For many women who are ending a decades-long marriage, life after divorce can seem like a fog. It’s easy to wonder, “Well, what the heck do I do now?”

You may have defined yourself as part of a unit and, when you are no longer part of that marriage and your kids are grown, it can be difficult to remember who you are. It can be even harder to reinvent yourself as you move on with your life.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Divorce at this stage in your life has given you the gift of being able to reinvent yourself and define life on your own terms. It is a journey that will be fun and rewarding, as long as you remember to follow the following tips.

Don’t Think of Yourself as Just a “Divorcee”

For decades, you probably defined yourself as a wife, partner, and mother. The roles you played in the household most likely centered on caring for your family. But, that identity can start to feel in crisis once the children are grown. This is especially true when you are no longer with your husband.

Many women think, “Well – who am I now?” because culturally, we were never really encouraged to think outside the care-giver box.

You have been given the incredible gift of redefining yourself. What do you identify with? Do you think of yourself as a no-BS, independent woman? Are you are dreamer, thinker or doer? Or, do you fall into the trap of just seeing yourself as the “divorced older woman”?

Remember – being single in your 50s, 60s or 70s means that you call the shots. You get the freedom to do what you want, when you want. You can treat yourself like the queen you are.

So, start thinking of your self-identification beyond your divorce. After all, this is just one small slice of who you actually are and all the amazing things that you are actually doing.

Have a Plan

Divorce after a decades-long marriage can leave many women confused with how to plan for themselves.

Being married for decades probably meant that the plans you and your partner had were combined. Once the divorce happens, it can be very difficult for women to find their own voice. But, your life doesn’t stop just because your marriage ended. It just means that you now have the freedom to do things on your own terms.

Ironically, this sort of freedom can seem overwhelming at first. The good news is that, with a plan, you can take control back. A great way for creating a reinvention plan for yourself is to answer the following questions:

• Want do you want for yourself?
• What steps will you take to get what you want?
• Who can help you along the way?

Sometimes it can be difficult to identify the steps to get what you want as you continue to reinvent yourself after divorce. Many women worry about whether they will still be able to afford to do the things they love, now that their financial situations are changing. In most cases, once the dust settles, you will have more financial freedom than you think.

There are many excellent resources and professionals with expertise in helping divorced women in their 50s, 60s and 70s to manage their finances. These resources can help you not just to survive, but, ultimately, to thrive!

The key is recognizing that you deserve to be happy and that, with some planning, there is no reason you cannot achieve financial success by yourself.

Don’t View Your Divorce as a Failure

Many women who were married for decades carry an emotional burden after their divorce. They wrongly think that, because their marriage ended, they failed at something. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

If you are over 50 and want to reinvent yourself, you need to start thinking of the end of your marriage not as some tragedy, but instead as the gift that it really is. When you view your divorce as an opportunity to live life on your own terms, you will start to thrive. This is your chance to be happy again. It is an opportunity to write a new chapter in your life. It is your path to building the best possible future for yourself.

Nobody can change the past. However, a past that includes a divorce shouldn’t stop you from building and celebrating your future.

In fact, reinventing yourself beyond the label of “divorcee,” learning to plan for the things you now have the freedom to do and viewing your divorce as a learning experience are the keys to your future. They let you define life on your own terms. And, that’s what reinvention is all about.

What challenges did you face when going through a divorce after 50? What have you achieved since your divorce? How do you see the coming decades? Are you excited about your future? Please join the conversation.

President Biden has yet to make his tax bill a top priority, but with Americans likely to reach herd immunity by the end of summer 2021, people’s attention will quickly return to addressing income and wealth inequality.

Biden’s tax plan has multiple provisions that individuals, business owners, and families need to aware of. The inevitable new tax law will likely look different than his initial proposal but keeping an eye on these important areas will help you focus on where you are most vulnerable.

Income at or Close to $400,000

President Biden has not specifically addressed whether his tax plan will target families or individuals making $400,000 or more. He has made clear that if you are over that $400,000 threshold, your tax bill is going up with the top marginal rate going from 37% to 39.6%.

Current law imposes a social security tax for the employee and employer (7.65% each, 15.3% total) on wages or self-employment income up to $137,700. If your income is above those levels, social security tax is not imposed on income above the $137,700 level.

The reason for this cap is because social security retirement benefits are also capped regardless of how much money you earned over your career. Biden’s proposal would seek to impose additional social security     taxes on wages or self-employment over $400,000.

Assuming that same rates applied to high earners, this represents a significant tax increase because a self-employed individual would end up paying an additional 15.3% on income earned above $400,000.

Capping the Tax Deduction Rate at 28% for Itemized Deductions

Under current law, you can itemize certain expenses, aggregate them, and deduct them from your income to lower your taxable income. If the total value of your itemized expenses is less than the standard deduction ($25,100 for married filing jointly, $12,550 for single), you would generally take the standard deduction since it is a greater amount.

