Makeup Tips for Mature Women

This is Linda (Lin as I call her), lovely isn't she? She agreed to be my model for a post on tips or makeup application for women who were aging. Now, I want to say that bottom line as with anything, you do what makes you comfortable and makes you feel good. So you can take these tips or disregard them, it's all in how you want to look and what you're looking for. So with that out of the way I want to tell you a bit about Linda's skin. She tans very easily and works outside often, you should see her flowers, she has little to barely any wrinkles, no age spots, her skin has become a little dry on the nose and forehead through the years but that's about it. Her eyelid has become hooded somewhat but she has no under eye bags or circles. She really was an awesome model and her skin is very impressive.


So getting into some tips or things we discussed:

• Moisturizer and BB Cream. She has slightly dry skin so moisturizer is definitely needed but if you're someone who has wrinkles, hydrate the skin numerous times to plump it up and smooth it out more. So what you can do is apply moisturizer when you get up, then apply moisturizer again when you're fixing to do your makeup and let it sit on the skin and absorb about 10 minutes. You could even go in with a mist like MAC Fix + which is very hydrating and mist the skin after your moisturizer but you could also use Evian Mineral Spray as well. I used an oil free moisturizer on Lin and we went in with Smashbox Primer Water as well. BB Creams are also great for hydration and blurring out imperfections. I love the Dr Jart BB creams. The Black Label Detox is what I have but there is a Premium one that has anti aging benefits that may be better suited toward more mature skin. BB Cream goes on under your foundation and gives you more coverage as well as protecting the skin with SPF and being more moisturizing to the skin.
• Primer. Primer point blank, fills in lines and perfections in almost every formula. If it doesn't do that then it's geared toward oily skin to be more mattifying and tacky so that the foundation stays on the skin. I really like the Makeup Forever Smoothing Primer, Benefit Pore Porefessional, Dr Jart Pore Medic, basically if it says it will fill in large pores it will also fill in fine lines there is just no way around that. 
• Eyebrows. We had to do some maintenance on Lin's eyebrows. She has a wonderful shape which is actually just straight and thicker. I love that shape, it's easier to maintain that than an arched brow or a curved brow and it lifts the eye so much more. Brows frame the face, friends. That's just all I can say, if you have good brows you've got a great asset for good makeup. I only used Benefit Gimme Brow on her, the reason was because her brows are quite thick. As we age we lose lashes and eye brows, so Benefit Gimme Brow has fibers in it to not only tint the brow and fill it in somewhat, it also builds up the brow by adding fibers on the end of the hair. Other good products are obviously brow powder, tinted brow gel, brow pencils. Whatever makes you feel comfortable. Brows take practice and you have to work at them to find what style best suits you. Everyone is different.
• Eyeshadow. Here's where it gets tricky. Depending on what your eye lid does, depends on what you should use. I will go ahead and tell you no shimmer in the crease or on the brow bone. Shimmer in powder form really brings out wrinkles and settles into fine lines. It also catches the light and naturally brings attention to the area which is not what you want to do if you aren't wanting that certain area to be the focus. So I stick to mattes and generally keep shimmer on the lid but mainly the lower lash line. So the problem which shimmer on the lid (and this goes for any age) is that it will transfer to the crease somewhat when you open your eyes and the skin rests against each other. There's no way to avoid it. So shimmer means metallic, or glittery shadows. Satin shadows are much more forgiving. A satin shadow has a "sheen" to it. It's not completely matte, which means no shine or shimmer what so ever just very opaque color. Satin can be a little pearlescent but when it has tooooooo much shimmer to where all it does is look different when you move your head, that's a shimmer. So you want something that stays the same color no matter how the light hits it. For colors I really love: browns, cranberry, plum, peach, coral, warm browns, purples, cool toned browns. Mauve can be done but if it's more pink than mauve it makes you look sick or if it's too dark a mauve you can look bruised and that's not what we want. So a good combination is peach or coral tones and a plum or purple. It's very wearable but it's a little more than just a neutral look. Always use an eyeshadow primer the lid naturally moves and can wrinkle (on anyone) so primer is going to keep the shadow from creasing and makes shadow go on more even. If you want a little shimmer though, it really does look beautiful on the lower lash line. Use a small brush to apply it though, so that it doesn't get out of hand.
