Ageless Style: Meet Wellness Warrior Juliana Spaven

This month I am delighted to interview vibrant, “silver‑stranded” wellness advocate Juliana Spaven. Through her relatable voice, Juliana advocates exercise, clean beauty and a healthy lifestyle. In turn she inspires others to embrace aging with confidence, vitality, and authenticity. For Ageless Style: meet wellness warrior Juliana Spaven.

Ageless Style: Meet Wellness Warrior Juliana Spaven

Hi Juliana! I’m so excited to be interviewing you for our August edition of Ageless Style. My readers are always looking for more ways to focus on self-care, and your natural approach to health and wellness after 50 is sure to be of interest to them. Before social media, tell us a bit about yourself – your story, past careers, and how these influenced your current path of clean beauty advocate and health and wellness expert.

I grew up in the Midwest but always had a taste for communications, adventure and travel, so I took to living abroad and working my way up in advertising / brand strategy for much of my 20s and 30s. I worked for some of the biggest ad agencies in the world (Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, AKQA) around the world (LA / Chicago / Hong Kong / Italy). I’ve traveled all over Asia, South Asia and Europe, and love the feeling of everything being new and unfamiliar. Fun fact: I also took a sabbatical from branding for 6 years and joined the U.S. State Department as a Diplomat, serving in Sri Lanka and in Germany!

Today I live in Virginia, right outside of DC with my husband of 13 years and my 12-year-old daughter, almost 9-year-old son and my black lab rescue, Schatzi. I’ve always been about collecting experiences and exploring possibilities, with the incessant question: ‘Is this as good as it gets? Can it get better?’ in the quiet of my mind. It’s pushed me to explore different cultures, travel alone, get comfortable with the uncomfortable and question the status quo / limiting beliefs – be they socially created or self-created – around what and who I want to be when I “grow up.” I’m also a passionate advocate for aging well naturally! I encourage women to become the very best version of themselves on my channel SilverHighlights1971 (on IG & TT, and also my website). Aging doesn’t have to be a downward spiral! Growing older can be magnificent, and it starts with shifting your mindset around believing what’s possible for YOU. If you think you’re going to age poorly, you’re probably right. If you truly believe you can age optimally, you’re going to invest in your health, dial in your nutrition, start lifting weights and shift your narrative around aging to your favor.

Modeling after 50! Tell us how this opportunity came about and what you look forward to with new opportunities in this field.

Throughout my life, people would tell me, “you should model” but I always made excuses: I’m not tall enough. I want to be taken seriously in my field and models are airheads. I hear it’s really competitive.

Of course I wanted to give it a try, but I think deep down I was scared to be rejected. So I just smiled and told myself ‘they were being nice, but they didn’t mean it.’ And that helped me forget about that dream.

But then I turned 50.

Maybe it was the declining estrogen and me not caring anymore about people’s opinions? But in a moment where I was questioning limiting beliefs, I asked myself: ‘If not now, when? And wouldn’t it be fun to at least try?!’ Talk about blowing up limiting beliefs! At the urging of a friend who’s connected in the industry, I sent in some photos. 20 minutes later, I had an agent!  Who started sending me virtual auditions!  

Not long after, I booked my first shoot with United Airlines. I was playing a business traveler, a role I had played frequently IRL. And I will tell you: It was AMAZING. I loved every second of being on set. The way they call you “the talent.” The hair and makeup people fawning over you. Wardrobe stylists and lighting savants and celebrity photographers – all of it. There I was, on set and playing a role and getting photographed and getting paid for it. It was so much fun – I couldn’t stop smiling the whole darn day!

I’m delighted that I’m now with 3 agencies and I represent 50+ women. And I love that more brands are evolving and embracing 50+ models!  I’ve done a number of shoots for beauty & lifestyle brands, and I’m always so giddy every time I get the chance to work in front of the camera. It’s such a joy!

Ageless Style: Meet Wellness Warrior Juliana Spaven

In addition to social media and modeling, you are also a brand strategist – how has this helped you as you’ve grown your following on social media?

