The Weekend Wrap-Up #9
Ruby Hammer on why "make-up has no age", Helena's favourite festive red lipstick, Claudia Schiffer's t-shirt for Unicef and a special treat for Black Friday/Cyber Monday from the MBE.
Happy weekend, everyone! And December!
How are you?!
Are you at this point in the proceedings yet?
Ageless beauty
“Style has no rules. Makeup has no age,” wrote Ruby Hammer, makeup artist, brand founder and all round beauty inspiration, on Instagram this week.
“In just a few weeks I’ll be hitting 63 and it’s looking bold, bright and beautiful. Age is never a limit. It’s an invitation to own YOUR story. To play with colour, experiment with makeup and dress for no one but yourself.” LOVE!
“Whether it’s a red lip, a swipe of turquoise liner, or an outfit that turns heads. Let your style reflect the person you are today. Showing up for yourself isn’t just about how you look; it’s the confidence to say I am enough."
What better inspiration to shine and play it your way, going into the party season?
Speaking of which, Ruby's own makeup range includes some great, special edition kits, including Blush And Brush, featuring her much-loved, midlife makeup-perfect Cheek Colour (fresh looking colour, in a swipe!) and the Face Brush, for seamless blending.
La vie en rose
The MBE community is wonderful about flagging great recommendations and—in case you missed them in the comments, I want to mention a couple.
After I mentioned The Ordinary’s new rosehip seed face oil last weekend, of Ask A Stylist shared that she loves Rehydrating Rose Facial Oil by Neal’s Yard Remedies (which sounds delicious). Meanwhile, of the wonderful A Sartorial Love Story is a fan of Pai’s Rosehip Bioregenerate Rejuvenating Overnight Face Oil.
The MBE crew sharing their favourites is one of THE best things about this newsletter!
Speaking of essential oils, over the last few days I’ve been spritzing everything in sight with Purdy & Figg’s Frankincense & Myrrh* Counter Clean.
It was at who persuaded me to finally push the button on a membership to the subscription-based, natural home cleaning range founded by Purdy Rubin and Charlotte Figg.
You simply add water to the 100% natural concentrates (non-GMO and free from phtalates), which come in a range of Signature Scents, with seasonal special editions (Frankincense & Myrrh and the new Orange & Clove are the latest).
The vibe:
There’s a Lime & Lemongrass Bathroom Bliss scent, too, and a range of bundles to choose from—with microfibre cloths, plus apothecary-style glass bottle—and flexible subscription options. (Not an affiliate, by the way, I paid for my membership in full, and went with the default three month option, to see how it goes. The seasonal scent was kindly sent to me for review for the MBE). I’m genuinely LOVING the products, and the principle.
I’m actually looking forward to the Pre-Christmas Panic Clean.
Midlife style in wild
The MBE can never get enough of Helena rocking her red lip look—makeup here by Soo Park, who did Michelle Yeoh’s makeup for the Wicked premiere (featured in Midlife style in the wild last weekend).
And with matching festive nails.
In the first edition of Grazia Beauty, Helena revealed that “I encourage my girlfriends to immerse themselves in cold water, it’s such a great way to rejuvenate— and that her first choice of red lippie is Lisa Eldridge’s True Velvet Lip Colour in Velvety Ribbon.
Christmas greens: cookery writer and tableware designer Skye McAlpine shows festive style doesn’t always = red.
And Claudia Schiffer shows off her (extremely cute) graphic tee collab in aid of Unicef.
Claudia’s is one of a range of tees designed by celebs, including Olivia Colman—more info here.
This edition of The Weekend Wrap-Up is Black Friday-free— there are just SO many good edits out there, such as ’s excellent 5 Things Friday - The Black Friday Edit, and also ’s, below (with half of affiliate proceeds going to a wonderful cause).
I did think, though, that it would be nice to do something special, sooo … just until Tuesday, I’m removing the paywall on some of the most popular MBE posts for paid subscribers.
Enjoy a little Black Friday/Cyber Monday reading, on the MBE! (And if you fancy enjoying more of the same, December is going to be FUN—top-toe-party tricks incoming this week, plus more celeb makeup artist and hairdresser tips to help you shine.)
Now’s the perfect time to join us—you’ll get your first paid sub post this Tuesday (and instant access to the entire MBE archive).
Speaking of Christmas, is there someone on your list who’d love to get a glossy gift of beauty, style and wellbeing news, in their inbox? Just add their email below, add a message, and consider it DONE! 🎁
As ever, THANK YOU for reading, and for taking a moment to click the 💚 button, which helps hugely in making the MBE more visible here (I’m so grateful!).
See you on Tuesday!
* indicates a press/PR sample, with no obligation to post. No sponsored mentions or ads. The Midlife Beauty Edit contains some affiliate links, with any purchases made helping to support the newsletter. I only link to products after writing (if an affiliate is available), and I am so grateful for your support of my work here.
So much good stuff here, Jenni! I've just ordered a couple of little crackers with Pai oil for Christmas presents, and have the Neal's Yard one on my list for my next London trip. I love Ruby Hammer, and wish I wore more makeup so I could buy some of those lovely bits! I have started using what I guess is the European Purdy and Figg: Kinfill, which is making me enjoy washing floors a lot more than I did before!
Thank you for including me Jenni! 🌹 ♥️ not sure how I missed this! 😘