Toss the Gloss: Beauty Tips, Tricks & Truths for Women 50+

by Andrea Q. Robinson

Overview

"Forget about makeup reclaiming youth,” says Andrea Q. Robinson. “Good makeup reclaims you.” Robinson, whose illustrious career has included positions such as the chief marketing officer of Estée Lauder, president of Tom Ford Beauty, beauty editor of Vogue, and president of Ralph Lauren Fragrances, is the ultimate industry insider. Now, she shares her decades of experience in this honest and straightforward guide for women fifty and over.

In Toss the Gloss, you will learn . . .

Why the right cosmetics, not anti-aging skincare, will help you look your youthful best.

How to recognize the seduction of beauty-industry tactics designed to get you to spend more money than you need to.

Gimmick-free tips and easy-to-follow shortcuts to make the most of your features.

Stylishly illustrated by Chesley McLaren, this inspiring book is a reader’s guide to feeling fresher, healthier, prettier, and more confident—at any age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781580056212
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	09/06/2016
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Andrea Q. Robinson is known for her many leadership positions in the cosmetics industry. She directed and served as president of several of the industry's most outstanding luxury brands, including Ralph Lauren, Tom Ford, Prescriptives, Ultima II, Helena Rubenstein, Germaine Monteil, Alexandra de Markoff, and Bill Blass. She also served as Chief Marketing Officer of Estée Lauder and consulting CEO for a line of cosmetics in development for one of the world's most well-known makeup artists. Prior to her corporate positions, she was a magazine editor for Vogue, Mademoiselle, and Seventeen, where she created and reported on both beauty and fashion trends and discovered and developed several of the industry's biggest talents, including makeup master Kevyn Aucoin.

Andrea's mission in the beauty business has always been to help women look like and be themselves—only better. This concept has driven her creation of revolutionary industry trends and fostered her passionate interest in cosmetics for her generation. She has been recognized as an innovative business leader whose skill set has helped redefine the concept of beauty for the modern woman. Andrea has served on the boards of Cosmetic Executive Women and The Fashion Group International and has received multiple awards such as Cosmetic Executive Women's "Legends and Leaders" award, Women’s Wear Daily's "Marketing Innovator of the Year" award, and several back-to-back FiFi awards (the Oscars of the beauty industry) for "Fragrance Star of the Year."

Andrea has two children and lives in New York City.

Chesley McLaren is a designer and illustrator whose clients include Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo, Bergdorf Goodman, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Carlyle. She is based in New York City.

Table of Contents

Introduction: What's That You Say Mrs. Robinson? 1

1 Wabi-Sabi: The Perfection of Imperfection 11

2 Out with the Old: Clear the Shelf and Free Yourself 19

3 Skincare: Getting Clear on Product Help vs. Hype 35

4 Eliminate and Illuminate: Concealer, Primer, Highlighter 51

5 Foundation: The (Nearly) Naked Truth 65

6 Blush: Let's Get Cheekyl 85

7 Tanning: The Ultimate Fake Bake 95

8 The Eyes Have It: Eyeliner, Eye Shadow, Mascara 109

9 Lipstick: The Magic Bullet 131

10 Hair: Hair Dos and Hair Don'ts 147

11 The Forgotten Zone: From the Neck Down to the Hands Up 169

12 Cosmetic Tweaks: The Needle, the Knife, the Know-How 183

Conclusion: Sexy Doesn't Have an Age 197

Editorial Reviews

01/06/2014
In her first book, beauty industry executive Robinson (who has served as president of Tom Ford Beauty and Ralph Lauren Fragrances, chief marketing officer of Estée Lauder, and beauty editor at Vogue) uses her experience to debunk myths and offer a straightforward, insider’s perspective behind the often indecipherable potions and lotions in our medicine cabinets. Many of her tips, including when to throw out various makeup products like mascara (every three months) and cream blush (every six months), are useful for women of any age. Even though the book is targeted to readers over 50, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for younger women to purchase this book as a guide for how to make better use of their makeup. How many of us wished we understood how to read the claims and lingo on product packaging or decipher ingredients such as antioxidants, retinoids, and alpha hydroxy acids? Robinson clearly and efficiently explains it all, while providing the product advice and application tips (with a nine-step guide for applying lip liner) you would expect of a woman who has devoted her life to beauty. Full-color photos. Agent: Kristyn Keene, ICM. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"I have known Andrea since she was a young fashion editor at Mademoiselle magazine. Even then, she had real instincts about how women wanted to look and feel. Eventually that sensibility and vision extended to include what women want and need at every age. Over the years, I've admired Andrea's creativity and passion for beauty both in the pages of Vogue and in business. I am so happy that Andrea will be sharing her rare expertise and personal beauty perspective in this unique book for women 50 and over. Real beauty, like real style, has no age."
—Ralph Lauren

