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Age-defying Makeup Tips

BY READERS DIGEST

1st Jan 2015 Fashion & Beauty

Age-defying Makeup Tips

You’re as young as you feel – so make sure you look it! From brows to lips, follow these seven makeup tips for an age-defying look.

Base

A good primer will blur out fine lines and stop the rest of your makeup creasing. Pick one with SPF for additional anti-ageing benefits! If you choose to wear foundation, pick one designed for older skin and apply with you fingers, blending with a damp makeup sponge to avoid a cakey look. Alternatively, try just sticking to a light concealer on any blemishes and under-eye circles. A yellow-toned concealer for covering redness and shadows around the eyes can be very effective in brightening up your whole face!

We lose colour in our cheeks over the years, so you may benefit from a touch of blusher. Cream formulations allow you to build colour gradually, while powders are longer lasting. Highlighter and bronzer can give a youthful glow, but stay away from glittery formulations; instead use finely-milled formulations that you can build up for a light sheen.
 

Brows and eyes

Fuller brows make your face look younger, as brows become sparser over time. Adding shape and colour to your brows helps define and balance your face - but beware of going overboard with the eyebrow pencil, as it can look severe. Instead, gently fill your brows in with a brush and powder that matches your brows for a subtler look.

Spidery lashes are ageing! Instead of loading your lashes with multiple coats of mascara, apply just one coat to the length of the lash, then wiggle the brush at the base of the lash to add volume to the lashes and definition to your eyes.

Reading glasses magnify any imperfections in your eye makeup, so precise eyeliner is risky. Unless you have a super-steady hand, consider swapping liquid eyeliner for a softer, smokier look using a kohl pencil. 

Bright eyeshadows tend to smudge and drop over the course of the day. Minimize smudging and creasing with a primer formulated especially for the eye-area, and clean up any excess with a cotton bud moistened with make-up remover.
 

Lips

The perfect lipstick can lift your skin-tone and provide a great kick of colour – but spend time making sure it is the best shade for you. Talk to a sales assistant and test colours on your lips, not on your hand. You could even request a sample to try at home, since the lighting in shops can be misleading.

If you are wearing a strong lipstick, you may need to prevent the colour bleeding into fine lines around your mouth by using a long-lasting lip-liner around the corners of your mouth and your cupid’s bow. 

While matte lipsticks have been popular in recent years, a glossy finish is more flattering as it makes lips look plumper. Corals and fuschias are fun, but for a naturally fresh-faced look search for a shade of pink that matches the inside of your bottom lip - this is your perfect neutral.

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