Make-up

Hair & Beauty Hands & Nails Blog

Make up

Make up is a fabulous way of enhancing your natural looks. However as we age make up needs to be applied in a completely different way than when we are young, too much make up, too heavily applied will give a painted doll effect and make you look artificial.
Our skin tone alters, blemishes, dark circles, bags beneath the eyes and dark age spots appear, and it can be rather depressing even taking a look in the mirror.
This section aims to provide basic tips for enhancing your looks by cleverly camouflaging and accentuating.
Putting on make up correctly can really lift your mood, improve your looks and help you look younger.
Investing in some quality make up and brushes will help achieve the maximum effect and a professional finish.

Step 1: Prepare your skin

Prepare your skin by cleansing, toning and moisturising. Eyebrows should be plucked and facial hairs tidied.
Try to use products from the same range to avoid mixing too many different ingredients together. Bare in mind a lot of products contain additives and chemicals. Usually organic products are free of these ingredients.
Water is an excellent natural cleanser! A wet face cloth used twice a day removes residue from products and gently ex-foliates sensitive skin without having to use an additional product.
If your skin or pores are very clogged up you can also treat yourself to a deep cleansing face mask once or twice a week.
Chilled cucumber slices or cold tea bags kept in the fridge overnight can be applied to puffed eyes in the morning for ten minutes to reduce swelling and wake them up.
Once your skin is prepared you can begin your make up.

Step 2: Get in a good light

A good light is essential when doing your make-up. A magnifying mirror is also very useful to get a good look at what your doing, and help you identify the areas you want to enhance or conceal.
Natural daylight is best but obviously not possible after dusk. When putting on make up in artificial light be very careful not to over do it and put too much on.
As we age it takes longer to apply make up correctly, ironically it takes more time to put on less.

Step 3: Foundation & concealer

Choosing the correct shade of foundation is essential. To select the correct shade, test foundations along the bottom of your jawline (this is better that the back of your wrist which is not the same colour as the skin on your face), then walk out of the shop and check the effect in daylight with a handbag mirror before you buy.
The shade you choose should blend in nicely and not be too white, too orange or too yellow. You may find you have to test numerous products before you find the right shade for your skin.
The texture of the product is also important. As we age the skin tone lightens and the texture of our skin becomes finer. Thick heavy foundations lie too heavily on the skin and sit in the lines and wrinkles, drawing unwanted attention to them.
Select a liquid foundation that flows without being too runny.
If you find that it's too difficult to select a shade go for one of the products that adapts to your skin tone, these products come in three shades, dark, medium and light and will blend in to the skin tones in-between.
I find that even when I have selected my foundation it is still a little thick for daytime use, so I mix a drop of foundation with two drops of my moisturiser (I make sure this includes UV protection).
This mixture goes on very easily, and I either apply it with the tips of my fingers, or for a more professional finish I use a foundation brush, starting in the centre of the face, gently working the foundation upwards and outwards. If you use your fingers, choose your ring finger as it has the lightest touch and will avoid dragging on your delicate skin. This combination of foundation and moisturiser unifies skin tone but is practically invisible to the eye so you do not "look" like you're wearing too much make-up.
For a more dramatic evening look I use foundation in it's normal consistency without the moisturiser mix. A slightly heaver coverage is required at night due to artificial light.

Choose a concealer that is either the same shade or one shade lighter than your foundation. Again don't be tempted to buy thick greasy concealers. Be careful not to take a tone that's too light, too orange or too yellow. The shade should be slightly lighter than your foundation shade.
Now take a concealer brush to conceal the dark circles underneath the eyes, go right into the eye corners, and gently around the base of the nose. Be careful not to clog up the pores in this area. Build up the colour gradually. Brighten up the eye lid and conceal any other imperfections or blemishes on the face. Using a brush allows precise application and it helps the product glide over lines and wrinkles giving a natural finish.
The concealer brush is an absolute must for the mature woman's make up.

Step 4: Powder

Select a powder that is close to you skin tone, again avoid anything too pale, too orange or too yellow. Test the powder in the same way as you tested the foundation.
There are both loose powders and compact powders available so select the type of powder that suits you best and you find easiest to use.
A word of warning regarding loose powders. It's very easy to get too much on your brush and end up with visible particles lying on the skins surface. Powder is there to diminish shine, not to lie heavily on the surface of your skin.
As you have taken time and care to apply the foundation and concealer, only the slightest brushing of powder should be necessary to diminish the shine.
Just brush over gently with a large brush and dab a little extra on the nose.
In the summer your powder can be replaced by a bronzing powder that will add a healthy glow to your complexion.

Step 5: Blusher

Try to select a blusher that is fairly discrete. It should just enhance your cheekbones and add slight emphasis to the shape of your face. Nothing too bright. Think natural.
A large soft blusher brush can then be used to apply, use large strokes, brushing outwards along the top of your cheekbones .Build up slowly to avoid harsh lines and stripes of colour. Apply a little to the top of the eye lids and on each side of the chin, using inward diagonal strokes, cleverly complimenting the shape of your face and slimming down and softening the chin line.
Avoid cream blushes that are too greasy.

