Security, many, especially women, find themselves in a strange place: at 44 to 62 years old, they can no longer look to the 20-somethings in fashion magazines for hair and make-up advice.In other words, their tried-and-true beauty regimens of yesterday may no longer look the way they once did, say hair and beauty professionals. Some women find themselves frustrated with the change, but the change doesn’t mean they must (gasp!) show their age. All it takes is a little reinventing.If you’re a boomer in need of a new look, we’ve chatted up a few area beauty gurus for their tips on aging with grace and style. Before you despair the loss of your favorite eyeliner, read on for some essential advice.  1. Before make-up, there must be good skin care. The look and feel of your skin changes significantly in your late 30s, 40s and 50s, said Kathy Laux, director of education at the Ohio State Beauty Academy in Lima.“Normally, after about 35-ish or so, you will notice your skin gets a little drier,” she said. “With that, gravity takes over, and you start to get a few more wrinkles and smile lines around your eyes and lips. Your skin is a little drier and you don’t have the oils to supplement your skin.”To make up for the skin’s diminished moisture and elasticity, choose lotions and make-up items with hydrating qualities, said Natasha Mears, an esthetician at Jewel’s Health and Beauty Spa in Lima. Laux also recommends products with alpha-hydroxy, while Mears suggests checking out mineral-based cosmetics.2. Don’t try to re-live your 20s with your make-up. Wearing the same products and styles you wore 30 or 40 years ago will only succeed in making you look older, both Laux and Mears said.“Teenagers and young people are going to be trendier,” Mears said. “They’re going to be more bold and vibrant. When you’re older, (make-up) should look more classic and subtle. You don’t want to look like you’re trying to be 20.”3. Go easy on the eyes. When done right, eye make-up can be the easiest way to perk up your look, both Mears and Laux said. The trick is to use the right products.First, avoid the harsh lines achieved by liquid eyeliner. Powder eyeliner applied with an angled brush achieves a subtle pop, Mears said, while Laux suggested a smudged pencil look.“A little bit of liner makes your eyelashes look thicker, but too harsh a line accentuates the wrinkles around the eyes,” she said.In general, avoid shimmer shadows and stick to matte finishes, Laux said. However, the “no sparkle” rule can be broken occasionally: Mears said for special occasions, subtle shimmer can work, as long as it is applied sparingly.4. Avoid gratuitous powder. When you were younger, you maybe needed powder to calm down a shiny nose or forehead. Now, however, your skin isn’t generating the same amount of oil, and your pores have actually shrank, Laux said. However, wrinkles have become more pronounced, making it very easy for powder to settle in the cracks and give faces a caked-on look.5. You may change brands and techniques, but the colors that look good on you don’t. If the idea of giving up your favorite burgundy hues makes you flip, you can relax. Typically, your skin tone changes minimally during these years of transition, Mears said.“If you looked good in green when you were 20, you probably still look good in green at 50,” she said. “The application and techniques for applying color change, but the colors don’t change.”6. Don’t hate on gray hair. We know those increasing rebel grays make you want to grab the nearest color treatment from the store shelves, but Laux and Mears say its not that big a deal. Hair naturally tends to lighten with age, they said, and many times, it’s not such a bad idea.“Gray hair is nature’s way of softening the looks of lines and wrinkles as you get them,” Laux said. “You don’t want to be too dark in color.”Gray hair or no, Laux suggests updating your haircut to something classier and shorter, with bangs to frame and soften your face. Be patient with your cut and subsequent styling: hair also becomes slightly coarser as you age, making it harder to work with.Gray hair can also mean the introduction of different colors to your make-up palette, Mears said.“Salt and pepper is easy to work with (in make-up),” she said. “For hair that’s fully gray, there’s a wide array of colors you can use.”7. Avoid lipstick and lip liner that’s too moist. Lip products with too much moisture can lead to the dreaded run-off factor, Laux said. The color can leak into the fine lines immediately surrounding your mouth, causing miniature rivulets of unwanted shading.8. Consult a professional. From dermatologists to estheticians, there are plenty of people available to get your face tuned up and ready to go, Mears said. Even a one-session make-up course at a salon or spa can help you figure out what you’re doing right and what needs to be improved.“In this day and age, there are so many resources available,” she said. “I definitely think you should seek out someone to really get you on a good start.” If you’re strapped for cash, check out make-up tips online or in magazines for ideas, she added.9. Give a new look time to settle in. Any change, no matter how big or small, takes some getting used to, Laux said, especially if you’ve had a set routine for a few years.“Look at it for a couple days,” she said. “The eye needs time to adjust different colors and styles.”Above all, she said, expect more changes to come down the road (and be willing to re-evaluate every five years or so). Don’t be afraid to embrace change or try something new, she said, although you should stay within some guidelines.“Not too harsh, and not too dramatic,” she said. “And not too out there.”