I was reading an article about Prince shortly after he passed away that said he used to say his secret to looking young was that he stopped keeping count of his birthdays.  If only it were that easy!  We’d all love to find the Fountain of Youth, but until we do, at least we have cosmetics …

Unlike Prince, I have not stopped counting my birthdays (after all, without birthdays, there are no birthday presents), so I know I’ve celebrated 41 of them.  I sometimes get the same question as Prince (which ALWAYS flatters me), and I tell people that one of my many secrets (because, let’s face it, it’s better to have an arsenal to fight aging) is this Dallas pressed powder by Benefit that I got from Sephora (http://www.sephora.com/dallas-box-o-powder-blush-P133173?skuId=892406&icid2=products grid:p133173).

I think you’ll always look younger if your skin is luminous, and this powder does the trick.  It’s a rosy bronze that adds a lot of radiance to the skin, removing any dullness that can make you look tired or older.  And because it’s sheer, it can blend with a lot of different skin tones.  Every morning after I put on all my make-up, I sweep it on my eyes, cheeks and nose, concentrating more heavily on my nose because I think a stronger glow there gives my nose slightly more definition (interestingly enough, nose contouring is something I picked up from that Steve Martin movie Roxanne, the Cyrano de Bergerac update where he had the gigantic nose — if you haven’t seen it in awhile, you may want to check it out because I think it’s one of those comedies that actually holds up over time).

Dallas comes with its own brush, but I usually substitute brushes that are provided with ones that I’ve found that really get the job done.  In this case, the Optical Blurring Brush from Urban Decay, which I also got from Sephora, is perfect (http://www.sephora.com/optical-blurring-brush-P410551?skuId=1847706&icid2=products grid:p410551).  Before and after pics are below.

Before Dallas:

After Dallas: