Tamara is a retired Environmental Protection Policy and Operations professional and moved to Ecuador about seven years ago. In her male dominated career, she felt it best to maintain a buttoned-up look with short hair and little makeup. Many of us can relate.

To be taken seriously, many of us have had to minimize our penchant for glamour and stick to more conservative leanings. With her retirement and move to Ecuador, Tamara decided to let her hair grow and wear fuchsia! With that in mind, our makeover included a little glitter, eyeliner, and big hair which brought out her newly mined feminine allure.

How did we get there and how can you glam it up? Let’s find out.

Use What You’ve Got

The first thing I think of before making anyone up is, what jumps out when they walk in the room? What are their strengths that I can highlight? What is their vibe and what makeup would most match that?

Too often we try to emulate trends, and it typically either doesn’t work, or it looks weird. I’m not into women looking weird, so the question is, who are you and how can you look current?

Tamara has a hidden playfulness and apparent boldness, both of which entered the room with her. To enhance those traits, I decided to add a fairly dense layer of a dark brown eyeliner to the top eyeline and a soft, glittery pink lipstick to make it all a bit sexier.

Yes, I said the word sexy for a woman over 60. I mean, really, we are sexy! Sometimes we just need a little makeup to uncover it, but it’s there. To bring trend into the discussion, I kept the current thick eyebrow look to a minimum (because it doesn’t work with her face), and the heavier bronzer trend on hold. I used a soft light bronzer and soft eyebrow instead and both worked well.

It’s All About Skin

To look great in makeup, you have to involve skincare. In a nutshell, skincare boils down to two main things: health and products. Taking care of your health is too big an issue to tackle in this article, but suffice it to say sticking with eating things that come out of the ground and basic proteins is key. I am also a huge fan of supplements, so please check out this video for more information on what vitamins I take for great skin.

As far as products go, I used these on Tamara: C serum, hyaluronic acid, and a fulvic mist for efficacy, also known as The Truth Trifecta. This is a wonderful baseline for skincare. Get a C serum made with THDA (tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate an oil soluble vitamin C), hyaluronic acid for plump, firm skin, and a fulvic acid to help drive active ingredients deeper into the skin.

In truth, you don’t need 100 products for great skin, you only need to focus on building your general health and well-being as well as a few important products to use daily. In my opinion, you can spend less on things like cleansers, toners (if you need it), and general moisturizers if you don’t have very dry skin. Drop money into active ingredients like retinol, C serum, hyaluronic acid, AHA’s (alpha hydroxy acids), niacinamide, and EFA’s (essential fatty acids).

Hair, Hair, Hair!

Tamara’s mid-length silver hair is amazing. In order to bring it to its wavy, full, and luscious appearance in the video, I used two different types of curling irons. For the lower layer, I used a 1.5-inch barrel for bigger curls, and a – inch curling iron for the top layer.

Once the hair cooled down, I added some dry shampoo and back-combing to the roots for volume. I wanted her hair to feel carefree and casual to go along with her brilliantly laid-back life here in Ecuador, even if it’s not something she would normally attempt.

As a side note, it’s worthwhile if you have mid-length to longer hair to get long layers cut into your hair. This way, curls will hold and give you more opportunities for fun styles.

Getting older doesn’t mean you are set in a rut with your hair and makeup. Sometimes it can be the start of trying a different style, or getting a more current look. In Tamara’s case, taking on an international life, wearing bright colors, and letting her hair grow has brought a joy she didn’t know she would experience.

I love stories like this, and I hope Tamara and I inspired you to try something new.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you adopted a new look for yourself after 60? What was your main goal? Are you happy with your new look? Does it give off your own kind of vibe?