As a makeup artist, I’m known to dispense my fair amount of beauty advice to anyone who is willing to listen. So, I willfully admit that I, too, can get into a rut with my own makeup sometimes. Makeup is a wonderful thing. It can transform even the homeliest person into a number #1 stunner when applied correctly.
With the best of intentions to look as fresh as a freshly plucked flower, one mishap with your concealer, for example, and your look can go down hill pretty fast. You can, literally, add ten years to your face when your makeup looks like crap. Over the years, I’ve worked on countless faces and I’ve pretty much seen it all as far as aging makeup goes, so listed below are some of the ways makeup can add age years to your face and what you can do to correct it.
1) Too much matte.
For the oilier ladies out there, matte textures can give a soft and etheral look to the skin. But when your foundation is super matte, whether it’s a liquid or a powder formula, your skin can look crinkly and unflattering and you can end up with the dreaded “cake face” when applied too heavily. Avoid stepping into “granny” territory with a lighter, oil-free, water-based textured formula that you will give you a realistic, skin- like, buildable coverage. To set your base, use a light dusting of a sheer loose translucent powder. If you chose to stick with your matte formula, make sure you moisturize and prime your face really well. You’ll find that your base goes on a lot lighter and you’ll also find you may not need as much foundation, either. Try Laura Mercier Tinted Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer for a natural coverage.
2) Dry, chapped, and cracked lips.
As a makeup artist, I see this all of the time when prepping someone’s skin for their makeup. Having dry cracked lips can exacerbate fine lines and large, flaky skin chunks just look totally unflattering. Having healthy plump lips can make you look younger. I would advice exfoliating your lips with a solid lip scrub, like Tarte’ Maracuja Lip Exfoliant and follow up with a nourishing lip balm, like Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm.
3) Using the wrong shade of foundation.
When your foundation is too light, you risk looking like all of the blood has been drained from your face and it can give off a mask-like appearance. If your foundation is too dark, you end up having a muddy, flat look to the skin which definitely drags down your appearance making you look dull and tired. Always choose a shade that matches your face as well as your neck for a seamless finish. You should look as though you’re not wearing any makeup. Try Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick for exact matches.
4) Using too much undereye concealer.
Using a concealer under the eye area can do wonders for you. It can make you look as though you’ve had a ton of sleep even when you haven’t gotten much sleep at all. But when it’s over done and applied too thickly, it can settle into fine lines for an unflattering look. Using a concealer is one of those tricky things, though. If you’re used to wearing a concealer everyday, maybe take a step back and determine if you actually need one everyday. Depending on so many factors like sleep and diet, on some days you may need a little and others you may not need it at all. If you do need it, concentrate it on the shadowy areas rather than the whole eye. If you have a severe case of dark circles, definitely use concealer, but find something that’s lighter in texture and provides a good coverage. Make sure to blend well. MAC Pro Longwear Concealer is a great option because you can build your coverage.
5) Over tweezing or over plucking your brows or heavily drawn-in brows.
Your brows are the frame to your face. In my opinion, your brows are the most important feature on your face. Having barely any brows and/or not defining them are a sure way to look older. Now, I get that everyone isn’t born with a perfect set, but with the right products and a little work, anyone can have beautiful brows. Having heavily drawn-in and too dark brows also puts your in the “granny” category. I recommend seeking a true professional about shaping your brows to fit your face and to get a good recommendation on what products you can use to keep the shape. And if you’re lucky to have any brows at all and you want to get them in the best shape ever (no pun intended), grow them back with Eylure Brow Nourishing Oil. This is a great product for brow growth.
6) Heavy contouring.
Ahhh, this ever popular makeup trick that has taken a life of it’s own all over social media outlets. This technique is great for sculpting the face into a work of art, but unless you’re modeling for an editorial of some sort, heavy foundation and contouring does not translate well for real life. It can give you a hard appearance and can make your skin look a bit dirty. If you must contour, consider using a very light hand to sculpt your cheekbones. I would leave all of the heavy highlighting and contouring for taking pro photos.
