Make-up for Mature Skin Part 1

The other day I was doing make-up for an older lady and decided, fitting or not, to post about make-up for mature skin. I hate completely matte looks for mature skin. It looks very harsh and aging. I like to choose products with a soft shimmer thrown in and then I usually add a few matte things to balance out things.

Face:

• For age spots, I like to use a corrector and then a concealor. I find that this way I can eliminate using a heavier foundation.
  
• My personal pet peeve is using matte foundation on mature skin. I like something with a satin finish, nothing dewy but a soft, incredibly subtle sheen is much more flattering.
  

Eyes:

• I always like to start off the eyes with a bit of eye-cream, let it sink in, and then start with the make-up.
• You're probably tired of hearing it now, but a good primer works wonders to keep shadows in place. However, I recommend a good long wearing cream shadow as base.
  
• Incorporate satin shadows along with the matte ones. I like to use a satin shadow on the lid and use a matte one to define the crease.
• If the skin is wrinkly or if it sags, I like to pat on the shadow rather than making a brushing motion. Patting on the shadow makes the lid grad the colour better.
• When the skin around the eyes sags, pull up the skin at the brow bone. This way, you stretch the skin and can pat on the shadows better.
  
• If ever there was a time to tightline, this is it. Tightlining gives a very subtle but full look to the lashes without being garish and heavy. I know promised to have a tutorial of this up soon, so bear with me. It will be up soon, I promise on my gulab jamun (I've graduated from carrot halwa to this).
• I avoid pencil liners on the top lip because it tends to smear faster all over the top lid. Instead, I usually go for cream or gel liners where I can soften the line if needed.
  
• For lining the lower rim, I like to use a softer shade than black. I usually line with a soft brown or gray shadow.

Eyebrows:

• Personally, I'd recommend not using a stencil and following the natural shape of your brows. However, if you feel more comfortable using a stencil be sure to keep the overall look as natural as possible.
• I like to use a very dark matte brown shadow to accentuate the brows. In general, I like to stick to a softer version of what you're trying to achieve. By this I mean: if your brows were/are naturally black, go for a matte dark brown etc.

Cheeks:

• I'd have to agree with the old adage that cream blushes look fabulous on mature skin. I love the soft, dewy look you get from them. Some of my favourite cream blushes for mature skin are Bobbi Brown's pot rouges.
  

Lips:

• Lipliners are great for stopping bleeding and feathering lipcolour. I like to use both a reverse lipliner and a conventional one.
• I prefer creamy formulas that have a bit of sheen and shy away from mattes.
  
• Instead of gloss, I sometimes add a bit of balm on the lips for extra sheen. Carmex always seems to do the trick, but just don't overdo it.