Using make-up to enhance your style

Day 9 of the New Year Style Challenge and the theme for today is: How can make up enhance your style? In my case, as my style is best described as (would-be) casual chic, less is definitely more. One of the most unexpected compliments that I've received was many years ago, when a guy that I worked with told me that he had seen me hurrying across the square first thing that morning and that I had looked really lovely. I'd had an urgent phone-call that morning and all I had time to do was brush my hair before rushing out sans make-up. Having said that, nowadays I need to work hard to achieve that same natural glow!

In the photo above I'm not wearing a lot of make-up apart from a bright lipstick. When I went for my colour analysis last year I was pleased to be told that Winters look their best wearing bright lipstick as I'm definitely a lipstick girl - that's the "chic" part of my look!  Interestingly enough my consultant suggested that I wear a light tinted moisturiser rather than a heavier foundation, which appeals to the "casual" side of me. Over 60s should take care when applying foundation to hide their wrinkles, as too heavy a layer can settle into their wrinkles and emphasise them instead.

Do you remember the days when we matched our eye-shadow to our clothes? Nowadays women don't worry about that, however what is important is to choose the most flattering shades for your colouring, so now I know to choose cooler tones.

Here's a photo of me where my lipstick seems to have disappeared and without that colour on my lips I look a bit pale and tired:

I usually add a touch more make-up for the evening, but rarely wear blusher as I'm never sure that I'm applying it in the right place! I do wear eye make-up, though it's usually just eye shadow and mascara because I don't have the patience for eye-liner. It's quite clear that I wouldn't be very successful if my style was sophisticated, dramatic or edgy as my make-up definitely wouldn't enhance my style!

Do you wear make-up? If so, how does that work with your personal style?

 

My challenging hair

Day 8 of the New Year Style Challenge asks us to consider whether our hairstyle enhances our style.  This is a tricky one for me, as my hair has always been challenging.  I had hoped that once I was over 60 my hair would turn a lovely silver colour and would become thick and coarse.  It may sound strange to anyone with thick hair, but if your hair has been fine all your life you will probably sympathise with me.

It wasn't too bad when I was younger because although my hair was fine it was reasonably thick, which tended to confuse hairdressers when I walked into their salon. It used to take me a long time to dry my hair so,  although I kept my hair long when I was younger, once I started running in my late thirties I tended to go for shorter styles.

My face shape is long, closest to an oval shape, so I looked at the guidelines for that shape and was delighted to see that one of the celebrities with a similar shaped face was Anne Hathaway. Yes, Anne Hathaway of the cute pixie crop. Having fine hair, which sadly is a lot thinner nowadays, as well as being short in stature, long hair is no longer a good style for me. A short layered cut seems to suit me more now that I'm over 60.  You may notice that in all of these picture I have a fringe (or bangs as some people say). For those of us with long faces, a fringe makes our faces look more balanced. Luckily it is particularly good for over 60s as it hides some of our wrinkles and disguises a receding hairline!

In my late teens, with my youngest brother

In my late thirties - not a flattering outfit!

My style is casual chic, so the shorter hairstyle shown below is ideal for both my lifestyle and my fashion style. What about you ? What influences your choice of hairstyle?

Over 60 and over here!

Putting my best foot forward

The theme for day 7 of the New Year Style Challenge is: Do your shoes shine? My immediate response was "yes, I always polish my shoes"! but obviously this isn't what Sylvia was getting at. She was emphasising the importance of the shoes you choose when you are planning what outfit to wear. The simpler the outfit, the fancier your shoes can be and vice versa.

I love wearing funky shoes, however most of the amazing trendy shoes that I try on don't love me back, so I often have to settle for safe and boring shoes that I know will be comfortable. As I'm just over 5' tall, very high heels wouldn't look right on me anyway, which is fortunate given my fussy feet! I'm always looking for fun shoes that are good for walking in and as my style is casual chic, low-heeled or flat shoes suit both me and my lifestyle. If I'm wearing an outfit in neutral colours, my favourite way to add a pop of colour is with my shoes, which is why I have red laced shoes, green laced shoes and leopard print ballerinas as well as the usual grey, black and navy shoes and boots.