The key point to understand is the deduction takes place at your marginal tax rate, or the highest tax rate at which your incremental dollars are taxed. In other words, if you are in the 35% marginal tax bracket, and you have $36,000 of itemized deductions, it reduces your tax bill by 35% * $36,000 or $12,600.

Under the proposed tax plan, you would be capped at a 28% rate. Therefore, anyone in the 32%, 35%, 37% or new 39.6% bracket would pay more in taxes. Those in the 10%, 12%, 20 or 22% bracket are unaffected.

Reducing the Estate and Gift Tax Exemption Amount

Biden’s plan halves the current $11.58 million lifetime exemption amount that applies to both gift and estate tax to $5.79 million. Most individuals have an estate of less than $6 million ($12 million for couples), but more retirees could fall into that category over time.

If your estate value is above the exemption amount, the federal estate tax rate is 40%, not to mention the state’s potential inheritance tax.

One of the easiest and simplest ways to reduce the size of your estate is through annual gifting. In 2021, each person can give $15,000 to any another person and not eat into the lifetime gift exemption. For example, a husband and wife could give $30,000 to their daughter ($15,000 each) every year to reduce the size of their overall estate.

Additionally, contributing to a college 529 plan with a grandchild as the beneficiary removes the assets from your estate. There are other, more sophisticated strategies, like the use of a Grantor Retained Annuity Trust or Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust which should be drafted by an estate planning attorney.

Keep the Tax Increase in Mind for Better Budgeting

Obviously, Biden’s tax proposal targets those making more than $400,000 per year and estates exceeding about $6 million. If your income and estate value are above or close to those levels, you will need a plan to address the potential tax increase.

In some cases, there is not much that can be done to reduce the tax bite. However, knowledge of the increase in taxes should impact your overall budgeting, savings and investing strategy.

For example, if under the new tax plan you have to pay, on average, an extra $2,000 per month in taxes, you will need to reduce your discretionary spending to ensure your saving and investment goals are not compromised.

Biden’s tax plan is another example of the importance of comprehensive planning and focusing on the things that are in your control.  

Will your income suffer from the new tax plan? How will you prepare your financial plans so that your savings and investment goals are not compromised? Have you looked into ways to be in control of your finances regardless of this or other tax plans and laws? Please share with the community!

Back in May, E.L.F. rolled out its Chipotle beauty kit, a burrito-shaped bag filled with best-selling makeup. It was so popular, the two brands took their collaboration a major step forward. The new E.L.F. x Chipotle makeup collection is a full 3-piece line with a seriously cute makeup bag. It’s all new products this time and they’re actually inspired by classic Chipotle ingredients.

“Following our first launch with E.l.f., which sold out in less than four minutes last spring, we’ve taken our collab to the next level with beauty products celebrating our real ingredients in totally unexpected ways,” said Tressie Lieberman, Vice President, Digital Marketing and Off-Premise of Chipotle, in a statement.

The collection launches March 10 at 11am PST, but if you’re a member of E.l.f.’s Beauty Squad, you shop first on March 9. And it’s not just makeup. March 10 is also when the Eyes. Chips. Face. Bowl launches at Chipotle. The vegan bowl was curated by iconic drag queens Trixie Mattel and Kim Chi.

There’s also a way to get free chips and guac. When you buy the eyeshadow palette on E.L.F.’s website, you’ll get a digital coupon for free Chipotle Chips & Guac in your order confirmation email, through April 15. Check out all the goods, below.

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.

Extra Guac Face Sponge Set

This avocado-shaped sponge comes with a mini pit-shaped sponge for hard-to-reach areas.

ELF.

Eyes Chips Face Makeup Bag

It looks just like Chipotle’s tortilla chip bag.

ELF.

Chipotle Eyeshadow Palette

The matte, shimmer, and metallic shades are inspired by classic Chipotle ingredients.

ELF.

Make It Hot Lip Gloss

This plumping lip gloss has a salsa-colored tint.

I grew up wanting to be a cool ’90s teen. I used to beg my mom to buy me magazines that were basically just pictures so I could cut out the makeup looks, hang them on my door and fantasize about being a teenager who wore chokers and frosted lipstick—not the dorky 8-year-old I was. I was too young to actually rock the ’90s makeup trends myself but looked up to celebs (hi, Spice Girls!) who were pushing boundaries with their strong makeup looks.

To make my dream of being a ’90s icon come true, I decided to re-create iconic beauty looks to see if they’d hold up. According to Janice Kinjo, a New York-based groomer and celebrity makeup artist, the ’90s were all about overly plucked, thin eyebrows, brick-brown lipstick lined with a dark brown lip liner. Frosty lip gloss was paired with frosty eyeshadow.

