Age-Adjusting Your Makeup

Your home won’t be beautiful for long if you build it on a shoddy foundation. Same goes for your face.

Taking care of your skin on a daily basis is the number one key to a beautiful and healthy face. Once you have moisturized and healthy skin, your makeup is your next priority. Good makeup can be found everywhere: from drug stores and department stores to beauty Web sites and beauty salons.

But how your makeup is applied is key to making it look right for your particular age and facial features. Yes, ladies, age does matter in this case. 

One product can be used in many different ways to make it apply perfectly on women of all ages, shapes, sizes and colors. I put this theory to the test on four very different women, using the Mauve Face Palette by Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. This palette is a collection of three eye shadows, one blush and three lip shades. See how these new, fabulously flattering shades for Fall took shape on our four women.

Laura (representing 50s age group): I lightly applied the blush to give her a fresh-faced look. You want to give the apples of your cheeks a healthy flush for day, and dust on a little more for a dramatic nighttime look. I stayed away from the white shadow on her eyes to not create any shadows that would emphasize wrinkles in the eye area. I used darker shadow as eyeliner instead of pencil for a softer look. Then I used white eyeliner on bottom inside of her eye to make the eye look bigger and brighter. Her lip was a darkest shade in the palate, “Deep Mauve,” to emphasize her lips and prevent her from looking washed out.

Jen (representing 40s age group): Beautiful Jen’s look was the sophisticated and sultry smokey eye using the “Chocolate Mauve” eye shadow. Her blush was applied from the apples of her cheeks and along her jaw line. Being that she’s wearing a smokey eye, her lip shade was a natural hue, similar to her own lip color, using the “Dusty Mauve” and clear gloss.

Janell (representing 30s age group): Janell has the daytime version of Jen’s nighttime look. I substituted Jen’s smokey eye and replaced it with a lighter application. Her blush, shadow and liner were all the same color as Jen’s, just applied lighter. Her lip color was mixed to give freshness to the face, being that women at this age can pull of this look in seconds. Also at this age range, I recommend that women get playful with their makeup, just in moderation. Stay away from glitters and heavy shimmers that you may have been able to pull off in your 20s.

Kristina (representing 20s age group): The look for Kristina is minimal in certain areas. Her blush is applied ever so slightly to just the apples of her cheeks. Her eye shadow consists of the lighter shadow “Navajo” applied to the entire eye from eyelid and more under her eyebrows giving definition to her clean, arched eyebrows. Then the same color on her cheeks was applied right on her eyelids. Yes you read right. Blush was used as eye shadow. Then, the “Chocolate Mauve” eye shadow (the darkest shade) was applied as liner using a small eyeliner brush. And finally her lips; the lightest shade “Dusty Mauve” was applied and the a lip pencil similar in color was added after.

PHOTO CREDITS:
First Photo: Neysa Ruhl Photography
Location: The McAlpin
Models (left to right): Laura Hudson and Janell Bauer of New View Management Group, Inc., Jen Pritchard of Your Wedding by Jen and Kristina Lopez of New View Management Group, Inc.
Makeup Artistry: Chenese Bean Makeup Artistry
Hair Styling: Robin Howard, Ruckus Glamour Studios