Our challenge for day 7 was to pick an outfit and create three different looks in Polyvore by varying the shoes to go with it. If I was looking in my wardrobe for the shoes I would probably pick my grey low-heeled booties, navy loafers  and black medium-heeled shoes, however I thought it would be more fun to use shoes that I don't own to see what I could come up with. The top and trousers above are already in my wardrobe, so I've used these for my basic outfit.

I will be using Polyvore first of all to create my three looks, however once I've finished there the outfits will appear on my Pinterest board. Hopefully this will be completed by 18.00 Spanish time as I also need to complete today's challenge!

Using the full potential of accessories

We've reached day 6 of the New Year Style Challenge and the theme of the day is: do you use the full potential of your accessories? As an additional challenge, we have to choose an outfit and accessorise it in three different ways - how could I resist?

This is the basic outfit: my new lobelia top from Kettlewell and a pair of charcoal trousers from Marks and Spencer. It's an outfit that is ideal for wearing for both casual and slightly smarter occasions.

These are some of my day to day accessories:

 

However sometimes I prefer a dressier look, in which case I might choose the following accessories:

Or how about these funky accessories?

It's all too easy to get into the habit of wearing a particular outfit in a particular way. It's either a casual outfit or one of your smarter ones. Even a pair of jeans can be worn in the evening with a dressy top, some killer heels and a statement necklace - and look completely different. I already own the silver cascade cardigan, so now all I have to do is buy those wedge shoes and the handbag to create a totally different outfit! Or maybe the zebra cuff, gorgeous rose silk handbag or skull print scarf?

Adding interest with prints

Today's assignment for the New Year Style Challenge is to add interest to your outfits using prints and texture. Click on the link above if  you want to join in. It's free, there's a lot of helpful information and you may even win a prize!

My first reaction was that I always use colour to add interest, but then when I started thinking about it I realised that I do use prints on a regular basis too, particularly with scarves.

 

 



Most of the prints show above are stripes. I do love stripes and they have become a wardrobe staple of mine, however a word of warning here. I'm just over 5' tall and the accepted fashion advice is for petite women to avoid horizontal stripes. Yes, you've noticed, these are all horizontal stripes. Did I once say that rules are meant to be broken? If you are over 60, short and not as slender as you used to be, maybe horizontal stripes aren't the best look for you but hey, you're over 60 - if you like them, wear them!

It may be the way that I'm standing in the photos, but I think the third photo, where I'm wearing the navy and white striped jumper with bright pink jeans, makes me look wider and shorter than the one on the bottom row with navy jeans. What do you think?

If you look closely you will see that the dress in the first photo is navy with tiny dots, and you can't miss the polka dots on the blue top in the bottom row.  I also have a shorter sleeveless empire line dress in navy with dots. My other favourite pattern is, in case you haven't guessed, polka dots. Like stripes, polka dots don't really go out of fashion.

I have been a bit wary of embracing the animal print trend, but it's fast becoming a classic like stripes and polka dots. I have a leopard print scarf and some leopard print ballet shoes, both of which are great for preventing an outfit from becoming boring. Talking of animal prints, I am being very tempted by the latest clothes and accessories in houndstooth. I think I'll leave space in my suitcase when I go to London in 8 days' time - just in case!

The final photo above is the dark brown dress that I bought for my 60th birthday party. It's a very subtle pattern, which is ideal for petites. The best advice on wearing patterns is to stick to small or maybe medium prints if you are petite and go for large or possibly medium prints if you're taller. Like many things in life, it's a matter of balance.

What about florals? I do have one or two summery items of clothing in floral patterns, but I tend to avoid florals as they can be a bit "old lady".  I know! I'm 66 years old, so I officially count as an "old lady" - but I don't have to advertise it, do I?

My colour dilemma

Do you find yourself drawn to certain colours? I do and they tend to be bright shades, which doesn't make life easy if you then realise that they just don't flatter your colouring. Last year I bought a coral jacket from the Wallis on-line store.  I tried it on when it arrived and I thought that it looked fine on me - that's my husband's favourite word, by the way. When asked for his opinion about a new item of clothing, inevitably he says that it looks "fine".  I tried the jacket on in August when my hair had been tinted a golden shade by the sun, and my freckles were showing up too, so I think that helped me look "fine" in it!

