Best Beauty Advice From Women Over 40: Shirley Gordon
View Article by Holly Thomas, Refinery 29
Tell us a little about your beauty routine.
“Morning and night, I cleanse and use a tonic lotion. Then I use an eye cream and a moisturizer. Right now, I’m loving this brand out of Switzerland called Cellcosmet. That’s what I’ve been using for the last couple years. I usually put on a Tom Ford primer every morning before I put on my makeup.”
What skin type do you have?
“It’s combination — right in the T-zone, I’m a little dry.”
What do you do when you first wake up in the morning? How do you get to this amazing finished look?
“When I first wake up in the morning, it doesn’t look like this! I cleanse, and use my Clarisonic — I can’t live without that because it really helps with the dryness on my forehead. Then I’ll use the tonic lotion, then eye cream, and moisturizer.”
Do you have a makeup look you go for each day?
“It’s whatever I’m feeling that day. It depends on my hair, and what I’m wearing. But, I pretty much do everything every day — I never walk out of the house without makeup on.”
If you could only work with three products every day, what would they be?
“Concealer, mascara, and a bronzer.”
You’ve had so many different hairstyles, even a platinum pixie and a lavender mohawk! How did you end up with this look?
“So, this is a full wig — I color it and make it look as natural as possible. It’s 100% real hair. Underneath, my hair is short — I’m growing it out. I’ve been wearing wigs for about a year now, so my hair is almost like a bob. If I don’t look at it, it’s good. But, if I look at it, I’m going to buzz it off. I change out the wig at the end of each week — I shampoo and treat my hair, then braid it back up.”
Do you have a beauty or personal style philosophy?
“My style philosophy is to step outside the box and break the rules. Everyone’s set on these ideas, like you can’t wear white in the winter, don’t do this, don’t do that. I believe in being comfortable with who you are when it comes to beauty and fashion.”
Is there anything you do in terms of diet or exercise to maintain your skin or overall wellness?
“During the week, I don’t eat any junk food. A couple years ago, I was doing this big 45th-birthday thing, and my husband and I were renewing our vows after 20 years of marriage. I wanted to really [get lean] because I had this cute little bikini I wanted to wear. So, I started just eating vegetables during the week. I did that for about six weeks straight, and then started adding protein in. So, every other day, I’d eat just vegetables, then the next day I’d add in a protein. I still eat like that now during the week, and on the weekends, I cheat. And, I work out five days a week — I’m up in the morning at five and work out for an hour. I do an hour of cardio; sometimes I’ll do cycling, or jump into hot yoga or Pilates.”
Have you ever done anything to your hair that you really regretted?
“Yes — dreadlocks. It was dreadful. I kept them for five years.”
