chapter 9

beauty at any age

For many, the quests for beauty and youth go hand in hand. Many of the techniques we have already learned will go a long way toward making you look younger. Maybe that means pushing back a hooded lid or shaping your lid to look its absolute best. Maybe it’s making great color choices to bring life and color to your face. Maybe it’s mastering highlighting and contouring, which are especially good at giving you an impressively youthful glow.

There are a few other considerations that will also help us in our quest for youth. Let’s talk about some of the other things we need to think about to look younger, specifically skin, lips, and eyes.

your skin as you age

As we age, our skin constantly changes. Most people’s skin gets drier, so you will need to moisturize more than you ever have. Even if you have oily skin, it won’t be as oily as it once was. An even, flawless complexion always makes you look younger, and moisture is a big part of that. You may also want to move to a foundation with added hydration. It’s not a must for everyone, but it can be helpful.

You may also find that you need less powder. I’m not saying you will stop using it completely, but because your skin is drier and you might have more fine lines, you may discover you need less. You will still need to use it to set your foundation and concealer so they will last all day, but you might find you need less to do the job.

your eyes as you age

You don’t have to change a lot to stay looking youthful when it comes to eye makeup. Update your look regularly, but you don’t have to stop wearing eye makeup. In fact, that could age you.

As you get older, your lids may become dry or crepey. But don’t apply moisturizer or eye crème to your eyelids before you put on eye shadow because it will cause it to crease and not last as long. If you want to moisturize your lids, do it before bed, not in the morning.

If you have always worn eyeliner, you should continue to line your eyes; maybe just make a softer shade choice. Actually, eyeliner can go a long way toward helping to define your eyes (opening them up and drawing attention to them). Some women think they should stop wearing eyeliner as they age, but that’s just not true. All you have to do is make better color choices. For example, if you wore black eyeliner in your twenties, switch to brown to create a softer, more youthful definition in your fifties. If you think your brown is now too intense, switch to a soft bronze or taupe. Don’t stop defining your eyes as you age; just soften the definition.

With eye shadows, you might want to move away from frosts and toward shimmers as you age and your eyelids get crepey. When they get more crepey, move to strictly matte eye shadows so they won’t draw any attention to the texture. It’s all about choices, this time involving color and texture.

When we age, our eyelashes tend to thin out, and that can show age. Anything you can do to make your eyelashes to look fuller will make your eyes look more youthful. That could mean a couple more layers of mascara or added eyelashes.

tip: You might want to use more waterproof or water-resistant products, including eyeliner and mascara, because as we age we tend to have more issues with eyes watering.

Q & A

I need concealer under my eyes to cover up some darkness, but it draws attention to my fine lines. What can I do?

Moisturize with an eye crème, which will help keep the skin supple. Also, make your concealer more moisturizing by mixing it with your eye crème before you apply it.

I conceal under my eyes, and when I’m finished it looks great, but when I powder to set it, which I know I need to do, it accentuates lines and texture. What can I do?

Use the finger powder method: Dip your clean finger in some loose powder, rub the excess off in your palm, and trace it over the area you need to powder. That should set it without drawing attention to fine lines. If you have just finished powdering under your eyes and it looks a little dry and caked, lightly pat on a tiny bit of eye crème. Don’t rub or work it in. Leave it alone after you pat it on; just let it melt in.

As I go through my day, the skin under my eyes starts to appear dry and crepey. What can I do?

Moisturize as frequently as you like! Lightly pat a tiny bit of eye crème over the area. Don’t rub it in, just let it melt in. This will rehydrate the area.

I have very dry skin. Do I still need to powder my face?

Absolutely! You may not need to powder your whole face, but even people with dry skin need to powder their T-zone area (the center of the face, forehead, nose, front of the cheeks, and tip of the chin) to cut the shine.

My brows have thinned out over the years. Is it true that fuller brows make you look younger? How can I make them look fuller, but still natural?

Yes, fuller brows do make you look younger, and brows do thin naturally as you age. Part of that is that they don’t remain as high as they used to, and as they drop, they thin out (just my own personal theory). You can add a bit of fullness back by layering pencil and powder. This will give you more coverage, look more natural, and help the color last longer (see here).

I am not letting my hair go gray, but I am starting to get flecks of gray in my eyebrows. I try to cover them with pencil and powder, and nothing really covers the gray. If I tweeze them, my brows are too sparse. Do I have any other option for covering gray hairs in my brows?

Yes—you can have them professionally tinted. There are special and specific tints that are just for the eye area, and tinting the brows will completely cover the gray hairs. But, please, have this done by a professional who knows what they are doing. Do not do it yourself at home!

your lips as you age

As we age, our lips lose volume. Keep that in mind especially if you have ivory or beige skin. Dark shades will age you and make your lips look even smaller, so keep that in mind when choosing your shade.

Adding back a little color can go a long way toward adding a little life back to your face. It doesn’t have to be super bright, just a nice shot of a little warm color. Revisit your color theory (see here) for your best color choices.

Last, because your lips, just like the rest of your skin, tend to be drier as you age, think about choosing formulas that add a lot of moisture. This will make your lips look much more supple and full. Don’t be afraid to wear lip gloss; that always adds the look of fullness. You might also want to try the fuller lip technique (see here). You may also find more fine lines around your lips, which could cause your lipstick and gloss to be more likely to bleed (to stop this from happening, see the Q & A shown here).

blush/bronzer as you age

Blush and bronzer are probably your best friends when it comes to looking younger. Adding color back to you skin will always make you look younger. As we age, the first thing that happens is that we lose pigment and tone in our skin, making us look washed out. Adding back that color adds life and a glow back to your face. It can easily take ten years off.

Just make sure, as always, that you make the correct shade choices. Remember that warm blush shades will always make you look younger than cool blush shades will. Review your color theory (see here) to help you pick your perfect youthful glow-enhancing color. You can see here what a difference the right bronzer and blush can make.

Q & A

I have very dry skin, and when I wear powder blush it seems to just sit on top of my skin and doesn’t look natural. What can I do?

For very dry skin, a crème or a gel blush is a much better choice. It is more moisturizing and will last longer and look much more natural. It blends into dry skin, while powder will just sit on top. Just remember that when using a crème or gel, apply it after foundation and before you powder (which, if you have dry skin, you will be doing very little of), or it will not go on evenly.

The definition along my jawline has softened and is less taut than it used to be, making me look older. What can I do to re-create that youthful definition?

One of the signs of aging that people object to most is the softening (a slight drooping of the skin) of their jawline. There is a quick, easy fix using makeup to re-create the definition of youth and make the droopy skin much less visible: After you have finished applying your makeup, use a narrow, slightly flat, dense brush and a matte bronzer (no shimmer; it will not look natural) to apply a light layer all along your jawline. This will create a little more definition (giving you back your youthful jawline) and make the droopy skin much less visible. Also, anytime there is an area of you face you do not like, it also helps to draw attention away from it to minimize it. For example, wearing a softer lip color and slightly more intense eye makeup will draw everyone’s eyes up and away from the lower area of your face—whereas if you wore a dark or intense lip color, it would draw everyone’s eyes to the area you don’t want them to see. Many times, looking younger is all about concentrating on the features you love about your face.