Makeup tips as we grow older

Growing older is not an excuse to ditch your authentic self. Just because you reach a certain age doesn’t mean you have to stop activities that you've always enjoyed or change your style to suit society’s expectation for what you should or shouldn’t wear.
You don’t need to chop off all your hair on your 60th birthday, and you absolutely can let your natural white or gray hair reveal itself. It’s the same with makeup. If you’ve always loved a bold lip color, keep wearing it! If you like a bit of pastel eye shadow, go for it!
But you have to acknowledge that your body is changing and that means your skin is changing, too. With a few adjustments, you can still wear the makeup shades you’ve always loved, but in a way that doesn't seem like you’re trying too hard or conforming to others’ ideas for how you should look.
With aging comes a plethora of skin issues that affect how makeup is applied and how it looks. Fine lines and wrinkles are top concerns as we get older, and sometimes makeup can exasperate those issues if not applied correctly.
I find that mineral makeup, especially the powder formulas, are not good for mature skin. The powder seeps into any wrinkle, big or small, and really ages you. I recommend a tinted moisturizer for mature skin. It gives you a light, natural-looking coverage, but also lets skin breathe. Use a face primer first to help fill in lines and wrinkles so that your tinted moisturizer can sit on top, rather than settle into, wrinkles.
Age spots are another annoyance we encounter as we get older. Age spots are due to sun exposure and are hard to erase. Serums and creams containing hydroquinone can help diminish age spots, especially when used in conjunction with sunscreen and abstaining from sun exposure all together. Covering age spots can be tricky, too.
A full-coverage concealer can help hide age spots. Use a shade slightly lighter than your spot. Be sure to blend the concealer outward to the edges of the spots and blend very well, patting the concealer into the skin.
Stay away from too much shimmer on mature skin. It can highlight lines and wrinkles, especially around the eyes. A small amount of shimmer is okay on the lids, but keep it to a minimum, and reserve for nighttime events.
Frost shadows are a definite no-no, as they will undoubtedly draw attention to wrinkles on and around the eyes. Matte colors are best to bring some definition to the eyes, without showcasing crepey skin that we oftentimes encounter as we age.
Another tip for eyes is to opt for a brown mascara over a black one. Black can be too harsh, and if you have wrinkles around the eyes, you really want to soften your look. Brown mascara can still define lashes, but it is a much more forgiving shade than black.
Page 2 of 2 - Perioral wrinkles around the lips (those vertical wrinkles around the mouth) are especially prevalent in women over the age of 40 who smoke or have smoked or have had excessive sun exposure. These lines can really stand out when wearing a bold lip color or a lip color with a matte finish. Color can bleed into these lines, resulting in a not so polished look.
You can still wear a bright shade of lip color but make sure it’s a moisturizing formula or even a gloss. (Avoid frosty-finished lipsticks at all costs!) Gently line and fill in the lips with a lip liner that is a shade similar to the lip color you’d like to apply and top it off with your lipstick or gloss. Your lips will still have a burst of color, but you won’t risk the unwanted bleeding that could result by not lining and filling in the lips.
Aging is a process, and you have to change your routine from what you might be accustomed to. Heavy foundations and eye makeup do not make a person look younger. By applying these tips to your daily makeup routine, you will find that your mature skin will appear softer, younger, and much more luminous.
Sometimes change is good, but you don’t have to sacrifice your belief system and style to fit into a mold set by society. You can continue to wear and do whatever you like, but embrace your age and realize that age really is just a number. It’s how you convey that number that matters.
Liz Fuller is a makeup artist and owner of Makeup Artistry, Inc.(www.makeupartistryinc.com) in Hingham. She also hosts a beauty TV show called The Lipstick Lounge for Hingham Community Access and Media (HCAM). Any beauty-related questions for The Beauty Bar column can be directed to Liz at makeupartistryinc@gmail.com. Unfortunately, questions cannot be responded to personally, but Liz will hold onto each question and answer it as it pertains to the subject of each month’s column.