One of the big takeaways of branding is to know and speak to your target audience. I do that daily, and I keep in mind that I’m not trying to be something for everybody. Lots of women opt for plastic surgery or have different perspectives on aging, and that’s fine! I’m not for them. But I very much am here for the women who want to age well naturally and want tips and strategies to look & feel their absolute optimal best for their age. Another big point in branding: say one thing and say it well. I constantly talk about how to age well naturally and all the levers someone can pull to do so – from nutrition to sleep to movement and the importance of weight training and so on. My job is just to keep serving up the messages and hoping that they land with people when they are ready to receive those messages.

Have you always been conscious of a more natural approach to living or has this evolved over time? If it’s evolved, tell us what the main factor was that changed your approach?

My dad was a nutritionist, so I grew up eating healthy in the 70s – in an era where jogging and yoga were considered laughable offenses. So, I’ve always had a leaning towards health and nutrition and believing that my body is really designed for optimal health – we just need to feed it the right kind of fuel. This has had a profound impact on my health, and how I prioritize health.

In terms of skincare, I was the exact opposite. Despite the fact that I’ve worked for decades in advertising, I bought into the hype that at least part of the marketing story must be true when it came to designer skincare. My motto was, “If it’s expensive, it must be good. Plus… I’m worth it.” Then one morning in my late 40s I woke up with my eyes swollen shut. “It’s your eye cream,” my dermatologist told me. What!

But then I started reading the labels. It was an immediate transition to clean beauty, and I’ve never looked back. Now I’m kind of a research hawk about beauty products (every product ingredient list gets fed into ChatGPT before I put it on my skin), and I choose to quench my skin in organic plant bio-actives and natural antioxidants that give me that glow-from-within radiance. Simply put, I believe our bodies respond best to natural ingredients and formulations; synthetic formulations might offer short term gain, but we don’t really know how the science will pan out in the future.

These days, I’m a big advocate of no-Botox, fillers or surgery, and I rely on facial exercise to tighten and firm my face. At 54, I need facial exercises that work quickly, and I don’t have extra collagen & elastin to spare, so I’ve just launched a facial exercise course that addresses the major signs of aging for women 45+: the sagging, puffiness, wrinkles and lack of firmness and youthful glow. You can learn more about my Facial Exercise course on my IG page.

Share with us your top five favorite all-natural beauty brands and why.

This is so hard! There are so many newcomers that I love and brands I haven’t yet met in this space, so it’s a tough call! But I do have my die-hards that are on constant rotation in my medicine cabinet: The entire line of Mukti Organics. BUY IT ALL. The entire line of Maya Chia Beauty products. BUY IT ALL, AGAIN.

In the winter or when I have really dry skin, I turn to Sensitive Skin for their soothing cleansers and face balms. And I adore Savor Beauty, a squeaky-clean K-beauty brand. I mix and match my way through products, always researching ingredients before trying new brands, but always experimenting with brands that pass my clean beauty test. I’ve found all my skin care loves this way.

Ageless Style: Meet Wellness Warrior Juliana Spaven

How would you describe your overall style and what are some of your go-to brands and tips when it comes to fashion over 50?

My style is effortless classic glam, and I love mixing casual and formal. I’ll wear a Max Mara pantsuit and pair it with a Gap T-shirt and silver sneakers. Or a tank top and baggy jeans with Tamara Mellon heels. I err on the side of casual and then spruce it up with great jewelry, heels and a killer belt. I don’t really like trendy things; my pieces are in my wardrobe for years (if not decades!) because I like staples that are timeless and look elegant, regardless what’s in style.

In terms of fashion tips over 50: dress age-appropriate and make the effort. Wear the makeup, spend a few minutes styling your hair, style with accessories – don’t just run out to get groceries in your pajamas. Dress in a way you’d be proud to be photographed in, even if it’s a (tailored) hoodie and sweatpants! Put the effort in, because you’ll feel more put together and intentional about everything you do during the day – I promise! That said, If I’m working from home (and not filming content), it’s mostly athleisurewear because I’m the kind of person who sets a 90 minute alarm and then I get up and do movement for 10 minutes – air squats, pushups, stretches, whatever my body needs – before going back to work. I find that when I’m wearing a skirt or a nice outfit, I skip my mini movement breaks and I don’t like doing that.

Your skin is gorgeous – what’s your routine – do you stick to the same products or are you constantly rotating them?

