I’m such a slap-it-on dinosaur when it comes to making up, that it was with great pleasure to find a really helpful guest post plop into my email box the other day sharing 10 Makeup Tips and Tricks for as you get older.
I realised, that I haven’t given my make up much thought for the last (gasp) 10 years at least, and have been stuck in a very basic routine that hasn’t really changed since before I had children.
To makeup or not to makeup?
Many of my friends don’t wear make up – at all. And that’s ok if it’s by choice, but some of them I know have just given up for want of trying.
For me, a plan to improve is a good plan, and I’ve taken note of Ilse’s really useful, really down to earth make up tips and tricks, and further on I’m baring all (well, not quite!) and you can see a before and after mug shot, which I must admit is a little scary.
Anyway, for you Lifestylers, here’s a super-helpful guest post by the lovely Ilse Justus, an image consultant based in Cape Town, South Africa.
10 Makeup tips and tricks to bear in mind as we get older
We all know that stepping out the door, bear faced, as we age, is not going to make us feel our most confident self!
Oh dear it’s all going southwards!
After all, getting older (40 and beyond) often brings with it the appearance of fine lines, enlarged pores, pigmentation or broken capillaries. Added to this, our lips get thinner with age and our eyes appear smaller due to the delicate skin having sagged over time.
Makeup goes a long way in disguising or even correcting these niggly changes. However, sticking with your 25-year old application techniques could sabotage your efforts.
Make the best of your features
Here are some tips that embrace the changes and which generally help you to make the best of your facial features.
1. Wear a good foundation that lasts all day! It really is worth spending a bit extra when it comes to foundation. And always remember to wear moisturizer under your foundation, otherwise, if your skin is dehydrated, it will absorb the foundation. Estee Lauder’s Double Wear works for me. If you have very dry skin, you could try their Resilience Lift foundation. Make sure you choose the correct colour foundation by testing it on your face – not hand! If the colour almost disappears into the skin and blends with your skin tone, it is the right colour. The biggest make-up error women make is wearing the wrong colour – the most obvious incorrect colour is one that is too yellow for the skin. So choosing the right colour is very, very important.
2. If you don’t need much coverage on your face then look to the popular BB creams (Garnier has a great one) to just even out your skin tone – with these you do not need moisturizer under the BBM cream.
3. Forget the powder over the make-up since it tends to settle in fine lines and wrinkles, especially if applied with the powder puff/pad. If you must, due to oily skin or an oily t-panel, use only translucent face powder on the oily areas, applied with a fat, fluffy brush.
4. Steer away from black eye-liner. For evening, you could use black on the upper lids (close to the eyelashes) and perhaps dot it in between eyelashes on bottom lids. And always smudge it. Otherwise opt for navy, grey or brown liners which are less harsh. Also refrain from putting liner on the inner, lower lids as this can make eyes appear smaller.
5. Avoid shimmer eye shadows, especially all the way up to the eyebrows, as they highlight creases around the eye area. Matt eyeshadows are more flattering for older skin.
6. A guiding principle is that as we age we want to “wake-up” our eyes and make them look bigger which often means eyeliner on top lids only, one neutral or light shade on the lids, shaped brows (tinted if necessary) and mascara. You can also use a colored shade instead of eyeliner and smudge it to the crease of the eyelid.
7. Keep blusher as natural as possible, i.e. put it on the areas you would blush (apples of cheeks, feathered up and in line with the cheek bones towards your ears). Also use a colour close to your blushing shade like soft pink/coral. No one blushes the colour of fuschia or orange!
8. Lipstick can be a deal breaker and make you look old: dark and matte is not flattering on thin lips especially. A lighter shade looks more natural and more importantly, will make the lips look fuller. If you do want to wear a darker shade then add a lipgloss (not the messy, sticky variety). I like L’oreal’s Glamshine for over lipstick or by itself or over lip liner which I put on the whole lip for longer wear. A lipstick with a bit of shine will always look more youthful and be more flattering because of the light it reflects off the face.
