Best Looks for Your 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s

Time doesn’t have to be the enemy

We don’t have to surrender to the slaughter of our skin, or give in to defeat by dull hair. Like these timeless beauties, we can victoriously seize our best assets and defy the years.

Text by Renee Sklarew / Research by Maria Scinto / Photography by Jonathan Timmes
Hair by Jon David Salon / Makeup by Stella Kae and Mei Shields

20s
Kate Ziegler
20; Great Falls 
Olympic swimmer and student

Style-savvy Kate Ziegler looks like the average girl next door. Looks deceive. Ziegler is a world-champion competitor who shattered the 1500-meter freestyle world record in 2007. She swam for the U.S. team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. A George Mason University student-turned-pro, Ziegler boasts a lucrative sponsorship with Speedo. She travels frequently, competing and volunteering as a Clean Water Ambassador for the Global Water Foundatio, but still finds time for studying psychology and interior design, along with shopping, her favorite hobby.

Skin Care: Ziegler asserts, “Wash your face before bed.” Chlorine from the pool dries out her skin, so she applies Grandel Azulene Crème to her face by day and Retin-A Micro at night. Ziegler likes Nivea and Aquaphor body lotion. For a treat, she likes the Hot and Cold Stone Massage at the Ritz-Carlton or facials at Red Door Salon.

Makeup: Her advice: “Have fun with makeup and style.” She uses Bare Escentuals with SPF and Diorshow Mascara. She says many women her age wear too much eyeliner. She prefers subtle lines, explaining, “It’s great to experiment with makeup if you’re going out, but allow your natural beauty to shine through.”

Hair Care: Ziegler has curly, dry hair. She shampoos with PureOlogy Hydrate System, and conditions weekly with Kerastase Masquintense, both good for her highlights. To straighten, she uses Straight Sexy Hair Power and John Frieda Frizz-Ease Thermal Protection Serum. When wearing her hair curly, Ziegler uses Aveda Be Curly. She’s a loyal customer of Bubbles Salon.

Beauty Philosophy
“I think being yourself and being confident is beautiful.” Also, Ziegler recommends wearing SPF now to save yourself from wrinkles and skin cancer later. She believes in taking time for yourself, whether it’s a trip to the spa or going hiking.

Kate’s Style
Her career hasn’t affected her style much. She wears sweats and workout clothes at the pool but loves fashion and getting dressed up. Ziegler describes her style as simple and classic.

Can’t Live Without
Perfume
“I really love it, but too much gives me headaches.”

Retail Details
“I love taking other people shopping and giving them makeovers.” She spent years working on her mother’s look. Her favorite stores are Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom. Favorite designers: Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren and Paige for jeans.

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30s
Kelly Owens
31; Fredericksburg
Assistant Director, The Wizard Girls

Bubbly Kelly Owens stays in motion. By day, she works as sales manager for Fredericksburg radio stations WGRX and WGRQ; by night, she choreographs the Wizard Girls. A former Redskins cheerleader and Wizard Girl herself, Owens is incredibly fit. Although fearful of flying, she once traveled to the Middle East to perform. “There’s no audience like the troops,” she says. She volunteers for Capitol Movement, providing dance scholarships to inner-city children. Owens examplfies inner beauty outshining outer beauty.

Skin Care: Loyal to Mary Kay products, she starts with Nia 24 Physical Cleansing Scrub, Mary Kay Purifying Refresher Formula 2 and Balancing Moisturizer. As a performer, she swears by Mary Kay’s Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover, which requires no scrubbing. Owens recommends Skinfinity for occasional microdermabrasion treatments.

Hair Care: Owens uses Garnier products on her stick-straight hair and never blow dries. She prefers hot rollers before a performance, and sometimes uses hair spray on her bangs. Although still searching for a salon to call home, she praises The Parisian Spa and Salon in Fredericksburg.

Make Up: She uses MAC “Nylon” or Trax” eye shadow and eyeliner, but no foundation. “Don’t cake stuff on; it’s not good for your skin.” She moisturizes everyday with Nivea or Johnson 24-Hour Moisturizer. Her favorite lip gloss is MAC Lacquer in shimmery Poco Pink, “It is versatile enough for sales calls and on stage.”

Kelly’s Style
While business oriented at the office, by night Owens prefers a laidback style. She prefers Fossil jeans and likes to look trendy, but not intimidating.

Beauty Philosophy
The biggest mistake people make, according to Owens, is using too much makeup. “Less is more,” she stresses. Owens defines beauty by the physical things you do for others without any expectation of reciprocation.

Can’t Live Without
Hand sanitizer
Having spent months in the hospital when her father was ill, she started using it to protect him. She still keeps bottles of it everywhere.

Retail Details
“I love shopping when I have money,” Owens says. Her favorite store is Express. She loves EDITOR pants and has a pair in every color, citing them as a great investment because they last. Nor can she resist DSW Shoes. “I am a shoe-a-holic, the Carrie Bradshaw of radio!” She’ll wear heels and ballet flats but “goes for uniqueness.”

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40s
Galeet BenZion
41; Vienna
Education expert and former elite ballerina

Elegant and exotic, Galeet BenZion completed her Ph.D. in education at American University, then worked as a consultant specializing in mathematics and arts education. BenZion published research papers on movement and math, and until late 2008 served as principal at Shepherd Elementary School in Washington, D.C. Formerly, BenZion trained as a ballerina performing with international dance companies in the U.S. and abroad. An outdoor enthusiast, she spends time with her daughters riding bikes, planting their balcony garden and “having meaningful conversations that only mothers and daughters have.” She is currently writing, publishing and working in Northern Virginia.

