Month: September 2023

Madison LeCroy’s Denim Shacket

Madison LeCroy’s Denim Shacket / Southern Charm Season 9 Episode 3 Fashion

Last night on #SouthernCharm we got a little sneak peek into Madison LeCroy’s closet. We’ve always had a little idea of what was inside of it from her cute clothes she’s always wearing. But we actually got to see the layout and let me tell you it’s my new dream closet. Considering I’m currently renting I guess I’l have to settle for trying to achieve what her closet consists of instead of her actual closet. So with that being said a new denim shacket is def going to walk-in to my closet soon!

Sincerely Stylish,

Jess


Madison LeCroy's Denim Shacket

Style Stealers




Originally posted at: Madison LeCroy’s Denim Shacket

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How Do Real Friends Respond to a Serious Illness? (7 Comforting Things to Say)

serious-illness

My friends are getting sick at an alarming rate. No doubt it goes with the aging process. We all get our share of aches and pains but some illnesses are a matter of life and death. When your friend is diagnosed with a serious illness, what’s the best way to respond?

It’s tricky. You want to be helpful and encouraging. But in times of serious illness the odds of saying or doing something that will be hurtful instead of helpful are pretty high. The emotions of your sick friend are running high. It’s easy for them to be extra sensitive to how people are responding to their situation. Caution is in order.

The value of true friendship cannot be exaggerated. We must do everything possible to maintain friendship with those closest to us. On my own website I’ve written several articles about the importance of friendship. For example, I encourage you to check out Friends: The Ultimate Source of Energy. 

Here are 7 ways real friends can respond during times of serious illness.

Real Friends Don’t Say, “I Know How You Feel”

This might be the mistake we make most often. It’s a natural thing to say when we want to bring encouragement. But it is not the right thing to say. Someone who faces a dangerous illness knows you have no real idea how they are feeling. It’s more helpful to admit you DON’T know how they feel.

Real Friends Give Their Sick Friends Some Space

It’s so tempting to make the mistake of crowding a friend who is struggling with health issues. You really care and that means you want to know details. With the best of motives, you become an armchair medic who critiques what their doctor tells them. But in times of serious illness your friend needs some space. Give them time to process what is happening to them.

Real Friends Don’t Say, “You Look Good”

I’ve stood beside someone in a hospital bed when a friend walked up and announced, “You look good.” No. They looked like crap. And they knew it. To tell them they look good when it’s obviously not true creates alarm instead of calm. If it’s not true, don’t say it.

Real Friends Recognize the Importance of Being Available

Even though it’s important to back off, it’s also critical to let your friend know you are available for them. Make it clear you will walk with them as close as they want. Remind them they have your phone number. Offer to call them on a certain schedule to check up on them. A real friend is always available.

Real Friends Don’t Give Their Sick Friend an Aunt’s Magic Cure

We all know of someone who had a certain illness and tried a whacky treatment seeking a cure. When your friend gets ill please don’t tell them about the weird treatments you’ve read about which will cure them. During the dark days of illness people become desperate. Your well-intended comment could send them on a plane to South America to search for the tail of an albino newt.

Real Friends Avoid Telling Their Sick Friend about Someone Else Who Had the Same Illness

I’m surprised at how often I’ve heard people say to their friend in the hospital, “My cousin had the same thing wrong with him.” The natural question is to ask how the person with the same illness is doing. Too often the answer is that they are no longer alive. Avoid offering up this possibility.

Real Friends Don’t Tell Their Friend They Will Be Praying for Them

The words “I’ll pray for you” don’t mean much. Too often it’s a quick response from a friend that really means they didn’t know what else to say. If you are religious, do this instead: pray for your friend right there when you are with them. Go ahead. One prayer in that moment will mean more than 1,000 promised prayers prayed at some other time and place.

It’s tough to have friends suffer with serious illnesses. But being a real friend means that you will walk the journey with them.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

How have you been a real friend to someone with a serious illness? Were there any conversations that you had with them which were particularly meaningful and helpful? What advice would you give to a woman in our community who wants to talk with a friend with a serious illness?

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5 Ways to Accept and Celebrate What You Have in Your Life Right Now

Senior woman happiness in life after 60

At our age, we think we should have what we want. I got a new car. I wanted leather seats, but I didn’t get them (more on that below).

We all know the trick to life is wanting what you have. It’s been quite a lesson to figure out what are the things I need, versus what I think I need. How do you stay in that zone of being happy and celebrating what you have?

Make a Gratitude List Often

Don’t just thank the universe for the big things – health, family and no nuclear war. Although I am truly grateful for all those things, the practice has to do with finding joy and thanks in the everyday.

Thank you, universe, for the delicious cup of coffee I just had. Thanks for the soft towel I used after my bath – it fits so nice and snug and stays wrapped around my body. Thanks for the luxury to have a bath.