9. If you want to double-check your make-up, and whether you’ve overdone/underdone it, take a photo of yourself! The photo will show too much/too little blusher and whether you have shine that needs powder or whether your eye make-up is too shimmery. Make-up inside vs. in the sunlight can also look very different, e.g. too much powder will stand out in bright sunlight and too much foundation will look mask-like.
10. If you have ginger hair NEVER wear black eyeliner or mascara. Rather opt for warm browns. Also never wear cool shades of lipstick or eye shadows, i.e. no pinks, blues, greys. Ginger hair is complemented by warm tones like warm browns, peaches, etc.
Last but not least, remember that earrings are there to add sparkle to the eyes, believe it or not, so earrings with a stone/stones or interesting texture will complement a well-groomed face!
Need a great foundation to make you look more youthful? You might also like this post: How to Look Beautiful Naturally
Ilse Justus is an independent image consultant, an accredited member of the Association of Professional Image Consultants of South Africa. You can find out more at Ilse Justus Colour and Style
Do you have an everyday makeup routine Lifestylers? Please share any makeup tips you have for a Day Look in the comments.
Robyn Davidson The Camel Lady
Great tips! Photos are a great way to double check your appearance. Rachel x
No wonder everyone these days is so busy taking ‘selfies’ eh Rachel! Guilty as charged 😉
Great tips, Johanna! And a bonus for women of all ages: 8 hours of sleep and lots of hydration go a long way, too!;-)
Thanks Jess! I love my sleep, so no problem there (when I can get it!) but hydration, ooh, a little bad about remembering to keep drinking water. Though wine doesn’t seem to be a problem 😉 Seriously though, thanks for your bonus tips – a bottle of water with us at all times should be the modus operandi if we can I guess.
I’m hopeless with makeup! Always have been so love the tips. You look younger without make up and more sophisticated with it. A win either way 🙂
Thanks Annabel, and glad you like the tips!
Love that BB cream, I don’t wear it every day but when I do people always tell me I am looking well. Do love a bit of lippy, but again I don’t wear it all that much. I haven’t worn any eye makeup for ages, I must look out for a blue one and smudge it a bit.
It does make you look ‘well’ doesn’t it Seana – just how I feel about it too.
Great tips thanks Ilse and Jo. I recently bought Garnier’s BB cream and I find it great if I just need to dash to the supermarket and don’t want to put on ‘full’ makeup. Having said that, I’ve always really worn just the basics – foundation, a bit of blush, mascara and lippy, but the fact that the BB cream also contains moisturizer and sunscreen is a bonus.
Our fear of going out in public with no make up on reminds me of a cartoon I recently saw on Facebook: “Some days I go out looking a million dollars and don’t see a soul I know – other days I go out looking like death warmed up and it’s a damn class reunion”!!
That’s what I love too, Carolyn – the fact that it’s an all in one – with moisturizer, sunscreen and enough cover for the day to make me look healthy! I loved your comment re the Facebook cartoon – it’s so true! Made me giggle!
You look lovely, even in the Before photo. Oh dear, I’ve only recently started with the black liquid liner instead of using a soft pencil. Perhaps it’s a crazy attempt to reclaim my youth. I must admit that I got a bit ticked off at the lady at the makeup counter yesterday. I went to Origins looking to restock my nighttime moisturizer, and she started pointing out what other products I could benefit from based on deficiencies I wasn’t even aware I had.
Thank you Michele 🙂 I did smile at your comment about the lady at the makeup counter – I had a similar experience round about the same time … a girl young enough to be my daughter, with all good intention, told me things that I really didn’t want to hear and which I have no intention of following.
Jo, I love the tips; personally I use the Daywear BB cream from Estee Lauder because I believe that is more suited for my oily skin.
