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Best way to start the day.

@fiftysister

Best way to start the day. #mydayroutine #mymorningroutine #goodmorning #wakeupinthemorning #50plus #over50 #over50women #matureskin #maturebeauty

♬ Cold Heart – PNAU Remix – Elton John & Dua Lipa

This is the best way to start the day. I’m a morning person and it drives my husband crazy. I babble on at a hundred miles an hour and he just stares into his porridge willing me to STFU!

I thought I’d share with you my morning routine to make you smile. I’m wearing ‘Lovesick’ by Kat von D bought from from Amazon below.

I’ve started making videos again. I really enjoy the creativity of putting it all together. I do everything myself. I learned how to make videos for YouTube, Reels and TikToks from zero complete newbie. I researched taking photos with an iPhone, shooting video, adding sound effects and transitions to building my website. The best way to learn skills is using YouTube. I’ve really enjoyed the process and finally I feel like I have something that looks professional an appealing.

TikTok videos can be added to my website very easily, so I post on there first and then re-post on Instagram. Instagram doesn’t like you doing this, as TikTok is a competitor with their logo on the video. So I download the TikTok video, edit to remove the audio, rename the file and then upload to Instagram, and add the music again. A bit of a fiddle but I think it helps prevent reels made on TikTok from being hidden.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a beautiful day.

Gail x

To get in touch click here

#mymorning #morning #morningmotivation #morningvibes #midlifeblogger #silverhair #silversisters #mylife #mylifestyle #jumprope #getfitordietrying #lifeafter50 #midlife #crueltyfreebeauty #veganwoman #getoutofbed #morningperson #veganwomen #veganlife #seniorinspire #matureskin #maturebeauty #middleage

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Do you want to look younger?

I don’t want to appear younger than my years. It’s perfectly OK that I look my age.

I know the beauty industry tries to convince us that we need to look at least 10 years younger than our true biological age, but why? I’ve received messages telling me I look ten years younger, and also 10 or more years older, it really doesn’t matter how old I look, its how old I feel, and I feel the same as I did when I was 18. I eat a varied whole food plant based diet, exercise daily, limit my time on social media and I spend lots of time in nature. It takes effort to feel good, sadly there’s no magic pill. I feel full of energy and ready to take on any challenge. More on this another day, I write less on Instagram posts as the limit on the number of words is too challenging for me!

I took this shot on arriving home from the construction site. My hair was covered in dust and was happily doing it’s own thing. I wandered into the bathroom and picked up the scissors. You see, my hair is falling out. … It’s normal. I have an under active thyroid and it causes my hair to wave goodbye to my scalp by the handful. Sometimes more than others. It’s OK, it’s only hair. 10 minutes of snipping and I have a shorter style.

It doesn’t matter if I look 54, 64 or even more. I just hope I look healthy and happy, as that’s my only wish.

Have a beautiful day.

Gail x

#older #wiser #hypothyroid #itsonlyhair #silverhair #silversister

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All about the red lipstick

Low key brows today, it’s all about the red lipstick. This one is from my favourite cruelty free brand @muacosmetics ‘Reckless’ Velvet matte liquid lip. Photo straight off the iPhone 12 Pro on portrait mode. I do appreciate the good light here so much.

Pity nobody will see my lipstick as I still have to wear a facemask everywhere in Portugal. We are only allowed to remove it whilst sitting in a café or restaurant.

My hair has a little bit of salt spray to give it some texture, but I really do need to give it a trim and tame it a little. I’m having trouble finding my hairdressing scissors, which is surprising as I live in such a small place!

I have my first project meeting about my house build today. It’s only taken 4 years to get this far. Patience is key when building your own home. It will be worth the wait I am sure. You can find the design here: loulehills.com if you want to see the design of the house. If you follow any interesting accounts who are also building a home, tag me in or send me a DM. I’m keen to find other crazy people!

Seb has booked a flight and will visit in one month. I’m so excited to see him again. He’s had some brilliant news this week, an offer of employment from the company he’s been contracting for. We are so happy for him! He’s had a crazy year – from working as an officer on a cruise ship, to a contract bringing an unsafe vessel from Greece to Portugal (and rescuing a young man floating in the water) to the perfect job for him. It’s with a great company who will support him and develop his career to Captain. Hoorah!

This week seems to be going on forever, or is it just me? Not a bad thing. Time is so precious, if it’s going slower it’s a bonus.

