25 Makeup Tips to Look Younger

How to conceal wrinkles, crow's feet, crepe-y lids & much more

By Julyne Derrick, About.com Guide

The last time I posted beauty tips for older women on my blog, women wrote in begging me for "more, more, more." So ladies, here you go. I've compiled my 25 best makeup tips older women.

 

Stay Away From Dark Lipstick

As we age, our lips thin. Super dark lipstick on skinny lips isn't attractive. Your best lipstick bet is the shade closest to your natural lip color or if you like color, rosy reds. Orange lipsticks are aging, but pinks are not. Instead of playing up your lips, concentrate on your eyes as your feature attraction.
Not sure what color works for you? Hit the department store counter along with a friend you trust. Try on many colors with the help of a counter person and you'll figure out quickly what shades flatter your skin tone.

A bit of lip gloss makes lips appear plumper. Dab a bit on cheeks to create a dewy glow.

Try Eye Pencils Instead of Liquid Liners

Eye pencils are softer than liquid liners, which can be harsh on aging eyes. To soften the line even more, smudge it with your fingers. And don't line the inside of the eye if you have small eyes, it makes the eye appear smaller.

Make Your Eyes the Center of Attention With the Right Eyeshadow Shades

Just as a fireplace can be the focal point of a gorgeous living room, you should make your eyes the focal point of your face. This will detract attention from any fine lines or turkey wattles.
Enhance your eye color with eyeshadow shades that will make your eyes pop. For brown or hazel eyes, golds and browns are gorgeous. Blue eyes look great with blue-gray and lighter browns and dark eyes look fantastic with dark shades.

7 Tips for Concealing Crow's Feet (aka "Laugh Lines")

People start developing crow's feet around the eyes in their 30s. I consider my own "laughing lines" and believe they are a sign of a good life. I hope to develop many more as I grow older.
But not everyone loves crow's feet. You can fix them with Botox or fillers, but there are few other non-invasive ways to conceal them or diminish the signs of them.
Find out how in How to Conceal Crow's Feet.

 

Don't Overdo Your Makeup

Less is more when it comes to makeup as you age. You don't want to pile on the foundation, the eyeliner and the heavy lipstick. Instead, you want to use highlighter pens, tinted moisturizers and a lighter touch with the shadow and lipstick. Oh, and you might want to get some bangs.
Check out these tips and many more in How to Conceal Wrinkles on Your Face: My 9 Best Makeup Tips.

 

Adopt a Great Skincare Routine

The key to looking younger than you is to get your skin in tip-top shape. ,p> A good skincare routine will create the allusion of youthfulness. You shouldn't just cleanse and moisturize your skin, you should also exfoliate weekly and consider antioxidants or Vitamin A products. Super hydrating masks can do wonders to mature skin (see my list of the Best Face Masks). And if you really want to get rid of those wrinkles, you might consider lasers, Botox or fillers.

How to Conceal Sagging Skin

As we age, we may begin to notice a big change taking place under the chin. And I'm not talking about excessive growth of chin hairs. You may develop a turkey wattle or you might what you consider a double chin. Either way, you might want to conceal it.
You could see a plastic surgeon and have lipo under your chin or a facelift, but if you don't want to spend the cash or endure surgery, there are inexpensive ways to conceal sagging skin and a crepe-y neck.

Check out these tips and many more in Loose Skin? 4 Tips to Conceal Sagging Skin.

 

How to Conceal Droopy Eyelids Without Surgery

Drooping eyelids are another natural part of the aging process but there's no need to invest in eyelid surgery. You can spend thousands on an eyelift or you can try these beauty tips that cost nothing.

Find out how in How to Conceal Droopy Eyelids Without Surgery.

 

Thinning or Bushy Eyebrows

I'm a stickler for good brows and am known for making my friends let me tweeze theirs. Keeping your brows done nicely is like having a facelift without surgery, according to author Charla Krupp's brow guy. Here are some tips for perfect brows:

• Get your brows professionally done. Nothing opens eyes up like curled lashes and neat brows. If you can't afford waxing or threading every few weeks, use the professional's job as a map for your own tweezing. Simply pluck the stray hairs that grow in between professional tweezing or waxing. How to pluck your own brows.
• Drawn-in brows are a no-no. You know the pencil-thin line you see some of your friends or women in your town wear? Well, they only age you and they're somewhat tacky. Learn how to properly fill in sparse brows.
• Avoid tweezing gray brow hairs. Instead, conceal them with a brow powder or pencil.

 

Thinning Lips

Personally, I love a thin lip. I read somewhere once that it's a sign of intelligence. I don't know about that, but I do know that as we age, our lips lose some of their fat. Here's how to plump up thin lips.

• Picking the right lip color is a must. Makeup artist Bobbi Brown suggests skipping the bright colors and instead opt for a color that's just a shade or 2 darker than your natural lip color. Check out 16 Lipstick Tricks and Tips.
• As you age, your natural lip line fades. Create a lip line by coloring in lips first with a lip liner, then apply gloss or lipstick over the liner.
• Consider getting rid of lipstick and using lip gloss instead. Gloss creates the illusion of puffed-up lips, especially when applied to the middle of lips.
• Lip plumpers do work, but the effects don't last long (we're talking under an hour). So skip the plumpers and save your money. Even Vaseline on lips will make them appear larger.

 

Ack! What to Do About Sprouting Chin Hairs

For the record, I know 30-year-olds with chin hair problems. You can tweeze them or have your stylist tweeze them, but they will always grow back. The only way to keep chin hairs at bay permanently is electrolysis.

How to Get Rid of Your Moustache

• You have 2 options for moustaches: Wax them off with a home waxing kit you can buy in any drugstore or have a professional do it. See How to Get Rid of Hair on Your Face.
• To lighten dark moustaches, try kit made just for this which you can find in your beauty aisle at the drugstore.