The best baby boomer makeup look is the clean beauty look. This look is especially suited to the woman over 50 because it emphasizes an even-toned complexion and neutral colors that flatter EVERYONE. It also quickly transforms from work day to date night!
Neutral eye shadow that is close to the natural color of the lid (if you are adventurous, try a deeper brown in the crease)
Mascara
Lip color a shade or two darker than the naked lip
You can take this look from daytime to date night by reapplying mascara and increasing the intensity of the eye, blush, or lip. In the photo below, only the eye crease and lip color were changed. The crease color was refreshed with the same medium-dark brown using a heavier hand than would typically be used during the day. The lip color went from a mauve-rose to a deep honey-bronze shimmer. In person, the eyes were more intense, so the blush and lip were kept relatively neutral.
Date Night
Both day and evening looks are quick and simple to execute. Remember, it’s only makeup. It should be FUN and EASY!
Spring 2014 makeup trends for the 50+ woman are generally in line with those seen in this season’s fashion magazines. For the first time in years, makeup trends of the season are consistent with general makeup application rules for the mature woman:
Flawless skin
A flush of color on the eyes and cheeks
Natural and electric orange lips (YES WE CAN!)
Flawless Skin
Depositphotos_32569897
Flawless skin means even-toned skin. As discussed in 2014 Academy Award Looks for the Mature Woman, the focus is on skin clarity, not the texture. If you are very wrinkled, focus on evening out the tone–creating the clean canvas. The most foolproof method of evening out skin tone is by using a tinted moisturizer. It is typically sheer and doesn’t settle into fine lines and wrinkles. Because tinted moisturizer is sheer, color-matching is not typically an issue.
Flush of Color
Crème blush can provide you with a very natural looking flush. One of the reasons that the model pictured above is so effective is because she appears to not be wearing makeup. That’s mainly due to the light hand used to apply a crème blush. Creme blush is also less likely to settle into fine lines and wrinkles.
TIP: To avoid placing the blush too low on your cheek, do not smile when applying blush. As we age, the “resting position” of the apple of the cheek falls. If the apple of your cheek falls at or below your nostril, do not smile when applying blush. Apply it to the cheekbone when the face is at rest and blend it (very slightly) into the apple.
Natural and Electric Orange Lips (Yes we CAN!!)
Clean face with just coral lip color
For a natural look, select a lip shade that is two shades darker than the natural color of your lips. If your lips are darker, this might mean a deep (but sheer) mauve tone. Not everyone can wear a nude/taupe-colored lip. If wearing a lip color too close to that of the rest of your face makes you appear sickly, opt for a tone two shades darker than your naked lip. Remember: Although a nude lip is fashionable, it is not an easy look to pull off. Looking good is ALWAYS in style, so go with a tone that works for YOU! One that makes you look and FEEL good.
The electric orange lip is everywhere. Don’t be intimidated. The “orange” lip is just the classic coral lip revisited! Because coral is a universally flattering color, it looks good on almost everyone. The browner your skin tone, the deeper you can go. Paler tones might want to stick within the salmon family. If you’ve been rockin’ that coral lip for ages, amp it up by going a shade or two in either direction.
BH Cosmetics.com’s $11 lip palette is an economical way to try out the trend. Their 66 color lip gloss palette contains almost 10 shades of the season. The title says “gloss”, but they are more like cream lipsticks. This palette offers LOTS of bang for the buck. If coral shades aren’t for you, there are 50 more traditional colors ranging from neutral to red shades.
The Bottom Line
The clean and simple style of makeup that is perfect for the 50+ woman is the height of fashion this spring. Put your fresh face forward!
Viseart Neutral Basic 01-Matte Eye Shadow
Available at Viceart.com for about $80.
Forget Urban Decay’s NAKED palette. Viseart’s Basic Neutral 01-Matte palette is the best neutral eye shadow on the market, period. It is especially suited for women over 50 because it is very blendable and does not settle into nooks & crannies!
Why it’s good for the 50+ woman: The Neutral 01-Matte palette contains no shimmer, sparkle, or glitter to settle into fine lines and creases, and there is no shadow “fallout”. The outer corner of my lid is textured like crepe paper and this shadow never “settles” in the nooks and crannies.
Uses: All skin tones. This palette looks good on EVERYONE, from the palest to the deepest tones. Its beige, taupe, brown, grey, and peach tones are universally flattering. This shadow also has multiple uses: all colors can be used as eye liner, brown tones can be used to fill in brows, black and deep terracotta tones can even be used in your hair to cover “roots”.
