Crossing the Bridge to 50

No one really prepares you for what it feels like when you start inching toward 50. One day you wake up and realize that the milestone is closer than you thought. It sneaks up on you - like a birthday surprise you knew was coming, but still weren’t ready for. Only this isn’t the fun kind of surprise. It’s more like the scary kind. The kind you never asked for but get anyway.

This morning, that reality hit me again. My once 30-minute beauty routine? It has officially doubled into a full hour. Sometimes even longer. And it’s not just time - it’s the process.

I used to be the “one lotion fits all” kind of woman. Now? I have six different lotions. Yes, six.

• One for my legs

• A special lotion for my butt (yes, that’s a thing)

• A scented lotion for my stomach

• Another for my arms

• A firming neck lotion

• And, of course, a dedicated face lotion

And because six lotions aren’t enough, I finish with body oil - and face oil. Oh, and I follow the butt lotion with a bristle brush. That’s just the lotioning portion of my morning. By this point, I’ve basically done a full-body car detailing.

Then there’s my curly hair routine, which deserves its own tragicomedy. Curly hair is its own beast, and mine demands to be soaking wet post-shower (and sometimes re-wet between product layers). Here’s the process:

1. Hair serum

2. Curl mousse with a curly brush

3. Hair gel

4. Lots (and lots) of scrunching

Then, I plop it in a T-shirt while I pick out my clothes. Once dressed, I start blow-drying, scrunching some more, and praying for decent curl definition. Honestly, it’s less of a hair routine and more of a workout with bonus frizz.

Here’s what nobody tells you: as women age, our skin thins, our hair texture changes, and suddenly maintaining your “normal” requires twice the effort. Neglect the routine, and you feel like you’re watching yourself age in real time. One day…you look in the mirror and boom - you are your mother.

People are often surprised when I share my age. The truth? They don’t realize how much work goes into defying gravity every single day. And honestly, sometimes it gets overwhelming. I have drawers full of tools - my Nira, red light therapy devices - that rarely see the light of day because the basics already take so much time.

All this to say: when you see a beautiful woman, tell her. Compliment her. Because chances are, behind that beauty are hours of effort, dozens of products, and an endless balancing act between what’s “essential” and what’s “too much.”

Even if she brushes it off, your words will mean something. They validate the time, money, and energy she invests in herself. And maybe, just maybe, they’ll make her day. That one little compliment is like Botox for the soul.

Because beauty may be in the eye of the beholder -but aging reminds us daily that it also lives in the effort.

Oh and here is a pro-tip: When you hit a certain age, just round up or round down. Instead of me saying I’m 47, I now say I’m 50. People react like, “Wow, you look amazing for 50!” And I just smile. That’s the trick - instant glow-up without even opening a lotion bottle.