Skin Care: BenZion is a fan of simplicity. She removes her eye makeup with Neutrogena’s oil-free product and washes her face with Cetaphil. Her skin and body remain in excellent physical condition by rafting, hiking, skiing, swimming and doing Pilates.

Hair Care: Among her other talents, BenZion is good with the shears. She cuts her own hair and styles it. She’s “blessed with wavy hair” and uses VO5 vanilla shampoo and conditioner with L.A. Looks hair gel. In addition, she says she loves the feel, scent and results that come from Biosilk Silk Therapy.

Makeup: BenZion prefers Prescriptives makeup brushes “because they are fantastically suited to the skin.” She uses MAC eyeliner and for blush, “I go by the seasons; summer reddish, and bluish and brownish colors for fall.”

Galeet’s Style
Believing it’s what’s inside that counts, BenZion keeps her look simple and quick.

Can’t Live Without
neutrogena Makeup remover comfortable shoes
“My dancing career led to hard-to-accommodate feet. A shoe must fit like a glove and feel like fluffy socks the first time I try it. I do not believe in breaking in shoes. Life is too short for that.”

Retail Details
Favorite stores include Macy’s, Bebe Miller and Old Navy. For a professional cut, she recommends Jones New York, Kaspar, Anne Klein and Tahari worn with a scarf, pearl necklace and earrings. For weekends, BenZion sports unique, handmade jewelry from Israel.

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50s
Martha Raddatz
55; Arlington
ABC News senior foreign affairs correspondent and author

Slender and fresh-faced, Martha Raddatz has reported from Iraq 17 times since war was declared and wrote best-seller “The Long Road Home.” Raddatz shares “the nasty bathrooms” in a trailer at Iraq’s Camp Victory, “a prematurely named military base,” she jokes. In protective body armor with temperatures soaring to 130 degrees, Raddatz says makeup drips off. “The photographer can’t wait for you to repair it.” Her sense of humor belies the seriousness of her work. “The worse you look, the further away you stand.” The mother of two reports from Iran, Pakistan and other high-risk locations, insisting on seeing foreign policy on a level that’s both up close and personal.

Skin Care: Raddatz uses Clinique and Aveeno products for moisturizers and sunscreen. Working outdoors in a variety of climates, Raddatz demands a low-maintenance routine. Her one extravagance is body lotions, which are a must in heat and wind. Her favorites include Molton Brown and Crabtree & Evelyn. “If it smells good, it makes me feel better.”

Hair Care: Pantene hair products is all she needs.

Makeup: “We have great makeup people in the studio, but I normally don’t wear foundation.” She likes MAC chocolate-brown eye shadow and eyeliner and uses Lancome products.

Martha’s Style
Keeping it low-maintenance, Raddatz wears, simply, what makes her feel good.

Can’t Live Without
Clinique Comforting Cream Cleanser, Clinique Take the Day Off makeup remover, Aveeno Positively Radiant Moisturizer

Retail Details
Raddatz and other ABC employees frequent Betsy Fisher in D.C.’s Dupont Circle. She buys casual clothes from J.Crew. For formal functions, she likes Neiman Marcus. Her favorite color is pink, and when traveling requires a head wrap or cover-up, she brings along her favorite pink scarves that she found in Pakistan.

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60s
Gaye Adegbalola
64; Fredericksburg
Blues musician and teacher

Regal, stunning Gaye Adegbalola laughs when asked her beauty secrets. “I am interesting looking,” she says modestly, “but if you knew me you’d never ask.” For a recent photo shoot, she donned sunglasses instead of makeup. Her album “Bitter Sweet Blues” was termed “brilliant” by critics, and Adegbalola still performs solo and locally with the band Saffire. Formerly an award-winning high-school science teacher, Adegbalola is a breast-cancer survivor. She and her partner of 17 years live together in old Fredericksburg.

Skin Care: Adegbalola uses Cetaphil to wash but no moisturizers on her face. For her body, she likes Queen Helene Almond Massage Cream because “black skin is typically dry, and Queen Helene isn’t sticky or greasy. It’s a bargain at Sally Beauty Supply, only $4.99 a jar.”

Hair Care: Her partner Suzanne cuts her hair every third week in a distinctive, triangular-shaped style designed by her son Juno. She keeps it looking shiny with Carol’s Daughter all-natural products and Proclaim coconut hair oil. To keep her locks from fading, she washes with Clairol Shimmering Lights shampoo.

Makeup: Adegbalola doesn’t wear makeup unless she’s on stage. Then she uses mascara, under-eye concealer and eye shadow from Fashion Fair or Clinique in shades of blue, gray or silver. She wears prescription Persols explaining solemnly, “Blues musicians wear sunglasses to hide their tears.”

Gaye’s Style
She shoots for comfort and a style that has meaning, like wearing African tops and jewelry.

Beauty Philosophy
“I have been blessed to do what I love,” says Adegbalola, who links that line of thinking to her appearance. Her style is always “guided by comfort.” She takes vitamins, climbs stairs and believes in regular health care. Keeping up with pap smears and mammography saved her life.

Can’t Live Without
Silver hoop earrings
She has seven holes in one ear and an ear cuff in the right.

Retail Details
Favorite stores are Kohl’s and Walmart. Adegbalola loves her African bracelets from Ghana. At home, she’s in red high-top sneakers, Birkenstocks or bib overalls. On stage, she wears one of five “hot outfits,” including white tails or black pantsuits with interesting tops. “I’ve still got some pretty good moves for an old broad.”

(February 2009)

Tags: best looks, style