Thank you so much! I invest in quality skincare because I’m not doing surgical procedures or injections, so I figure with the money I’m saving there, I can afford good quality clean beauty skincare. (But I did just start dermarolling and love it!) I absolutely love trying new clean beauty brands, but I make sure to keep the product functionality consistent.

In the morning, I skip washing my face unless I’m sweaty from the sauna or a workout. For day, I’ll use:

– Hydrating toner (I like Maya Chia’s Optimist)

– Hyaluronic acid; I like Mukti’s hyaluronic marine serum

– Vitamin C brightener (Maya Chia’s C-more or Ranavat’s Saffron Brightening Serum are excellent)

– A powerful day serum to keep my skin radiant, like Maya Chia’s Super Couple or Sensitive Skin’s Elixir

– Hydrating day face cream – I adore Mukti’s Marigold cream

– Nourishing eye cream like Savor Beauty’s Caviar Collagen eye cream

– SPF (mandatory!) I’m really enjoying Sky & Sol’s SPF 50 with tallow – it hydrates and keeps my skin gorgeous for hours.

At night, I use:

– A cleansing oil to take off my makeup (like One Love Organic’s Botanical B Cleansing Oil – Toner (like Alpyn Beauty’s Pore Perfecting Liquid Exfoliator)

– Vitamin A / natural retinol product like Maya Chia’s The Straight A or Mukti’s Vital A Elixir

– Deeply hydrating serum like Sensitive Skin’s Elixir or Mukti’s Age Defiance Day Serum

-Rich night cream like Mukti’s Queen of the Night

– Eye cream – a fabulous one like Maya Chia’s Advanced Response Complex eye cream

All of these are linked on my web page with discount codes (if people want to shop!).

While you are at it, let’s talk about keeping hair beautiful as we age – name your favorite products and how you keep your hair healthy.

I use Maya Chia’s Powerfol Shampoo and Conditioner and the Powerfol Hair Treatment for thinning hair. I won’t use anything else. Fun fact, I liked their products so much I became the model for their shampoo and conditioner line (that’s my hair on these images from the company site!).

What methods do you use for maintaining a positive mindset as you age?

This is SUCH a great question. First of all, reframe: it’s a blessing to age. So many people don’t get the chance. Whenever I get down about the fact that the days are passing and the years keep coming, I stop and catch my thoughts. How lucky am I to be here in the first place?! I lost a dear friend last summer and he would’ve given anything for another year, or half year, or even month to be alive. So, I remember how blessed I am to have the day I have in front of me. How blessed I am to be able to move my body, to kiss my loved ones, to be challenged with work – all of it. We’re blessed to be able to age.

Secondly, it has everything to do with your thoughts and what you believe about aging. If you believe it’s all downhill from here, that your best days are behind you and that aging is going to be terrible, your mind will look for confirmation that your beliefs are correct. And you will absolutely 100% find it. But if you believe your best days are ahead of you, your mind will look for evidence that that’s true. Your reality is not what is; your reality is what you perceive. So, what are you choosing to believe? I personally refuse to believe “it’s all downhill from here.” I refuse to believe that I’m invisible (that’s what society tells us, after 50!), or that aging is going to suck. No. I’m just not accepting those thoughts into my nervous system.

Which leads me to my third point: I consciously choose every day to be positive about aging. It’s a choice to believe that your best days are before you; it’s a choice to believe that you can reduce your body pain, and that you can age with vibrancy and radiance. Is it hard? Some days, yes. But can we do hard things? We’re women. Women. We are the very definition of resiliency. Let’s go.

Ageless Style: Meet Wellness Warrior Juliana Spaven

A day in the life: what does this look like for you – do you have a normal routine, or does it change from day-to-day.

I start my day, lying in bed and doing a body scan – how am I feeling today? How’s my body today? I make a note of how good my body feels and any areas that need special attention. Then I spend a few moments flooding my body with gratitude at all that I have to be thankful for and what I’m going to focus on today before standing up and getting started with my day. Those few moments of setting the intention for my day: it focuses me on what I’m going to work on today, who I’m going to be, how I’m going to act or react to situations reminding myself of my desire to be the very best version of me.  It’s just the best way to ground myself in happiness.

