Jennifer Chiu
Posts
It started with a box of dye...💇🏻‍♀️

It started with a box of dye...💇🏻‍♀️

From brassy hair to better skin, the beauty shifts, mindset changes, and unexpected peace I found on the way to 40.

Jennifer Chiu
October 16, 2025

Hi beautiful, ☕️

I had a moment last week.

I caught my reflection, saw a few too many greys, and thought…

Oh wow, I’m almost 40. 😳

So obviously, I grabbed a box of hair dye, an old towel, and way too much confidence 😂

Me, standing there with gloves on, thinking about how much has changed.

My skin. My hair. My patience. My peace.

Here’s what’s inside:

✨ The sneaky skin changes that hit in your late 30s
💇🏻‍♀️ 5 hair hacks that brought my shine (and sanity) back
💭 The surprising glow-up that comes with getting older

Skin’s changing, hormones are wild, but at least the lighting’s good. 😅

My skin has a mood…

Motherhood + almost 40 = skin I don’t even recognize some mornings. 😵‍💫

Between sleepless nights, stress, and that mysterious hormonal week before my period…

(You know the one)… my glow has been going rogue. 🎢

These are the fixes actually working for me:

1. Missing Glow ✨
My skin went from glass to matte cardboard overnight — like someone dimmed the lights on my face. I’ve been using this active glow serum and this super hydrator to bring it back every morning. The texture is silky, never sticky, and I’m on bottle #2.
Tip: Use every morning after you cleanse, you’ll look like a glazed donut.

2. Early Fine Lines 👀
Those “laugh lines” hit harder when your kid says something wild mid-tantrum.
I rotate a resurfacing skin treatment and a bouncy night cream that feels like whipped clouds — smoothing without the scary flake-off phase.
Tip: Never skip SPF the next morning (learned that one the hard way).

3. Thirsty Skin 💧
Between heaters, caffeine, and chaos, my barrier is hanging by a thread. I use a peptide power serum first, then this K-beauty barrier cream. I was watching a Korean show and saw it in one of the episodes and tbh, I wish I found it sooner. My skin loves it.
Tip: Apply to damp skin so hydration actually stays put and makeup glides smoother.

4. Makeup Misbehaving 😭
Foundation suddenly started settling into every line possible, like it’s collecting rent there. Swapping to a skin tint serum and a blur-effect primer made my skin light, dewy and selfie-approved.
Tip: Blend with fingers, not brushes. Warmth melts it in faster and makes you look way more awake than you feel.

5. Neck Betrayal 🫣
I ignored my neck for years. Now it’s tattling in HD. I use this clinical lifting neck cream and this anti-aging décolleté cream, both feel cushiony and luxe without being sticky.
Tip: Apply upward — gravity doesn’t need more help.

BONUS: The Shades That Still Hit at 40

The lip shades that instantly brighten your face (and won’t make your teeth look yellow). Watch the reel here! 🎥
Blush + lip combos that fake a full night’s sleep. You’ll want to save this video before your next glow up. 📌

Back to my roots…

Before: Chasing trends and the “perfect” shade

After: Embracing my natural color — and feeling better than ever ✨

I hadn’t dyed my hair at home in years.

But when the brass kicked in and my stylist was booked for weeks…

I grabbed gloves and went for it. 🧤

I realized maybe my natural color is actually my best color. 🖤

Here’s what’s helping my hair feel glossy, low-maintenance, and finally like me again.

1. Gloss It Up ✨
A clear gloss treatment gives instant shine and soft tones without the salon stress. It’s basically a top coat for your hair and buys me weeks between color appointments.
Tip: Leave it on a few extra minutes for that mirror-shine finish.

2. Glass Hair Secret 💆🏻‍♀️
You know that liquid-shine hair celebs have—smooth, silky, not a frizz in sight? This heat-activated smoothing spray is the trick. It locks out humidity, seals the cuticle, and makes my hair look freshly flat-ironed every time.
Tip: Spray on damp hair before blow-drying for that glassy, frizz-free finish.

3. Scalp First 🧖🏻‍♀️
Healthy roots = happy hair. I massage in a few drops of this restoring scalp serum 2-3 times a week. It helps nourish the scalp and keeps flakes away.
Tip: Two minutes of massage = shine and stress relief.

4. Tone It Down 💙
The brassy phase always sneaks up when you least expect it. Once a week, I use a blue color-depositing shampoo (my stylist put me on to this one) to cancel out orange tones. Using this has prolonged my salon visits!
Tip: Leave it in for 2–3 minutes, then rinse with cool water and follow with a rich conditioner (I’m on my 3rd bottle!) to keep it soft + glossy.

Bonus: See my hair transformation video! From brassy and tired to rich, glossy, and back to my natural-born color. 🤯

So…this is 40?

It all started with a box of hair dye.

I thought I was just fixing brass.

Turns out, I was fixing my mindset. 😌

The greys showed up right after I had kids.
I’m not saying they caused it… but I’m not not saying it. 😂

For years, I kept coloring, chasing, pretending I could outsmart time.
And then one day, I just didn’t want to anymore. 🙅

Going back to my natural color felt like going back to me.
It wasn’t giving up. It was finally letting go.

You know that saying, “When a woman changes her hair, she’s about to change her life?”
Yeah. That one hit different this time.

Because honestly, I’m tired. Not exhausted—just selectively energetic. 😂
I no longer have the bandwidth for drama, 10-step routines, or group texts that drain my soul.

I don’t need to be the trendiest.
I just want peace, health, good skin, and people who make me laugh until my mascara runs 😂

It’s made me want to actually enjoy this part.
The chaos, the cuddles, the mess, the noise, the burnt-coffee mornings.

So I’m doing my best to be here now.
With gratitude, with grace, with a fresh coat of my natural color, and zero pressure to be perfect.

Getting older doesn’t feel like losing time anymore — it feels like earning peace.

See you next week. 💕

xo Jen