Have a beautiful day

Xxx

#silverhair #greyhair #grayhair #redlipstick #silversister #silversisters #50plus #40plus #midlife #midlifeblogger #maturebeauty #matureskin #goinggray #longgreyhair #selfbuild #algarve #portugal #expatalgarve #expatportugal #midlifestyle #midlifewomen #nofilter #grayhairinfluencer

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Summer wardrobe in full swing

What are you celebrating today? I am celebrating the start of my annual summer wardrobe sorting session which commenced today. I always forget a few pieces of clothing, and seeing them once more makes me excited for summer. We’ve had the most glorious spring this year with sunny days every day since lockdown. This week it’s been wet and rainy which has been a bit of a shock after all the lovely warm weather. So it’s ‘goodbye’ to perfect lighting and blue skies and ‘hello again’ to cloudy days and the joy of muddy boots and wet socks.


What is your favourite colour? I love yellow, pink and navy blue but there aren’t any colours I avoid wearing except brown. I know lots of women have a colour palette they stick to, but I am very random in my colour and clothing selection as I buy whatever makes me feel happy. I avoided black for a long time when I had blonde hair but I have a new found affection for black and white since ditching the dye.

Rummaging through my summer clothes last week I found this gorgeous white blouson jacket from Zara. I don’t normally wear a lot of white, but I think thats about to change.
Which colour makes you happy and lifts your mood? For me, it’s hot pink or a lovely lemon yellow as a second choice.

#over50beauty#matureskin#maturemakeup#over50style#50plus#silverhair#silversister#silversisters#silverbraid#grombraid#vegan#midlife#fitover50#over40#40plusstyle#middleaged#lifeafter50#emptynest#plantbased#grayhair#greyhair#ageinggracefully5w

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Let’s talk about filters

Lets talk about filters. I am asked often if I use them and the answer is ‘no’. I only use Instagram editing to modify the brightness, shadows and highlights. I simply can’t be bothered to do anything else, it’s just too much effort.

I know lots of women (and men!) use filters with wonderful professional results. Some are filtered to a particular hue or effect, some smooth out wrinkles and make your eyes pop. But, when I started looking for women my age for inspiration just over a year ago, I didn’t find many unfiltered shots of natural ageing…. no botox, no fillers, no facelifts etc. So I started my own.

I have friends who have gone under the knife, with tucks, liposuction and a full facelift and it made them happy. Others with botox, lip fillers, makeup tattoos and it made them happy too. We should do whatever we need to make us happy. Dye your hair? Do it! Shave your head? Do it! Lip fillers? Of course …and so on.
I’m happy to watch my face slowly melt into old age. Which reminds me of a story. When Seb was 8 he asked what would happen if we put a doll in the oven. I said ‘Lets find out!’. So we popped Barbi (no idea where she came from as I don’t have a daughter – sorry to whoever left it at my house) into the oven, then took her out at 5 minute intervals. Pity we didn’t document it as it was incredibly funny. Barbi aged very quickly. Her face melted, her hair made it’s way down her face and her boobs sagged under her arms within 10 minutes. I now know how she felt.
I want to be a positive ageing role model to the younger women in my family and to daughters of friends too. But, if you have coloured hair, botox, fake boobs and you’re happy, thats also a positive role model.
Never worry about the opinion of others. Join which tribe you want, we can all still be friends and happy with our own choices.

#ageing #aging #emptynest #ditchthedye #silversister #aginggracefully #healthyaging #vegan #bodypositive #over40 #over50 #braids #silverbraids #bluehair #matureskin #maturebeauty #maturemakeup #maturewoman #gettingold #violethair

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Chilling in the woods

This is me. No makeup. No light adjustments. Just natural old me chilling in the woods on a bed of ivy, soaking in the energy of the earth.

I didn’t like this face much before with it’s wrinkles, sunspots, scars and blemishes. But I’ve learned to love it’s natural state with almost invisible eyelashes and fire scarred skin (you can see red patches on the left side of the photo). It’s such a pity some of the quality is lost when posting on Insta, as you can clearly see the trees above me reflecting in my eyes in the original pic which is lovely.
I often find a quiet spot in the dappled light to bathe in the magic of the woodland. Safely tucked amongst the ferns, beech and oak trees, watching the boughs move gently in the wind, their leaves tickled by the breeze.
This is my moment of meditation. The birds calling and singing loudly at first light, full of joy, celebrating another shiny new day. The moist dew settled on the fresh leaves and grasses, tips tiny pools of cool tranquillity onto my skin as I join the bugs on the woodland floor.