I’ll walk my dog first thing (early morning sun exposure) and then the next hour is consumed with tasks: getting my kids to where they need to go (camp or school). I also like to post in the mornings on IG & TT, so I focus on that, while hydrating and drinking a pre-fuel vanilla latte.

Once the morning rush is over, I have “me” time. That’s either my cue to do my morning stretch routine and then head to the gym, or, if it’s an off-day, I’ll go for a long walk before I head to our sauna for some muscle recovery time. Then I make myself take a cold plunge (Ack! I hate it but I never skip it!) before showering and doing my hair and makeup. That’s my thing. I find that if you look put together, you feel put together, even if you’re working from home in athleisure wear.

On to breakfast! I’ll make myself a hearty breakfast (4 eggs, breakfast sausage, ½ avocado and fresh fruit) with a cup of green matcha. I’ll check emails and my meetings usually happen at this time. Then it’s time for research, scriptwriting, and filming content! Sometimes, filming comes naturally. Other days, I need to do repeated takes to get the shot just right (it’s hard when you’re the talent but also the writer, director, producer and editor!).

I’ll usually schedule a late lunch and then get back to editing or planning projects with brands and partners. Then it’s late afternoon and time for me to get dinner on the table. We eat early – 6pm – which I love. We’re very big on family time at dinner, and it’s our time to get up to speed on everyone’s day and what’s happened.

After dinner, I’ll take my dog for a nice walk and then start our wind-down-for-bed routine. I try to spend at least a ½ hour with each kiddo at bedtime, for stories and giggles and cuddles, and as my children grow older, learning from them and listening. I had a really tumultuous time with my mom during my teenage years, so I’m determined not to repeat that with my daughter, who’s right at that age. I make it a point to listen to her, to learn about her life and what she’s struggling with, and if asked, provide my thoughts and advice. It definitely makes our relationship so much closer.

Then it’s off to bed for me! I do my skincare and facial massage routine before getting into bed around 10pm and finishing my day with a meditation, separating myself from the thoughts and worries of the day that consumed me, reminding myself of all that I’m capable of, and that I’m truly a child of the Divine.

Share with us 4 interesting facts that your audience might not know!

1. I’m a brand strategist by profession, so I’m constantly thinking about how my audience is going to perceive the content I create. Will it resonate? Will it motivate or inspire action? My goal is to inspire and persuade women that they actually can age well naturally – without surgery or other invasive procedures – and to convey the roadmap in an informative and hopefully entertaining way.  I’m always thinking about new ways to deliver basic messages. For example, we all know that the best way to look amazing is to get 9 hours of sleep. How can I say that in a way that actually lands? That makes women want to put down their devices and get to bed early and give their bodies what they need? That’s what I think about, a lot.
2. I’m a chef savant in the kitchen – if I find a recipe that meets my criteria (it’s generally healthy; has under 12 basic ingredients; and takes under 1 hour to make), I’ll make it for my family, modifying it to be JAS-healthy (JAS = my initials). I’ve snuck SO many extra veggies into my dishes! I love trying new dishes and it’s wonderful when I get a thumbs up from my picky eaters! Tonight, I tried a Korean Turkey stir-fry with pickled cucumbers and carrot salad, and it was a winner – crazy healthy and my kids loved it! Amazing!
3. I’m getting my black belt in karate! Our family joined a local karate program about 2 ½ years ago, initially to get the kids into a regular exercise program after school. But then I saw how much fun they were having and so we adults decided to join them. Now all four of us head to the Dojo 2x / week to practice our kicks and punches. Talk about modeling resilience and discipline! We hold each other accountable and have mad respect for each other’s skills (my husband’s kicks are terrifying; my daughter’s 180-degree roundhouse kick is a work of art; my son’s amazing with nun-chucks and I’m pretty good with pushups!) and it’s just a lot of fun for us, as a family. We’re on track to get our black belts in December of this year – kiah!
4. We’re big on family games. It’s taken a while, but my kids now are exceptional Dominoes-Mexican Train players, and last weekend we went out to dinner with a set of Dominoes, and they beat the pants off me and my husband! Rummikube, Dominoes, Car games – I love them all. Especially because the devices go away and for a couple of hours, we’re all hotly competitive and talking smack and intent on winning. Plus, it’s fabulous for mental cognition.

