Makeup
Tips for Aging Skin
Creative use of makeup can erase
years from your face.
By Lissa Poirot
WebMD Feature
WebMD Feature
Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD
As you age, you experience many
things -- puberty, pregnancy, menopause, pollution, sunlight, dry winters,
humid summers, stress. Your aging skin experiences them too. And even if you
take good care of your skin, life takes a toll on it.
But you can turn back the clock, at
least a little, with makeup. By skillfully applying makeup, you can hide
wrinkles, age spots, and sun damage and also play up your best features. Here
are some tips from the professionals: makeup artists.
Hiding
Fine Lines and Wrinkles
In trying to conceal fine lines and
wrinkles around the eyes, lips, and forehead, many women make the mistake of accentuating
them instead by overdoing makeup. Too much makeup settles and cakes into lines,
making wrinkles more noticeable.
Prevention begins with a
moisturizer. "After you wash your face in the morning, apply moisturizer
while the skin is damp, which will plump it up and even it out, helping makeup
glide on," says Billy Lowe, celebrity hairstylist and beauty expert for
television shows such as Extreme Makeover and TLC's 10 Years Younger.
Don't forget to moisturize around
the eyes. "Start with a silicone-based eye serum that will gel to the
concealer and prevent it from slipping," says Lowe. And, he says,
"Packing on the makeup to cover lines or dark circles will cause it to crepe
and bring out creases." To avoid a cakey look around the eyes, don't use
heavy concealers.
"Learn your bone structure and
features of your face," advises Bridget Winton, makeup instructor at the
Bellus Academy of Beauty & Spa in San Diego. "Focus on your bone
structure to lift the face. Give yourself a youthful look by using lighter and
darker shades to make hard lines soft and soft lines hard."
For a sagging chin, for example, work with a foundation that is
one or two shades darker than your facial foundation. Cover the darker area
with a translucent powder.
How
to Brighten Aging Skin
A dull, gray complexion can be a
sign of dehydrated skin, but skin also loses its rosy glow as it thins with
age. While you work to replenish dry skin with moisturizers, you can also
brighten color lost through thinning with lighter makeup.
Use
warm colors to brighten the appearance of shallow, dull skin. Experts suggest
using a foundation that is a half shade lighter than your skin tone.
To diminish dark circles under the eyes, apply foundation
that's a shade lighter than your facial foundation to the area. Top it with a
concealer and then add a loose powder to set the makeup and hide the color
difference.
Illuminators and bronzers can also
add a sun-kissed glow, but don't overdo it; a fake tan can add years to your
face. Instead, blend the bronzer into your moisturizer or foundation and then
apply it evenly to your face. Or use a loose powder just one or two shades
darker than your skin tone.
To give skin a dewy look, Winton
recommends spritzers and remoisturizing sprays to set makeup and add glisten.
Makeup
Tips for Aging Skin
Creative use of makeup can erase
years from your face.
(continued)
Soften
Your Colors
Ruby red may have been your
signature lip color since your 20s, but as you mellow with age, so should your
color palette. "You don't want bright, vibrant colors that call attention
to the eyes, lips, or cheeks because they will draw attention to damage and not
blend with the skin," says Winton. "You can still stay with the
harmony of your hair and eye color, just do it with softer colors."
Lowe says, "I'm a sucker for
soft tones. I use them on everyone. I like neutrals and pastels and find they complement aging skin
well."
Around the eyes, black mascaras and
eyeliners are appropriate if your hair color hasn't grayed. When your hair
color fades, so should your mascara; opt for a soft brown or gray.
Eyelashes also tend to lose their
volume and thickness over time. A volumizing, defining mascara will plump them
up. To make them even fuller, "apply a very fine layer of translucent
powder to the lashes in between two coats of mascara," says makeup artist
and former model Jemma Kidd. Or consider having your lashes and brows tinted
with semi-permanent color at your local hair salon.
Plump
Lips
Thinning lips are another downside
of aging skin. But a few tricks can make them look full again.
Choosing the right color for
thinning lips is as important as how it is applied. Again, avoid strong colors
like red. They can make lips appear even thinner, while peach and beige colors, lip glosses, and tawny
liners make them appear fuller and more defined.
Liners can help complete the
illusion of fuller lips. Draw just on the outside of the lips and fill in with
color, but be careful not to make them appear too rigid. "Most people use
the pencil to outline the lips first," says Lowe. "This creates too
much definition in the lining of the lip. Instead, use color first and then
line the lip. It gives it a softer line that is still defined."
Feathery lines also appear around
lips as you age. To stop lipstick from bleeding into them, use matte lipsticks
and lip liners. Kidd recommends mixing a good quality lip balm with your
favorite lip color for a glossier or subtler look.
Prevent
Further Skin Damage
Makeup can make a temporary
difference in your appearance, but it's most effective if you start with the
best base possible -- well-tended skin.
No matter how old you are, your skin
still needs moisturizer
and protection from the sun.
Makeup artists stress the importance
of keeping the skin hydrated and clean, and warding off additional sun damage.
Exfoliate
the skin every day, says Lowe:
"Pollution builds up on your skin and will prevent moisture from getting
into it. Exfoliation removes the build up and speeds up cellular turnover,
bringing new, brighter cells to the surface."
Apply
moisturizer and sunscreens as a base each morning, and reapply sunscreen
throughout the day. Make a point to wash makeup off
every night and repair the day's damage by applying heavier, nighttime
moisturizers.
"You know the saying, 'an ounce
of prevention,'" says Lowe. "Take care of your skin at any
age."
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