Retirement is an exciting time for us independent adults with its endless possibilities for travel, entertainment, and new friendships. But when it comes time to decide where to live during those later years, it’s important to take all options into consideration.

Some folks choose to buy a smaller home or rent one for themselves once they retire. Others opt for the more maintenance-free lifestyle provided by “active adult” or independent living communities. Let’s take a moment to discuss the pros and cons of each, so you can get a sense of which senior living option is right for you.

Buying a Home or Taking Out a Mortgage After 55

Buying a home after 55 is a major decision that is sure to impact your retirement. While some financial companies will give out loans to older buyers, most are wary of this for several reasons.

According to personal finance expert David Ning, it’s unwise to get a new 30-year fixed mortgage in your 50s. “Whether you are buying a new home, refinancing your existing mortgage, or you simply want to take out equity from a home that you own free and clear,” he writes, “getting a 30-year mortgage when you are in your 50s is quite dangerous. If you are 55, for example, do you really want to be making payments until you are 85?”

It’s important to first examine all the possibilities before sinking yourself into such a large investment.

Investopedia suggests that when deciding to buy a home after 55, you should first consider other mortgage options that would work better and determine if paying off the mortgage is more important than maximizing your retirement savings.

Carolyn Dunlavy, owner of Jade Tree Retirement Planning in California, says that “Buying a new home, and taking on the costs of a new mortgage loan for the next several decades, can eat into your retirement savings.”

“Older buyers risk depleting their future retirement funds even more if they are both saving less for retirement and withdrawing from their IRAs to fund buying a home,” Dunlavy says. “That can be a double whammy.”

In other words, it’s vital to weigh your decision to buy a new home carefully so that financial instability doesn’t become a problem when you do retire.

Renting a Home in Retirement

On the other hand, renting a home in retirement provides flexibility for older adults who anticipate traveling or moving again in the future, or who simply want to save their nest egg for other expenses rather than buying a house.

Financially, renting is much simpler and requires less forethought than buying a home. Finding a home or apartment to rent takes a fraction of the time it would take to purchase and leaves you free to spend your money on other things that matter to you – like traveling to visit friends and family or starting a new hobby.

Choosing Independent Living

In the general case, 55 is way too early to move to an independent living facility. After all, many older adults decide to continue working well past 65. However, it’s good planning to look ahead and do some window shopping.

Just as the name implies, independent living communities are for older adults that are completely independent in their activities of daily living in the home and can typically participate in community activities without difficulty.

Independent living communities designed for active older adults provide the kind of maintenance-free lifestyle that may become more desirable as you age. Often in these communities, housekeeping, laundry, and meal services are provided on-site to make your life a little easier.

Furthermore, these communities often feature media rooms, gyms, and swimming pools that act as thriving communal spaces for recreation, socialization, and celebration.

When you want to retire in comfort and style, surrounded by a community of peers, independent living provides the ultimate senior living experience.

Senior apartments is another independent living option. Convenience and accessibility are the core appeal of senior apartments. They are thoughtfully built with older adults in mind. The design and location of the apartments is intentional – they are built near public services and recreational areas.

Choosing Assisted Living

Many adults aged 65+ opt to age in place in independent-style communities that offer the same amenities and medical support of an assisted living community. These communities, known as continuing care retirement communities, or CCRCs, provide a way to age in place comfortably, with additional support available down the road as medical needs increase.

For example, residents may begin their community experience by living in their own condominium or apartment, complete with all the amenities they need to thrive independently. And, eventually, when they decide they need more assistance from community staff or desire a more maintenance-free lifestyle, they can seamlessly transition into another part of the community.

For some, CCRCs offer the perfect balance of independence and stability to support the aging process for years to come.

In conclusion, there are many housing options to choose from when it comes time to decide where you will live. The choice will depend partly on your financial situation and retirement goals – but should ultimately be the option that best supports the lifestyle you desire during your golden years.

Before jumping into a decision that will surely impact the rest of your life, educate yourself on all the choices available to you. It’s never too early or too late to start!

For more information or to start your search for senior living options today, visit Seniorly.com.

Do you think that you will end up buying another home in the years ahead? Or do you prefer to rent instead? Would you consider moving to an independent living community in the years after retirement? How have you navigated the housing decision-making process? Please join the conversation and add your perspective.

