A great reminder. I am a repeat offender in this category. One question: Lately I have had the feeling that I myself am past the sell-by date. What should I do?
I love your photo-of-a-smiling-100-year-old idea. My beloved Grandmother was 93 when she died... I could use her! As for expiration dates: when my mother went into care I cleared out the house she'd lived in for 50 years, and found cosmetics dating back to the 80's and beyond. The first aid kit—which I'm sure could not have aided anyone—was from my childhood in the 60's, and included an ancient tube of Ozonol. Yum yum.
I know I've said so before but I LOVE the space you're making for how we can care for ourselves thoughtfully while also accepting ourselves fully. There isn't an either or: you submit to the beauty industry and sell-out or you refuse all efforts. The more integrated I feel in the way I manage my own skin-suit here on planet earth, the more I feel I can enjoy its evolution with my head held high. I'm printing out my favorite photo of Elen Jordano and pasting her on my bathroom mirror--why haven't I already?? Also, Val--I'm so happy for all of your success--the more people who get here, the better for us all. xx
Love this post, especially as a refresher for boosting my sunblock application—spring allows Oregon some sunshine, as a treat, starting around now. (Hopefully.)
Val, I know you’ve rec’d sunblock in past entries, but perhaps you can remind us of a few of them? I leave for Hawaii in ten days and last year’s bottles, according to your derm doc in this post, are toast, and new block’s a must.
Thanks, as always, for the gracious, energizing style and wit of your stack.
“You’re succeeding.” pretty much sums up the benefit of aging. Like I said before snd I’ll say it again, it sure beats the alternative. Also, how much is the right amount of sunscreen to use, please?
I may have referred to this in another comment but here it goes...I started wearing sunscreen when I was 20 years old because, get this, I started reading obits in the Boston Globe of how people were dying of skin cancer AND my neighbors (rest their souls) used a tanning bed and went sunbathing so that their skin, frankly, was seemingly permanently mahogany and looked like an alligator skin handbag (oh dear). Before the age of 20, like many of that time in the early 80s, I sat outside on pavement in a beach chair slathered with baby oil. I also recall getting a couple of bad sunburns in my youth (and then one time in Hawaii in my 40s as I had no idea how strong and reflective the sun would be; oh boy, I really suffered that week). These days, I'm actually not as diligent and noticing particularly on my hands and forearms and, yes, my neck. Back to slathering...!
Val, I am proud of you for how far you have come from when you started your newsletter a year ago to now you’re a known subject matter expert with a high profile media presence. And you did this in your 70s. So your picture is the one we need to tape on our mirrors as GOALS.
Apr 13, 2022·edited Apr 13, 2022Liked by Valerie Monroe
Just like food, stuff that's gone bad, makeup products don't always have an off odor.
In fact, the only makeup product I ever used in my life that emitted a strange smell was a blush. That stuff cost me over $30 and it didn't take much to give the glow. So, it stayed in my makeup bag for over five years. The last time I started to use it, I noticed a strange smell. I thought it was my blush brush, but since I wash my makeup brushes weekly, I knew it couldn't be that. I smelled the blush and that's what it was. I had to chuck it. Best blush I ever used. They don't make it anymore, so I've been on a quest to find a comparable replacement. I'm failing.
Now then Val, you're working your 70's like a boss lady! Still lookin' groovy!
It's the inner self that keeps the outer beauty in good form. Love yourself, live your best life. Those are the women that make us ask, "how does she do it?"
I despise sunscreen. It's sticky, smells like chemicals to me, and I have to watch which brand I use because sometimes I get little rashes, or dry spots that are difficult to clear up. With that said, I slather the stuff on in big amounts! I probably go through a bottle of sunscreen, (standard size) every 30 or so days.
I wonder why I use it like I do? I was a sun worshipper like many of us were back in the 1970's. I'm 61 now, and I don't really look it for the most part, but genetics, I'm sure, have everything to do with it.
I am worried about skin cancer, so that is the reason I am diligent, though I also know I could've set myself up for it to happen anytime.
Another great one, Val! I think I have told you about lying out in the sun---SLATHERED from head to foot in baby oil, and my Nana--with TEARS IN HER EYES begging me to come in the house!!
Thank you for yet another wise and witty post, dear Val. Loved “attending”Kane Tanaka’s birthday celebration. Also love that along with playing math games, KT continues to look so chic. In my book, great style is one more thing to keep one “engaged” at any age.
My own favorite centenarian is my mother’s paternal grandmother (my great-grandmother), who lived to be 101, and passed away at home in her own bed, surrounded by the family she loved and lived with for many years. Family photos show I inherited my great-grandmother’s eyebrows—I hope I have inherited her gift for longevity and living her life with joy to the end too.
Also glad to see you making the distinction between “signs of aging”
(means we’re still alive and kicking, right?) and a face that communicates good health. Having made a facial sunscreen a daily habit since my 30s, and finding lots to smile about, I hope to have a healthy, happy face for years to come!
And before I hit “Done,” congrats for entering the “gilded age” and the fabulous mention in The New York Times! Well done, richly deserved!
A great reminder. I am a repeat offender in this category. One question: Lately I have had the feeling that I myself am past the sell-by date. What should I do?
