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"  The old rules held that once a woman reached a certain age, she embraced the art of the cover-up: Her hair got shorter and darker (the better to cover gray), her clothes got more buttoned-up (the better to cover a flabby figure), and her makeup got heavier (the better to cover wrinkles).  Today, women are throwing those antiquated ideas out the window \u2014 and looking younger for it. Hair is lighter and longer, bodies are stronger and firmer, and makeup is sheer and radiant. Women are celebrating their own unique looks \u2014 even if they don&amp;#039;t resemble Sharon Stone (51).  &amp;quot;The women who run the country, run the families, are not all size two, and they don&amp;#039;t need to be,&amp;quot; says clothing designer Dana Buchman.  Here, the new rules for putting your best face and figure forward. Fresh and Flattering Hair  Forget about hair dye that could double as shoe polish. Say good-bye to that boring blunt cut. Feel free to embrace your inner Rapunzel. Many looks actually work just as well on a woman in her 50s as they do on a 15-year-old. Tousled Salon Selectives hairstylist Richard Marin, who has created cuts for Cindy Crawford (43) and the cast of Friends, says more and more women are turning to the short, choppy haircut first popularized by Meg Ryan, who is in her late 40s. &amp;quot;Her hair is playful, but not ridiculous. Because it&amp;#039;s not too long and looks low-maintenance, it&amp;#039;s appropriate for someone older.&amp;quot; And the purposely messy bangs that are essential to this style \u2014 coming all the way down to the eyebrows \u2014 help create the illusion of a round, full face, while concealing forehead wrinkles.  Lighter The best way to cover gray isn&amp;#039;t always to go darker \u2014 apparently, blondes really do have more fun. In the past few years, noted brunettes including Sally Field, 62, and Carly Simon, 64 at the end of June, have lightened their locks. Katie Couric, 52, who began her Today show career with a dark brown bob, underwent a dramatic transformation when she started sporting a sun-kissed look last year. &amp;quot;The natural-looking highlights brighten her entire face,&amp;quot; Marin says. Experts say you should avoid hues that are too yellow or platinum and stick to sandy beige tones.  Long &amp;quot;You can have longer hair as you get older. You just need to add other elements, like layers and highlights,&amp;quot; Marin says. Citing his client Rita Wilson, 52, the stylist explains, &amp;quot;Whether she wears her hair curly or straight, the shorter sections around Rita&amp;#039;s face give her a lift, so all that hair doesn&amp;#039;t drag her down.&amp;quot; Candice Bergen, who lopped off most of her silver-blond hair a few years ago, has since returned to longer locks. &amp;quot;She&amp;#039;s grown out her hair quite a bit, and far from aging her, it looks fantastic,&amp;quot; Marin says. &amp;quot;She looks more youthful and relaxed.&amp;quot;  Fitness with a New Focus Age may be a state of mind, but when it comes to the state of our bodies, there&amp;#039;s no escaping reality: namely, the effects of gravity, childbearing, and a slowing metabolism. Our biggest weapon: exercise. But rather than just recommending hours of aerobic activity, experts are now stressing the importance of strength training. &amp;quot;Working with light weights \u2014 even just the resistance of your own body weight \u2014 is one of the most important things you can do as you age,&amp;quot; says Margaret Richard, host of PBS-TV&amp;#039;s Body Electric, a fitness series geared toward women 35 to 60. &amp;quot;Bone density is directly improved by resistance exercise. Plus, if you reduce body fat with cardiovascular exercise, working the muscles underneath will give your skin something to hang on to.&amp;quot; Experts say that doing a few simple strength exercises for only 10 minutes a day, coupled with 20 minutes of activity such as bike riding \u2014 one of Goldie Hawn&amp;#039;s preferred ways to work up a sweat \u2014 just four times a week can make a world of difference, even at 63. Arms Richard recommends modified push-ups, done with knees bent and touching the ground: &amp;quot;Do as many as you can properly. It&amp;#039;s the best upper-body workout there is.&amp;quot; For the back of your arms, place hands behind you, palms down, on the front edge of a sturdy chair. With ankles in front of knees, &amp;quot;dip&amp;quot; hips until arms bend at a right angle, then straighten. Try to do 10 repetitions. Abdominals Crunches need to be done for just the length of a song on the radio (about three and a half minutes) to see improvement. With hands supporting the back of your head, contract abdominal muscles and lift head, neck, and chest in a line roughly eight inches, focusing on the ceiling. Buttocks No endless squatting or lunging exercises required. Richard recommends plain old gluteal squeezes \u2014 lying flat on the floor, tighten your buttocks like a fist while slightly lifting off the floor, hold for five seconds, then release. Repeat for approximately three and a half minutes.  