News Releases

While the gossip rags teem with blond starlets with perky breasts, it takes another kind of woman to captivate a crowd with her sheer presence. That's the woman over 40, in all her alluring mystery, and Lois Joy Johnson, beauty and fashion director at More magazine, understands that perfectly.

When Johnson turned 40, she proclaimed: “I had waited all my life for that number and the permission slip that came with it. Who cares about a perfectly chiseled chin or tightly toned thighs when you can have secrets, history, edge?”

Here are the products that she relies on when she wants to project an aura of mystery:

1. If you want to wear very dark lipstick after 40, it ought to be very sheer, as well. Visit most any Prescriptives counter, which will whip up a Prescriptives Custom Blend Lipstick ($60 for two tubes) to match that killer pair of deep-red velvet heels. To add depth, swipe on Clinique Full Potential Lip Plumps and Shine ($18), a sparkly gloss that swells the lips slightly with capsicum extract and ginger oil.

2. Remember Brenda Starr, the comic-strip reporter whose paramour Basil St. John was always off in some jungle searching for black orchids? After using By Terry Hydra-Replenishing Cream ($150), you’ll suspect she was on to something. Loaded with black orchid extract, a powerful antioxidant, the cream is also imbued with the oil of dark poppies, a long-lasting humectant, plumping dehydrated skin like two days in a hothouse.

3. With winter’s distinct chill nipping around every corner, try the sultry and hypnotic Roberto Cavalli Serpentine Perfumed Body Cream Luminescence ($60). Mango flower, a central ingredient, has aphrodisiac qualities, at least according to Brazilian legend. Try this shimmery floral cream over self-tanner, and you’ll forget about the snow piled outside of your front door.

4. Nothing works better than Estee Lauder Pure Color Eyeliner ($23) in Pure Black for creating the perfectly lined lid. The firm, pointed tip and inky texture allow you to dot between the lashes and right above them for a riveting intensity.

5. Very dark nail polish, in vogue this season, is an addiction once you get past the initial shock. It adds irreverent chic to mature hands, like a small, unexpected tattoo under your watch. Chanel Black Satin ($18) provides clever coverage for a bad nail month of breaks, splits and ridges. The look really works best on short nails: Black talons do not a woman of mystery make.

For more fashion and beauty tips for women over 40, check out the November issue of More or visit www.more.com.