all your 'mature' beauty questions, answered

aging jawlines, makeup that won't sink into wrinkles, gray hair made easy and more

Charlotte Rampling, age 79

I’m officially on vacation this week, even if the truth is I’m the kind of person who’s never really on vacation — I’m still meeting daily word count on the first draft of my novel (just typing “my novel” continues to feel ridiculous/pretentious!) and I’m also keeping up the new syndicated beauty advice column I write for Yahoo (which appears, in floating-head video form, across social platforms and, in written text, on AOL and MSN).

It’s work that’s specifically geared toward women over 40, though many of the questions I’ve answered seem even more geared toward women over 50: I’m fielding queries about gray hair and sagging jawlines and if Botox will continue to work at any age — issues that seem squarely menopausal, i.e. not topics I was thinking about when my ovaries were functioning and I still considered 40 “old” lol.

When I first started writing about beauty again in 2023, I initially considered it silly and frivolous. But as I’ve delved further, I’ve begun to see this job as an opportunity to help guide other women (and myself) through what can be a bittersweet transition, to soften the edges of the hard turns of physical aging, the moments around mid-life when you might be feeling panic (or just annoyance) over your wizening/slackening skin and what it represents; the years when you’re trying to slow things down visually in order to catch up with the process of grieving your youth and ultimately, hopefully, adjusting to and accepting what’s to come. Put more simply by Zadie Smith this week: “I loved being young and I’m going to miss it.”

Should you need/want this kind of advice — here are some topics I’ve covered:

• I'm 54 and tired of dyeing my hair. What's the best way to go gray?

• I'm in my late 40s and have developed some jowling. Is there any help for a sagging jawline that's not a facelift?

• I'm in my 50s and have fine lines. What's the best makeup for a face with wrinkles?

• I'm in my 40s. Is it too late to try Botox?

• I'm 53 and overwhelmed by beauty products and don't know what order to apply them in. What are the rules?

FYI: I answer new questions every week — ask away here, or at askfacetime@yahoo.com.

Last, I’m back on Monday with a new episode of the Extended Scenes podcast and also a bunch of new travel-clothes/packing recs.