Makeup Magic  When it comes to cosmetics, less is more. &amp;quot;Too much makeup adds years instantly,&amp;quot; says Los Angeles-based makeup artist Joanna Schlip, who works with Cheryl Tiegs, 61, and Kim Cattrall, 52, among others. Instead of reaching for the Pan-Cake of years past, Schlip advises women to try shimmering products, which can brighten older skin. Michelle Pfeiffer, 51, is particularly partial to dewy, sheer cosmetics that give her face a soft glow. For a similar look, women can try light-deflecting foundations or add glimmering liquids to other products. One lotion Schlip recommends is Magic Illuminating Liquid Potion by Prescriptives. &amp;quot;The pink and gold hues can be mixed with your favorite foundation or creme blush to give your skin brilliance,&amp;quot; she says. But, Schlip warns, &amp;quot;Go for the glow, not glitter! Frosty, glittery makeup is too young a look.&amp;quot;  Liquid eyeliners should also be avoided \u2014 they look cakey on less-than-firm skin. M.A.C&amp;#039;s Eye Kohl in Smolder is thicker than most pencils and blends beautifully on older, more delicate skin. A bottle of Visine provides a quick way to perk up tired-looking eyes: &amp;quot;As we age, the whites of our eyes aren&amp;#039;t as bright anymore,&amp;quot; Schlip says. Getting out the red will freshen your whole face. And remember to keep the skin beneath your makeup well hydrated. Sally Field, 62, swears by Nivea Creme. &amp;quot;The cream, not the lotion!&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;I couldn&amp;#039;t live without it.&amp;quot;  Save Your Skin  Once, the options were to age gracefully or go under the knife. Now there are an increasing number of products \u2014 as well as new technologies \u2014 to repair the ravages of time. Some things, however, never change. &amp;quot;Healthy lifestyle choices \u2014 such as using sun protection, not smoking, and staying well hydrated \u2014 can dramatically improve a woman&amp;#039;s appearance,&amp;quot; notes Bernard A. Shuster, M.D., a plastic and reconstructive surgeon in New York City.  Sun Damage &amp;quot;When you hit 40, you&amp;#039;re starting to see the sun damage you did as a teenager,&amp;quot; says Patricia Wexler, M.D., a dermatologist in New York City. That means wrinkles, brown spots, and burst blood vessels. The good news? &amp;quot;You can undo a lot of the damage,&amp;quot; according to Dr. Wexler. Topical treatments, applied to the face and neck, range from the prescription ointment Retin-A to over-the-counter moisturizers containing alpha-hydroxy acid and glycolic acid, such as Neutrogena&amp;#039;s Healthy Skin Face Lotion with SPF 15.  These products contain diluted acid to help your skin shed its top layer of dead, damaged cells; they also stimulate production of collagen, help your skin retain elasticity, and minimize the formation of new wrinkles. A more gentle approach for people with sensitive or easily irritated skin: antioxidant-based creams containing ingredients such as vitamin C or green tea, which have a similar stimulating effect. Consider Pharma&amp;#039;s emerginC Multi Vitamin + Retinol Serum. Dark/Yellow Teeth  &amp;quot;As you get older, teeth become more porous and more prone to discoloring \u2014 you&amp;#039;ve had 40 or 50 years of smoking, wine, and wear and tear,&amp;quot; says Gregg Lituchy, D.D.S., a cosmetic dentist in New York City. &amp;quot;Whitening your teeth can take off years.  Joining the already large market of whitening toothpastes are whitening strips such as Crest Whitestrips, which look like clear tape and are applied to the teeth for 30 minutes twice a day for two weeks. Whitening procedures done by your dentist can provide even more dramatic results. The least expensive method from your dentist, at $400 to $1,000, involves wearing a custom-fitted dental tray filled with a bleaching agent at home for several hours a day for at least two weeks. But this time-consuming process can also irritate your gums. An increasingly popular alternative is laser bleaching, which costs $600 to $1,500 and requires one or two office visits. The dentist uses a much stronger bleaching gel and either a laser or power light for 60 to 90 minutes while the bleaching gel is on the tooth surface. Results last up to two years. Smoking Damage  If you&amp;#039;ve ever been a smoker, chances are you have the thin wrinkles running from your nose to your mouth to prove it. Even nonsmokers know the effect of fine lines around the mouth: bleeding lipstick and a frowning appearance, for starters. Until recently, costly collagen injections (with only temporary results) were the most effective way of plumping up those lines. New to the market are several &amp;quot;nonablative&amp;quot; (meaning they don&amp;#039;t cause skin burning or peeling) laser treatments that stimulate collagen regeneration. Many dermatologists offer the treatment, which runs from $350 to $750 depending on the size of the area, and takes several office visits. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty/anti-aging/tips/a16718/fabulous-over-40/>