The one skill Nikol highlights is positive self-talk — learning to actually accept that you are beautiful instead of deflecting the compliment. She shows it through a conversation with 72-year-old Linda and a full day-to-night makeup tutorial built around a soft, fresh eye and easy evening upgrades.
Key takeaways
- Linda's retirement story shows it can become a full second life of volunteering, travel, and new pursuits like background acting.
- Linda's advice for trying something new: identify your secure spot, then go for it, and keep more than one interest going so you're never stuck if one doesn't work out.
- A soft gray brow pencil layered with brow mascara covers gray brow hairs without the need to pluck them out.
- A sheen eyeshadow instead of a flat matte can read as fresh on a mature lid rather than drawing attention to texture.
- You can take a day look into evening with small changes to the crease and liner instead of redoing your whole face.
- The real lesson of the episode: practice saying out loud that you are beautiful, with or without makeup on.
Nikol's step-by-step routine
- Prep the skin with a hydrating lotion and eye serum, then prep the lips with Rose Lip Balm #100
- Smooth on Fiercely Smooth Face Primer with a flat foundation brush before BB cream or foundation
- Shape and fill brows with the Skinny Brow Pencil in soft gray, then cover gray brow hairs with Brow Mascara
- Sweep Eye Primer from lash base to brow bone to neutralize lid pigmentation
- Apply the Fresh Beauty 3-Well Eyeshadow Palette: sheen shade on the lid, light shade on the brow bone, deepest shade blended into the crease
- Line the top lash line in dark chocolate and the lower lash line in plum using WaterProof Eyeliner Pencils, then smudge for a soft finish
- Apply Volume UP Mascara at the base of the lashes and use a heated lash curler to set the lift
- Cancel darkness with Just Peachy Color Corrector and redness with No Redness Color Corrector
- Buff BB Crème into the skin with the Foundation Buffing Brush for an even, light-coverage finish
- Spot-apply Creamy Concealer with the Concealer Brush where needed
- Add cream blush, highlighter, and bronzer to the cheeks for color and definition
- Line and fill lips with WaterProof Lip Liner Pencils and a soft pink lipstick, then set the under-eye concealer with Nikita Banana Brightening Powder
- Top the lips with Coco 13 Lip Gloss #259 for the day look
- For evening: deepen the outer crease and liner with the darkest eyeshadow shade, add a bit more lip liner, lip gloss, and blush
Who is Linda, and what is this Fierce Aging episode really about?
This episode of Nikol's Fierce Aging series features Linda, who is turning 72 in a few days. Nikol sits down with her for a conversation before moving into a full makeup tutorial, and tells viewers upfront that something unexpected happened during filming that turned into the real takeaway of the video.
Linda shares that she retired last spring from teaching, after wrapping up an adjunct course. She mentions reading a book about not just sitting around once you retire, and says her biggest lesson was to stay busy with things she actually loves rather than simply filling time.
What does Linda say about life after retirement?
Linda describes retirement as having enough time now to actually enjoy her home and do things without rushing. She stays busy with volunteering, including giving tours at a botanical garden, and takes advantage of living close enough to New York City to visit museums.
Nikol points out that retiring after 30 or 40 years of working can feel disorienting for a lot of women, since it's hard to picture what that 'second life' looks like. Linda's approach was to put plans in motion before retiring — whether that's volunteering, regular lunches with a friend, or other activities that give structure to the new chapter.
What is Linda's advice for women afraid to try something new?
Linda talks about applying to do background acting work on a television production, something she pursued for about two years before it worked out. She was turned down the first time she applied, then got in on a later production and has since done more extra work.
Her advice to Nikol's audience: identify your secure spot in life so you have that foundation, and then just go for it. She also recommends having more than one interest or pursuit going at once — that way, if one thing doesn't work out, you still have something else to look forward to, like a trip she had planned.
How does Nikol prep mature skin before applying makeup?
