Makeup Application for Women Over 40

Are you a woman over 40 who’s looking for tips applying your makeup? Let’s face it, with each passing year of life our skin and the structures of our face change. Gravity, the environment and our lifestyle all contribute to our appearance. Every one of us deserves to look in the mirror and love who we see. With a just a few adjustments in our makeup application, we can enhance our beauty. Read on for some of the things that I’ve learned through courses that I’ve taken, along with the experience of applying makeup to myself.

I recently attended The Virtual Makeup Show and was able to learn so much from the professionals. One of my favorite sessions was about makeup application on mature women. The session was taught by Eugenia Weston, founder of Senna Cosmetics. I love her technique so much that I’ve been implementing some of her tips in my own makeup application. Be sure to check out her website for free tutorials and tips galore!!

Skincare First

If you don’t take good care of your skin, your makeup can’t possibly look its best. What I mean by this is that you need to think about your skin as the foundation that will be built upon with your makeup products. Therefore, prep your skin to receive the makeup. Use skincare products that exfoliate away the dead skin cells. Hydrate the skin to banish dull, dry, flakey skin. In addition, use a good eye cream to hydrate the area well and apply lip balm, especially if you plan to wear lipstick.

Foundation Tips

My number one tip for mature women is that less is more when it comes to foundation. It’s not necessary to apply a thick layer of full coverage foundation. In fact, applying tinted moisturizer, bb creams and cc creams might be all one needs to enhance the skin. If you must use foundation, use a light hand with foundation products that give a more dewy, hydrated look. Hydrated skin looks healthier and more youthful.

Blush Tips

I always thought that we were supposed to apply our blush products to the apples of our cheeks. I recently learned from Eugenia Weston of Senna Cosmetics that mature ladies should apply their blush in a more precise location. When looking in the mirror, make an imaginary line from the bottom of your nose outward toward your ears. Then draw an imaginary line from your pupils down to intersect with the first line. Apply your blush in the outer quadrant of your cheekbone toward your hairline. In other words, blush should not be applied below the nose. It should be outwards from the pupils. Don’t go too far back on the face or you end up with “an old lady look.” Does that make sense? This will give a more lifted appearance to the face. Who knew??

stock photo Motortion Films

Eyeshadow Tips

I have taken so many makeup application classes over the years and the one thing that always comes up is matte vs shimmer eyeshadow for mature women. I’m not talking about sparkles (I don’t think they look good unless worn for a special event such as New Year’s Eve), but rather eyeshadow that has a sheen or shimmer to it. I personally feel that the added sheen can make the lids look healthy and can hide or camouflage the crepiness of mature lids. If you like matte shadows and prefer to use them only, do that. However, I recommend putting some shimmer shadow onto your fingertip and patting it into the lid focusing on the center of the lid. Overall though, I think that you should do what YOU like and what makes you happiest. 🙂

Eyebrow Tips

Never ever skip doing your brows (I’m guilty). As we age we loose brow hair, especially at the tail end. By filling in the brows, we are framing the eyes. Use a very thin brow pencil and draw hair-like strokes to imitate the missing brow hairs. If you don’t already fill in your brows, I suggest going straight to a beauty store to purchase a brow pencil or order one online asap!

Lipstick Tips

Lipstick products can be a personal preference that may be dictated by the condition of your lips. As we age, our lips get thinner and they lose pigment. You can use lip liner to outline the lips and to fill them in. I personally prefer to wear gloss products to give the lips a more plump and juicy look. I feel that trendy matte lipstick products may emphasize dry thin lips of mature women, so I stay away from them. When I do wear actual lipstick products I find that I add a gloss over them.