Expert Makeup Artists share the most helpful makeup tips for women over 40. How to apply foundation and do you need powder? Read our blog to find out.
Perhaps you've heard of these "Game-Changing Makeup Tips" for Women in their 40s: Don't Skip Skin Prep, Choose Correct Foundation, Use Concealer, Approach Shimmer Cautiously, Use Mascara for an Instant Eye Lift, Prime Lips With Liner... and so on. But are they relevant to present makeup trends? Or, when it comes to makeup, we must take an individual approach.
If the current beauty trends have taught us anything, it's that self-expression is key. Owning your appearance (no matter your age) is precisely what you were born to accomplish, whether it's rocking a graphic cat eye, trying a cosmetics style you've never tried before, or wearing that siren red lip you thought only Selena Gomez could pull off.
For decades, beauty corporations have either ignored people above the age of 20 or placed them in beauty categories that seem to segregate them from one another. In a nutshell, there's no reason why someone in their 40s can't pull off a shimmering lid or smoky eye like someone in their 20s or 30s. It also doesn't mean you have to abandon your dark liner and vivid lip—those are all old beliefs. It's all about fine-tuning your technique to make it work for you.
Make a statement
Makeup in your forties should make a single statement. That might mean a strong lip with a neutral eye or a strong eye with a lighter lip. Keep things simple and fresh with a noteworthy moment that creates an impact by highlighting one aspect.
Learn your undertones
Knowing your undertone is essential for selecting the proper foundation shade. If you can determine if you are cold, warm, or neutral, it will be much easier to choose foundation and concealer for your complexion.
Consider how you react to the sun. You have warm undertones if you tan easily. You have cool undertones if you burn quickly. You have neutral undertones if you burn a little before gradually tanning.
Take a look at your jewelry. Do you shine like gold? You have a warm complexion. Silver sparkle? Your undertones are cool. You have neutral undertones if you look nice in both.
Discover which colors complement your natural makeup look
After you've determined your undertones, you can use a color wheel to see what colors complement them. Gold, reds, yellows, and warm-toned browns suit those with warm undertones. People with cold undertones look well in silver, frosty blues, purples, and pinks, while those with neutral undertones can typically carry off anything, though she particularly likes rose gold and mauve on them. You can also complement the hues in your eyes and hair.
Use Blush to Highlight the Apples of Your Cheeks
Apply your blush in a slightly upward sweep on the upper area of your cheekbones to work against gravity. And because our skin tone might change over time, we must be mindful of whether warm or cool undertone colors will work best for us. Thankfully, the days of overly contoured faces have been banished to Instagram, but if you're still clutching your emotional support contour palette, it's time to let go. Because the structure of your face is changing owing to collagen and fat loss, you'll see some hollowness in your cheeks, but a heavy contour is not the answer, according to Stiles - it's the equivalent of drawing on your face with a magic marker.
Don't Forget Your Eyebrows
The good news is that as we get older, we won't have to pluck our brows as much. But we should also start filling in the scant hairs, especially the tails. Most women are unaware of how to completely fill in their brow tails. To fluff your brows, use an applicator with a brush on the opposite end.
Treat your eyelids like you have always done
Our eyelid area varies, yet we can open up our eyes by applying a lighter, nude tint to the lid and under the brow arch. Set a medium to dark tone high enough to show the shadows over the hooded eye locations. To elevate the eye, produce a backward seven shape at the outer portion of the eye. The perfect eye makeup techniques can make you look younger and erase years from your face.
Avoid Using a Lipstick with a Dry Formula
To some level, I believe we are all influenced by advertising and trends. It is possible to make a mistake by not selecting bright enough lipstick colors with luminosity—the color and gloss will flatter your lips and keep them nourished. Matte lipsticks and the nude lip appearance may make anyone look older.
Don't Miss About Eyeliner
Many people abandon eyeliner because it is difficult to apply when you can't see as well as you used to. But, since eyeliner adds great definition to the eyes, who advocates combining an eyeliner with a smudging tool like a Q-tip to smudge the line to produce a softer look—that way, you may get away with a less-than-perfect line? Another method is to dab an angled brow brush over an eyeliner pencil before applying the liner. The brush makes the application easier, and the outcome is a lovely, velvety appearance. I often use a darker brown on the top lid and a lighter brown on the outside third of the bottom lash line.
