Grandmas beauty tips and tricks

Linda Carter

Are you ready for the beauty questions? What's your first beauty memory?

It would be my mother. She was so ahead of her time. She said, "Do not go out in the sun. If you do, you'll end up like a prune or an old leather purse." At the time, there was no sun protection, so she'd wear hats and put cream on her face. And she used to give herself a facial with egg whites. She had no wrinkles on her face, and her hands were always soft.

Did you follow her example?

"I've stayed out of the sun. And I harp the same with my daughter. I have used Purpose soap for years and years, and [did not wear] a lot of makeup. I would always use Coppertone For Faces Only on my hands when I drive and sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreeeeen! I row on the Potomac River, so I also wear athletic wear that has built-in sunscreen, like Coolie. There are several that have really good protection, and some hiking gear that have it as well."

WITH YOUR BUSY SCHEDULE, HOW DO YOU FIND TIME FOR A BEAUTY ROUTINE?

"You just have to make a habit of beauty. As far as a beauty routine goes, basically it's clean skin. You have to start with clean skin. And I drink a lot of water."

WHEN DID YOU START MAKING BEAUTY A "HABIT"?

"My mother started me. For as long as I can remember, my mother emphasized the importance of diet, plenty of sleep, exercise and clean, clear skin. She used to nag on me for not washing my makeup off at night. When I first began wearing makeup, my mother warned 'You'll find out ...if you don't wash your makeup off, your skin will suffer. You'll get wrinkles.' I figured she must be right because my mother has always had the most incredible skin. She is here now and we've been looking at lots of old pictures. There's very little difference between the way my mom looks now and how she looked 10 years ago. Her beauty routine has paid off. "I clean my skin in the morning and at night. If I had a particularly active day, I'll cleanse my face during the afternoon. And I use Cle de Peau products for my skin. I use my cleanser with a Clarisonic. ."

HOW DID YOU LEARN ABOUT MAKEUP?

"Basically I looked through magazines trying to find people with blue eyes and dark hair. Seeing what they did and how they applied makeup was helpful. My mother taught me about skin care ... but I taught her how to apply makeup."

WHAT ABOUT YOUR MAKEUP?

"I don't wear much makeup during the day, just a bit of eye makeup and mascara. Because I have to wear lots of makeup while I'm working, I don't like to wear a makeup base every day. Instead I use the Nars Tinted Moisturizer. It's really good, because it gives a tiny bit of coverage and evens out skin tone, so you're doing two things in one."

WHAT KIND OF EYE MAKEUP DO YOU PREFER?

"I like the new soft pencils for eye shadow. When pencils first came out, they really weren't very good for under your eyes because you had to press so hard that you would end up pulling your skin. But the new pencils are very soft. They blend very easily and the color stays very well. I don't have any one favorite shade, I like to play around with eye makeup a little bit. Experimenting with new colors is always fun."

SO YOUR EVERYDAY MAKEUP IS KEPT SIMPLE?

"Yes. I start with the Nars Tinted Moisturizer. Sometimes I'll put a little bit of Cle de Peau highlighter on my cheekbones. Then I use a pencil for shaping and shading my eyes, apply mascara, outline my lips and finish with some lipstick. My favorite lipstick is Chanels Long Wearing Lipstick #7501. I have practically every shade they make, from the dark red to whatever they come out with. It stays on all day long. And I also like Dior Gloss and Lipstick Queen in Medieval. "Of course, if I'm going to an audition or something, I'll use foundation, powder and blush as well."

DO YOU HAVE ANY BEAUTY PROBLEMS?

"When I'm working, I have to wear heavier makeup and with the hot lights my pores can open and get clogged. So I have a tendency to breakout or have little patches of eruptions. That's why I have to be very careful about how I clean my skin. It's also important to rinse your face thoroughly in order to ensure that you've removed every bit of makeup, oil and cleanser residue."

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE ON HAIR CARE?

"Again. it's that beauty (whatever aspect) is very simple. Go with your looks ... don't try to change yourself. You know your flaws and your assets. Show off the good features and play down the bad. Find a style that suits your hair type and your life style. "I happen to have very fine hair but I have a lot of it but since it's very fine I can't just wash it everyday or it would look awful. I wash my hair every couple of days or whenever it needs it to look clean and shiny. I change shampoos. Oh. one other thing is that I always start off with warm water and always rinse with cold water. The same is true whether I'm washing my hair or taking a shower. After I take a hot shower and wash my hair, I turn the water to as cold as I can take it. This cold rinse closes my pores, leaves my skin tingly and hair shiny. "I've gone to the same hair stylist for years. She gives me a good basic cut and an application of henna.