Makeup On An Older Lady.

Jun 2, 2016

Jenny B.

So my aunt just asked me to do her makeup for an event. I had never done no one elses make up so I am a bit nervous. but I would like some tips on some things I should keep in mind. what should I do. keep in mind shes in her early 40s.

Jun 2, 2016

Chris M.

Early 40s is young!

Jun 2, 2016

Roz X.

I agree with Chris!
Look at JLo. :)

I'd examine her clean, freshly-washed skin, as I would anyone's, in sunlight and indoors.
Make note (pen to paper if need be) of the skin's color, texture, type and condition (dry, oily, combo)...what would flatter her eye color...are the eyes hooded, deep set, wide, etc...what her own, personal style and comfort level is...if she has problem areas or something she's self-conscious about (fine lines, a birthmark, acne). Are her lids smooth..is skin firm and plump? Does she have high cheekbones or full lips she likes to play up? What are her own concerns? These are what I'd be addressing and initially making note of. I feel like skin condition is a major factor when choosing looks and products. Lifestyle, health, genetics..these are going to effect skin overall.
It's not uncommon for women her age to have some dryness starting on skin overall...some minor changes in the lid, brow, sometimes the lips or cheek area with the loss of collagen, but you can work with that, so don't get frustrated...view this as a fun opportunity to expand your own skills.

Find out exactly what she is wearing, where the event will be, what her level of involvement is (will she be on stage beneath lights, simply enjoying dinner and drinks, helping out at the event and running around?) Take into consideration when choosing products what the weather will be like....the venue or restaurant lighting..the time of day or evening. These also matter.

All of these sort of things matter for everyone; so I'd approach this as I would doing anyone's make-up. Sit down with her and talk, talk, talk. Ask questions. Grab a pen and paper.
Take her outside in the lighting and also indoors...and grab a few test shots with your phone of natural, clean skin *and* the look she is currently using routinely and obviously feels comfortable in. Does she want a bold liner? Bold lips? Get as much information about what she wants and needs, go through looks together online or in magazines and get a feel for her ideas. Then, using all of the info above, do a trial run ahead of time to see which products are working well in her skin and if the look translates well on her as a whole.

I'd then snap pics of a few trial looks in natural light and in darker lighting during your trial. Look at them together, enlarged and see where you might need to tweak something or if you are missing addressing an issue. If the look translates well for her to where she feels beautiful.
Is there darkness showing under the eye, is the cheek too glittery, does she FEEL comfortable, are the shades and finishes of the shadow working with her skin, are they playing up her eyes, etc. Then, you can work from there. For example, if she's running dry, you need great moisturizing products and that will also effect the finish of shadows and if you run with a cream blush or tint over a powder, etc. Thinner eye concealer formulas over heavy cream ones work better for drier skin. Exfoliate and prep her skin..I can't say enough about the difference that will make. When you find a look you both love and really works for her, snap some more photos..and save them.

I'm sure if you just take a deep breath and focus on her features, her skin needs, assets, trouble areas, tastes, what flatters her, etc. then this will be a fun bonding experience. When you do a trial run or two, order a pizza and just make a bonding night of it. It will certainly take pressure off and hey..pizza makes everything better!  :)

Jun 2, 2016

Sarah W.

Hydrating liquid formulas for foundation are best because at that age your starting to or getting closer to menopause which estrogen levels start to drop making the skin more dry.

And with blush you can probably go for a more bold color since as we get older we can lose our natural flush because circulation to the skin becomes less active. and apply on the cheekbones instead of the apples.

For lips use lipstick and then gloss more toward the center to give a little more of a pout. As we age naturally our lips will tend to shrink due to the collagen bteaking down.

Don't use thickening and volumizing mascara because on older lashes it just becomes added weight and use instead curling and lengthening mascara.

For powder apply on nose, forehead and chin. Best to avoid the cheeks and undereyes since it could end up caking and settling into any fine lines.

For eyeshadow, definitely have to use primer so the shadow doesn't start melting or coming off. As we get older our eyes or lids start to droop more making them smaller and smaller eyes mean warmer eyes.

Hope I helped :)

Jun 2, 2016

Sarah W.

Oh and for brows. pencil to fill in any spaces first and then powder.

Jun 2, 2016

Jacqueline H.

Thank you Chris... :) Well, I am in my early 40's so here's some advice: Seeing as you have never done anyone's makeup before, 40 year old skin is a bit different than 20 year old skin, so I would keep it simple. Some of it does come down to preference and what look your aunt is going for, but the most important thing starts with prepping her skin properly for her skin type: Dry, Normal, Oily, Combo.

