Blur the lines and look your best at any age with these easy tips.
Blur the lines and look your best at any age with these easy tips.
SKIN
Use less foundation
Too much makeup can make you look older. So go easy on the foundation and keep your skin well hydrated so that lines are plumped up.
Choose liquid concealer
Concealers in drier formulas – like stick or cream ones – tend to draw attention to wrinkles. They can also make dry skin look even drier. Liquid concealers, on the other hand, blend seamlessly into skin without emphasising dryness and wrinkles.
Be gentle
Rubbing and tugging can stretch your skin and lead to sagging. Help preserve suppleness by patting on skincare and makeup instead.
Zap tired skin with a peach-toned primer
Fake a good night’s sleep by applying a peach-toned makeup base before foundation. This brightens up dull, tiredlooking skin, and also helps to counter blue or greenish-grey dark circles.
Light up your skin
To make your complexion look more radiant, use an oil-free moisturiser to smooth its appearance. After sunscreen, apply a tinted moisturiser with light-reflecting particles to create the illusion of youthful, glowing skin.
If you want to add more radiance, apply a highlighting cream or powder just above the cheekbones. If you prefer foundation to tinted moisturisers, use a radiance primer on your whole face before applying a moisturising foundation. This creates a soft-focus, youthful glow even after the foundation goes on.
However, try not to overdo the radiance. Makeup artist Larry Yeo says: “Avoid makeup with an overly shiny finish. The less shine there is, the smaller your pores will appear, and you’ll look like you have better skin.”
Use foundation only where needed
Instead of covering your entire face with foundation, apply it from the sides of your nose, spreading it outwards to the hairline and jawline. Opt for a foundation that gives a semi-matte to radiant finish. Skip the matte ones – these make skin look drier, and older.
TRY: Covermark Jusme Color Bright Up Foundation, $56, or Innisfree Water Glow Cushion, $34.
Moisturise well
These makeup tricks are of no use if your skin is undermoisturised, because the makeup won’t be able to go on smoothly.
TRY: Sensuouz by Shannz Moisture Cream, $97, or Hada Labo Air Aqua UV Day Emulsion, $19.90.
Get rosy cheeks
Rosiness signals health and youth. We recommend blushers in apricot shades to flatter your skin tone.
TRY: Innisfree Mineral Blusher in #2 Coral, $12.
EYES
Lash length matters
As we age, eyelashes become thinner and sometimes fall out. Put aside the volumising mascara and reach for a lengthening one instead. Volumising mascara tends to weigh down your lashes while a lengthening one adds length and subtle volume – yet still gives you longer, more plumped up lashes.
Fight droopy eyelids
As skin loses its elasticity, your eyelids start to droop, making you look tired. To give your eyes a lift, curl your lashes with a heated curler – the heat keeps them curled for longer in our humid weather.
Use an eyeshadow base
An eye makeup base doubles as a wrinkle filler to make the fine lines around your eyes look less obvious. Be sure to spread it over your eyebrows to help brow makeup stay on longer too.
Beef up your brows
Wear your eyebrows thick, with a slight arch – this look resembles that of teenagers who have yet to shape their eyebrows, making you look instantly younger.
Here’s what you can do: After filling in your natural brow shape with eyebrow pencil or powder, thicken your brows by filling them in from the bottom up, and add more colour to the inner edges of each brow for more definition, says Larry.
Wear deep brown eyeliner
It can be difficult to give up black eyeliner, especially if you’ve been wearing it for the past decade. But dark brown is just as effective at defining your eyes, and at the same time, it looks less jarring and more sophisticated than black.
TRY: Innisfree Jeju Color Picker Auto Pencil Liner in #8, $10.
Easy on the shimmer
Shimmer eyeshadow can make your skin look dry, and fine lines more noticeable. However, when used carefully, it can light up your face.
You can either line the upper lash lines with a shimmery eyeliner, or add a soft dab of shimmer shadow in a colour close to your natural skin tone to the inner eye corners to brighten up your eyes.
If you want a more dramatic look, blend shimmer shadow from the inner eye corners to the middle of your eyelids over non-shimmery eyeshadow. The trick to nailing this look is to prep your skin with moisturiser and use an eyeshadow primer.
TRY: Innisfree Jeju Color Picker Glow Liquid Shadow in #1 and #5, $15 each.
LIPS
Line your lips
Your natural lip line begins to fade as you age, allowing lipstick to bleed and feather beyond your lips. To prevent this, trace your lips with a lip liner before applying colour. The best way is to fill in your lips completely – this not only helps lipstick stay on longer, it also won’t leave a clownish outline around your lips after the colour fades.
Create fuller, more supple lips
A rose-coloured lipstick with a glossy or satin finish is the trick. Bright or darker lip shades are perfect statement colours but tend to make lips look smaller, so layer on a clear gloss or lip balm for plump-looking lips.
TRY: Innisfree Vivid Tint Rouge in #10, $16.
Skip the matte look
Lipsticks that leave a matte finish can make your lips look drier. Go for a glossy or shimmery finish instead.
TRY: Innisfree Real Fluid Rouge in #01, $20, or Covermark Real finish Lipstick N in #01, $42.