#devon #relax #nomakeup #over50 #maturewomen #maturewoman #matureskin #positiveaging #vegan #plantbased #meditation #bodypostive #earthing #grounding #earthsenergy #silverhair #grayhair #agepositive

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Weight ups and downs

The violet and blue tones have completely washed out of my hair and I am back to my natural sparkles. I’ve been using #whitehothair shampoo which has really made my whites pop. Check out all my hidden shades of silver on the sides!
The other day I mentioned in my stories that I’d gained 8lbs/3.6kg in a very short time…. 2 weeks! I had very puffy legs which is unusual and my face was quite swollen. I had been enjoying red wine again and maybe got a bit carried away with a glass (or two) every day. I had a mini meltdown seeing the scales shouting my gains as I am very careful with my weight, having spent most of my life carrying too many extra pounds.
Today I woke up with my ankles back to normal and my weight down by 4lbs. Still 4lbs to go but thats better than 8. I desperately don’t want to gain weight, I feel great and want it to stay that way. Maybe I am suffering with water retention but I have no idea what would cause it. I’m laying off the wine regardless.
Yesterday I (finally!) met up with my gorgeous friend Emily (I hadn’t seen her for almost 3 months) and her two Vizslas. We enjoyed a socially distanced stroll along the oak tree lined river in Totnes and swam in the cool and refreshing gently flowing river with the 4 dogs. It was an absolute joy to see Emily and to wallow in the dark fresh water straight off the moors.
A new batch of freshly hatched yellow and black striped ducklings joined us in the shallows, which caused chaos as Ginger wanted to eat them all as they darted in every direction. I managed to scoop Ginger up and carry her to shore to allow the fluffy bundles to enjoy their first adventures along the river bank without a pair of excited teeth snapping at their tail fuzz.
I’d really missed Emily, our walks and chatter. Apart from people, what did you miss most during lockdown?
Hair: @whitehothair
Lipstick: Paige – @thrivecausemetics
Earrings: @_jasperrocks
#matureskinmakeup #maturemakeup #over50 #midlife #grayhair #greyhair

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Favourite bronzer & highlighter

By popular request I’ve filmed a step by step makeup tutorial to show you my current favourite cruelty free bronzer and highlighter.

Scroll down for a full list of the products used. Click on any product highlighted in pink to take you straight to the product on Amazon.

Products used in this demo:

Start with a good base using – 1. Revolution Pro Primer.

2. Thrive Causemetics Buildable Blur – light/medium

3. Thrive Causemetics Sun Chaser Bronzer

4. Thrive Causemetics Cosmopower Rosie Blush

5. ELF Jelly Highlighter

6. Pears soap

7. ELF Black eyebrow pencil

8. Revolution Pro eyeshadow set – night & day – Steel & Blackout

9. Thrive Causemetics Liquid Lash Extension Mascara

10. Tuchéir glittery pink lipgloss – Bronx

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Grombraid

Loving my braids and the hashtag from the gorgeous @silver.hair.and.long.lashes today – #grombraid !!! Playing with the light on my silver hair and admiring my wonky brows today.
#grombraid #grombre #silverhair #silversisters #over50 #vegan #planteater #over50style #50plus #matureskinmakeup #matureskin #mature #midlifewomen #middleagedwoman #over40 #emptynest #braids #vikinghair #whitehair #grayhair #goinggray #over50influencer #influencers #graybraids

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It’s an upside down world

I feel like the whole world has turned upside down.

This vicious minuscule invisible enemy which jumped on a plane, enjoyed a cruise and rode a train is causing the ultimate havoc and affecting everyone on this planet. I can’t help but marvel at the speed of its travel, the breadth of attack and the level of destruction it has left in its wake.

I now live in my shorts and wander around the house in underwear all day. I don’t really see the point in wearing clothes, other than to create more laundry to keep me entertained.
I’ve run out of chores, other than the ones I don’t want to do and never will. Such as sorting out paperwork and doing some filing. Turns out I’m behind with paperwork because I hate doing it, not because I don’t have the time.
My husband and I fight over who is going to do the laundry. It’s whoever can reach the laundry basket first in the morning wins the race and gets something to do for a few minutes! Whoever thought we would be fighting over wanting to do laundry?! I haven’t driven for 5 weeks, so my car must think I’ve died. I really miss driving to Totnes to visit the produce market on Friday, browsing the little boutiques, visiting food stalls – especially eating the best freshly made Indian dosa in Devon.

I’m feeling very positive and happy today as I know lockdown will not last forever. I am just reminiscing about market day and looking forward my next visit whenever that may be.
Life is just on pause.
Which weekly visit do you miss the most?

#totnes #lockdown #bepositive #silverhair #upsidedown #covid19 #pandemic #iloveschores #laundry #over50 #50plus #midlife #emptynest #imissmost #missing #greyhair #grayhair #grombre #over50influencer #over40 #matureskin #maturewoman #olderwoman #fitover50 #middleaged #pause #missthemost