There have been pimple tricks for decades. As a teen, you might have been told to put toothpaste on a zit to dry it out overnight. (Don’t do that.) Now, there’s a TikTok Band-Aid acne trend that’s going viral that has a few people…well, confused. But when you break it down, it’s actually pretty genius. Though, it’s really nothing new. Allow me to explain.

Folks all over TikTok are heading to the pharmacy to grab hydrocolloid bandages. Not the regular Band-Aids but the thick, squishy ones for healing a wound. They’re putting these right on their face, on top of mature pimples that have fluid in them. When they wake up, they pull off the Band-Aid and look in awe at all the white gunk that’s been absorbed into the bandage from the pimple. There’s no faking this result.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

It’s the epitome of oddly satisfying.

You might be wondering how these patches are different from regular pimple patches. Well, they aren’t. Pimple patches are made from hydrocolloid, which was originally created to be a bandage for wounds in the 1980s. Hydrocolloid is made from gelling agents such as pectin or gelatin (some patches are vegan and made without gelatin) that absorbs pus and fluids inside the wound (or pimple) and locks it into the material. Think of pimple patches as a safe way to “pop” a pimple without scarring or risk of bacterial infection.

You can actually make pimple patches with these big hydrocolloid bandages from the drugstore by cutting them up. Though they might not be as good as regular zit stickers. Here’s why. As you can see in each TikTok video, folks are having trouble pulling the Band-Aids off their skin, which can cause redness and irritation on an already sensitive area. Regular pimple stickers are less, well, sticky and are made for the face. Plus, many brands including ZitSticka, Peace Out and Hero Cosmetics have acne-busting ingredients inside the sticker so you’re not only removing the sebum, but also treating the acne. That’s important.

Hydrocolloid patches work. But they’re meant to be used as part of an acne treatment plan. If you use these once in a while, you still have to be sure to keep up with your pimple-fighting skincare regimen or you’ll just be chasing pimple after pimple. Still, if you want to use a large hydrocolloid patch to flatten an area of pimples overnight, go for it. We just recommend using the ones from a trusted acne brand. They’re often not much more expensive than regular Band-Aids and you get a ton in a pack.

Shop some of our favorite options below to join in on the TikTok trend. And you can shop all the best pimple patches here.

Mighty Patch.

Hero Cosmetics Mighty Patch Surface

These drug-free hydrocolloid patches don’t hurt when you remove them from your face or body.

Buy: Mighty Patch Surface $17.99

Rael.

Rael Acne Pimple Healing Patch

These are contoured to fit acne hot spots such as the nose, chin and cheek.

Buy: Healing Patch $21.99

Peace Out.

Peace Out Pores

These are meant for your nose but you can really use these patches anywhere. They’re made from hydrocolloid to suck out sebum and puss, but also have vitamin A to help minimize the appearance of pores, as well as DMAE to help firm skin.

Sometimes I wish certain body parts aged like my face – becoming thinner as my years go higher, but then that’s just life. There are tricks, though, that can help your face appear plumper, both with skin care and makeup, and this may or may not include contour.

Contour on a thin face can be redundant, or it can help to add dimension and style depending on how it’s done. In my professional work, I make-up a lot of older women, so these are the techniques I use to help them look their very best in front of the camera.

Go North

If you watch makeup tutorials from younger women, you’ll find that their reasoning for using contour is different than that for older women. Our faces tend to thin out with age due to collagen depletion, and the tendency for everything on our bodies is to head SOUTH.

This isn’t usually a consideration for younger women; therefore, their placement and quantity of contour can be much heavier and more pronounced. My question when I make-up a thin faced older woman is, what’s the goal?

If the predominant goal is to add plumpness, then I reach for my Hyaluronic Mineral Hydrator, an excellent hydrating and plumping product that works immediately. Once the skin is hydrated, I work on using contour and blush in a way that best highlights her features and brightens her face.

It’s Not Dirt on My Face, It’s Misplaced Contour

As a rule of thumb, light brings out and dark recedes. If you have a very thin face, contour might not be of service to you. On the other hand, it can help to make cheekbones more prominent and add dimension.

My advice is to keep your chosen color minimal and well blended, and do not take it all the way to your nose. Keep it mostly under your cheekbone, chin (if you have anything a bit droopy there), and on the high points of your forehead.

Pick a color that is one to two shades darker and with matching undertones to your skin color. If you pick a too yellow-ish shade, you’ll look like you smeared dirt on your cheek, and too blue-ish of a shade can make you look like someone hit you. Neither option is optimal.