If your aunt has enlarged pores and fine lines (not uncommon for women our age) Opt for a good silicone primer and only use it on those areas. If your aunt is on the dry side, a good moisturizer is the best primer. :)

Foundation wise, I would look to a foundation that has a slight yellow undertone to it. When we hit 40, sometimes we start to see broken capillaries and a slightly warmer foundation will help mask any redness while making the complexion look a bit more vibrant. Use a foundation that is geared to her skin type, and do not pile it on. Apply a few dots to the center of her forehead, on her cheeks, chin and on the sides of her nose and blend outwards to cover all areas. Once you do that, then blend downwards. If she has any areas that need additional coverage, go back over the area with a lightweight concealer. Mixing a little bit of something like MAC;s Strobe cream also helps give the skin a bit more realistic luminosity as well.

Powder: Unless she is oily, use powder very sparingly, and only on areas that would tend to get oily like the T-Zone. If she is very dry, I would avois the use of powder unless it is ByTerry's Hyaluronic Hydra-Powder.

Brows: The last thing you want to do is give a 40 + year old woman Instagram chopstick brows. Powder gives a more realistic look; however, if your aunt has thin areas in her brow line, , use a pencil first, then apply powder on top for more coverage and blend with a spoolie.

Eye makeup: Use a decent but not heavy concealer if necessary. and I would go with one that has a yellow undertone because you will be killing 2 birds with 1 stone because the yellow concealer will act as a highlighter as well. I use the OCC concealer Y range.

Shadows: When it comes to shadows, I tend to stick with mattes because shimmers placed on top of any wrinkled areas will only draw attention to what you are trying to diffuse. If you want to use a shimmer, add it to the corners of the eyes. Doing so will add a bit of pop when the light hits it and open the eye up a bit. I would avoid metallic and frost finishes.

Shadow wise, Gray shades and cooler browns tend to make our eyes look tired, I tend to go for warm tones; anything that resembles light and/or warmth. If your aunt has a lighter skin tone, I would stick to vanilla or light mocha kinds of bases, and if she has a darker skin tone, peachy oranges or yellow golds look really lovely.

Mascara: I would avoid using mascara on the lower lash line because throughout the course of the day, it can flake and make the under eye area darker which is something you want to avoid.

Blush: Unless your aunt has very oily skin, I would go for a cream blush. For the most part, warm bright tones like peaches and pinks flatter our skin more than more dusty muted colors do because they offer little to no contrast against the natural tone.

Lips: At our age, collagen in lips starts to break down, which is why they tend to shrink and look dry. A bit bit of gloss helps give the lips a more plump and hydrated look. What I do is apply a matte lipstick first to stop potential feathering, and then come back in with a couple of dabs of gloss in the center-most part of the lips.

Good luck.  :)

Jun 2, 2016

Molly B.

Following!! I know this isn't my topic but I have a question, how to do shadow on sagging lids? Everything you ladies have said have been so helpful, thanks for all the info!

Jun 2, 2016

Jacqueline H.

Molly, When you say sagging lids do you mean hooded lids that come with age?

Jun 2, 2016

Chris M.

As a woman who's quite a bit older than early 40's, I'd just like to mention, as Rozberry and Jacqueline did, that you must assess your aunt's skin without assumptions. I remained exceptionally oily into my 50s! I also don't have wrinkly eye lids so I can use a shimmery shadow, but I do avoid shimmer in my crease. My lips are still full enough and my lipstick doesn't tend to bleed, but if that's an issue for your Aunt, I'd use liner. Technique-wise, you've been given excellent advice, which I could not give you myself. I just want you to keep in mind that there is so specific way our skin ages.

Jun 2, 2016

Roz X.

Great feedback, Chris. You look amazing and I'd kill for those cheekbones of yours.

I'm both surprised and a bit disappointed this thread didn't see more ideas..thoughts or looks in general. The forum certainly has been active today and so I hope Jenny returns to share her own thoughts, but also that we see more feedback to come.

Jun 2, 2016

Molly B.

@Jacqueline Yes that's what I meant!! Not trying to offend I just didn't know how to put it. But yes, I would love to practice makeup and help make people feel beautiful but usually when it comes to doing eye makeup on older women it can be a little challenging for me.

Jun 3, 2016

Chris M.

(I meant "...no specific way our skin ages," not 'so.')

Jun 3, 2016

Jacqueline H.

