Makeup tricks that make you look younger
BY AMY SCIARRETTO
Taking care of your skin,
body, and mind is important, and a PMA (aka "positive mental
attitude") can make all the difference. Doing all of those things can help
you look and feel younger, but there are also plenty of makeup tips and tricks
that can assist with this process.
In addition to drinking lots
of water and avoiding greasy, fried foods, you can use products to your
advantage. A generally healthy lifestyle and knowledge of how to effectively
use both skincare and color products are the most critical elements of a
youthful beauty regimen, regardless of age. Tie it all together and you will
retain a young, fresh look. Try these basic suggestions from the experts.
Invest in non-surgical skin
treatments
If you want to look younger,
you don't need to resort to drastic, expensive, or painful surgical procedures
as a way to locate the fountain of youth. Dr. Michelle Yagoda, a facial plastic
surgeon, recommends less invasive, non-surgical skin treatments.
She told me, "Often, you
can achieve a younger look and complexion through less drastic but also more
temporary non-surgical means, such as facial peels, injectables, or laser
treatments." These treatments may not be permanent, but they are more
affordable and offer a more natural way to achieve a younger appearance. So
it's a worthwhile trade off.
Play up your eyelashes
It may be a cliche, but your
eyes are the window to your soul and are often a sign of youth. Therefore, it
is wise to spotlight your lashes. Kelsey Deenihan, Avon celebrity makeup
artist, told me, "A few coats of a lengthening mascara should do the
trick" when it comes to making your lashes a central focus. She continued,
"Making your lashes the main attraction of your look makes your eyes
appear bigger and more youthful without needing to use liner or shadow, which
can make the eye look heavy."
It's important to focus on
your eyelashes, rather than your eyelids, because our lashes get thinner as we
age, which can make us look older. Play up your lashes, rather than smothering
lids in dark shadow, by curling them and coating them in a few layers of black
mascara. You'll get ten years back on your look!
Don't overdo it with powder
products
Natalie Dekermendjian, the
lead makeup artist at Complexions Spa for Beauty and Wellness located in Albany
and Saratoga Springs, New York, suggests using cream formulas rather than
powders, which can settle into lines and accentuate them. However, if it's
powder your prefer, utilize it sparingly.
"Use a light hand to
avoid emphasizing fine lines and wrinkles," she explained. "A simple
trick is to tap off excess powder from the brush before applying to your
face." Just make sure the fallout lands back in the jar wherever able in
order to minimize waste.
Don't fear highlighter
Highlighter is often
terrifying since it requires a deft hand to properly distribute product for the
right amount of glow. Plus, highlighter is hardly subtle and it also calls attention
to fine lines. But Deenihan says fear not! You just have to apply it properly
and then you can enjoy all the youthful benefits of highlighter.
"Young skin has a natural
radiant glow to it," she explained. "You can fake it with a bit of
highlighter by dabbing it onto your cheekbones and the inner corners of your
eyelids with your fingers."
Opt for classic makeup
Avoid trends, according to
NYC-based celeb makeup artist Min Min Ma. That's because fads are favored
by the fickle youth who can get away with it and chasing trends will make you
look like you are trying too hard. Instead, keep things classic with your
makeup and you'll never go wrong.
"Any fads or trends, such
as colored eyeliner or extreme contouring, will result in looking outdated,"
she told me. "For daytime makeup, stick to a bronzy look or a natural
complexion, with a simple eyeliner flick. For dramatic looks, go with a classic
red lips or smoky eye."
Look to classic beauty icons
like Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Diana Ross, or Iman for inspiration.
Invest in skincare
Good skin is always in!
Investing time, effort, and some cash in quality, top notch skincare is
critical. Pampering your skin and following a routine should never be viewed as
a chore, but rather as something that will keep it looking beautiful for years.
Ma noted there are plenty of ways to do skincare now, saying, "It could be
getting facials regularly, using quality skincare products, or eating a healthy
balanced diet. When the skin is glowing and youthful looking, anything
goes."