When I went for my colour analysis session in October I fully expected to be told that I was one of the warmer seasons and was somewhat surprised when I discovered that I was a Winter. There is nothing remotely like coral in the wallet of my best colours!  Should I throw out my coral jacket? This is my dilemma.

Today's challenge in the New Year Style Challenge is all about colour and includes advice on how to wear colours that don't really flatter you.  Maybe this will provide a solution to my dilemma?

The idea is that, if you wear any unflattering colours, to also wear colours that do flatter you and these should be close to your face, such as a necklace or scarf. It's unfortunate that the unflattering colour in this instance is the colour of a jacket, which is also close to my face. Perhaps I can get away with wearing the jacket if I wear the black t-shirt and dark grey trousers shown above with it, and this scarf around my neck?

I could also wear the jacket with navy or other shades of blue that I know suit me.

My blue bead necklace would contrast well with the jacket, or maybe the cobalt scarf below would help distract attention away from the bright coral colour.

Apart from its colour this jacket was a good buy, as it is in a petite size and it fits me well, so I'm reluctant to part with it. What do you think? Do you have any clothes, particularly tops, that aren't in colours that flatter you? If they are perfect for you in every other way, would wearing your best colours near your face allow you to keep the offending garment and be confident that you look good in it?

New Year Style Challenge: 10 pieces, 1 week of style

This mini challenge within the New Year Style Challenge is timely, as I will be flying to London a week on Saturday. The idea is to select ten items of clothing, including shoes, to create interesting outfits for the next week. Although most of the tops shown below are colourful, the trousers, shoes and shoulder bag that I will be taking are all neutral.

A couple of these tops are fairly basic, however I will pack some chunky necklaces and scarves, which will help to add some interest. The silver grey cascade cardigan will be worn with my blue three-quarter sleeved top and also with the pink short-sleeved top,

The trousers shown above are charcoal grey and the shoes are navy blue.  I now have to confess that, although these are my clothes for the week, I will also have the outfit that I plan to travel in, giving me my favourite navy denims and a pair of grey boots to add to the mix. I will check the weather forecast before I pack: if it shows cold weather in the UK, I will wear a thicker cardigan under my winter coat as well as warm gloves and a scarf.

As you can see my travel capsule is a casual one, which is consistent with my personal style of casual chic.  I would like to think I am going to look chic too - no doubt my daughters will give me their verdict on that!

New Year Style Challenge

I know that I promised to tell you more about Janice of The Vivienne Files' great idea for helping you to sort out your wardrobe - do not fear, I will be posting again later today! - but I wanted to give you all the opportunity to take part in a New Year Style Challenge.

This is a challenge that my younger readers can take part in too - so long as you are over 40 - so no excuses.

The good news is that Sylvia is generously offering some prizes, so I am hoping that I may win my first prize of the year! You are encouraged to use Pinterest to help you to develop your style, though it isn't compulsory, and Sylvia explains how to do so on her blog. If you would like to check out my Pinterest board to give you some idea of what it's all about, just click here.

Sylvia's style assignment for day 1 is to answer the following question: how happy are you with your current style and why?

In my case I now love most of the clothes in my wardrobe, but that is only after blogging for about 18 months and, in the course of doing so, starting to think about my style. This was an early post of mine describing my wardrobe, which just about summed up my style at the time: my schizophrenic wardrobe. I do feel my style is developing in the right direction, but I still have some way to go. I'd probably give myself 6/10 now, whereas before it was more like 1/10.

Today's outfit is one that surprised me.  I'd seen lots of photos of peplum tops but didn't think it was a trend that would suit me. I tried this Hobbs top on out of curiosity: partly because I was looking for a navy top and partly because it was in the sale. It is now one of my favourite pieces, so the moral of the story is to try on different clothes and you too may surprise yourself.

Two trends in one: peplum top and coloured jeans!