Step 6: Eye Brow Pencil

Tidy up any unwanted hairs before applying the eyebrow pencil. The pencilled line should be subtle. Choose a colour that complements your skin tone, but that also complements your hair colour.
Eyebrows are naturally the same colour as your hair.
If you lighten your hair, care must be taken to avoid having a painted on hard line when highlighting the curve of your brow.
Build up the line with tentative strokes. Be very careful not to overdo it.
Grey hairs can be discretely camouflaged.
Don't be tempted to pluck a very thin line then draw on a brow, this can result in a "overly surprised" expression which can be a little disconcerting to onlookers!

Step 7: Eye Shadow & Eye liner

When selecting eye shadow for a day time look stick to neutral tones, such as beige, pale pink, skin tones, pale mauve or taupe. If you want to wear a colour make sure it is a pastel tone or it can look too heavy and artificial. The colour chosen should also blend in with the colour of the clothes you have selected to wear. Silver and black usually look better with black, grey and blue clothes. Browns, neutrals, bronzes and golds usually look better with brown, beige and green clothes. Soft greens can really compliment a red outfit. Use a brush to apply a small amount on your eyelid ending just above the socket. This accentuates your eyelid creating an optical illusion and making your eye look bigger. The outer corner can be gently extended a little, this will widen your regard but remember the idea is to enhance and look natural, so just a little shadow is fine.

A highlighter in a pale colour such as ivory can then be blended in just below the brow on the outer side . Again this should be subtle and not a big white noticeable smudge, blend it in well with your brush or your finger tips. This again helps to widen the appearance of your eyes.
For evening wear you may want to use black, brown, grey , bronze , silver, or gold to create a smoky eyes effect.
On pale skin stay away from colours such as bright blue and green on your lids as this can look too artificial and doesn't flatter the skin tones of older women. Ladies with darker skin tones can obviously get away with wearing more vibrant colours. Bright colours compliment their skin tone beautifully.
Also if using glitter for an evening look, use sparingly as it can look over the top on a mature lady.
A small line of glitter gel eye liner across your lid in a neutral tone can wake up your eye in the day time though. A line of gold can complement your look especially if your dressed in brown or beige tones.

When selecting eye liner consider that ideally it is there to compliment the colour of your eyes and accentuate the shape of your eyes. Don't be tempted to go for something too dark as this will look harsh and make you look hard. Brown is softer than black for an older lady.
The right effect should be soft, carefully accentuating the natural contour of your eyes.
There are many different eye liners on the market; Crayons, powders, liquid and pencils.
The easiest to apply are the crayons and pencils. Choose a soft pencil or crayon that goes on easily with a point that is not too thick. Stay close to the lashes and draw a line, continue slightly at the outer corner but stay discreet.
This line can then be softened with either a small foam brush, a cotton bud or a rubber ended eye brush.
Liquid eye liners tend to be a little hard on crêpey ageing eye lids, the colour is denser and more difficult to apply.
For evening wear you may want to add a very pale sparkled line with a liquid gel over your crayoned line, but use sparingly. This will accentuate your eyes more in low lighting.

Step 8: Kohl

Kohl can be used either just under the lower eyelashes or on the inside of the lower lashes just inside your eye.
It accentuates the eyes .
For day wear, a pale colour such as a bronzed light brown looks good, draw on lightly under the lower lashes to open up your eyes.
Again this must be a soft line, smudge any hard lines with a eye shadow brush or a cotton bud to keep the look soft.
A dark brown or black can really accentuate eyes when used inside the lower lid for a smoky eye effect in the evening.

Step 9: Mascara

Mascara is generally a woman's best friend. When applied it lengthens the eye lashes beautifully, and darkens them, accentuating the eye. Nothing enhances eyes as well as a good mascara. It is most effective to use a black or brown mascara.
Brown mascara is softer than black. It should be applied carefully, either by blinking onto the brush or brushing upwards with gentle strokes; There are also some new circular brushes that advise side to side movements, so be careful to follow the instructions on your mascara.
If you find you are getting clumps, an eyelash comb can be used after application to eliminate them.
Stay away from brightly coloured mascaras as these can be too flashy and ageing on an older woman.

Step 10: Lipstick

Lipstick is the finishing touch to your make up. For the daytime, choose a fairly neutral colour. If you like to wear red lipstick try smoothing on a lip balm or plumper before you put on your lip colour. This moisturises your lips and dilutes the lip colour giving a fuller, softer, more natural result. Pale pinks, reds,and oranges all look great. Bright red is fine to wear in the evening, but very dense bright red is often too hard for mature women in the daylight and can be very ageing.
If you decide to outline your lips with a lip pencil beware of the very dark brown line some ladies use. This can look false and again can be far too harsh, it can also accentuate the fine lines around the lips which appear as we age.
Lip liners can help shape your lips but use a shade identical or very close to the lipstick or gloss you are applying.
Don't be tempted to over gloss your lips, again this can look overdone and is extremely sticky to wear, however a dab of gloss over your lipstick in the centre of your lip will enhance your lips and give the illusion of full, younger lips.
For evening wear you can experiment with richer darker shades but don't be excessive or you may harden your look. A good way to make sure your lips are not too heavily coloured is to kiss a piece of tissue paper before leaving the house, this takes off the excess and leaves you with just the right amount of colour.