Beauty over 50
Top tips, tricks and trends from New Zealand’s top makeup experts.
The beauty industry is one big, ever-changing, ever-growing beast, with a plethora of goodies for everyone – but sometimes it can feel like it’s all made to target a younger market. Not true. One of the most common reader enquiries I get are from 50+ beauty lovers, wondering what they should be doing, not doing, wearing or not wearing, makeup-wise.
While I maintain there should never be rules when it comes to beauty, that’s not always especially helpful to those looking for more specific guidance – so this week I chatted with some of New Zealand’s top beauty experts to see what advice they had. “Make primers your new best friend,” says Lisa Matson, New Zealand makeup director for L’Oreal Paris.
“A resurfacing product that smoothes away fine lines and/or open pores, and/or a primer that illuminates the skin, will help to add ‘youth’.”
For foundations, Matson says opt for lightweight liquid, mousse or mineral formulations, preferably with a subtle satin finish – “anything too thick, powdery or matte can be ageing” – and invest in a light-reflective cream concealer one to two shades lighter than your base colour. For cheeks, look to softer colours – Matson says blushes with peach, apricot or pink undertones are likely to be the most flattering. For the eyes, “opt for eyeshadows with a subtle shimmer or matte finish. “Softer, medium-toned and neutral-coloured eyeshadows and pencils will be the most flattering,” she says.
“Concentrate on defining your eyes, as age will invariably change their size and shape.
“If you want dramatic/darker eyes, add the depth around outer eye corners only, and curl lashes to ‘open’ eyes before applying your mascara.”
Matson says those with either full or unlined lips will still beautifully carry a bright or dark coloured lipstick, otherwise “you’re better off sticking to mid-toned or natural-looking lip colours in shades of berry, pink, peach, apricot and nude”.
To give lips the illusion of added volume, she says to choose a lipstick with sheen or add gloss (clear or lightly tinted) to the centre of your lipstick.
Clinique education manager Tracey Pederson says the first place to start is with the skin itself.
“Makeup is only as good as the skin underneath, and as we age our skin changes in tone, colour and texture and becomes drier,” she says.
“As the skin texture changes, look to add in regular exfoliating to encourage the removal of old skin cells – this will add to a natural foundation finish.”
And even if you have a tried and true favourite foundation, it’s worth regularly checking on the colour and type.
Pederson recommends looking for foundations that have “a slightly dewy or creamy finish and offer light diffusing benefits to help brighten the skin”.
“When it comes to application of foundation, less is more,” she advises.
“Keep it light and well blended so it doesn’t settle in places. Using a foundation brush will create a nice even coverage. Finish with a setting spray instead of powders, especially ones that offer hydration.”
MAC senior artist Kiekie Stanners says as we get older, the texture and finish of your products becomes more important than perhaps colour and coverage.
“Choosing products for skin that provide a creamy, satin finish are ideal for creating a smoothing effect as well as looking hydrated.
She also swears by cream textures on cheeks and as a highlight.
“A cream finish will melt into the skin seamlessly, give you a hydrated radiance and perhaps create the illusion that the skin is more hydrated than it may feel.
“Try pressing it into the tops of the cheekbones with fingertips to give a highlighted radiance that smooths skin at the same time.”
When it comes to eyes, Stanners says it’s not necessary to avoid shimmer or glitter.
“A shine or metallic effect on the eyelids is a perfect way to attract attention to the eyes and highlight the naturally dark inner corners.
“The key is to make sure that the sparkle is focused on the inner corner of the eyes and lower eyelid – a glitter finish up to the brow is potentially going to weigh down the eyes.”
A bold lip done right, in Stanners’ books, makes a beautiful simple statement and is an easy way to keep your beauty routine on trend.
“We’re seeing electric matte lips make a comeback on the runway, and having a bold focus on the lips is a great way to mix up your makeup routine,” she says.
“We’ve seen electric tomato reds, clean oranges and matte magenta tones recently – all very wearable and flattering shades, and by wearing such a statement on lips it means less fussing with trying to define or master eye makeup.
“Plus the mix of hydrated glowing skin paired next to a long-wearing matte lip is a beautiful simple statement that lifts the face and adds colour just where needed.”
One thing everyone I spoke to noted was to give your brows some love.
“A thing I insist [older customers] must add to their makeup routine is defining the brows – it instantly lifts the eyes, frames the face and fills inevitably thinning brows,” says Stanners.
Matson agrees: “A beautiful shaped brow will take years off, especially if they’ve lightened or thinned over the years.”
“The trick is to keep the application soft, so there’s no hard edge, and use eye pencils or powders in a light brunette or dark blonde if you’re dark haired or in a light to mid-toned blonde shade if you’re fair or grey.”
Finally, Pederson advises using a colour slightly lighter than your natural brow, so the brows become full and feathery rather than heavy or solid.