Enjoy What You Have Today

When I focus on my new car and the decision I made not to spring for the leather seats, I start down the path of regret. Regrets beget regret. Why would I want to bring regret into my life?

For way too long, I lived with the mantra of some day. Always in the future… When I’m thin. When I have long hair. When I have more time. When I’m in love.

Well, my friends, that day is today!

I remember cleaning my grandmother’s apartment after she died. There were lots of new items that she had been saving for some day and never actually used. It was even sadder because they weren’t so new anymore. And years later, they also weren’t as special in the light of day.

Back to my car. It wasn’t just the money. It was also the timing of finding the car I wanted. For me, the moon roof (also referred to as a sun roof) was non-negotiable. I love driving around in a convertible, and I can live without my favorite car if I have air coming in through the moon roof.

I like leather seats. They feel sexy and rich. I also know that the long cold New England winters, even with seat warmers, render the leather unforgiving. I am celebrating what I do have right now.

Know Your Non-Negotiable Items

What can’t you live without? It’s probably a much longer list than you believe. I’m pretty sure I can live without my own private jet, a fridge with no automatic ice maker and a boat.

I can happily survive without those conveniences. I can’t live without low fare plane tickets, ice cubes and a kayak. See the difference?

Turn Your Frown Upside Down

Your smile is your most valuable asset. Frown and your whole body reacts. Smile and it smiles with you. Your body chemistry changes when you smile. And when you smile, the world smiles with you.

Make Small Indulgences Daily

It’s always a good idea to indulge in something small every day. I’m not saying go into debt and get everything you want because you are at an age that you feel you deserve it. I am saying find indulgences that make your day more worthwhile.

I love new underwear. I can both afford and use new underwear every month, especially because my favorite brand comes in a three pack for under $10 at Marshalls.

I can sip coffee in my pajamas till late afternoon and not leave my house, a luxury I never had when I worked full-time. I can travel, if I keep to a plan and remain focused on the world around me.

Find what you can bring into your routine that makes you feel special then give yourself the permission to enjoy it.

What’s Next?

Don’t think about what you don’t have. Think about what you do have and that includes experiences, time and effort. Smile and see what the universe brings today.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What small indulgences do you enjoy? Are there any non-negotiable things in your life? Please leave a comment below!

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Drugstore Products Hollywood Makeup Artists Swear By

drugstore products recommended by Hollywood makeup artists

While celebrity makeup artists with A-list clients are expected to have very expensive makeup brands in their kits, they will often share some of the drugstore products they use that perform just as well – if not better – than high priced versions of the same product.

So, I thought you might find it interesting to know which drugstore products are the “go-to” products celebrity makeup artists keep in their makeup kits. And although we know that just about any makeup product will work on 20- or 30-year-old skin, the questions is: will these same drugstore products work on our mature skin?

That’s exactly the question we’re going to answer today. I’ll demonstrate these products in the accompanying video and will also let you know my thoughts on how well they worked on my mature skin at the end of this article and video.

Eyebrows

One of the drugstore makeup brands that really shines when it comes to eyebrows is NYX. A number of celebrity makeup artists swear that their Micro Brow pencil is an absolute dupe for the much higher priced ABH Brow Wiz pencil since you can create the tiniest brow strokes with this NYX pencil.

It also comes in 12 colors – including grey. This is a big deal because it’s really important to find a good match for our brow color and many drugstore eyebrow pencils don’t have a great variety of colors – and rarely come in grey.

Another brow product from NYX that’s often mentioned by celebrity makeup artists is their Lift and Snatch Brow Tint Pen. I have to say that I’ve tried most of the brow pens on the market – at all price points – and the NYX pen, in my opinion, outshines them all. The tip is just the right size to draw thin brow hairs, and it also comes in 10 colors – including a grey/black – so it’s pretty easy to find a match for our brow color.

Eyes

For eyes, I’ll first use a celebrity makeup artist recommended Physicians Formula bronzer in the crease of my eyes. Celebrity makeup artists describe this bronzer formula as silky. It also smells like a wonderful day at the beach, so if you are not a fan of fragrance, this definitely won’t be the right product for you.

On my eyelids, I’m going to use another celebrity makeup artist recommended product: a one and done eyeshadow from Maybelline called their Color Tattoo cream eyeshadow in the shade “Front Runner.” What celebrity makeup artists love about it is not only the beautiful colors but also the fact that it lasts all day.

Foundation

First up is L’Oreal’s 4 in 1 Tinted Balm from their Age Perfect line which was specifically designed for those of us over 50. It comes in seven colors and is described as a lightweight foundation with firming serum that has 4 unique benefits:

  • it firms over time,
  • it smooths lines,
  • it conceals imperfections,
  • and it evens out tone.

It’s designed to have the benefits of a skincare balm plus the coverage of a foundation. I’ll use the shade “Fair 20” which has a pink undertone. The lightest shade – Fair 10 – has a yellow undertone.

