Make-up certainly helps to add a dimension to the face and personality. It can be used to cover up flaws that reveal ageing changes. However, the make-up for the 40 plus woman should not show the efforts taken towards achieving a younger look. Subtle make-up is what you should try for. The rules are more relaxed nowadays. The older woman is free to experiment, without raising eyebrows. With age, there are changes in the skin. Of course, a woman who has followed a healthy lifestyle may not show visible ageing signs at 40 plus.
Make-up can help to make the skin look younger and fresher. The selection of make-up cosmetics and colors is important. Creamy foundations that are light in texture and provide a matte finish would be suitable. Concealers can help with dark circles under the eyes, or age spots. The skill with which make up is applied comes with trial and error.
Before applying make-up, pluck superfluous hair around the eyebrows. See if they need reshaping, so that they are more clearly defined. Apply a liquid moisturizer on the entire face. Then apply foundation in two stages. Use two foundations – one should be lighter than normal skin color, while the other should be close to natural skin color. The lighter one helps to conceal dark circles, age spots and dark patches. Apply carefully around the eyes too, blending it well, especially at the inner corners. It can be used around the chin and mouth, if there are hollows. Light tones help to camouflage shadows, as they “lift” the particular area. Wait for a few minutes and then apply normal foundation on the entire face. Then apply loose powder but apply less. Try to achieve a softer look. Dust off excess powder, using cotton wool. Similarly, brown eye pencils or liners may be more suitable than black, as black looks too harsh on older skin. Or, brown shadow can be applied over black eyeliner, to give it a softer look.
The 40 plus woman should consider what needs redefining. For example, the shape of the lips may start becoming irregular. So, a lip pencil in the same shade as your lipstick would help. First apply the lip pencil and redefine the shape of the lips and then fill in colors, using a lipstick brush.
Keep colors in mind, while selecting eye make-up, blushers and lipstick. For instance, the eyes may need lifting, so go for eye shadows in neutral shades. For lipstick, avoid very light or very dark colors. Coral, bronze, burgundy, dark pink are some of the colors that may suit. A lip gloss can be useful to add a touch on the lips and make them look fuller. If the lips are dry, add a layer of lightly tinted lip gloss on lips. Apply blusher on the cheekbones and blend it outwards and slightly upwards to brighten the skin. Till the time you perfect the art of applying cream or liquid blushers, it is better to go for powder blushers.
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