Women are beautiful at all ages but as our features change over time so must our makeup. Don’t get stuck in a makeup rut, update and freshen up your look for a feel good pick me up.

Skincare

The most important part of any makeup is the skincare steps that come before it.

Exfoliate

Foundation clings to dead skin cells so make sure you exfoliate your skin once a week or before any important event. It will make the skin feel and look smoother and your foundation will sit nicely.

To exfoliate try a mask or a scrub, whichever you prefer.

A gentle mask option is Ren Glycolic Mask from mecca.

A scrub option is Skinstitut Glycolic scrub.

Hydrate

Always use a hydrating serum, eye cream and moisturiser before you wear makeup because if your skin is hydrated your foundation will stay fresh for longer as the skin won’t suck the moisture out of it. If you skip the moisturiser your foundation might go cakey and sink into the dehydration fine lines.

For a treat I adore Chantecaille Biodynamic Lifting Mask from Mecca as it hydrates, lifts and plumps the skin.  It is a bit of a splurge but in my opinion it is worth its price tag, perhaps ask for a sample first to see if it works for you.

Foundation for mature skin.

Our skin gets dryer as we get older and so some foundation can make our skin look worse. So less is more when it comes to foundation.

Try a sheer and moisturising formulation such as a tinted moisturiser, BB or CC cream.

My favourite foundation for a mature skin is Clinique Even Better or Even Better Glow. It is sheer and dewy so makes the skin glow. If you need more coverage in some parts of the face simply pat a little extra on in those areas.

Try and find a shade as close to your natural skin colour as possible and never pick a lighter shade as this can be very ageing.

You need to avoid matte foundations and powders as matte products emphasise the little hairs on our face and the fine lines that we have where as dewy products reflect the light and therefore blur the surface of the skin.

If you find your skin doesn’t look smooth or the pores look big try a silicone primer under your foundation for an extra silky finish. I really like Lancome’s La Base pro but any silicone based primer will do the trick (a silicone primer will be clear in colour and feel very silky).

Concealer

Use an illuminating concealer under the eyes. Pay particular attention to the darkest area which is near the bridge of our nose. Charlotte Tilbury Magic Retoucher is my go to concealer as it is sheer and natural and doesn’t crease as much as other thicker concealers do. You have to be careful with under eye concealers because they do move into the fine lines around the eye so less is more and always hydrate with an eye cream first.

Cheeks

In my opinion no lady should ever shy away from blush, especially as we start to age. Blush can brighten the complexion and lift the cheeks when they start to sag or hollow out.

Powder is the popular choice for blush but my favourite is a cream blush to create a more natural and dewy effect. My go to is Stila Convertible Colour as it doesn’t have shimmer and stays on the skin well. My go to shade is Peony but they have a variety of shades. To use cream blush you need to pat it on, don’t wipe it and keep pressing to blend.

Whether you use powder or cream blush make sure you don’t go too low as we want to lift the cheeks up. As a general rule don’t apply it lower than your nose and pop it on the apples of the cheeks. If you have hollow or shark cheek bones apply on the apples only. If you have a round face and want to lift the cheeks then bring your blush higher onto your cheek bones.

Avoid really shimmery, glittery blushes as shimmer tends to highlight any imperfections on the skin.

Eye makeup

Lid

Eye lids start to appear smaller as the skin above it starts to sag. My tip is highlight the lid in a muted shade such as Nars Nepal or Ashes to Ashes (from Mecca). Both shades are subtle with a slight pearlescent finish that highlights the area without appearing too frosty. Alternatively opt for tones of pinks, mauves, bronzes and terracotta browns depending on your skin tone.

Socket

To lift the hooded part of your eyes use a dome shaped brush such as Zoeva 227 to apply a soft matte shadow in a light brown, taupe or grey shadow above your natural crease in the socket. You need to do this with your eyes open and go above the crease to lift the eyes. This can be a tricky step to master without being shown how so you can skip this step if you don’t feel confident or book in for a one on one makeup lesson with me so I can show you how.

Liner

Next you need to define your eyes by applying a very thin eye liner along the top lash line. Stay away from dark, thick liners as they will only make your eyes look smaller. I suggest pressing a dark, matte shadow into your lash line either in a very dark brown, blue or grey shade. For this step you will need a thin angle brush such as zoeva 317. It takes practice to get this step nice and thin so try it on your hand first and slowly press the brush along to create a thin line.

The most common mistake I see women make is putting too much eye liner under their eyes as this drags your eyes down. Stay away from under the eyes for day to day makeup but if you really want to wear liner on the bottom lashes then keep it lighter in colour and blend it so you don’t have a harsh line.

Mascara

Curling the lashes can be an instant trick to lift the eyes up. Shu uemura is my go to eye lash curler available from David Jones.

Apply mascara on the top lashes only to lift your eyes up. I find mascara with a smaller wand is easier to use and for that reason I recommend Kevyn Aucoin Volumising Mascara, it is also smudge proof which is another reason I like it. Even if you skip all the eye shadow steps give mascara a go, it will frame and emphasise your eyes. Alternatively if you can’t be bothered with mascara every day go to a beautician and get your lashes tinted.

Brows 

Brows can become sparse as we age so sometimes we need to fill them in. Brows also help to frame the eyes. My number one tip when choosing a brow pencil or shadow is don’t go too dark in colour. If in doubt go lighter as it will appear more natural.

Lips

Unfortunately as we age our lips tend to lose volume and so they get smaller. Do not worry though there is a simple makeup fix it, lip liner.

My go to is Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat. Shade Pillow talk is the most natural but I personally like to wear Super Size Me as it has a bit more or a rose colour to it. For a cheaper alternative Rimmel 1000 kisses are also great lip liners, in fact better than some expensive ones such as Chanel.

Use your lipliner to define and shape your lips, I like to make the top corners of the mouth very slightly bigger (literally only by 1mm) as this is wear we tend to lose the most volume. Don’t forget to fill in the whole lip, don’t just draw around the edges as filling in the whole lip keeps your lipstick on for longer.

Next apply a lipstick of your choice. Don’t shy away from colour or gravitate to the boring neutral browns as they rarely flatter anyone. A beautiful lipstick can be so brightening on the complexion so play around with a few different shades. When you try on lipsticks it can take the brain 10 minutes to adjust to the new colour so if you aren’t sure about a shade leave it on for a little while before making a decision. Try and find a creamy texture, not a matte lipstick and not a gloss.

I hope you found my tips useful. If you would like more help in choosing the right shades and products or need me to teach you how to apply the products then I offer one on one makeup lessons in Sydney.