• Blush. With blush I think you can do whatever shade you want as long as it's not a glittery finish or a duo chrome super iridescent finish. Like I said glitter and shimmer picks up the light and draws attention to that area. You want a more subtle look. So matte finish blush or blushes with soft sheens give a beautiful glow. I really love the Hourglass Ambient Blushes, Becca Blushes (Flowerchild and Songbird), MAC blushes in Matte, Satin, and some Mineralized finishes. There are tons. Literally tons. A fluid highlighter is actually very flattering on top of the cheek bones since it's more subtle than powder. So if you want a bit of a glow and your blush doesn't have one try a cream or liquid illuminator.
• Bronzer and Contour is up to you. If you have very fair skin I would skip it. The more product you add the more chance you have of settling into fine lines. Lin had a tan though so bronzer was necessary for blending her neck and face. If you want that warm glow from bronzer choose a warm blush like a peach or something. If you have a tan try a mauve so that it gives your tan more color in the cheeks.
• Foundation. I see a lot of people who wear foundation too heavily. You don't always need it. There is nothing wrong with full coverage but you could also try a bb cream and concealer or a medium coverage foundation and concealer. It just depends on what your skin needs covered. At best, pigmentation issues is what I see the most as a concern for mature women. A lot of that can be easily covered with bb cream and a medium coverage foundation. I used Dermablend Smooth Liquid Camo on Lin which is medium coverage but Estee Lauder Double Wear is a great option if you want full coverage. Makeup Forever Mat Velvet Plus is what my mom wears and it looks lovely. There are lots of options out there. Start with a little and work up from there.
• Don't over powder. I think a lot of people use loose powder and a pouf to set their makeup which can get cakey. Try using a brush and dusting the powder on. Or use a pressed powder and a sponge. Go lightly and then set your makeup with a setting spray if you have a problem with your makeup breaking up or sliding off.
• Lips. Dark lips make your lips look smaller so keep that in mind. However I love a darker lip on a mature woman. It's up to you but a good place to start is Jordana lip liners in Plush Plum or Tawny, MAC Soar, any type of mauve tone. Mauves, plums, or darker reds are very complimentary I think. I don't like super opaque flesh toned nudes or pastel colors on mature women. I used OCC Vintage lip tar on Lin. It's a darker red. She has good lips though. If your lip color tends to "bleed" then you could try Urban Decay Ozone Multipurpose lip primer which is supposed to fill in the lines in the lips. If you don't want to then be sure to apply a balm before your lipstick.
• Liner and Lashes. Basically for liner the only thing I even like is using a dark shadow. Crayon liners melt and move to the corner. Liquid is hard to drag across skin that has lost elasticity. Gel is hard to work with in the same manner. So shadow is all I would use with a dense angled brush. I used a dark plum and brown on Lin. We went all around the eye because that's what she was used to and that's what looked right on her. Lining all around the eye can make them look smaller though so keep that in mind. You can line the top and line half way on the bottom or do whatever makes you comfortable be sure to get it close to the lash line so that it gives the look of thicker and more lashes. As for lashes, try not to use waterproof, it rips out your lashes. I wouldn't focus on a lengthening mascara either but more of a voluminizing and thickening mascara. I like Loreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara. That's about all I even recommend as well. 

So those are my best tips I can give you. Be sure to blend your shadows, and your foundation. Make sure your face and neck are the same color. Find a lip color that looks the best and let that be your signature lip and as for the rest, practice makes perfect. I want to thank Lin for being my model, it wasn't even a task to do her makeup because she has such good features.












**** Disclaimer: As always you are welcome to criticize me,  but please do not say anything unkind about my models or people that let me post their pictures on here. They are doing me a favor by allowing me to use them in a blog post. I will block and delete your comments if you choose to be in any way rude or less than polite about someone who is featured in one of my posts.