Essential Advice: Makeup tricks to look younger (even in your mid-40s)

updated the Monday, October 17, 2016

Emilio Benedetti, makeup artist of Yves Saint Laurent, gives you all the right advice you need to flaunt a fresh and rejuvenated look. Follow this guide.

Leave behind the overly intense smoky eye look and ultra comical fuchsia mouth – unless you are planning to attend a very dressy event in the evening. Once you hit 40, you might want to tone down on your makeup to create a more subtle everyday look. Work with nude colours – they evoke a much more modern appearance and can also be advantageous. Emilio Benedetti, makeup artist for Yves Saint Laurent, explains how.

THE FACE

  • Once we’re middle-aged, it’s a lot harder to spend a lot of time on our makeup or have fun experimenting with different looks. The first step, which is essential, is to ensure the skin’s texture is even before slathering on the make up. Make sure your skin is moisturised and plumped to create a better canvas to work on. When using foundation, opt for dewy and transparent textures to smooth out your features.
  • Avoid using powders at all costs. Powder foundation can cause lines and wrinkles to stand out more and appear deeper. If you really want to achieve that matte look, sparingly sweep your powder with a small brush across the nose, forehead and chin. Do note that it’s better to have a more dewy look than to keep everything ultra-matte as reflecting light off your face can bring a healthy and youthful appearance to an aging face.
  • For colour, choose nude shades that are similar to your skin tone, or pick a pinkish beige or pink gold. The pinkish tone allows to break the dullness of mature skin.
  • The one trick to make you look good? Use a light blush! A subtle pink shade can do wonders to make your skin look healthy.

THE EYES

  • Shade your eyelids with blush champagne or pink champagne. This will allow your eyes to “pop” in a subtle manner, and can take you from day to night. Avoid liners that may affect the eyelid and smudge unnecessarily, as you want to avoid panda eyes as much as possible. For a more intense look, use liquid eyeliner instead of kohl.
  • The one trick to make you look good? Think about your eyebrows! The thick and defined eyebrows of Cara Delevingne can work to your advantage if you are reaching your 40s. While it will require some discipline and maintenance to remain structured and well-designed, it is true that your eyebrows are what defines and shapes your face. You don’t want thin eyebrows at this stage in your life, as it will make you look older.

THE MOUTH

  • Don’t overdo the lips. Instead, drop the lip liner and create a more natural, “lighter” look. A highly defined and highly “shaped” mouth can look too severe. Just infuse a little colour to your lips and give them a hint of gloss.

Morgane Klein Forest

Photo: Getty Images

Read more:

Style Handbook: How to look 10 years younger in 10 minutes

Eye-Spy: 10 Eye serums for younger-looking peepers

Surprise, Surprise: 7 Things that are aging your skin (without you knowing)


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Marie France Asia, women's magazine