Makeup Mistakes Over 40
These are the top 5 makeup mistakes over 40 that I see women making when I’m out and about in the real world. These are the ones that bother me most. The mistakes that make me just want to walk up to a woman and say…
Stop adding 10 years to your gorgeous face.
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1 • Severe Eye Brows
I think women over 40 have gotten the message loud and clear that we shouldn’t over pluck because those suckers might never grow back. I don’t see a lot of skinny eye brows out there anymore. What I do see is a major swing in the other direction: women over 40 with drawn on, severe brow looks. This is just as aging as thin brows! This is not on fleek.
Eye brows start to naturally thin in our 40’s, without any plucking at all, so you must do something to fill them in. Here are some ideas on how to achieve a more natural look:
- Use brow powder, it’s a softer look
- Use two different colors of brow pencil, one light and one dark. This adds dimension and avoids the flat, marker-ish look.
- Try a brow serum to thicken your brows, like Rapid Brow.
2 • Dark Lips and Nude Lips
I’m not saying you need to abandon your favorite red lip. I’m saying stay away from those brown-ish-reds. They are hard to wear over 40. Sure, they were popular in the 90’s, think Melrose Place. And they’re enjoying a comeback, just not on your over-40 lips. Those dark colors travel into lip lines and accent wrinkles WAY more easily than a fresh pink or peach lip.
And I’m not telling you to give up on the nude lip trend, either. Just stick with fresh shades of rose-pink and peach for a youthful look.
- Don’t pick a shade so light, like a beige, that it looks like you have no lips.
- Stay away from bubblegum pinks.
- Frosted lipstick belongs in the 80’s, not on your lips.
Leave these look behind…
3 • Stop It With The Powder
If you need some powder, and I know I do, get a translucent powder. I don’t care if it’s loose or pressed, it just can’t add more and more color to your face when you apply it throughout the day as a shine fighter. By the end of the day, you’ll look cakey and orange. Very aging.
I don’t want to see any woman over 40 whip out her Covergirl compact of creamy beige and pat it onto her face.
4 • Abusing Full Coverage Foundation
in the list of makeup mistakes over 40, this is one of the easiest to make. I know I’ve done it. Women over 40 have dark spots. And uneven skin tone. And redness. And it feels good to cover all that shit up! In the process of covering imperfections, you have to be careful and not overdo it. Because the fact is…
Full coverage foundations are packed with pigment, and pigment is essentially a powder.
Check out my post on over 40 foundations
Powder can be very drying, cake up and gather in wrinkles making you look older than you are. I’d rather show a few spots than wear an aging matte mask of heavy foundation.
Here are some ideas for how you can still use your full coverage foundation responsibly…
- On your hand, mix a moisturizer into your foundation before apply.
- On your hand, mix a BB Cream into your foundation before apply.
- Only use the full coverage foundation on the parts of your face that need it most. Use a BB cream on the rest of your face.
- Try to stay away from applying to your most wrinkled areas.
- After applying, spray your face with a dewy mist to add moisture that will combat the dry powdered look. You can even spray a little onto a sponge and add moisture to targeted areas instead of all over.
- And don’t forget, get yourself some good makeup brushes. They make a huge difference after 40.
Check out my post on my favorite hydrating mist, Pixi Glow Mist.
5 • Messy Black Eye Makeup
This aggravates me. There are so many great products out there, and still I see women over 40 walking around with smudged and/or flaky black eye makeup.
Our eyes are hooded now, so mascara, liner and eye shadow transfer more easily.
Liner is harder to apply because our slack skin can make for a jagged line. Mascara flakes and smudges more easily because it’s touching the hoods of our eyes.
I’m not saying don’t ever wear black eye makeup. I’m saying get good waterproof products so the makeup stays in place.
Here’s my favorite mascara that NEVER budges. It’s not waterproof, so removal is easy.
I recommend going lighter on black eye makeup in your 40’s, as it tends to produce a harsh look. But I know that there are plenty of women over 40 out there rocking a cat eye. Don’t stop. Just get yourself products that stay on and stay in place. Keep your look polished and clean.
There you have it, the top 5 makeup mistakes over 40 that I see most often —and a few ideas on how to stop making them. I mean, I know nothing is going to make me look 20 again, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to use my own makeup to make myself look older. You shouldn’t either!
