One morning, as I was putting makeup on, I was taking a serious look at my reflection. This in my make-up mirror, which of course was magnified for maximum detection of everything you really do not want to see.

Looking closely, I noticed that I had many more wrinkles on the left side of my face than the right. So I turned to my husband who was just getting out of the shower, “Honey, can you tell that I have more wrinkles on the left side of my face than the right?”

He froze on the spot like a deer caught in the headlights. “Well,” he chuckled. “You know I can’t see anything without my glasses, but no, I don’t see the difference.”

I knew he was not going to tell me the truth, so I considered my options for dealing with this beauty crisis. It was either going to be therapy, meditation, or my go to favorite – alone time to sulk with a good bottle of wine.

Are Wrinkles Age-Appropriate?

That afternoon I had lunch with a friend, explaining to her my concern about my newly discovered wrinkles. “Becky,” she said, “at your age you should not take wrinkles seriously. Just pretend they only exist in the mirror.”

Usually, she is the fount of wisdom, but I thought her answer was just stupid. So, I logged on to where we all go when trauma sets in – Google. The first item that popped up about wrinkling was determining how we sleep. It turns out that side sleepers have more wrinkles.

The Pillowcase Issue

I sleep on my left side so there you go. Wrinkle city had set down roots. A solution for this was purchasing a silk pillowcase, which was supposed to solve all my wrinkle issues. Not one to procrastinate, I jumped in the car and headed to the nearest store to purchase my savior in pink.

The package said it eliminated facial folds by keeping your skin supple allowing your pores to breathe. My first night using it, however, was a dilemma I did not see coming.

We have one of those beds you can raise up and down and we keep the bed elevated because, of course, we both snore. So, trying to position myself on my side, I had a hard time keeping my head from sliding off the pillow.

Also, the silk felt kind of slimy, and, although I washed it, the smell was much different from my regular pillowcase. I was up and down trying to reposition me, the pillow, and the bed to no avail. By 2 a.m. my “beauty pillow” had been ripped off and was on its way to the waste basket.

Goldie of the Hot Personality

As I lay there trying to go back to sleep, my thoughts turned to my tiny 5-foot tall grandmother, who lived with me for five years before she passed away. I was walking down the hall one day with a basket of laundry when she came out of the bathroom completely naked.

From the back she looked just like ET – with all her wrinkles and skinny little arms and legs. But you know what? I realized in that moment how beautiful she really was with her white blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and a high voltage personality.

Her name was Goldie, and she certainly lived up to it. Goldie was an outrageous flirt, and men absolutely adored her. She was my idol, and her wrinkles never bothered her. She was the epitome of aging at its best.

My last thoughts as I drifted off to sleep were how funny she would find all this.

We Earned Those Wrinkles!

My husband was reading the paper that next evening, and I plopped down on the couch next to him. “Are we going to have a talk?” he asked, rolling his eyes in alarm. “No, not really. I am depressed about my wrinkles,” I said sadly.

He looked exasperated as he put down the paper. “Becky, I’ve been watching you grow older ever since we first met in high school. It does not bother me that you have wrinkles. Your face is the face that I love, not your face at 20, 50, or even 70. Stop worrying about wrinkles – you will always be perfect to me.”

He said it all with a wink, picking up the paper. I, of course, sat there in shock. My not-at-all romantic husband had just said the sweetest thing he has ever said to me.

Looking in the mirror the next morning, I thought about the life I have lived and the wrinkles I have that are proof of the struggle, heartache, and blessings. As I tried to apply more concealer and powder over the “left side,” I thought, “What the heck, go for it, girl, because no one is guaranteed tomorrow!”

Do you worry about your wrinkles? How often do you observe your face up close and regret having all those lines? Or do you feel you’ve earned every single one of them? Please share any funny stories you have gathered over the years!

