When it comes to style and your choice of hairstyle, makeup and clothes, age brings one very big advantage which leads to one very big disadvantage. Having lived with your hair, face and body for a great many years, you know what you like and what suits you, which is great, but you may also be reluctant to go outside your comfort zone and try something new.
I often wander around clothes shops, desperately looking for inspiration and I have usually dismissed 99% of the things on the rails because they’re ‘not my colour’ or because ‘that shape wouldn't work on my body.’ I invariably wonder what I might be tempted to buy if I had someone with me (preferably objective and detached) who could help me to see myself very differently.
Which is why we came up with the idea for our Style Guides in which we showed four women what would happen if they embraced a totally different look.
The makeovers included hair and makeup and took place at our work space near Clapham Junction. The styles we chose were Hollywood Glamour (Judith), Bold and Bright (Karen), Rock Chick (Marieke), and our latest, Boho Chic, a style which has evolved from the bohemian, hippy style of the 60s and 70s. It keeps the elements of relaxed dressing with a mixture of patterns and fabrics but is a more curated and elevated chic look for everyday wear.
For the Boho Chic Style Guide we chose Jill who is 62, and who lives in Cheshire with her husband Roger and four cats. They used to live in a farmhouse and run holiday lets in five converted barns and outbuildings around a cobbled courtyard. When Covid made this unsustainable as a business, they decided to sell the farmhouse and move into the largest barn and rent out the other properties. Jill now works as a business connector for Cheshire Connect, which supports charities with a gap in their skill set. Her job is to find a skill donor to provide that skill free of charge in order to keep the charity sustainable.
Jill works from home five days a week with zoom meetings and the occasional in-person meeting. She describes her lifestyle as mostly home based, which suits her down to the ground because she loves pottering in her garden or sitting with the cats. Both she and Roger enjoy cooking and eating great food. Her wardrobe is therefore a reflection of Jill’s life as a very happy ‘home bird’ who likes to wear comfortable, relaxed clothes in quite soft and muted warm-toned colours.
Jill’s Approach to Style
“My usual clothes style is very relaxed. I like not having to dress up, but hair and make-up are fundamental to me. I have my hair cut religiously every six weeks. I have kept to the same style for a number of years, but the colours that I like to wear have become more muted as time has gone by. I used to be sporty and played squash competitively which kept me very fit and also kept my weight in check. Unfortunately both of my knees gave up the ghost and I decided during Covid to have a double knee replacement done privately. All of which led to me gaining weight around my middle which means that I have to make sure that clothes skim over those areas. I have lost some of the weight since then and am now more a size 16-18 than 18-20.
Best colours for me are definitely from the warm palette. I used to have strawberry blonde hair and very blue eyes, so I am drawn to those colours often described as ‘Spring’ or the softer and more muted version of autumn hues. My wardrobe mostly contains lots of neutral colours including cream, navy and soft grey. I also like black but mostly for below the waist or softened with something lighter like a scarf nearer my face.
Brands I am drawn to. I spend very little time shopping for clothes, but fortunately I live near a designer outlet in which I can often find wonderful bargains. I love Jaeger, especially their trousers, and the fact that you can now buy that brand within M&S is a real boon. One of my all-time favourite items which I can dress up or down is a Jaeger leather biker’s jacket which I bought two years ago. It was on sale and I was flabbergasted at the till that it was further reduced to £59! I also find White Company has the kind of clothes that work well for me as they are simple, classic and natural, and the same with Mint Velvet. Ugg boots and Gabor shoes are great for my large, wide feet!
I have a relatively small, capsule wardrobe and never buy anything on a whim. Everything has to be practical, wash and wear. I am happy to spend more on quality items but I only buy new things which will work with everything else in my wardrobe. I’m also quite disciplined about ‘moving things on’ sometimes because it no longer fits me. I think that compared to some I have relatively few clothes but they do all get worn! The rules of what is appropriate for different occasions have changed so much and lines have become very blurred between smart and relaxed/casual dressing. To be honest this works really well for me because I prefer dressing down to dressing up.
For special occasions my hair, makeup and shoes would take priority over my clothes. I rarely get to wear it, but I do have one long quite sparkly dress and also a black Hobbs jumpsuit which is perfect because it’s easy to dress it up with special shoes or a smarter jacket.