Be sure to check out Elise’s YouTube channel which specifically focuses on makeup tips, techniques, and product reviews for those of us 50+. Don’t forget to subscribe!

Concealer

The two stand-out concealers for makeup artists in this category are Elf’s Flawless Brightening Concealer and Catrice’s True Skin Concealer. The Elf product has Vitamin C, which brightens the skin, and hyaluronic acid. It comes in 18 shades, and I have two of them – “Fair” which has a cool undertone and “Light” which has a neutral undertone.

One thing I love about the Elf website is that you can filter down the concealer and foundation shades by skin tone and skin undertone which really makes it so much easier to get the perfect match for your skin.

The Catrice concealer is waterproof, lightweight, has hyaluronic acid and is good for normal to dry skin. I’m going to use the lightest Elf shade, “Fair,” under my eyes, after applying a corrector, and the Catrice Concealer in “Cashmere” on other areas of my face.

Contour

My contour will be the Physicians Formula Bronzer that I used earlier as eyeshadow. Since it’s a powder product – I’m first going to apply my Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in “Creamy Natural” to the area of my face where I’ll be applying the Physicians Formula Bronzer. This will help the bronzer glide on more easily.

Blush

I have two blushes that are considered top notch by celebrity makeup artists: Flower Beauty’s Blush Bomb in “Bubbly” and Milani’s baked powder blush in “Dolce Pink,” which is a shimmer formula that I’ve never tried. I always recommend cream and liquid blushes for those of us with dry, mature skin, so it will be interesting to see how this Milani Baked Powder product works.

Since baked powder products do start out their life as cream products that are slowly poured onto terracotta tiles in Tuscany and baked until they’re dry, I do have high hopes that this product will look natural on the skin. I’ll apply the Flower Beauty Gel blush on one side and the Milani baked powder blush on the other side. By the way, the Milani blush and the Flower Beauty Blush Bomb both come in 7 other shades.

Highlight

I have two drugstore highlighters that are top makeup artist picks. And I don’t think either of them will come as a surprise. One is a recent cult favorite, Elf’s Halo Glow Liquid Filter, and the other is a long-time oldie but goodie, L’Oreal’s Lumi Glotion.

I have Shade 2 in the Elf product and there are 7 other shades. In the L’Oreal Lumi Glotion I have the shade “Fair,” and it also comes in shades “Light,” “Medium” and “Deep.” Both of these products hydrate and luminize the skin for an all over natural looking glow. Both can be worn four different ways: alone, over or under makeup, mixed with foundation or as a highlighter over makeup.

Lip Gloss

The gloss I’m going to be wearing over my lipstick is also a long-time cult favorite from NYX. It’s their Butter Gloss, and I have the shade “Merengue.” Celebrity makeup artists love the fact that this gloss has great pigment, is hydrating, comes in 30 shades, and has high shine but doesn’t feel sticky.

My Thoughts on These Products

So how did these products work on my mature skin? The NYX Eyebrow Pencil worked beautifully. There’s definitely no need to purchase an expensive eyebrow pencil unless there’s one that’s just a personal favorite.

The Maybelline Color Tattoo Cream Gel Eyeshadow was beautiful and very easy to apply. The one drawback for me is that it only comes in metallic colors. But I do love using it as a special accent color.

The Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer richly deserves its long-time cult status and is definitely a winner.

Unfortunately, one of the two Elf Brightening Concealers was defective. However, the one that did work provided a nice brightening effect. But I’m pretty reticent to purchase this product again due to the applicator issue.

The product that surprised me the most, in a good way, was the L’Oreal 4-in-1 Age Perfect Tinted Face Balm. It felt beautifully lightweight on the skin and did a good job of evening out my skin tone even though the coverage was fairly light. I’ll definitely be reaching for this product more often.

I love the Catrice Foundation so had high hopes for the Catrice Concealer, and I wasn’t disappointed. It did cover nicely, but I do wish Catrice offered a broader shade range since I wasn’t able to find a perfect match for my skin tone.

Both the Elf Halo Glow Liquid Filter and the L’Oreal Lumi Glotion are excellent products, and I’d definitely recommend them. The L’Oreal Lumi Glotion provides a slightly softer glow than the Elf product, so which product you choose really boils down to personal taste.

The Flower Beauty Blush Bomb products are exceptionally good, and I rank them near the top of the list of my all-time favorite blushes. Although the Milani Baked Blush is a gorgeous color, I felt an immediate drying sensation on my skin when I applied it. It may work well if you have oily skin, but I’d definitely not recommend it for those of us who have dry skin.

Finally, the NYX Butter Gloss was beautiful. The applicator was substantial, the gloss felt great on the lips, and it had a lovely shine. And the shade range is exceptional with 30 colors.

For more makeup tutorials and guides, visit Elise’s Sixty and Me author page.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you tried any of these drugstore products? If so, how did you like them? Do you have any other drugstore products that you’d recommend?

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