Heather Gay’s White Ribbed Knit Sweater at Lunch With Meredith

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 2 Episode 8 Fashion

Heather Gay’s white ribbed knit sweater that she wore to lunch with Meredith and their daughters on last night’s episode of RHOSLC is a super fitting piece for us to report on this time of year. However after BBH Lauren’s Amazon Live last week (click here to watch if you haven’t already!), you mayyyy encounter a bit of trouble fitting it in your closet. 

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to Shop Her Free People Sweater

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Bag By Fendi x Nicki Minaj

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Originally posted at: Heather Gay’s White Ribbed Knit Sweater

When it comes to your finances and investments, sometimes it makes sense to keep things relatively uninteresting. That’s not to say you can’t pursue some entertainment and growth with a portion of your holdings. Still, it’s wise to consider the potential risks – especially in your 60s and beyond, when you’ve almost (or already) reached the financial finish line.

We’re witnessing a time when financial products and investment vehicles are rapidly evolving. Meanwhile, some people are making fortunes virtually overnight, while others end up losing money trying to copy the strategies they hear about online.

Some of these new trends might change the world dramatically, and some will fade away. But fear of missing out (FOMO) and alluring headlines can make it tempting to dive in. Unfortunately, there’s no way to know in advance which technologies or concepts will emerge as winners.

How to Be Boring and Like It

If you’re interested in taking a traditional investment approach with most of your nest egg, that’s probably okay. It’s a strategy that has worked through other uncertain times, although it’s certainly possible that old techniques could stop working.

Fortunately, you can always reevaluate your strategy as more information becomes available. And if it makes sense to try new things at some point, it’s okay to change your mind.

Think Long Term

It isn’t easy to keep a long-term perspective with so much information at our fingertips. For example, you might notice that when you look up a price chart for an investment, the time frame is one day! But that’s typically not a long enough time horizon to make meaningful decisions, and you probably have several decades of rewarding years ahead of you.

If you find yourself wrapped up in the minute-by-minute madness, try to zoom out. Think about what’s most important in your life. You might decide that your long-term financial security, mental health, and relationships are among your top priorities.

With that perspective, it may be easy to redirect your attention away from flashy investing ideas and take healthy steps toward goals like a sustainable retirement income.

Pick a Risk Level for All Seasons

Choosing an appropriate amount of risk is a fundamental step for investors.

• Do you want to pursue growth and accept the potential roller coaster ride that can accompany growth-oriented investing? A high-risk approach might bring losses (at least temporarily), and it’s problematic if you don’t recover from those losses.
• Would you rather keep your funds safe, even if that means potentially earning a relatively low return? Conservative investing can be comfortable, but you might lose purchasing power to inflation.
• Or, perhaps you prefer a middle-of-the-road approach.

Choose a risk profile that fits with your personality and your financial needs, and be wary of making changes unless there’s a compelling financial reason. Switching strategies based on news headlines or alluring investment products sometimes causes financial harm.

For example, you might make a change when it’s too late, or you might make changes so quickly that you don’t have time to think things through or gather sufficient information.

So, figure out what level of risk feels right for you, and be mindful about what tempts you to make changes. A well-designed risk questionnaire can often help you think through these things.

Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

You’ve probably heard this a few times in your life. Diversification can help manage risk, so it can be smart to spread your assets out among various investments. Clearly, it would be ideal to put everything into whatever performs best, but predicting the future is hard.

As a result, you might come to peace with the fact that some holdings will lose money or lag behind while others (hopefully) produce earnings.

One of the easiest ways to diversify investments is to use broad-based mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Diversifying can’t eliminate losses, but you can often avoid having the majority of your savings tied to any single company.

With low-cost index funds, you can often build a portfolio with exposure to thousands of investments around the world using a handful of funds. For more details on that, see how Christine Benz, Director of Personal Finance at Morningstar, explains the benefits of low-cost investing.

Monitor Results, But Not Too Often

One of the benefits of a boring investment strategy is that you don’t need to constantly pay attention to your investments.

After picking an appropriate risk level, you might be able to check in on things every month – or less frequently. It might even be fine to review your holdings once or twice per year, as long as nothing major changes in your life or in the world around you.

