5 Top Makeup Tips After 50

I may have named this article Makeup after 50, but the real issue is how to handle the skin of your face as it ages and not WHEN.  Women’s facial skin ages at different rates depending on exposure to the sun, environmental and hereditary factors, skin color and more.  Facial skin can begin to show signs of aging at any age; some women begin to see these changes in their 20s and 30s; while some lucky gals witness these changes only in their 60s and beyond. 

No matter what your age, I want to show you how to minimize these visible signs of age on each part of your face, without going under the knife or injecting all sorts of potions and concoctions.  It goes without saying that minimal sun exposure, no smoking, lots of water and a good skin cleansing-moisturizing routine will help keep your skin healthy at any age!

I believe that all women should apply four  makeup basics before they leave the house, no matter what: base, mascara, blush and lipstick. 

Your overall facial skin: Apply a good, light moisturizer twice a day: before you go to bed and before you apply your makeup every morning (**).  Apply the moisturizer with a light hand - less is always better than more.  Avoid over-heavy, over-oily creams that will clog your pores and make wrinkles more obvious, especially as the makeup base dries and congeals within the wrinkles.  Avoid - like the plague - anything that will dry and/or pool in your wrinkle beds.

I recommend using a BB cream foundation base.  One of the best reasons for this recommendation is that this base already contains a moisturizer, so you can forgo applying a separate moisturizer in the morning, (see above**) thus shaving minutes off your morning routine!

Along with moisturizer, BB creams contain a makeup base and a skin block and sometimes even a primer.  Read more about BB creams here: (http://www.vogue.co.uk/beauty/2012/06/29/10-best-uk-bb-creams---beauty-benefit-balms-with-spf).  My favorite BB creams are Rimmel (http://us.rimmellondon.com/products/face/bb-cream), Garnier (http://www.garnierusa.com/products/skincare/tone-perfection.aspx) and MAC (http://www.maccosmetics.com/product/160/17377/Prep-Prime-BB-Beauty-Balm-SPF-35/index.tmpl).  These are quality brands that provide great all-day coverage.

Cheeks: Cheeks are an interesting area: I have had clients in their 70s and 80s with perfectly soft, nearly wrinkle-free cheeks and gals in their 40s showing signs of aging and wrinkling in this area.   If your cheek area is relatively wrinkle-free apply blush as usual.  I believe in a blush palette of pinks, browns and bronzes for cheeks – opting for lighter shades in the summer and darker, warmer shades in the winter.  Depending on skin tone and wardrobe colors, I chose the color that best suits the person and the look.

If your cheeks are wrinkled - add the lightest hint of blush to the general cheek area.  I apply blush to every woman, no matter what! No woman leaves my chair without some cheek color!

Brows: The brow shape has gone through the most incredible fads through the ages.  Check out this list: 
http://www.dailymakeover.com/trends/makeup/eyebrows-history/
As we get older our brows tend to get thinner, either through a life-time of over-plucking or due to the natural aging and graying of our hair.  While the brow area is still relatively wrinkle-free, you can fill in sparse brows with a brow pencil or eye powder (or a combination of the two), just stay away from overly obvious brow drawing.  Once this area is wrinkled, I tend to stay away from creating or filling in the brow.

Eyes: The eyes are truly the focal point of the face.  Let’s first talk about the area around our eyes.  Age hits the skin around our eyes fast and hard; firstly because this skin is very thin and secondly because we abuse it regularly with all our squinting, blinking, rubbing and exposure to the elements.  Always take the time to moisturize this area! 

Want to cover up or minimize dark circles or age spots around your eyes?  Purchase a second BB cream that is almost a shade lighter than your regular BB cream shade.  Gently squeeze two drops of your regular shade on to top of your hand, just above your wrist, and then add one drop of the lighter shade.  Gently blend together and then gently pat on the area around your eyes.  Make sure there is no obvious demarcation between the eye area and the rest of your face.

Crow’s feet and more

Crows’ feet on the outer edges of your eye lids and small wrinkles on your inner lids create new challenges for applying eye makeup.  If you must apply eyeliner - keep it thin, short and sweet and don’t extend the eyeliner line past your eye lid, as it will extenuate and bleed into the crows’ feet.  You should begin to taper off the line just after the midpoint of your eyelid. If you opt for a smoky look, keep the smudged areas thin and avoid too much “smudging” close to the inner edge.

Droopy or hooded under brow area

As we age, the skin under the brow bone area tends to droop and can create a kind of hooded upper eye lid.  While no non-surgical/non-evasive procedure will totally alleviate this problem, there are makeup tricks that can help conceal or make this problem less obvious. Keep your brows trimmed and neat.  Apply a white eye shadow directly under your brow bone.  Apply a light/white shadow on any parts of your lower eye lid that are visible.  Apply a warm, darker shade to the under brow area from the crease; this will make this area appear less puffy or protruding.

Always add a coat or two (or three) of mascara to the upper lash line.  Apply mascara to the lower lash line only if this area is reasonably wrinkle free; otherwise there is a good chance the mascara will run/get caked into the under eye area.

Lips:  A good lip pencil can act as a kind of frame to help prevent lipstick from bleeding into the wrinkles around the lips. 
  
 

You can help your lips look young by keeping them hydrated, stop smoking, stop biting or frequently licking your lips and always wear a good lip balm to prevent damage from the elements both summer and winter.  Even if the lip area is very wrinkled, I still apply a tint of color with a rich moisturizing lipstick or a gentle almost-there colored lip gloss.

No matter what your age or your skin condition, you deserve to look healthy and vibrant!  Go ahead, apply a bit of color today!

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