Chicago-based
Esthetician Theodora Koutsougeras, owner of Reishi Beauty, also
recommends getting into the habit of using oils on your skin. "It's a
simple regimen to implement, and there is a variety of oils that can be used
for different skin types," she told me. "We have a skin barrier and
we must allow for it to do it's job, so anything that will help protect and
encourage it to do its job is great." There's nothing wrong with accepting
a little help along the way.
Exfoliate
Exfoliation is also an
important ritual for keep skin looking young. Berenice S. Rothenberg, the owner
of Berenice Electrolysis and Personal Beauty Center, a health and
wellness spa in New York City, is a big advocate of exfoliating. She
recommends doing so "one to two times a week, to break up the keratinized
protein that accumulates on the skin, which accelerates during the colder
winter months."
If you are a little
apprehensive about using harsh exfoliants on aging skin, be it your facial or
body skin, don't be! Rothenberg explained that "removing
unhealthy surface cells with exfoliation allows your skin care products to work
more effectively." So you are doing your skin and your wallet a service by
regularly sloughing off old cells.
Always remove makeup
Never go to sleep angry and
never go to sleep with your makeup on, since "dirt and particles in the
air get trapped in your skin," according to Rothenberg. "Remove your
makeup before settling in for the night to allow your skin to
breathe."
No matter how tired you are,
you don't want to crash out with product on your face, since it can exacerbate
any skin issues you may be battling. Your skin rejuvenates while you sleep, so
allow it the luxury of doing so unencumbered by the dirt and debris of the
day.
Lip primers and liners are
your friends
Lip primers and lip liners
work in concert to create a full, soft, and youthful pout. Using masks or balms
keeps the surface of lips moist and supple, which is another sign of youth. And
since lipstick or gloss can bleed into the fine lines around the mouth, using a
liner before applying further product will keep lipstick in place and
precise.
Dekermendjian encourages lip
hydration via masks, which need not be time consuming or add another step to
your routine. "Apply a lip mask before starting your makeup
application," she said. "By the time the rest of the makeup is
applied, the lips will be hydrated and ready to take on whatever lip liner and
lipstick you choose."
Color correct
Pesky dark circles under your
eyes can make you look tired and add a few years to your face, but don't
immediately reach for the concealer. Lauren Serra of Blushington
Makeup & Beauty Lounge said that you can "color correct under
eyes instead of using concealer."
There are plenty of green and
yellow color correcting products and palettes on the market that neutralize
dark circles and that address a variety of issues, from redness to dullness.
You will just need to choose the right tones and brand.
Go dewy, not glittery
As we age, our skin can become
dull and lose elasticity. Glittery makeup is trendy and therefore
counterintuitive. A solution to shaving a few years off is to seek additional
glow through a dewy look.
Kasey Adam Spickard, a
professional makeup artist in New York City, told me that a glow "will
give the skin the appearance of being fresher and younger." He suggests
using a dewy foundation, topped with an all-over glow product on the high
points on the face. This trick "makes the skin look years younger and dewy
without being glittery or metallic."
Try cream blush
Don't skip blush, since the
flush of color on cheeks projects youth. Just use a cream formula, since it
won't settle into fine lines. Spickard says that powder products, like blush,
"tend to dry out the skin and can look flat." If you still want that
rosy pigment on your cheeks, you can go with "a cream blush to create
freshness and dewiness on the skin." Sticking to peaches or pinks is also
recommended, since those hues further that youthful vibe.
Sebastien Tardif, makeup
artist and founder of Veil Cosmetics, agrees that pinks and corals are the best
bets for blush hues, noting that "youthful beauty stays away from bronzer
and uses instead soft, pure colors of blusher in bright coral or pink."
Cheeks will appear full of life when dusted with these colors. "Key areas
to brighten are under and above the eyebrows, top of the cheek bones, mid-chin,
and forehead," according to Tardif.
Experiment with a drop shadow
You can still use eyeshadow
and create definition, according to Spickard, who offered specific tips on how
to do so. "Create definition and lift in the outer eye by using a drop
shadow on the lower lash line," he explained. Spickard recommends using a
small scallop eyeshadow brush and blending a dark brown or black shadow along
the bottom outer corner of the eye. "This will give the illusion of a
larger, more uplifted eye," he said.
SOURCE: THE LIST
SOURCE: THE LIST
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