Plus, with a simplified approach, you have less to keep track of. You might own less than ten different investments, making it easy to monitor and evaluate your holdings.

Consider Getting Guidance

Social media posts and headlines might suggest that a particular investment is a no-brainer. Based on anecdotes, you might reasonably believe that you are truly missing out if you don’t get on board, but you might not hear about the tradeoffs and risks involved with different strategies.

You’re smart enough to figure things out yourself and research investments, but there are only 24 hours in a day. If you’d rather put your time and energy into other things, consider working with a financial advisor. Doing so enables you to ask questions and get suggestions on which investing strategies might make sense for you.

You don’t necessarily need to hand over your life savings to work with an advisor. Some planners provide one-time financial advice for a flat fee, and plenty of advisors work on an hourly basis. That said, if you want to have somebody manage assets for you, it’s easy to find an investment manager.

Separate Entertainment from Your Life Savings

If you enjoy investing and trading, it’s okay to engage in those activities. Innovation is exciting and inspiring, and you might find opportunities (and have some fun) as you follow new developments. However, it’s important to decide how much of your life savings you put at risk.

Once you arrive at a reasonable amount, keep those funds separate from your “real” money so you don’t draw more than is prudent. Personally, I’m not a fan of “play accounts” or similar strategies, but a lot of people enjoy trading with a small amount of money. They could certainly find worse things to do, and if it makes them happy, more power to them.

What do you think? What are some of the most interesting developments in technology and finance? Do you follow these things closely, or are you spending your time on other pursuits?

It’s a big day when Oprah releases her Favorite Things list and we can see what gifts she’s been obsessing over and giving to the people in her life. It’s fun to see what she and her team decide are the best-of-the-best gifts this year. It seems 2021 is all about shedding the mask (safety, while vaccinated, of course) and popping a little color onto your lips. Because Oprah’s Favorite Things list is full of lipstick and gloss deemed great for “grown-ups.”

It’s not surprising Oprah is all about the lipstick this holiday season. We spent almost two years in some state of lockdown, wearing masks all the time. Now that we’re finally seeing the bottom half of people’s faces, folks want to update their lipstick collections and have a little fun with color. And why not? Oprah curated this Bossy Cosmetics lipstick set so everyone can find their perfect shade. Oh, and you can get it on Amazon. Score.

“When the mask comes off, it’s prime time to put on beautiful lipstick,” Oprah says on her site. “I curated the shades in this quad so they’d work on everyone. I love that they’re so rich in pigment, and the formula is vegan, cruelty-free, and hydrating, with watermelon seed oil and vitamin E.”

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.

Oprah.

Founder Aishetu Fatima Dozie started Bossy Cosmetics as a way of “showing up” as she navigated working in male-dominated spaces. The brand partners with non-profit organizations that “promote social change that advance the human rights of women and girls around the world,” such as Women at Risk International Foundation.

Of course, Oprah didn’t just include lipstick in her annual holiday list. She also added some of our faves too, such as the Sigma Beauty Black Essential Travel Size Brush Set ($86 at Amazon), Beekman 1802 Three-Piece Hand Cream Sampler ($45 at Amazon) and UMA Pure Calm Bath and Body Oils Wellness Gift Set ($165 at Amazon) — just to name a few. This year’s list is seriously epic.

Lisa Barlow’s Black Leather Sleeve Blazer at the Fresh Wolf Photoshoot

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 2 Episode 8 Fashion

Although mama-bear wolf Lisa Barlow may not have been in front of the camera at her sons’ photoshoot on last night’s episode of RHOSLC, she thankfully was still in front of Bravo cameras allowing us to see this black leather sleeve blazer. Which may no longer be up for grabs, however we’ve linked some similar options to shop down below that are still definitely BBH-certified Fresh. 

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to See Her Helmut Lang Blazer

Pants & Fanny Pack By Louis Vuitton

Originally posted at: Lisa Barlow’s Black Leather Sleeve Blazer