How do I add color to my face without wearing much makeup?

How do I add color to my face without wearing much makeup?

We all know getting older means losing our rosy cheeks from our youth. I don't like to wear much makeup. My skin doesn't like it anymore, and I am too lazy to take it off every night. So I prefer adding glow to my face with my clothing and accessories, especially a colorful scarf I can wrap around my necklace. Presto! Instant color :) Try a colorful necklace or a colorful pair of fun glasses. Add a touch of lipstick and off you go!

I tend to want to simplify everything in my life. If I can get away with pretending I am a French woman, wrapping a scarf around my neck as I walk out on the street, I will. The next obvious question is, what color should I choose? If you are like me and have grey or white hair, color as we know it all went out the window with the hair dye. 

I have always had a hard time deciding what color looks good on me. Of course, there are always a few colors that usually work. Always a good sign when a perfect stranger on the street telling us how awesome a color looks on us :) Then, there is the other extreme…the oh my god, take that off-color! These polarized choices are the easy ones. It is the in-between colors I cannot nail down. I think because I love most colors, and I appreciate most of them. I was never that woman getting her colors done when it was all the rage. Maybe I should have. I could have learned something.

So, if you are lucky, and know a color or two that looks good on you, please start with them. A pretty scarf, a fun artisan necklace, even a punch of color with earrings. Gee, maybe all three! 

I have to admit, when I let my hair go grey, my pallet changed. I had pretty chestnut hair all my life. I tended to wear lots of greens and loved browns and soft roses. Then I started dying my hair. Over the years I started looking very severe. My hair was getting too dark. I thought I looked like an older widow mourning her late husband. None of my colors worked, so being a New Yorker, I stayed with black, which made the whole look even worse. Because our hair, eyes, and skin lose pigment as we age, so does the contrast between them. This is what was happening to me. My hair color did not fit in with my skin tones anymore.

Then I went grey. To this day, I still struggle. I tend to wear greys, white, and black, but, my go-to for color is scarves. I am a scarf woman. Especially as I have aged, I can add color to a very drap pallet and I have instant color that pops my complexion! I love how I can wear it many different ways, I can warm myself if I wear it closer to my neck and I can throw it in my bag when I don’t want to wear it anymore. 

My advice is to play around. Dig into your closet and wrap the color around your neck. Eventually, a few will be winners. If you don’t have a good assortment, spend a few hours in clothing stores, and experiment. I have no patience, so I would not even try anything on. Just put the garments or accessories close to your face for some A-B Testing. Go with your instinct. You will be successful!

Find yourself a few summer scarves for women, long scarves are my favorite as they allow you lots of choices how to wear them. Check out some scarve tutorials I made during the lockdown. (I tried to stay busy). 

https://youtu.be/3rZkGctTa2E

Artisan jewelry is always a strong bet for adding color. Also, a choice of light weight earrings. ( Any heavy earring is so uncomfortable).

I have added 2 videos to watch for those of you looking for advice on colors and aging. I know when I went grey, I could not wear any of the colors I wore with my brown hair. Colors are a struggle for me, and I have been stuck wearing a very narrow pallet.