Prepare your eyelashes
Our lashes and brows may get thinner and more brittle as we age, which is why I recommend using a conditioning treatment on a regular basis. When used before mascara, substances like hydrolyzed wheat protein and vitamin B5 strengthen and moisturize your lashes while also prolonging their length.
Greenberg loves putting individual lashes over whole strips for special events because they make a tremendous difference in opening up your eyes without weighing them down.
You can avoid the powder completely
All of the makeup artists we spoke with for this story agreed that skipping powder or strategically applying it is essential for preserving youthful-looking skin. Stick to hot spots like the T-zone alone unless you're extremely oily. If you do use a powder, Turner recommends that it not contain talc as a component. Talc absorbs moisture and can cause the skin to seem flat. All you need is an excellent primer to blur out the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, minimize the appearance of pores, and level out your skin tone.
For foundation, use a soft buffer brush
The application procedure is as crucial as the items themselves. We recommend applying your foundation using a soft buffer brush to allow it to smooth out your skin rather than settle into fine lines. Lipstick feathering or bleeding can also be an issue because of the little wrinkles around the mouth. Before applying lipstick, I recommend applying foundation or concealer around the mouth area with the lips pulled wide to create a barrier. Using a lip pencil and a light coating of powder might also be beneficial.
Use a light foundation
It's a game changer to learn how to do a quick but effective base. You can look naturally faultless if you learn how to do it correctly. Cream products are my favorite because they are so flexible. You can really sheer them down or build them up to mask flaws while still looking dewy and naturally glowing. A liquid composition is preferred because it contains plumping and moisturizing elements and is simple to build into a skin-like finish.
For a more natural-looking finish, start your application in the center of the face and blend outwards. Apply foundation to the skin using a brush, then soften the borders with a damp makeup sponge around the perimeter of the face. This will truly make everything mix together.
Apply eye shadow evenly using small circular motions
It makes a big difference to open up the eye with a soft vanilla shade on the lid and elevate the medium- and dark-toned shadows above the crease. Use a slight circular motion with your eye shadow brush to ensure that the shadow is evenly distributed to the eyelid area. A windshield wiper motion can sometimes miss creepy portions of the lid.
Simplify your eye makeup
Strong, hard lines can make the eye appear hefty, whilst softer lines make the eye appear more open and youthful. The makeup gurus recommend a simple wash of color on the lid with a liquid or cream eyeshadow to achieve this look. As we become older, the skin around our eyes loses elasticity, making the application more difficult. As a result, hydrating formulas are less likely to settle into fine lines and wrinkle as they wear.
Invest in Cream and Liquid Products
Makeup professionals recommend using liquid foundation and cream blush. The powder might settle into fine lines and emphasize them, as well as any irregularities around our eyes. It could also look splotchy and uneven. Because most women's skin dries out as they age, using cream products with more moisture is beneficial. They are also relatively error-free. Begin with a small dab and gradually work your way up to a soft, light shade that flatters.
Consider Different Formulas
Though you can use any product at any age, specific formulas do benefit your skin as it ages. Clinique makes excellent fragrance-free, allergy-tested skincare, and cosmetic products. As we age, we typically become more sensitive to the substances we create. Sensitive eyes might be irritated by mascara, eyeliners, and eye shadows.
Fill the lips
Another issue that many women over the age of 40 are concerned about is thinning lips. Use a neutral-toned lip liner before applying lipstick to improve the curvature of your lips and give the appearance of larger lips without looking overdrawn. As a result, prefers moisturizing formulations to matte solutions. Lip gloss, thank god, is back and better than ever.
The best part about becoming older is that you learn new skills and knowledge along the way. When you were 20, did you know how to tie a silk scarf or audit your food bill? If this is the case, we congratulate you. We wanted to discover whether there were any beauty procedures we could master by the time we were in our forties, in the spirit of lifelong learning.
To begin, you must comprehend the importance of skincare. Your makeup will look considerably better if your skin is in good condition. When you're a woman over 40 and beyond, you need to stay hydrated. To achieve a healthy-looking complexion, mature skin requires additional moisturizer and hydration.
Do you know how to moisturize properly? So you may start applying makeup.