Ease of application: There is virtually no fallout. This stuff STAYS WHERE YOU PUT IT. Although it is heavily pigmented and stays put all day, it blends easier than any shadow I’ve ever tried. If you don’t have lots of experience applying shadow or are challenged by the “smokey eye”, you should try this palette. Because it is so forgiving and blends like a dream, I am finally able to rock “smokey eye” and experiment with colors outside my taupe-hued comfort zone.
Texture: Smooth and buttery. Although this is powdered shadow, it goes on with a very creamy feel. It glides over the eye and doesn’t look thick or caked on.
Finish: Rich matte. No sparkle, shimmer, glitter, or twinkle to bring negative attention to crows feet and crepe-iness.
Value: For most of us $80 is a huge makeup investment. I buy $0.99 brushes from Target, so I get it. There aren’t many people willing to pay $80 for eye shadow, but the results are worth every penny! It is heavily pigmented, so a little goes a very long way. My palette is in the photo. I’ve been using it for about 2 months and haven’t made a dent in the taupe and grey colors I use every day.
Viceart is professional quality shadow that is easy to use and delivers great results. I strongly recommend this product. Post a comment and share your knowledge of Viceart eye shadow with other beyond50beauties.
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Disclaimer: The products discussed on this website are purchased by me. I am not compensated by any person or company, and the opinions expressed above are my own.
Take 5-10 years off your appearance immediately by simply grooming your brows. It’s true! This is not a gimmick. If you don’t wear a lick of makeup, just take five minutes to groom your brows. Once you get the hang of it, it won’t take that long (I promise) and you will be so glad you did.
Brows frame the face and give it structure. A full, well-groomed brow sets off the rest of the face and gives you a more youthful modern appearance. Take a look at the model below. What’s the FIRST thing you notice?
It’s her eyes and her smile, right? They form the top and bottom of the “frame”. Visualize the last time you saw the face of someone you found attractive. As you visualize this person, where is your focus? It’s probably in the area between their eyebrows and their chin (within the “frame”). When you first looked at the model above, I’ll bet that you didn’t focus on the wrinkles? The first thing you saw were her sparkly eyes and stunning smile! You responded positively to her balanced features because humans like balance! You didn’t ignore the wrinkles. You just responded positively to the balance that a well-framed face achieves. Her full brow balances her face and makes her appear modern and contemporary while wearing a plain white t-shirt. She doesn’t look dated. If you change only the fullness of the eyebrows, the look becomes very dated and not as attractive.
There are a few of you who hesitate to give up the thin, highly arched brow. That thin brow is making you look old and less current. You might have a flawless complexion, dewy skin, and otherwise perfectly applied makeup, but if your brows are too thin, you look old and your entire lookappears dated. It doesn’t matter what you are wearing, that thin severe arch is aging you. It might take a bit of practice to perfect your technique, but once you do, you’ll be amazed at how good you look.
Here are two photos of the same woman taken on the same day. In the first photo her brows appear thin and severely arched. They actually aren’t that thin. They are partially gray which makes them appear thinner than they actually are. This makes her face look unbalanced. (Where are you focusing?)
The second photo was taken after our model groomed her brows. She made the arch less severe and filled in the gray with a taupe pencil (not black!) to create a slightly fuller brow. The fuller, darker brow helps her face appear balanced. You are now focusing on the most compelling part of her face – her eyes and her smile!
Notice that her hairline is more attractive in the second photo. She didn’t change her hairdo. The difference is that the hairline is no longer the top of the “frame”. The slightly stronger brow balances the face and brings the attention where it should be – on her eyes and smile. Our model completes the look with blush and lipstick. She looks modern and has taken years off her appearance.
NOTE: If she didn’t have the right color of pencil handy, she could have used taupe or light brown eye shadow. Many find that eye shadow or eyebrow power is much easier to use and produces a more subtle effect than a pencil, especially for brunettes.
Grooming your brows pays huge dividends. Your face appears more balanced, your eyes become more engaging, and your look is contemporary. Groom your brows every day for a week – even if you aren’t planning to leave the house. You’ll look so good, you might be motivated go someplace where others might bask in your loveliness!
Leave a comment below and tell us how great you look!
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RESOURCES:
There are lots of eyebrow tutorials available on YouTube. Here are some of my favorites. To share your favorites, leave a link in the comments.
Wayne Goss is the king of the YouTube makeup tutorial. SUBSCRIBE TO HIS CHANNEL TODAY! His tutorials are chock full of useful information. These speak to brows, but check out his other videos.
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