Fashion Finally Celebrates Women Over 40 (Plus a Bold Chanel Color GRWM)

Quick answer: The thing that finally happened is that mainstream fashion caught up. After Nikol's "We Need to Talk" video about being tired of anti-aging messaging, two major articles landed: one on older women ruling New York Fashion Week, and a Wall Street Journal piece asking whether brands are finally catering to women over 50. She shares the news, then experiments with a colorful Chanel eyeshadow palette worn over her everyday mature-skin base.

Key takeaways

• This is the follow-up to "We Need to Talk" — after Nikol spoke up about anti-aging fatigue, she found articles celebrating older women, proof the culture is shifting.
• New York Fashion Week featured street-cast women from their 40s to their 70s, plus returning supermodels embracing gray hair.
• A Wall Street Journal article asked whether fashion brands are finally treating women over 50 as the valued customers they are.
• The GRWM is a true experiment: a bold Chanel color palette (green, burgundy, gold, and an icy shade) layered over a familiar base.
• The real lesson is that technique and the right brushes let anyone wear unexpected color, so don't be afraid to stretch past your usual shades.

Hey ladies, this one is equal parts pep talk and play. Nikol recaps the conversation her last video started, shares the exciting proof that the culture is finally paying attention to women over 40, and then stretches herself with a Chanel palette she wasn't even sure would work. It's a reminder that beauty, like aging, is more fun when you experiment.

What finally happened after "We Need to Talk"?

In her previous video, Nikol said out loud what a lot of women were feeling: exhaustion with constant anti-aging pressure and with brands that market to teenagers while ignoring their real customers. Over a weekend of reading on her iPad, two articles landed that felt like an answer. The first celebrated older women ruling New York Fashion Week, with a "silver wave" of street-cast women aged from their 40s into their 70s, returning 90s supermodels like Amber Valletta and Kristen McMenamy (now with long gray hair), and Molly Ringwald walking a show. The second, from the Wall Street Journal, asked whether fashion brands are finally catering to women over 50, and what those AARP-carrying, designer-bag-owning customers actually want, starting with simply being acknowledged as valued. For Nikol, seeing the exact conversation she'd been having reflected back in major press was thrilling.

How did Nikol build the bold Chanel eye look?

The palette is a Chanel quad (she references shade 338) in green, burgundy, gold, and an icy shade — all third-party colors, used here as an experiment. Nikol's point is that the technique, not the brand, is what makes an unusual color wearable on mature eyes.

1. Prep first: a swipe of Rose Lip Balm on the lips, a milky layer of La Mer emulsion for hydration, and Nikol's eye primer patted from the base of the lashes up to the brow bone.
2. Wash the green shade all over the lid, starting at the lash line and bringing it up just a quarter of the way.
3. Tap the burgundy softly through the crease with a fluffy eyeshadow blending brush — think a light wash for depth, not a heavy stripe of color.
4. Press the gold into the center of the lid with a fingertip for a concentrated highlight.
5. Add dimension at the base of the lashes with a short smudge brush and a little more green.
6. Curl the lashes.
7. Define and smoke the lash line (and the inner waterline for an evening look) with the Dark Chocolate waterproof eyeliner, then blur it with the smudge brush.
8. Brighten the inner corner by tapping the icy shade in with a tapered blending brush.
9. Finish with Volume Up Mascara.

What complexion, cheek, and lip products finished the face?

With a lot happening on the eyes, Nikol kept the base clean and let the skin look like skin.

1. Groom the brows with a clear Brow Mascara.
2. Neutralize discoloration with the Just Peachy corrector, and spot-treat a blemish with No Redness.
3. Apply Creamy Concealer where the under-eye creases, then buff it in with the Foundation Buffing Brush.
4. Press on BB Cream in Light, meeting and marrying it into the concealer and corrector.
5. Sharpen the lip pencil with the Nikol Beauty Pencil Sharpener, then line with the Silk pencil, a soft natural everyday shade.
6. Wear NikRay lipstick (Nikol's go-to) and top it with the Manifest & Glow gloss for a see-through gold sheen.
7. Sweep the Classic Beach Glow palette across the cheeks as blush, bronzer, and highlighter using a foundation flat brush and a fingertip.
8. Set the under-eye and T-zone with Nikita Banana brightening powder.

Why experiment with unexpected color as you age?

Nikol almost didn't try this palette — she looked at the green, burgundy, and gold and assumed they wouldn't suit her. Once it was blended, she loved it. Her message is that aging is a full-bloom season (the open rose on her packaging stands for exactly that): a time to learn, change, and try the colors you once wrote off. She encourages viewers not to stay locked into the same lipstick and shadow shades, and to make every beauty and aging choice for themselves, whatever that looks like.

The bottom line

Culture is slowly catching up to what mature women have known all along, and beauty gets more joyful when you experiment. If a bold eye or a fresh base is calling you, explore Nikol's eyeshadows, browse the full face lineup, or start with the makeup collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

What finally happened in this video?

After Nikol's "We Need to Talk" video about anti-aging fatigue, two articles appeared celebrating older women: one on the silver-wave of women in their 40s through 70s at New York Fashion Week, and a Wall Street Journal piece asking whether fashion brands are finally catering to women over 50 as valued customers.

Do I need a Chanel palette to recreate this look?

No. The Chanel palette is just what Nikol had on hand for a color experiment. Any soft palette in similar green, burgundy, gold, and icy tones works. The wearable result comes from primer, careful placement, and blending — not from the specific brand of shadow.

Which brushes make a bold eyeshadow wearable?

Nikol relies on three: a fluffy eyeshadow blending brush to wash color through the crease without over-depositing, a short smudge brush for dimension at the lash line, and a tapered blending brush to place the icy shade in the inner corner. The right brush controls how much pigment lands.

Is the Chanel 338 palette pigmented enough?

Nikol usually finds Chanel shadows underwhelming on pigment, but a review led her to this one and she agreed it was more pigmented than expected. That is her honest take, not a sponsored claim — pigment and finish always vary by shade and by how you build them.

How do you keep burgundy eyeshadow from looking harsh?

Treat it as a light wash rather than a solid color. Tap a small amount onto a fluffy brush and blend it through the crease so it reads like a soft, blurred depth behind the main shade. Building slowly keeps burgundy from tipping into a red, sore-looking finish.

What is Nikol's message about aging and beauty?

That aging is a full-bloom season for learning, changing, and trying colors you once avoided. She encourages women to step out of their usual shades and to make every choice — from skincare to bigger decisions — for themselves. For skin concerns, patch-test new products and check with a professional when needed.