I love your photo-of-a-smiling-100-year-old idea. My beloved Grandmother was 93 when she died... I could use her! As for expiration dates: when my mother went into care I cleared out the house she'd lived in for 50 years, and found cosmetics dating back to the 80's and beyond. The first aid kit—which I'm sure could not have aided anyone—was from my childhood in the 60's, and included an ancient tube of Ozonol. Yum yum.
I know I've said so before but I LOVE the space you're making for how we can care for ourselves thoughtfully while also accepting ourselves fully. There isn't an either or: you submit to the beauty industry and sell-out or you refuse all efforts. The more integrated I feel in the way I manage my own skin-suit here on planet earth, the more I feel I can enjoy its evolution with my head held high. I'm printing out my favorite photo of Elen Jordano and pasting her on my bathroom mirror--why haven't I already?? Also, Val--I'm so happy for all of your success--the more people who get here, the better for us all. xx
Love this post, especially as a refresher for boosting my sunblock application—spring allows Oregon some sunshine, as a treat, starting around now. (Hopefully.)
Val, I know you’ve rec’d sunblock in past entries, but perhaps you can remind us of a few of them? I leave for Hawaii in ten days and last year’s bottles, according to your derm doc in this post, are toast, and new block’s a must.
Thanks, as always, for the gracious, energizing style and wit of your stack.
Thanks Valerie.
“You’re succeeding.” pretty much sums up the benefit of aging. Like I said before snd I’ll say it again, it sure beats the alternative. Also, how much is the right amount of sunscreen to use, please?
I may have referred to this in another comment but here it goes...I started wearing sunscreen when I was 20 years old because, get this, I started reading obits in the Boston Globe of how people were dying of skin cancer AND my neighbors (rest their souls) used a tanning bed and went sunbathing so that their skin, frankly, was seemingly permanently mahogany and looked like an alligator skin handbag (oh dear). Before the age of 20, like many of that time in the early 80s, I sat outside on pavement in a beach chair slathered with baby oil. I also recall getting a couple of bad sunburns in my youth (and then one time in Hawaii in my 40s as I had no idea how strong and reflective the sun would be; oh boy, I really suffered that week). These days, I'm actually not as diligent and noticing particularly on my hands and forearms and, yes, my neck. Back to slathering...!
Val, I am proud of you for how far you have come from when you started your newsletter a year ago to now you’re a known subject matter expert with a high profile media presence. And you did this in your 70s. So your picture is the one we need to tape on our mirrors as GOALS.
Just like food, stuff that's gone bad, makeup products don't always have an off odor.
In fact, the only makeup product I ever used in my life that emitted a strange smell was a blush. That stuff cost me over $30 and it didn't take much to give the glow. So, it stayed in my makeup bag for over five years. The last time I started to use it, I noticed a strange smell. I thought it was my blush brush, but since I wash my makeup brushes weekly, I knew it couldn't be that. I smelled the blush and that's what it was. I had to chuck it. Best blush I ever used. They don't make it anymore, so I've been on a quest to find a comparable replacement. I'm failing.
Now then Val, you're working your 70's like a boss lady! Still lookin' groovy!
It's the inner self that keeps the outer beauty in good form. Love yourself, live your best life. Those are the women that make us ask, "how does she do it?"
I despise sunscreen. It's sticky, smells like chemicals to me, and I have to watch which brand I use because sometimes I get little rashes, or dry spots that are difficult to clear up. With that said, I slather the stuff on in big amounts! I probably go through a bottle of sunscreen, (standard size) every 30 or so days.
I wonder why I use it like I do? I was a sun worshipper like many of us were back in the 1970's. I'm 61 now, and I don't really look it for the most part, but genetics, I'm sure, have everything to do with it.
I am worried about skin cancer, so that is the reason I am diligent, though I also know I could've set myself up for it to happen anytime.
Another great one, Val! I think I have told you about lying out in the sun---SLATHERED from head to foot in baby oil, and my Nana--with TEARS IN HER EYES begging me to come in the house!!
Nana was right.
Meanwhile, grrrl, I suggest you post a THREAD ONCE A WEEK. I have much to say to you. I suggest you start with SLUGGING. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/04/01/slugging-skincare-petroleum-jelly-vaseline/
Thank you for yet another wise and witty post, dear Val. Loved “attending”Kane Tanaka’s birthday celebration. Also love that along with playing math games, KT continues to look so chic. In my book, great style is one more thing to keep one “engaged” at any age.
My own favorite centenarian is my mother’s paternal grandmother (my great-grandmother), who lived to be 101, and passed away at home in her own bed, surrounded by the family she loved and lived with for many years. Family photos show I inherited my great-grandmother’s eyebrows—I hope I have inherited her gift for longevity and living her life with joy to the end too.
Also glad to see you making the distinction between “signs of aging”
(means we’re still alive and kicking, right?) and a face that communicates good health. Having made a facial sunscreen a daily habit since my 30s, and finding lots to smile about, I hope to have a healthy, happy face for years to come!
And before I hit “Done,” congrats for entering the “gilded age” and the fabulous mention in The New York Times! Well done, richly deserved!
Great post Val! All good info and fun to read. Will check out the book, too!