We’ve all seen those compelling side-by-side images of celebrities on the red carpet. In one picture, the celeb looks fresh, youthful, and completely glow-y. In the second image, the same celebrity looks years older and her skin looks dull and drab in comparison.
Then we find out that the two pictures were taken just weeks apart, not a full decade. How is that even possible? In one word: makeup.
Any makeup artist will tell you that the wrong foundation formula, the wrong shades, and the wrong application of all of the above can make you appear older than you really are. But on the flip side, the right makeup and techniques can make you look years younger.
This is especially true—and important—for aging skin. With more mature skin, you need to tweak your makeup routine. What once worked in your 20s and 30s can look harsh or heavy when you’re dealing with skin that now has more texture (fine lines, wrinkles, enlarged pores) and is uneven in tone (brown spots from the sun and aging, dark circles, redness, etc.).
Here are five of the most common makeup mistakes to avoid for aging skin—and how to easily fix them for younger, more radiant-looking skin.
We’ve all heard that shiny, glittery makeup is a little too young for aging skin. Plus, too much shimmer only accentuates fine lines and wrinkles. So, you’ve probably been avoiding it like the plague and sticking to matte shades, right?
The problem is that as we age, we lose radiance in our skin, and some matte formulas can make skin appear too flat, dull, and, well, old.
The youthful-skin solution: Go for luminosity—but not obvious glitter or shine
Put down the matte foundation and look for formulas made with light-reflective particles. These pigments capture and bounce light off your complexion, giving you that lit-from-within-look that we all had in our younger years—minus the sparkle. Find it in No Makeup Foundation that delivers a luminous, dewy finish, now available in eight shades.
Back to that whole glitter thing. Yes, it’s true that sparkle and shimmer can call attention to texture, especially around the eyes and on eyelids. It can settle into fine lines and wrinkles and shine a spotlight on these imperfections.
But here’s where it gets tricky: a little shimmer also accentuates height, and that’s something you need to help visually lift a drooping brow line or sagging lids.
The youthful-skin solution: Strategically place highlighter for a visual lift
Although your lid makeup should be matte, a little highlighter placed around your brows can not only brighten tired eyes, but also visually lift sagging eyelids. Dab a small amount of No Makeup Highlighter, which has subtle pink pearly pigments, just below the arches of your brow and add a tiny bit above, too. Keep the rest of the makeup on your lids matte.
As we age, our lashes tend to thin out, which translates to a loss of definition around the eyes. To make up for it, many women pile on the blackest black mascara, top and bottom, and line their entire eye in dark liner.
The problem is heavy, dark mascara on the lower lashes can draw attention to crepey or sagging skin around the under-eyes. What’s more, eyeliner applied to the top and bottom lash lines can close in your eyes, making them appear smaller and more tired-looking.
The youthful-skin solution: Top load your lashes
Keep the mascara and liner on your top lashes only, leaving the bottom lash line bare. This trick creates the look of more lifted, awakened-looking eyes, and calls less attention to the aging skin underneath your eyes.
The shade you use matters, too. Bold, black mascara and liner can appear harsh on a mature complexion. No Makeup Mascara is a softer brown/black with a maroon base that’s designed to flatter all eye colors and skin tones. Plus, it’s designed to strengthen and condition aging lash hairs.
When you’ve got a fair amount of lines, wrinkles, and sun spots to cover, applying a ton of foundation all over may seem like a good way to conceal them. But when you go too heavy with your base, it can backfire. Thick foundation tends to seep into fine lines, wrinkles, and enlarged pores, drawing even more attention to them.
Plus, it looks completely unnatural—like you’re wearing a mask.
The youthful-skin solution: Start with a lightweight formula
Go for a sheer foundation that allows you to build up to your preferred coverage level. No Makeup Foundation Serum is not only weightless, but also contains neuropeptides to visually reduce the appearance of crease and wrinkles.
Apply it only where you need coverage. Then blend it outward to create a sheer wash of foundation over the rest of your skin for a seamless finish. For areas where you need more coverage, like age spots, dab on No Makeup Concealer and blend.
Another major foundation faux pas: using the wrong the shade. Going too light can make mature skin appear pale. Going too dark for your complexion screams “fake.” There’s also the issue of undertone (that is, the warmth or coolness in your skin).
If you don’t match your undertone, which, we admit, is pretty tricky to master, your complexion can appear gray or sallow, making you appear older than you are.
The youthful-skin solution: Pick a sheer, neutral-undertone foundation
Choosing the right shade can be tough and figuring out your undertone is even tougher. The fix is to use a foundation that eliminates most of the guesswork. No Makeup Foundation comes in two finishes and eight shades each that are so sheer and blendable, they work for a wide variety of skin tones. Plus, they are formulated with neutral undertones, so the formulas tend to be easier to match and more forgiving than typical foundation products.
Perricone MD No Makeup is serious skincare meets makeup. The entire line is formulated with our signature sciences, including patented key ingredients such as alpha lipoic acid to soften the look of fine lines and wrinkles, DMAE to visibly boost the firmness of skin, and Vitamin C Ester to brighten skin’s appearance. The cosmetics are designed to improve the appearance of skin issues over time, rather than just covering them up like traditional makeup products.
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