"Where there is perfection, there is no story to tell." {Ben Okri}
Most of my {somewhere} over 40 clients sit in my chair and present me with a prepared list of what's *wrong* with them, what they *need to have fixed,* and what they *can't wear* because they're just too old. I've always struggled with this. Truth be told, I don't generally consider a woman's age when I'm doing her makeup. Let's be honest : we all want the same results. We want to feel prettier. We want to look the way we felt when we were younger. We want to appear fresh and radiant without looking like we're wearing anything at all. That being said, as time, life and stress {ahem, KIDS} begin to take their toll, there are a handful of makeup tips + industry secrets I pass on to clients who want to achieve these results.
SKIN. Most of my more mature clients tend to be dehydrated {honestly, most of all my clients have dehydrated skin, regardless of their age}. As we age, in addition to losing our skin's elasticity, we also lose moisture. Using a dense, rich moisturizer morning and night will instantly plump the skin and give you a drastically more radiant, dewey finish. {I'm not talking about a lotion here, I'm talking balms, creams and oils.} Think of the difference between a grape and a raisin : WATER! You really can't over moisturize, ladies! This is my number one tip and the most important step to a great makeup application.
FOUNDATION. Mature skin looks better in a more hydrating, liquid foundation, avoiding powder foundations entirely {yes, I'm talking about mineral makeups as well!}. Powders will settle into lines and also dull the dewiness we're wanting to bring back to the skin. Remember, we don't want the foundation to wear like a mask. We don't need more coverage as we age, we really look best in a lighter formula {even a great tinted moisturizer}. It might seem counterintuitive, but I promise it will lighten and lift your overall look.
EYEBROWS. As we age, eyebrows tend to thin - and we often lose the ends of the brow entirely. It's super important to remember to give attention to your brows {women often skip this step}, they really anchor the face. Use a coarse brow brush and a neutral shadow to add thickness and fill in sparse areas. If you need to add definition to a brow that's lost shape and volume, first use a taupe or grey pencil to define the brow and then fill in the brow with shadow. Using this technique will add dimension to barely there brows and look far more natural than using a pencil alone.
LIPS. I find that women tend to gravitate towards browns {what they consider neutral shades}. While this works more readily for eyes, I've never been a fan of brown lip colors {and darker shades in any color will make the lips appear thinner}. The best way to find your natural lip color is to study your lips when they have nothing on at all - they're rarely brown! Pinks and roses will add life to the face and make your look fresher. *{artist's tip : lip gloss adds instant plump to thinning lips too, have a favorite shade on the ready in your bag}
THINGS THAT SPARKLE. Clients tell me this all the time : "I'm too old to wear sparkle." What does that even mean? Who put an age limit on FUN? It makes me crazy that women think if they happen to be {gasp} over 40 they can't wear something that draws attention to them! Here's what I know : women spend our lives being drawn to things that glitter, sparkle and shine. You don't suddenly need to stop wearing beautiful shimmers because of your age; using a sparkly product is perfectly age appropriate {at any age!} and will look amazing - it just has to properly placed. A super easy way to wear sparkle is to pop it on the eyelid or use it in a lip gloss. Choose an area you want to highlight and pop it there! I promise you'll feel brighter and happier adding a little bit of fun back into your makeup bag. *{artist's tip : remember that sparkle and shimmer will draw attention to the areas on which they're placed, so make sure to avoid areas you don't want to highlight, like areas that are heavily textured}
These are a few solid, basic tips to consider if you're feeling stuck with your look or just have an increasing awareness of features shifting and things just not being quite how they used to be... But I think we also have more of a mental block to wrestle with than makeup techniques : I think as the years pass we just somehow stop noticing what we like about ourselves. It's like we need to be given permission to accept where we are in life, to not fixate on what we think is going wrong, but to play up what's RIGHT about ourselves. Contrary to what the beauty industry tells us, beauty ISN'T about youth and perfection. It's about being confident and comfortable in your own skin, whether that skin is 23 or 73 {picture Meryl Streep + Betty White : gorgeous!}. I find that whatever the *issue* {age, thinning lips, fine lines…} it's hard to notice a woman's "flaws" when you're distracted by her own acceptance of them. I honestly wouldn't want to go back to my 20 year old self {she had so, so much to learn}, but I want to feel the youthfulness I associate with that time in my life. And that's what makeup is all about : it's not a mask or a youth serum but a way back to PRETTY.