Making the Switch to Anti-Aging Makeup

Take a fresh look at your skin and trade up to cosmetics that flatter your changing complexion.

 

By Linda Foster, MA

Medically reviewed by Christine Wilmsen Craig, MD

Get the latest health facts, tips, and advice. @EverydayHealth

As your skin matures, its needs change, and your makeup needs change right along with it. The oiliness of younger years might disappear, calling for a switch to richer, anti-aging formulas made for dry or mature skin. Fortunately, there are cosmetics available for every type of skin; all you have to do is be aware of how your skin has changed. “You should re-evaluate your choice of makeup every five years,” says Helga Surratt, president of About Faces Day Spa & Salon in Towson, Md. “Little by little, skin loses that youthful plumpness and clarity as we become older. Pores become more noticeable.”

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Anti-Aging Makeup Advice
Keep these tips in mind as you update your makeup:
Foundations and Powders

• Apply a light-diffusing primer before applying an anti-aging foundation.
• “Mature skin is often drier, so use a creamy foundation that can moisturize your skin, and not settle in fine lines,” according to Pam Messy of Mary Kay Cosmetics. Look for formulas that include SPF (sun protection factor) to avoid daily sun damage, your best anti-aging defense.
• Use a slightly thicker concealer with a yellow undertone to hide age or sunspots and cover red, splotchy areas — but always apply in thin coats, two if necessary, rather than one heavy one.
• Lightly dust a moisturizing pressed powder over your entire face. If you have combination skin, use a loose powder with large brush on your T-zone, forehead, and nose and chin area that may still be on the oily side.

Eye Makeup

• Use a light-diffusing eyelid primer before applying eye shadow.
• Choose cream shadows in soft colors with matte formulas; avoid shimmering shadows with particles that can settle in fine lines and create an aging effect.
• Choose powder-infused eyeliner in soft colors. Avoid blacks and dark shades that can draw attention to dark circles and under-eye bags.
• “Buy a brown, brownish-black, or soft-black mascara with a double-tapered brush to achieve the look of fuller lashes,” Surratt suggests.
• The skin under your eyes is very thin and sensitive, so pat, don’t rub, when applying cosmetics in this area.

Eyebrow Makeup

• “Brunettes should choose an eyebrow pencil in medium to dark brown and blondes or redheads should select a light brown color, with a tip you can sharpen,” says Messy.
• If you have thinning eyebrows, use an eyebrow pencil or eyebrow powder, with gentle, short strokes from the inner corner of the eyes to the outer edges.

Blush

• Use a moisturizing pink or peach powder blush on your cheeks; brush up and out for an anti-aging effect, toward the hairline near your temples.

Lipstick & Gloss

• “A lip moisturizer with a sunscreen is the best way to protect the thin skin of your lips from sun damage,” according to Surratt.
• Select creamy, moisturizing lipsticks. A lip-gloss adds a moist finish as well. Avoid matte textures, which can dry lips.
• Use lip liner only on special occasions and choose a color that is very close to your lipstick color. Always blend the edges; it should never be visible as a distinct line.
• Select natural colors like nudes and soft pinks or peaches. Stay away from darker colors, which can make your lips look thinner and older.

Have fun and experiment as you take a fresh look at your cosmetics. With so many rich formulas to choose from, the only hard part will be narrowing down your options.