Do I need work done at 40? 😳

Hi beautiful, ☕

I did a thing at the mirror this week…

You know the one.

Where you stretch your under-eyes up toward your temples and pretend THAT'S your real face.

Spoiler: it’s not.

For one unhinged second I thought, do I need work done? A flight to Korea?

If you've been feeling your age in the mirror lately, I see you. 👋

Here’s what I’m spilling this week:

💉 The under-eye tips I swear by (before doing anything drastic)
🌿 4 de-bloating tricks I wish I knew sooner
💛 What I thought 40 would be…versus the actual truth

My under-eyes told on me…

The mirror stretch is my toxic trait. 😅 

You pull the skin back and think…

“Oh THAT'S what I used to look like”

Now before you do anything drastic… 💉 

Do these under-eye tips before you book that Korea trip.

1. The under-eyes that gave me away 😳 My under-eyes have been negotiating their own release lately, and losing. At night I firm them with this omega’s firming eye cream, shamelessly on my second jar. Before a big morning I apply this C15 vitamin C booster to brighten that dark, tired look, and yes babe, it's the closest thing I have to a good night's sleep in a bottle. 👀 Tip: tap the cream in with your ring finger, never drag that thin skin.

2. Dark circles that read as exhausted 🥲 Some mornings the shadows are so blue I look like I lost a fight with my pillow. And the pillow won. 🥊 I wake them up with this caffeine eye serum to chase the puff, and yep, a K-beauty girl on IG had me caving within the hour. Then I layer this ginzing brightener that fades the dark over a few weeks. Tip: a cold spoon over the area first makes the brightening land faster.

3. The color trick that cancels the dark 🎨 No concealer alone fully hides the blue, almost purple shadow under my eyes. I've tried, and it just sits there mocking me. So I cancel it first with this peach color corrector, which neutralizes all that cool tone in one swipe. Then a dot of this luminous silk concealer over the top and I’m looking like I slept 8 hours. Tip: corrector first, then the thinnest layer of concealer.

4. How I keep it from creasing 🖌️ By noon my concealer used to settle into every fine line like it had somewhere to be. Rude. I prep first with this eye base primer that smooths and grips so nothing slides all day. Quite possibly the best one I’ve tried. Then I lock it with this setting veil powder that never creases on me, and I mean never, babe. Tip: press a little powder in to bake it for a minute, then dust off.

5. Clinic glow with no appointment 💫 When I want to look lit before something big, I fake it in my sleep like a woman with a plan. The night before, I run this microcurrent eye device to lift the whole area, and girl, you should've started this yesterday. Then I put on the LED mask I use weekly (and yes, it’s the best thing ever and yes it works!) Tip: do it the night before, never the morning of, your skin needs a beat to settle.

The de-bloating tricks I wish I knew sooner…

Here's the thing nobody warned me about my gut in my 40s.

I wake up flat and by 8pm, my belly ballooned, and one big meal is all it takes to set me off.

I wish I'd sorted this out years ago, so let me save you the bloat.

Flat by morning, balloon by night 🎈My stomach is flat when I wake up and I look three months pregnant by dinner, and it turns out my gut was just wildly out of balance. Now I take this pre and probiotic every morning and the afternoon bloat barely shows up anymore.

Big meals used to wreck me 🍝 A giant pasta dinner used to leave me miserable for hours, quietly undoing my top button under the table. Now I take this digestive enzyme right before I eat and my body actually breaks it all down like it's supposed to.

The regularity nobody talks about 🌙 Nothing bloats you faster than things not, ahem, moving along on schedule down there. This mind + muscle supplement keeps me regular and calm at night. I take it 1.5 hours before bedtime.

Turns out stress lives in your belly 😮‍💨 Nobody told me stress spikes your cortisol, and high cortisol parks fat right on your midsection. This stress support takes the edge off my day, and my stomach finally stopped holding onto my whole to-do list.

The tired nobody warns you about…

I'm a mom of two, and in summer there is never enough time.

Camp ends at 3pm, somehow shorter than a school day, and the list is forever.

Then the guilt creeps in. 🫠 

You want time for your family AND time for yourself, and wanting both feels greedy.

I'm in the sandwich years now, still healthy parents and little kids, and everyone online keeps telling me to enjoy every moment.

Some days I'm too tired to enjoy anything, and life just feels like a grind. 😩 

My only me-time is the two hours after bedtime, so I hold them hostage and stay up till midnight.

And I pay for it the next morning, right under my eyes.

Forty gave me a wake-up call, mostly in the mirror, and something new is taking shape.

I still feel good in my skin.

So after everyone's asleep, I'm quietly building something of my own.

If you're in this too, exhausted and choosing the whole beautiful mess anyway, I see you.

Here's to the tired ones still showing up. 💛

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xo Jen

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