Nikol starts by hydrating the under-eye area with an eye serum, then preps the lips with Rose Lip Balm #100 well before applying any lip color, so the lips are properly moisturized first.
Next she works in Fiercely Smooth Face Primer using a flat foundation brush, starting in the T-zone and moving outward. She keeps the amount light — about a pump and a half — so it preps the skin for BB cream or foundation without feeling heavy.
How do you fill in and cover gray eyebrows?
Nikol shapes Linda's brows first, focusing on the lateral area where hair is commonly missing. She uses the Skinny Brow Pencil in soft gray with wispy strokes, matching the pencil color to Linda's white hair rather than using a warmer tone.
To handle the gray hairs scattered through the brow, she layers on Brow Mascara in milk chocolate. The goal isn't to darken the whole brow — it's just enough coverage so the gray hairs blend in and the brow looks fuller. She's clear that you should never pluck these hairs out, since you need every one you have.
How do you create a soft, fresh eye look for mature eyes?
After neutralizing lid pigmentation with Eye Primer, Nikol uses the Fresh Beauty 3-Well Eyeshadow Palette. The middle sheen shade goes on the lid and blends down, the lightest shade sweeps the brow bone, and the darkest shade is tapped into the outer crease for dimension.
She chooses a sheen finish instead of a flat matte because Linda described herself as 'fresh,' and a little reflective shine on the lid can look youthful in your 70s without reading as glitter or heavy shimmer. She finishes the eye with dark chocolate WaterProof Eyeliner Pencil on top and plum underneath, smudged for softness, then sets lashes with Volume UP Mascara and a heated lash curler.
How do you take mature makeup from day to night?
Once the day look is complete — color-corrected and buffed BB Crème, cream blush and bronzer, and a soft pink lip finished with Coco 13 Lip Gloss #259 — Nikol shows how to shift it into evening without starting over.
She goes back into the eyeshadow palette's darkest shade and presses it into the outer corner and crease for more intensity, then layers the dark chocolate WaterProof Eyeliner Pencil on top for a stronger line. From there you can also deepen the lip with more lip liner or add extra blush, giving a glam effect with very little extra effort.
Why is self-talk the one skill every woman over 50 needs?
When Linda sees her finished makeup, she says, 'It's beautiful — I mean, I'm not saying I'm beautiful, I'm saying it's beautiful.' Nikol stops here because this moment is the real point of the episode: so many women deflect a compliment instead of accepting it.
Nikol explains that this kind of self-talk matters — telling yourself you look beautiful, with or without makeup, isn't bragging, it's self-love. She encourages viewers to say it to themselves in the mirror, even with no makeup on, because that mindset carries into everything else you do, from volunteering to trying something new.
Shop the look
Nikol uses Rose Lip Balm #100, Fiercely Smooth Face Primer, Skinny Brow Pencil, Brow Mascara. Explore the face collection for more of the pro-aging makeup she created for women over 40.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Linda in this Fierce Aging episode?
Linda is a 72-year-old guest from Connecticut who recently retired from teaching and shares how she stays active through volunteering, travel, and background acting work.
What is Linda's advice for women afraid to try something new?
She says to identify your secure spot in life so you have that foundation, then just go for it, and to keep more than one interest going so you have something else to turn to if one thing doesn't work out.
Why does Nikol use a sheen eyeshadow instead of matte on mature eyes?
A sheen finish can give a fresh, reflective look on mature lids without emphasizing texture the way a flat matte might, which suited the word Linda used to describe herself: fresh.
How do you take mature makeup from day to night without redoing it?
Deepen the outer crease and eyeliner with the darkest shadow shade, and optionally add a bit more lip liner, gloss, or blush for extra definition.
Why does Nikol cover gray brow hairs instead of plucking them?
Gray hairs can make it look like there's no hair there at all, so covering them with brow mascara keeps the fullness of the brow instead of losing hairs you need.
What is the one skill Nikol says fierce women over 50 need?
Positive self-talk — being able to accept that you are beautiful, with or without makeup, instead of deflecting compliments.
