Should there be different rules for beauty after 40?

Recently I was in a bookstore looking through some books about beauty.  There were a few about beauty for women over 40, and I have to say I was disappointed with them.  So many of their "rules" were so stereotypical and in my opinion, outdated.  For instance, don't wear your hair long, don't wear any shade of eye shadow other than neutral shades, don't wear dark lipstick, don't line your entire eye, don't smudge shadow under your eye, and more that I can't remember.  I can understand some of these, for example, if your lips are thinning as you age, dark lipstick will make them look smaller.  And shadow smudged under your eyes could exacerbate dark circles or bags.  But those aren't concerns that apply only to women over 40.  You can have all of those things no matter what your age.
And what's up with the long hair thing? If you have nice hair, and it looks good long, you should wear it that way if you want to.  Possibly the worst rule, in my opinion, is the one about not wearing any color make up other than neutrals.  They suggested that that is the only way to look appropriately chic in middle age. WHY would that be the case? Purples and greens can look just as sophisticated and chic as taupe or brown, if you choose the right shades and apply them properly.  Women's eyes don't instantly get wrinkled and bad-looking after they turn 40.  I didn't notice any different in the skin around my eyes until around 49.  The only change so far is that the skin is not as taut.  That affects how I wear my eye liner, but that's about it.
If you're over 40, do you think you should adhere to rules like this about beauty? Have you changed the way you wear make-up or your hair because of your age?

I'm breaking the rules about hair length, eye liner, and lipstick color.  Do I care?

Comments

  1. Heck, no .. no rules! I still wear glitter eye liner .. why not! I love it and it looks so pretty.

    Monica, www.pear-shaped-gal.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so glad to hear that, Monica! Make up should make you feel good and let you express yourself, IMO. It seems to have become very serious for a lot of younger women, as well as older ones.

      Delete
  2. Thanks, Terry! I've never been big on following rules. Too boring.

    ReplyDelete

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