The makeover was thoroughly enjoyable. It was so interesting to see how others see you and what might suit you. Initially I thought that the eye makeup that Sally had given me was heavier than I would have liked, but looking at the photographs I can see that it balances everything else she applied. I guess it’s about getting used to a look which is not what you would normally choose and that was the whole point of the makeover!
I particularly like the T-shirt that was chosen for me. It’s a great colour and exactly the kind of thing that I feel comfortable wearing. The sandals and trousers were also comfortable and easy to wear. I was less sure about the jacket which I felt was a bit busy. However, It’s reversible and I prefer it on the plainer pale green side. In fact it is a perfect lightweight summer jacket so I’ve lent it to a friend for her holiday in Italy!
All in all I had a really great time and have come away with an enduring love for the wonderful LFF face primer and soft pencil eye liner, now firm favourites. The makeover made me realise that my face does look better if I make a bit more of an effort. For instance, I really loved the way that my skin looked with some foundation as it covered the blotches and made my skin tone more even. This experience taught me that by taking a bit more time and trouble my makeup could look so much better!”
Watch Jill's makeover video here: https://youtu.be/x1jDcbVJTAA
Have you enjoyed our Style Guide Series?
Watch all episodes now here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR8OlPIRimpaFhhvwlbCo4la1H3wFoSn8
This is what our styling team chose for Jill’s makeover:
Makeup (Sally):
Face:
Eyes:
Warm Browns No Shimmer Eye Shade Trio
Lips:
Soft Coral Lustrous Colour Lipstick
Clothes and Earrings (Tricia and Bryony)
Jacket - Museum Selection (https://www.museumselection.co.uk)
Peach Top - Kettlewell (https://www.kettlewellcolours.co.uk/)
Silk Scarf - Shelley Faye Lazar (https://www.shelleyfayelazar.com/)
Sandals and Bracelet - Moshulu (https://www.moshulu.co.uk/)
Hair Styling (Bryony)
Dyson Airwrap for curls
Straighteners to tease hair back
I do hope you have enjoyed all four of our Style Guides. We intended that they would be a bit of fun and that they might also inspire you to take a new look at your own hair, makeup and clothes and maybe have a rethink. I loved all the makeovers but I think my favourite was dressing Marieke up as a Rock Chick! This was definitely way outside her comfort zone but she really pulled it off. She showed that challenging the status quo can reveal a whole ‘new you’ and who wouldn’t like to do that from time to time?
Would you like an LFF Makeup Makeover? A competition for you and a friend.
If you have read all of our Style Guides thinking ‘Oh, I wish that I could experience something like that’, then why not enter our competition with a friend? The two of you will come to our office which is very near Clapham Junction train station in south west London on 7th September 2023. Sally and I will both be there to chat through all your beauty concerns, and Sally will be doing both of the makeovers. This means that you can watch and learn as well as experiencing the makeup makeover yourself. As part of the prize you will both receive a selection of Look Fabulous Forever goodies along with a personalised chart of your very own beauty tips and tricks. Enter the competition here and good luck!
A note about comments below. I love to read what you write in response to all my blogs and the vast majority of the comments are constructive, interesting and add further insights and understanding to whatever I am writing about. However our Style Guides seem to bring out a few ‘keyboard warriors’ who just love to say why they dislike what we have done, so I may choose not to publish any that I deem to be inappropriate or unkind. And yes (as someone invariably comments), I absolutely agree that Jill’s lovely smile is all she needs to look fabulous!
Thank you!
Tricia x
Watch Our Latest Video...
Simple Summer Makeover For Older Women - with McCarthy Stone
Simple Summer Makeover For Older Women - with McCarthy Stone
We teamed up with our friends at McCarthy Stone to carry out a Summer makeover for one of their lovely homeowners, Veena, aged 69. In this easy to follow tutorial we show you how to update your makeup for a summer look that’s perfect for older women...
Upcoming Events:
Tricia's Film Club Friday's will return on September 1st. Keep an eye on our events schedule for upcoming events here: https://www.lookfabulousforever.com/a-bright-spot-for-your-day
