Don’t let people tell you your 30s will be the best time of your life in a tone that suggests your looks will fade so you better find inner peace. Vicki’s Picks is a weekly beauty column that features Vicki’s all-time favourite beauty products and latest discoveries for women in their 30s who plan on staying pretty on the outside for a long, long time. Inner peace is optional.
Remember when using any old drug store eye liner to get a heroin chic smoky eye looked almost more sultry at the end of a night out dancing? Neither do I, especially because that would have been in the pre-Instagram era. That said, I genuinely, and for the most superficial reasons in the world, like my looks more now in my 30s than in my 20s. It’s not because I have a really good trainer, amazing therapist or very skilled hypnotist. If I thought I had to resort to taping inspirational quotes about inner beauty to my mirror just to have the strength to leave the house in the morning, I’d just become a total recluse and resurface only on random episodes of Hoarders.
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As it turns out, the only thing twentysomething me had that thirtysomething me is now envious of is baby fat on my face to smooth out fine lines and more elasticity in my skin to block makeup from seeping into said lines (which makes my face suddenly look like a vintage map of Ontario’s rivers made by early settlers). Sure, I can use any cheap brand of makeup and look polished before I leave the house, but throw in a stuffy subway ride and a couple hours of gravity and I end up looking like a gigolo who was just hosed down by the police.
Enter one of my favourite eye liners of all time: Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner ($26, exclusive to Shoppers Drug Mart and Murale stores across Canada). All I needed was one day of -17 degree weather this week to remind me why this eye liner rocks my world. Even after my eyes filled up with water from the shock of the cold, froze to my face for my entire 20-minute walk, thawed when I finally got inside and teared up all over again on my way home, my eye liner was still in place at the end of the day without even a smudge. Although black is a classic shade for liquid liner, I actually prefer the dark brown and steel-charcoal Stila liquid liners for a softer, less severe look. Paired with a waterproof mascara, this eyeliner lets me forget about the fine lines that I can’t see when makeup isn’t making like a fluorescent light and exposing them. That way I can concentrate on all the things I like better about myself in my 30s: my abs, cheekbones, and hair colour. What, did you want me to say my improved values or more meaningful sources of self-worth? I’ve got to save some things for my 40s, right…?