I wasn’t so committed to this project that I’d pluck my eyebrows (I made that mistake back in the early ’00s), but I decided to go hard on the matte and frosted trends that dominated the era.

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.

AP Images/Brittany Leitner.

Trend: Too-light foundation with blue-grey shadow

Kinjo did her best to explain this unexplainable trend Angelina Jolie rocked in 1998. “The ’90s were influenced by the grunge/goth look, so having a lighter/white foundation was accepted,” she said. “However, people with darker complexion didn’t have many options for foundations and powders, therefore makeup looked gray.” It seems, people also didn’t know about a thing called flashback.

To get my complexion this light, I mixed the Manic Panic Dreamtone Flawless White Liquid Foundation ($13.95 at Amazon) with my It Cosmetics CC+ Cream in Light ($39.50 at Ulta). Can you imagine being as beautiful as Angelina Jolie and letting your makeup artist do this to your face for the red carpet?

For my eyes, I used About-Face Matte Fluid Eye Paint in Matte Midnight Blue ($24 at About-Face). I put a few dots on my lids and tapped them upwards with my finger. Then I dabbed the shade Lava Stone from the KKW Beauty Crystalized Eyeshadow Palette ($45 at KKW Beauty) to intensify the matte effect. I finished with black eyeliner for the wings.

My favorite part of the look was using my most-complimented lip shade, the ultra-affordable Wet N’ Wild Megalast Matte Lip Color in Mochalicious ($2.59 at Target). I dabbed some highlighter in the middle of my lips for that frosty effect.

AP Images/Brittany Leitner.

Trend: Cut-crease and nude lips

The iconic cut-crease eyeshadow look on Naomi Campbell was created by celebrity makeup artist of the ’90s, Kevin Aucoin. Although it’s decidedly the most adaptable for today’s trends, it wasn’t easy to create and it took me a few times to get it right. You’ll probably find the trend easier if you’re already a cut-crease pro.

First, I used the shade Buzzing from the KKW Beauty Matte Honey Pressed Powder Palette ($45 at KKW Beauty) all over my eyelids up to my brows. Then, I applied the darker brown color Stung on the top half of my eye only, blending upwards. With makeup remover on a cotton swab, I created an exaggerated cut in each crease before filling it in with more of the lighter shade to set the contrast.

Kinjo has an alternative method that’s a little easier. “Cut crease placement and shape can be confusing since all of our eyes are shaped differently,” she says. “The simplest method for me is to line your eyes a little bit thicker than you normally would, furrow brows and then look up, eyes to the ceiling.” This transfers your eyeliner to your eyelid naturally and voilà—cut crease line.

Continuing the ’90s contrast, I lined my lips with KKW Beauty Honey 3 Lip Liner ($12 at KKW Beauty) and used the same shade to create a fake beauty mark. I filled in my lips with the shade Honey 1, a lighter nude lipstick. I finished by dusting my cheeks with KKW Beauty Honey Blush in Honey Pot ($24 at KKW Beauty).

Source: Instagram

Brittany Leitner.

Trend: White eyeshadow and glossy lips

Because contouring wasn’t a trend in the ’90s, this look, favored by Reese Witherspoon in 1997, made me feel like my face looked round. Even though I don’t contour on the regular, I do cut my cheekbones with blush that brings my bone structure upwards. But the ’90s was about putting blush on the apples of your cheeks, which I felt instantly transformed me into an 8-year-old.

For that ultra-light eyeshadow, I grabbed the About-Face Matte Fluid Eye Paint in White Noise ($24 at About-Face). The formula is easy to blend all over your entire lid and stays put once dry. I lined the corners of my eyes and on my lower lashline About-Face Pearly Shadow Stick in Pearly Cloud Blue ($21 at About-Face).

Since faux eyelashes were less popular in the ’90s, I applied just a coat of No7 The Full 360 Mascara ($13.15 at Amazon). I completed the look with Paint-It Matte Lip Color in Ask Nicely ($22 at About-Face) and swiped Lime Crime Wet Cherry Lip Gloss ($18 at Ulta) on top for that juicy look.

And yes, I had a tattoo choker at the ready to complete my look. Maybe I’m not so far off from a ’90s teen after all.

Lisa Rinna’s Magenta Blazer Dress on Instagram

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Instagram Fashion 2021

According to Instagram Lisa Rinna served up some green screen realness in magenta recently while filming RHOBH Season 11 confessionals. And while we’ll have to wait and see if Erika Jayne owns this little blazer dress too (like she does the last one Lisa wore by the same brand), we have a feeling plenty of you reading this will still definitely end up being a twinna of Rinna. 

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to Shop Her Rotate Birger Christensen Dress

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Photo & Info: @LisaRinna

Originally posted at: Lisa Rinna’s Magenta Blazer Dress