Makeup And Ageing Gracefully - The Skin Care Clinic

Read the makeup tips below or jump straight to the recommended products (click here).

(by Rosie Geeves)

It is all well and good to suggest a range of products and tips with the current youth trends in mind, but what are the tips and products for those of us who want to compliment our ageing skin? To age gracefully and yet still feel confident and beautiful in our appearance… how can we use our makeup to enhance what we have?

Prepping the skin

The key to great looking makeup lies in the preparation and health of your skin. Using good skin care keeps your skin smooth, healthy and glowing, thus allowing your makeup to sit better and last longer. What are the essentials? A cleanser, Vitamin A serum for skin cell turnover and collagen production, antioxidants to fight off those free radicals, an eye cream and a moisturiser that contains an SPF to prevent UV damage. Adding a mask to your routine once a week will also help to keep your skin looking hydrated and plump.

Click here to view our basic skin care routine guide.

Primer

How does a primer work for ageing skin? Using a primer is the first step in your daily makeup routine. A good primer should even the skin tone, reduce the appearance of fine lines and pore size, smooth the skin before the application of your foundation and allow your makeup to stay on for longer. Primers also tend to brighten and illuminate the skin as well as provide extra sun protection if they contain an SPF.

Foundation

Every skin is different and foundation choices are a personal choice. As you age, you may find your skin feels much drier, and you will often prefer a more moisturising liquid foundation rather than a powder. There are foundations that perform more functions than just evening up your skin tone… so where possible choose products that help your skin in multiple ways!

Lip liner

As we age, there is a reduction in the fullness of our lips and unfortunately, even if we never smoke, fine lines and wrinkles start to appear around the edges of our mouths. Using a lip liner is the equivalent to using a primer before you put on your foundation. A good lip liner will shape the lips and increase the wear and intensity of your lip colour. By outlining your lips with a liner that is one shade darker than your natural lip colour, you can instantly make your lips appear fuller and more defined. Lip liner also stops your lipstick from migrating outside the lines; this tends to happen with more glossy lipsticks rather than matte ones.

Eye creams

Investing in a good eye cream is a must as the ageing process starts to hit. The skin around our eyes is much more delicate and finer than the rest of the face, this means that our usual moisturiser is too heavy to be used in this area. Dark circles, puffiness, fine lines and wrinkles dramatically increase the dullness and tired look that starts to take over as we age. Using a good eye cream that actively targets these problems will lift and re-energise the overall appearance of your eyes and your face.

Mascara

As we age, we can start to develop sensitivities in and around the eyes. Dry, irritated or watery eyes often make it hard to wear mascara, and diminishing eyesight can make application of mascara hard, which is usually worn to highlight the eyes. While you can opt for a gentle mascara for sensitive eyes you can also have a regular lash lift and tint to open up and define the eyes by tinting the lashes and semi-permanently curling the lashes and creating depth and fullness.

Less is more

If you are using the right, quality products, you shouldn’t need to wear a tonne of makeup. It is designed to highlight your natural beauty which we believe that everyone possesses. Ageing gracefully is about looking and feeling healthy – not just trying to look ‘young’… we are trained to watch the face from a very young age to gauge mood and intent in others – and when we view other people’s faces, we rarely see the ‘static’ view that mirrors and photos show us, instead we see a moving and emotional array of personality. Let that shine through!