"Finally! A marvelous and charmingly illustrated book on beauty for all of the millions of us women who are over fifty and longing to look our very best without resorting to the pathetic solution of over-painting ourselves to pretend we are still thirty-five. Andrea Robinson has a lifelong list of the most distinguished credentials in the beauty business, and no one could be a better, more inspiring mentor. With Toss The Gloss, she has given us an exceptional guide to help us look and feel our very best."
—Ali MacGraw

“This is, surely, a book for a very savvy woman written by Andrea Robinson, a leader and expert in the beauty world and a good looking woman who obviously follows her own advice. [Toss The Gloss] is a very smart book: straight talking and thinking, and thoroughly engaging with colorful anecdotes and charming drawings. You will want to read this book, learn from it, and enjoy it.”
—Grace Mirabella

"My longtime friend Andrea Robinson’s Toss the Gloss cuts through the noise surrounding the discussion of beauty after 'a certain age.' With her trademark candor, she demystifies best over-50 beauty practices, giving women the gift of her decades’ experience in the industry she has done so much to elevate. With this book, Andrea shows the world what she has always been to her friends, colleagues and admirers: a singularly honest authority with women’s well being and best beauty interests at heart. Looking and feeling BETTER, not younger, is the thing!"
—Trish McEvoy

“Filled with fresh, innovative tips, fun anecdotes, and product suggestions, Toss the Gloss urges women to forget about reclaiming their youth with expensive skincare products that never deliver what they promise and to instead pick the right cosmetics that reclaim features most affected by time.”
—Gotham Magazine

"In her first book, beauty industry executive Robinson (who has served as president of Tom Ford Beauty and Ralph Lauren Fragrances, chief marketing officer of Estée Lauder, and beauty editor at Vogue) uses her experience to debunk myths and offer a straightforward, insider’s perspective behind the often indecipherable potions and lotions in our medicine cabinets. Many of her tips, including when to throw out various makeup products like mascara (every three months) and cream blush (every six months), are useful for women of any age. Even though the book is targeted to readers over 50, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for younger women to purchase this book as a guide for how to make better use of their makeup. How many of us wished we understood how to read the claims and lingo on product packaging or decipher ingredients such as antioxidants, retinoids, and alpha hydroxy acids? Robinson clearly and efficiently explains it all, while providing the product advice and application tips (with a nine-step guide for applying lip liner) you would expect of a woman who has devoted her life to beauty."
—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

02/15/2014
Robinson lives up to her "ultimate beauty industry insider" billing here. Formerly director of various luxury brands, such as Estée Lauder and Ultima II, as well as beauty magazine editor at Vogue and Mademoiselle, she shares her secrets with readers of a certain age. Among the revelations: the beauty industry doesn't know how to market to fiftysomethings, unless it's wrinkle cream; and that fancy foundation you buy in the upscale department store has a much cheaper twin, made in the same lab, available at your corner drugstore. The author tells boomer women how to work with what they've got, what to buy, how to apply it, and what to discard—immediately. Many of the tips are helpful; some will be old news to women who have been reading glamour magazines and beauty blogs all along. Robinson's gossipy tone and "insider stories" come across as brittle and manufactured at times, and she certainly has some axes to grind. Additionally, the big push for surgical fixes is grating. VERDICT This slick, informative guide will lift boomers' sagging…spirits and, at the very least, lead to an educated trip to the cosmetics counter—or plastic surgeon's office.—Liz French, Library Journal

Library Journal