Some say you get the face you deserve. We say phooey! You can get the face you want—at any age—with these insider tips.
Reimaging your makeup routine
The issue: Your cosmetics bleed, crease and slip-slide away
The tricks:
1. Switch to a sheer foundation. “Pores get larger as we age and a full-coverage foundation settles into them, making them look even bigger,” says Pat Wexler, MD, a dermatologist in New York City. A better bet: Use a light, hydrating formula and apply in a thin layer.
2. Go golden. “Skin loses pigment—and radiance—as you age. So either switch to a foundation with a warmer tint, add a drop of liq-uid bronzer to your favorite foundation, or make bronzing powder part of your makeup regimen,” says Sandy Linter, a consulting makeup artist for Lancôme. Try Clinique True Bronze Bronzing Gel ($19; clinique.com), Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess SunBlush Illuminator ($32; esteelauder .com), Elizabeth Arden Mineral Bronzing Powder ($32; elizabe-tharden.com) or YSL Trésor D’Afrique Bronzer Sun Powder ($72; yslbeautyus.com).
3. Cover blemishes correctly. “Never use an under-eye concealer to hide a pimple—it slides right off,” Wexler says. “I prefer an oil-free concealing pencil. It’s opaque enough to cover but dry enough that it stays put.” Her favorite: Shiseido The Makeup Corrector Pencil ($17; sephora.com).
4. Put on two layers of moisturizer. Apply one before foundation, then pat on a second, very light coat over your makeup. “This gives your skin a dewy finish and an extra dose of hydration,” says Audrey Kunin, MD, a dermatologist in Kansas City.
5. Create the illusion of lift. “Use an illuminating cream or powder on your upper cheekbone, the center of your forehead and just below your lower lip,” says Laura Geller, a makeup artist in New York City. “The first two spots make the top of the face appear lifted, the latter detracts from sagginess around the chin.” Good for most skin tones: DiorSkin Shimmer Powder in Pop Diamond ($43; sephora.com) or Laura Geller Liquid Candlelight Face and Body Glow ($24; qvc.com).
6. Use hot flash–proof makeup. “Water-resistant eyeliner and mascara stay put when your body temp soars,” says Geller, who also recommends keeping powder to a minimum since it cakes up on a damp face. Try Cover Girl Exact Eyelights Waterproof Eye Brightening Mascara ($8; drugstores).
7. Get cheeky. “A rosy color on the apples of your cheeks brightens not-so-radiant skin,” says makeup artist Bobbi Brown. Two we like: Jane Iredale Cream Blush in Clarity ($26; dermstore.com) and Bobbi Brown Cheek Tint in Sheer Raspberry ($22; bobbibrowncosmetics.com).
8. Book brow time. “Eyebrow shaping takes five years off your face. Have it done by a pro, then follow the lines yourself. Thinking you can create the right shape is like thinking you can cut your own hair,” says Kimara Ahnert, a makeup artist in New York City.
9. Stop waxing your brows after 40. “You’re killing the hair root,” Linter warns. “If you ever want to grow back those hairs, you’re out of luck.”
10. Do a mini eye-lift. “Use a brow pencil or powder along the top line of your arches to make the whole eye appear raised,” Geller says.
11. Stop eyeliner bleed. “Apply liner as you usually do, then use a cotton swab to subtly smudge the line at the outer corners, direct-ing it upward,” Linter says. “Skip this step and the color will settle into your smile lines, making you look tired.”
12. Don’t neglect your nails. Keeping your tips buffed to a shine—or polished in a color with some blue or pink in it (too much yel-low accentuates sallowness)—will make your hands look younger. A lacquer that works on almost everyone: OPI Nail Polish in Otherwise Engaged ($7; opi.com for stores), an opalescent pink.
13. Kiss dark lipstick good-bye. A very deep, dark lip hue is unattractive if it bleeds into the creases around your mouth. Soft, neutral shades such as rose or peach for fair to medium tones and sheer browns and berries for dark skin are the most flattering. Try Shiseido Perfect Rouge Lipstick in Vene-tian Rose ($25; sephora.com) for fair to medium skin, or Laura Mercier Shimmer Lip Colour in Candy Pink ($22; lauramercier.com) for dark skin.
Finding an updated yet flattering do.
The issue: You want to maximize the hair on your head—at the same time you’re sprouting unwanted fuzz elsewhere
The tricks:
14. Be wary of too many layers. The whole “no long hair after a certain age”’ thing is total bunk, but be careful of a cut that’s too shaggy, says Ted Gibson, a New York City stylist, “If your hair is graying, avoid lots of layers, because they make wiry strands even more stubborn and unruly.”
15. Think bangs, not Botox. Use your hair to camouflage forehead lines. But ensure that bangs are brow-skimming and fringed (not blunt) at the ends so the look isn’t too severe.
16. Skip the jaw-length bob. A style that hits right at the jawbone empha-sizes any sags. “Go for something about an inch longer,” Gibson suggests. “It’s just as chic, but it hides slack skin.”
17. Give mousse another try. If your last encounter with this foamy volumizer was when Madonna wore headbands, here’s the scoop: There’s a new mousse in town, reformulated so it still thickens but no longer stiffens. “A golf ball–size dollop applied to damp hair plumps your strands but still leaves them soft,” says Boston-based stylist Gretta Monahan, who likes Dove Body and Lift Volumizing Mousse ($3; drugstores).
18. Use a boar-bristle brush. “Gray hair is often kinky and hard to smooth,” says Farah Reid, director of education at New York City’s Blow salon. “Using a boar-bristle brush while blow-drying grabs and holds on to hair, creating more tension than you’d get with plastic or metal bristles.” Try the Mason Pearson Boar Bristle Pocket Mixture Brush ($90; beauty.com).
19. Don’t shampoo every day. Sudsing up more than three or four times a week can dry your hair and fade your color.
