MAKEUP HACKS THAT MAKE YOU LOOK YEARS YOUNGER

Makeup is a wonderful way to enhance your best features, brighten your skin and make you look like you’ve had eight hours sleep – even if you’ve barely managed four. It can also be a pretty clever way to take years off you.

But first, let’s get one thing straight, age is just a number. Whatever decade you’re experiencing right now is an honor and a privilege; one that not everyone is lucky enough to enjoy. So never be ashamed of your age or frustrated by the fact you don’t look the same as you did 20 years ago. Because nobody does.

Using makeup to your advantage, however? We are all over that. After all, why would you intentionally NOT want to make yourself look as fabulous as possible – whatever your age?

Read on for 10 of the simplest and most effective ways to ensure your makeup doesn't age you…  

1. Avoid Darker-Than-Dark Lip Colors

Did you know, your lips get thinner as you get older? This is all thanks to collagen loss which begins some time in your 20s. Thankfully, it’s a very slow process which you can help with great skincare and awesome lifestyle habits. However, it can’t be stopped, no matter how much SPF you apply. Sorry about that.

So what’s all this got to do with your makeup choices? Well, dark lip colors can not only look harsh against mature skin, but they also make your lips appear even thinner. Eek. Instead, choose neutral or pale tones for a more youthful look. Oh, and go for gloss, (*ahem* our vegan Spin-on lip gloss, of course!) every time, to help reflect light and plump up your pout even further.

2. Don’t Be Afraid Of Powder Foundation

Let’s clear things up once and for all: powder foundations are the not the enemy. Sure, overly-drying, mattifying powders can dry out your skin and accentuate fine lines and wrinkles, so they should be avoided at all costs. But choose the right formulation and a powder foundation can give you a gorgeous, healthy glow and a more even skin tone without looking cakey or too ‘made-up.'

Our Foundation Powders, for example, contain ingredients like stearic acid, tocopherol and ethylhexylglycerin which may sound a tad scary, but they’re clean, perfectly safe and offer incredibly hydrating and softening benefits. Our powders are also triple-milled. This makes them lightweight and super-fine which enables them to work with your skin (not sit on top of it), adding just the right amount of coverage and radiance – every time.

3. Clean Up Your Brows

Natural-looking arches are key, for sure, but cleaning up stray hairs is priceless for opening up your face and giving you a groomed-but-not-overly-done look.

To keep your eyebrows youthful, tweeze rogue hairs only, working back and forth between each brow for a natural finish. Then fill them in lightly with a brow color that’s just a shade lighter than the natural hairs – unless you’re very fair, then you can go one shade darker, but no more. We love Truffle which is one of our refillable Eye Shadows in case you were wondering!

Use light brush strokes to apply your color and never over-extend or create pointed angles. This is all well and good for 20-somethings but once you get a little older it’s an extremely harsh, aging look. We don’t want that for you.

4. Use Primer To Blur Wrinkles

Primer might feel like a step too far but, honestly, a good skin primer is a great way to smooth out your skin, blurring out lines and imperfections, filling in enlarged pores and helping to create a more even base for your foundation. Our Pre-Face Velvety Face Primer also helps hydrate mature skin and gives your makeup some real butt-kicking staying power.

What’s more, our primer can be used on your eyelids as well as over your face to help your eyeshadow look better and stay put for longer. This helps stop any fine lines making your eyeshadow look creased and crinkly. And that struggle can feel very real.

5. Embrace Some Strategic Shimmer

We don’t recommend a full face of glitter past the age of 5, but a little smart highlighter in the right places? We’re so into that for bringing light and radiance to mature skin. So what are those elusive ‘right’ places? The inner corners of your eyes for one. This wakes up your face instantly.

A little shimmer on your cheekbones also gives your skin a gorgeous glow (which is often lost as your skin ages) with very little effort. Just be cautious if you have enlarged pores or fine lines in this area as highlighting powder can exaggerate textured skin. Stick to smoother parts of your face and apply a neutral-toned powder using a very light touch.

6. Curl Your Eyelashes

As you get older, your hair growth cycle slows down which means your eyelashes can look shorter, thinner and sometimes even straighter. Go figure! This makes the priceless combination of mascara and eyelash curlers even more important than ever. Just remember to always curl your lashes before applying mascara to avoid a gunky curler.

Not a fan of eyelash curlers? Then give our Mascara Shield a go which helps amplify lash curl as you apply your mascara. It’s a great little tool that’s super easy to use and also stops mascara goop getting all over your eyelids as an added bonus.

7. Say 'No Way' To Setting Powder

Foundation powders that hydrate and smooth out your lines? Yes. Oil-absorbing setting powders that suck all the moisture out of your skin and accentuate your least favorite bits? No thank you.

Tinted formulations, in particular, look very heavy and powdery on mature skin so if you must use setting powder, choose a loose, translucent one to finish your makeup. But, honestly? You’re better off using a primer before your makeup rather than setting powder. There, we said it.

8. Choose Brown Rather Than Black Eyeliner

There’s no denying that classic black eyeliner is the bomb, but it can look a little harsh on mature skin – especially if you have a pale complexion. Instead, think about switching it up to brown eyeliner which is softer, universally flattering and a much more subtle way to enhance your eyes.

If you like the dramatic look black offers, you can still get that with a rich, dark brown shade like Ganache. In fact, there are tons of different browns to choose from which makes it super easy to flatter your skin tone and eye color.

Wear yours above your top lashline only because applying it underneath your eyes will accentuate bags and drag your eyes down. Then blend your liner up at the outer corners to add extra lift to drooping eyes. Good news: our Arc Brush helps you do this with zero effort.

9. Take Your Blusher To New Heights

Thanks to collagen loss (yes, that again!), skin starts to sag and droop as it matures which means your makeup M.O should aways be tailored towards creating a lifting effect.

And this is never more important than when it comes to blusher.

Start applying your blusher about half an inch above and away from the line of your nostrils (no lower) to avoid dragging your face down, then blend it up along your cheekbones, just above the apples of your cheeks and out towards your temples. Blending is your friend so choose soft powders that can be blurred out easily and don’t shy away from color-pop shades because these really help lift and brighten mature skin.

10. Keep It Light

Finally, our biggest takeaway is never to pile on makeup like your life depended on it. Thick makeup does nothing but accentuate fine lines and wrinkles, so the best way to ensure your makeup is youthful and natural-looking is to keep it minimal. Sure, this may seem like an impossible task if your skin is misbehaving or your eye bags are the size of a small country, but making sure your skin is well looked after with an effective eye cream, plenty of moisturizer and a good SPF is way more beneficial than laying on makeup too thick. The end.