Molly, what you want to do use is a midtone shade which is the second deepest shadow color between the highlight and the contour shade and bring it slightly up and over the hooded area. With the contour shade, what you want to do is after you apply it across the upper lash line, bring it up over the hood, but don't bring it up quite as high as the midtone, and only half way across, then just lightly blend the contour so it fades into the midtone. That will visually push that hood back :)

I think there was a lot of good information from members here. I do not know if I would agree that this thread and its responses were in any way disappointing in terms of lack of ideas. We weren't given much to go on, only a general age range wherein we could offer advice. Of course we would all love to see lots more opinions and advice offered on every thread, but unfortunately, there are threads that go completely unanswered; therefore, any commentary offered up by members, no matter how few contribute is always a positive thing. :)

While it's true everyone's skin ages differently, it's also true there are just some characteristics that come to our skin as every decade passes us by. 40 year old skin can be very different from 20, 30 and 50 year old skin, so like Chris said, it's best to access your aunt's skin and go from there. Being a woman in my 40's, I find that frost and metallic finishes are or can be unflattering, and in this case would just keep it simple.

I do hope Jenny does come back to this thread.  :)

Jun 3, 2016

Abha A.

Loved your advice..Jacqueline... very helpful.

Jun 3, 2016

Jacqueline H.

Thank you Abha.  :)

Jun 3, 2016

Kathryn R.

Really?? There's a ton of excellent information directly relating to the question in this post. I screenshot some of it for myself. Jacqueline I just can't tell you how appreciative I am that you always take your time to share what you know with the rest of us.
That goes for everyone who responds really. This is such a fabulous group!

Jun 3, 2016

Jacqueline H.

No need to thank me, we all share willingly, and I do agree with you Kathryn, this is a fabulous group all the way around.  :)

Jun 3, 2016

Danielleray F.

Great advice ladies! Try Youtube if you need a visual. Stephanie Lange has a few tutorials on makeup for mature ladies.

Jun 3, 2016

Samina M.

Very useful advise that everybody has posted and Jacqueline, like the others have mentioned, always enjoy reading your detailed input.

Jenny, I had to do both my cousin's and my aunt's make-up for a recent family wedding; aunt was the mother of the bride and elderly (in her mid-60s) whereas the bride (my cousin) is in her 40s.

Couple of points that I experienced that might help you: my aunt's skin texture was in a much better condition than my cousin's. She had zero scars or hyperpigmentation. Minimal wrinkles except for around the eyes. Cousin's skin had pitting scars from acne plus pigmentation from smoking and more fine facial wrinkles than her mum.

Age didn't matter here. I found working on my aunt's skin easier than my cousin's. I did a few trial runs on my cousin to allow me time to get familiar with her face and see what make-up looks worked and what didn't.

I also found that both my aunt and cousin had very specific ideas about what they wanted. I had to balance between keeping them happy whilst tactfully making suggestions if I felt a certain look wouldn't suit them. For example, I wanted to avoid putting eyeliner on the lower waterline for my cousin, since she's got very sensitive eyes, ends up tearing and gets panda eyes from all the smudging. It just makes her look tired and older. But she insisted, so I had to find an eyeliner that would hold through tears and not smudge. She also wanted a very heavy smokey eye look which I thought wouldn't go with her delicate lace wedding gown. She got her smokey look out of me and was happy :)

So, in theory there are certain things to avoid as one gets older... yes Jacqueline, I agree, frost eyeshadows can be unflattering :) But look at the skin's condition, practice a few make-up trials and incorporate plus accommodate, within reason, your aunt's ideas.

If you find your aunt's skin, including her undereyes, not to be in a great condition, get her started on skin care! When I did the first trial make-up run on my cousin, I discovered her skin condition was not ideal - she wasn't using any eye creams or face serums. Off we went shopping for products plus got her into doing regular home facials. Clay mask for the breakouts and to deep cleanse, hydrating mask for softness and underlying dehydration (yes, oily skin does get thirsty!). Using the various products diligently in the 4 weeks prior to the wedding made such a difference to improving skin texture and undereye crepes.

Sometimes doing make-up for the family can be stressful, depending on the personalities involved AND... I found that both my aunt and cousin wouldn't sit still whilst I tried to work on their faces 🙈 Time-management became an issue on the day, since other family members suddenly popped in and said "oh, by the way, can you do my face?..." 😳 So think about where you want to do the make-up. Family members are easy-going and won't be disruptive? Perfect. Got a few ladies who may interrupt you and start adding their "expert opinions"? Choose a place where they won't disturb you and your aunt.

Last tip ... Wayne Goss has got quite a few YouTube make-up tutorials that he's done on his friend Mandy (I think that's her name?). She an "older lady" so maybe watch those videos to get ideas on how to work with mature skin.

Good luck and have fun!

Jun 3, 2016

Kat H.

LOL I'm 47!! Everyone above pretty much said it all - for more tips, Google "makeup for women over 40" and you'll find lots of helpful info. Good luck! :-)

Jun 4, 2016

Molly B.

Thank you so much Jacqueline!! Great info!