Quinn emphasizes that the most important tip for applying foundation to mature skin is the prep step right before foundation. "The skin needs to be hydrated before any foundation is applied. Massage in your face and eye creams, use a roller for added penetration, and follow up with a brightening primer," he says.
Being gentle with your skin will cut back on prematurely aging your skin, but less makeup will have your skin looking younger. You'll have less bacteria on your face. Bacteria is all around us but you don't want it on your face. Every single time a makeup brush touches your face, you're adding bacteria to your skin.
“I suggest that you start with very soft colours in neutral tones like grey, cream and taupe. The simplest eye makeup that you can do is to apply a pale eyeshadow to the lid and then take a complementary darker shadow and apply a very fine line of this colour to the lash line using a small wedge-shaped brush.
Neutrals and Pinks
Neutral and pink colored eye shadows also make you look younger. Neutrals will also complement your everyday look without making you feel that you have over done your makeup, whether you are in the office or college.
Many mature women find that while they may have loved a bold black liner in the past, it doesn't suit them the same as it once did, and prefer to opt for softer shades like brown or charcoal. (You can find these shades from Inglot AMC Eyeliner Gel and Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Waterproof Eye Pencil.)
DON'T wear mascara on your lower lashes. Playing up your lower lashes can make your eyes look droopy and draw attention to dark circles. It makes the eyes look older and accentuates the under eye wrinkles.
While our makeup artists agree the best foundations for mature skin should be more luminous and dewy rather than matte, you don't want to verge shimmery, and certain complementary products (such as bronzer) should always be matte.
While coverage level is a matter of personal preference, those with mature skin will want to blur texture and blend discoloration with a formula that doesn't settle into fine lines or dry patches—meaning it's best to avoid matte makeup, as it's more prone to creasing.
Westman Atelier Vital Skin Foundation Stick
Westman Atelier's Vital Skin Foundation Stick is ideally suited for mature skin. This 2022 Best of Beauty winner is loaded with skin-nourishing ingredients like squalane for moisture and phytosphingosine for soothing and calming the skin.
While a powder foundation may work well for women with very oily skin, mature faces are generally on the drier side. So a dense, pigmented powder will cling to dry patches and go on unevenly. However, simply using a liquid base, such as our Continuous Cover Foundation, can leave the makeup prone to moving around.
Prepping your skin with lots of hydration is key. Lines deepen on dehydrated skin, increasing the chance that foundation will settle in them. Find a hydrating serum and moisturiser to help counteract this. Additionally, a smoothing primer is your BFF!
Line the eye just above the lash line on the top lid and just below on the bottom lashes. The key is connecting the liner at the outer corner. A pencil or liquid eyeliner works well as it won't shift from the outer corner where it can get damp from your eyes natural moisture.
Applying a thick, black eyeliner makes your eyes appear really small and beady — making you look older than you are. An easy solution to this problem is to switch your back eyeliner with a brown one for a softer and more youthful appearance.
"Keep the liner to the top lid for a more lifted, youthful effect." If you really, really want to go after your bottom lash line, Stiles recommends using a lighter color there than you're using on the top. "This will still give you definition, but feels softer and more flattering," she adds.
Opt for a lighter eyeshadow rather than a dark, smoky shade on your eyelids and around the eyes, like Jenna Dewan Tatum. "Highlighting the corners makes eyes look brighter and fresh," says Ahnert. "Use a light color shadow in matte or shimmer to inner corner, lower lash line in outer corner, and the inner lid."
Look for non-matte products that do double, triple, even quadruple duty—say, by adding a dewy glow, intense moisture, sunscreen to ward off spots and wrinkles, retinol and even a filter-like finish. “Dewy foundations give you a more hydrated, youthful look than matte foundations,” says Duque.
Almost all makeup artists will agree that matte and low-shimmer eyeshadows are better suited for mature women's skin. Shimmery and frosty eyeshadows tend to accentuate wrinkles.