Love, Emma
I’m going to give that BB cream a go, Emma … it’s come up a couple of times in the comments. Thank for your tip 🙂
I really enjoyed this post and am rushing out to find BB Cream and Glamshine. When I was young and single I never wore makeup, when I was a mother of young kids I never had time to, but now I need all the help I can get so this post really hit the spot!
I’m glad we’ve given you a few useful tips, Jan! I know, I feel the same – help is needed when I look in the mirror:)! Good luck with your BB search – let us know which one you decide on 🙂
I appreciate and envy your bravery of showing before and after pictures without candle light or other camera tricks. You look mah-velous dahling!!! You have beautiful skin and very little that needs mask/covering. I remember the high school classmates (in the 60’s) that did the sun worshiping thing, when we didn’t know what a UV ray was. Thanks goodness foundation has sunscreen added for a one product slathering.
I’m going to check out the Estee Lauder products too. Any tips on the neck area? I know we aren’t supposed to add anything there. When I was on a local TV show, my drooping neck skin looked like I was 70 – oh that’s right, I am 70+. Other than wearing high collars, do you recommend any other kind of foundation cover up for close ups?
Oh Neva! Thank you ‘dahling!’ I’m not so sure myself, but thank you for your lovely compliment 🙂 Yes, me too, we had no idea – we used to slop on olive oil and go fry in the sun (at least when the sun came out in England!) Shiver. Will get some tips about the neck area – watch this spot. (PS. My neck area is also becoming turkey-like.)
Hi Jill, I think Garnier also do a BB or eye makeup concealer, a roll on, for dark circles. Let me know how it goes if you do get one.
Hi Jill
I love Estée Lauder’s Double Wear eye pencils, especially the navy and the dark plum is beautiful. Regarding your dark circles, a concealer works best. Don’t think the BB cream will offer enough coverage. Lauder has good concealers!
Ilse
Thanks Ilse, I’m looking for a good eye pencil too. I hate buying one in a rush and then finding it’s too hard to use, or not the right colour, but the Estee Lauder one’s you suggest sound just right. Thank you for popping by 🙂
Thanks Ilse
ps – I need some help with the dark lines under my eyes – will this BB cream help?
Hi Jo – you always look good – I think it is that warm generous smile of yours that lights up your face.
As you probably know I don’t wear a lot of makeup – just eyeshadow and mascara and maybe some lipstick for work. Though I put in a bit more effort for going out at night. I need to practise the eyeliner – my hand soesn’t feel steadier enough to apply it. I might go and try that BB cream – I like the easy sound of it.
Thanks for the great tips Ilse
Hi Jill, and thank you too. I’m also a little shaky with the liquid eyeliner, and prefer Rae’s tip for a soft pencil. I can vouch for BB creams, and I’ve tried one or two.
Hi Jo, I changed my eyeliner and eyebrow pencil once I changed my hair colour to a very soft brown Estee Lauder pencil rather than black liquid liner, makes for a softer look. I agree with Kathy your before and after shots are great and yes you look great with or without makeup. I have to say if I am ducking to the shops without makeup, I don’t take my sunglasses off. xx Rae
Thank you Rae 🙂 i love the sound of your soft Estee Lauder eyeliner and brow pencil … Will seek it out!
Hi, enjoyed the tips very much my problem is finding the correct foundation too creamy it gets into the wrinkles and is very lobvious then very light liquids are the best but must the correct colour and as you get older eye make up is a no no., mascara is the only thing to use!.
Thanks for the tip about very light liquid foundations, Gabrielle! Yes, I can see exactly where you are coming from. As I’ve got older my eye make up has become less, so as the folds continue my days are numbered, I know … And lustrous mascara alone beckons. You always look great by the way 🙂
Some very good make-up tips here. I think wearing the right foundation is the important one as it hides a multitude of flaws, but it does need to match our skin tone. I also don’t like harsh eyeliner or dark matt lipsticks – more subtle tones look better. Your before and after shots were very good. I think you looked pretty good even without makeup!
Thanks so much Kathy, and thank you for your tips too. I also don’t do well with dark matte lipstick.