I have been obsessed with makeup since the days of standing on the back of the toilet seat to reach the bathroom cabinet where my mom stored her makeup back in the late 1970’s. My earliest experiments included frosted blue eyeliner and a pink frosted lip. I graduated to melting my black eyeliner pencil with a lighter for a kohl effect and contouring with rosewood blush in the 80’s. I worked at the department store makeup counter in the early 90’s. Now I enjoy watching You Tubers (shout out to Angie Hot and Flashy, Miss Gold Girl, and Brits Nadine Baggot and Trinny Woodall!). “We’ve come a long way, baby!” As we age, our makeup needs change. Here are our picks for the best makeup for older skin!
Best Makeup for Older Skin
We are breaking down all the best skin products for older women by type.
Moisturizer and Sunscreen
The best makeup starts with exfoliated skin, a moisturizer formulated for your skin type and followed up liberally with an SPF that fights both UVA and UVB rays. Whether you opt to use a primer is up to you. It will give your makeup staying power and can help with giving you a flawless look.
Best Foundation and Concealer for Older Skin
Next up is foundation. For mature skin, staying away from a very matte finish foundation is key. The matte foundations will settle in pores, fine lines and wrinkles. Look for a hydrating formula that will be skin-like, rather than mask-like. Apply with a light hand and build up to the coverage you want. Dewy or luminous finishes may work well too, particularly on drier complexions. Make sure the shade of foundation you are using is not the same one you’ve been using since you were 20!
Concealers can help with a multitude of skin issues. They help correct under-eye circles, tone redness around the nose and on the chin and camouflage the blemishes you might find yourself still getting as hormone levels fluctuate. You may need two shades of concealer, a green-toned one for redness and a brightening one for under the eyes and all else. Use the same “less is more” approach. Heavy layers can highlight more than they conceal.
Best Eye Makeup for Mature Skin
For daily wear, I suggest a simple, neutral eye. Start with your eyebrows; keeping them groomed is important. As we age, we often find our brows may be more sparse. Penciling in or using a powder brow color will help frame your eyes. No need to go all Joan Crawford, just fill in as needed!
I love an eyeshadow primer, so I start with a swipe of that blended out on my lids.
If you are in the habit of wearing eye shadow, find a good daily go-to color or combination of colors, if you want to ramp it up a bit. Here are our top picks for best eyes hadow for older skin.
Lining the eyes is another area where women tend to go a bit too heavy-handed. Our lids may be a bit more crepey, so a softer pencil liner tight along the lash line may be best. If you are used to the staying power of a liquid liner, I suggest using a pencil, followed up by a layer of powder eye shadow matching the eye pencil, still staying along the lash line. A couple of coats of black mascara will complete your eye look.
Blush and Highlighter
Blush used on the apples of your cheeks will help give your complexion a youthful boost. Creme blushes are excellent on mature skin, but powder blushes are also great.
I now cannot live without my highlighter. I find it gives a nice, natural spotlight to the top of my cheekbones and brow bones and adds plumpness to the apples of my cheeks.
Lips
Find your best daily, go-to lip color. That may change depending on what you’re wearing, but don’t be afraid of a pop of color on your lips. As we age, we tend to lose volume in our lips. Applying a bright shade of red, pink, or coral can add the illusion of volume, especially if the shade has a hint of satin or shimmer. Long-wearing formulas tend to highlight fine lines on the lips.
Powder
Lastly, do not go heavy-handed with powder. There are so many amazing, finely-milled face powders these days. Apply only if you need them and with a big fluffy face brush.
Do you have a suggestion for the best makeup for older women? Leave a comment below. We would love to learn about it and try it ourselves.