A simple trick is to look at your breastbone and match that color. Our breastbone tends to receive some sunlight and most times is the appropriate shade for contour.

Color, Color, Color… COLOR!

Never underestimate the power of well-placed blush. Blush, like attitude, has an immediate impact. Have a peachy blush for your warmer lip shades, and a rosy blush for your pinky-purple lipsticks. Try Jane Iredale Barely Rose or Mocha blush, and also matte lip-stains in Fascination or Craving.

For a thin face, place your blush right on your cheek (just do a closed lip smile and your cheek will pop out), and then blend it up around your eye area. Placing blush closer to your eyes draws attention NORTH, which, as we know, is the entire goal.

Also, run your blush on your brow bone and décolleté as well for added benefit. With our mask-wearing mandate, using matte lipsticks is easier and less messy, and will stay on longer under a mask.

Highlight Is Your Friend!

Highlight is not only your friend, it’s your best friend – but use it wisely. Because light brings out, adding highlight to the top of your cheekbone, brow bone, and even along your nose can be a huge plus. The tricky bit is in buying a highlight that doesn’t settle in fine lines.

For this reason, I use YSL Touche Eclat. It’s not cheap, but it works like no other I have found. They have many shades to choose from, so go about one shade lighter than your skin, and apply using your ring finger for easier absorption into your skin.

Doing these tricks will add dimension, pop, and bad-assness to your face and help you avoid the potential dirt and bruised look we want to avoid. Not to mention, everything will go NORTH in the best way possible!

What changes have you noticed happen with your face after 60? Do you have a thin face and wonder how to give it more dimension? What techniques have you tried? Please share your favorite product that has helped you in this regard.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a skincare guru who hasn’t used or at least name-dropped Creme de La Mer. The highly coveted moisturizer is a celebrity favorite known for its ability to heal and hydrate the skin with next-level potency. So much so, that those who can’t get a jar of their own will go as far as tracking down alternatives. But ultimately, there’s no replicating the luxe brand’s proprietary “miracle broth,” a potent anti-irritant that helps calm the look of redness and other signs of inflammation.

While the product’s efficacy is not contested, the steep price tag often is. So why this product so expensive? Well, it starts with the biannual kelp harvest off of Vancouver Island. Sea Kelp is the star ingredient in the cream, and the process includes fermenting the kelp for months using specific pulsed light.

While it does contain a slew of all-star ingredients, you’re undoubtedly also paying for brand prestige. In fact, La Mer has amassed millions of loyal followers who happily buy it on a regular basis without thinking twice about the $95+ price tag.

But if you’re simply not willing to drop the big bucks on this cult classic, we found a strikingly similar product that may rival La Mer’s skincare offerings, but without the high-end cost. You’ve no doubt heard of Mario Badescu’s amazing line of skincare products, and the Seaweed Night Cream rivals La Mer at just a fraction of the price for only $22 bucks a pop.

This story was originally published on Spy.com. This is e-commerce content. If you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story we may receive a small commission of the sale.

Mario Badescu.

Mario Badescu Seaweed Night Cream

Mario Badescu’s Seaweed Night Cream hydrates skin while sleeping. Elastin, collagen and hyaluronic acid work to nourish dehydrated skin and calm irritation. The main ingredient, bladderwrack, is a type of seaweed that softens and nourishes skin to achieve smooth, dewy, younger-looking skin overnight.

Buy: Mario Badescu Seaweed Night Cream $14.69

Kelly Dodd’s Wall Plates In Her Eating Area

Real Housewives of Orange County Season 15 Episode 12 Decor

I absolutely L-O-V-E Kelly Dodd’s wall plates in her eating area. These chic artistic plates are not only iconic but also enchanting. Piero Fornasetti was an Italian artist who was known as eclectic, versatile, and insanely talented. Kelly’s luxury wall plates feature the Italian opera signer Lina Cavalieri’s face who was said to be Fornasetti’s favorite subject. Some say she became his creative obsession to the extent that nearly 400 variations of his interpretation of her classic, elegant beauty exists. And of course, his legacy continues thanks to his son, Barnaba, and the original designs (and newer designs) are translated to many different home accessories, not just wall plates.

Until next time,

Chelsie

Click Here To Shop Kelly’s Face Wall Plates

Photo #2: BravoTV.com

Originally posted at: Kelly Dodd’s Wall Plates