Do you have any sort of a fitness routine or diet that you follow? Share with us how your diet has changed as you have gotten older.

Fitness: Things have dramatically changed for me, exercise-wise. I used to be a diehard long-distance runner (I ran competitively in my 20s!) and am no stranger to marathons. But these days I hardly run at all, and I’ve swapped out endless hours of cardio for strength training sessions (3-4x / week), walking (I am for 10K steps / day), and 2 sessions of Karate practice / week. 

The shift towards weightlifting is significant: women lose bone density and lean mass dramatically over the perimenopause transition, making us prone to osteopenia and sarcopenia. The statistics are grim: 1 in 2 women will get osteoporosis, and 1 in 2 will get dementia. I actively weight train to avoid being frail and studies show, weightlifting also lowers your risk against dementia and Alzheimer’s. Plus, it boosts your metabolism, so it helps with weight management (which has a tendency to creep up as we hit midlife), so this is a win-win situation for us ladies.

I also recommend that women 45+ get an annual dexa scan, which tracks your overall body composition and can point out areas for improvement (not just body fat). Insurance starts covering dexa scans at 65+, but why wait until then to build strong bones and lean muscle mass? Be proactive and start getting dexa scans in your 50s to take charge of your health. We all want to age well and be independent well into our 9^th decade, but that doesn’t just happen – we need to plan for it.  

In terms of my diet, that’s also changed with the midlife transition. I used to be an IF (intermittent fasting) junkie but these days, I never skip a meal (it triggers cortisol spikes!). I fuel early with a pre-exercise Vanilla Chai Latte (40g of protein), then eat a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner. I always, always prioritize protein on my plate, aiming for 30 – 40g at each meal. After the protein, I’ll fill my plate up with fiber-rich foods, like avocado, cruciferous vegetables and other healthy veggies or a salad. I’ll round out my plate with complex carbs like sweet potatoes or organic wild rice. For dessert, I opt for fresh berries or any one of what I call “beauty super foods”: papaya, pineapple, dates, persimmons, pomegranates, to name a few. These fruits are dense in antioxidants and help stimulate brighter, firmer skin to give me that glow-from-within radiance.

If you could give your younger self any words of advice, what would they be?

1. You are your own primary care physician. Despite what the medical establishment would have you believe, no one knows your body like you do. No one knows your pain like you do. You are responsible for your body so do not abdicate your right and responsibility away to someone who isn’t as invested as you are.

2. That said, find a doctor who will work with you, particularly during the transition years. Don’t be afraid to fire a doctor if they’re spewing nonsense or they gaslight you. Many haven’t been trained to truly care for women, so invest in finding someone who is right for you.

3. Travel often and if possible, alone. It’s the best way to learn about yourself and discover truly who you are. Yes, it’s awkward, but on the other side you discover what YOU want and who YOU are and it’s so incredibly rewarding.

4. Learn how to cook. Being comfortable in the kitchen is honestly one of the biggest health hacks that no one talks about that will serve you well for the rest of your life. In my early 30s I moved to Italy and lived with an 80-year-old woman who spoke no English and rented out her spare bedroom for extra cash. We became friends during my stay (I lived with her for about 6 months) and she taught me how to cook. I am insisting that when my kids flee the nest, they know how to make at least 10 dishes from scratch.

5. Don’t major in the minors. I think we’re all so obsessed with the new supplement that is supposed to stimulate mitochondria or the latest skincare ceramide cream or hyperbaric chamber therapy. But those are outliers. If you nail sleep, exercise, diet and clean beauty, you’re 90% there and your body will dramatically deliver on your efforts – as well as give you skin with an amazing glow up.

Share your words to live by:

Believe in the Goodness of Life.

You can follow Juliana on Instagram @silverhighlights1971 here.

If you would like to shop her favorite products and use her discount codes go here.

Would you like to catch up with some of our other Ageless Style Interviews? You can do so here.

Thank you so much Juliana for championing positive aging, and demonstrating that aging is not about turning back time, but embracing the future with intention and purpose. I hope you all enjoyed reading Ageless Style: Meet Wellness Warrior Juliana Spaven. I sure enjoyed getting to know her.