Enjoy a Gossip Girls afternoon for you and three friends from Paul Edmonds worth over £300 - and six Biolustré treatments for runners-up, each worth £60
Make-up artist Stephen Glass is a genius
at enhancing older faces, from 40-somethings to 80-somethings.
Clients have been known to kick up their heels and throw their
first birthday party for decades after a visit to his salon
(see Directory). Here are Stephen’s tips to help women
‘of a certain age’ look wonderful.
• Know your skin. Don’t
take it as gospel that every woman’s skin dries as she
gets older; women in their 60s and 70s can still have combination
skin, with dry cheeks and an oily T-zone. Using too much rich
nourishing cream when your skin doesn’t really need it
can still trigger breakouts, spots or whiteheads.
Your skin may also get so used to one product, if it’s
applied consistently, that it ceases to offer benefits. So
get to know your skin and nourish it as and when it needs
extra help. Try the alternating approach: smooth on night
cream for a few evenings when your skin feels dry, then don’t
wear any cream at all for a night or three. If you have very
dry skin, try the other alternating approach, using two creams,
say collagen one night and a vitamin cream the next.
• Face up to your face. Invest
in the best magnifying mirror you can find and put it in the
clearest (yes, that does mean cruellest) light. However depressing
you find it initially, remember that you will end up looking
infinitely better. Preparing your face like this is particularly
vital for anyone who wears glasses (see Glamour and Glasses,
p.00. There is an especially good French brand of magnifier
called Beauty Look (see Directory), which has suction pads
so that you can attach it to your usual mirror.
• Review your make-up regularly.
As your face changes, your make-up needs suble revision, too.
Don’t be afraid of scrutinising the products and colours
you use, and how you apply them. You may think, for instance,
that your favourite foundation has changed, because it no
longer looks so good on you - but the likelihood is that your
complexion has changed, just as the skin around your eyes
may alter their shape, or your colouring become paler. Don’t
get stuck in a cosmetic rut. Take a ramble round the beauty
counters and see which look you like (see Department Store
Makeovers, p.00), then play with products, ask for advice,
have a free consultation, get samples. Don’t be afraid
to take time; you make the decisions. Or go to a local make-up
artist whose work you respect, or whom friends have recommended
for a makeover.
• Colour it natural. Match
foundation to your skin tone, however much that changes over
the years. Avoid the temptation to use foundation which is
tanned or darker than your own complexion. It dulls the skin,
making it look lifeless and much older. Foundation should
be very lightweight for older, fragile or lined skins, and
always applied with a good sponge. (Best of all are Max Factor
sponges, only available in America.) For skins which have
grown paler, colour can be added with blusher; for those who
have become more florid, concealer and foundation can work
wonders.
• Even the drier, lined skins may
need powder as a finishing touch. The key is to drift
the powder lighter over the face for a soft but flawless finish.
Tip a little loose powder into the palm of your left hand
(or vice versa if you’re left-handed); dip your large
powder brush into it, then tap the handle to shake the excess
off and stroke gently across the areas which need powdering.
You may want to use a tinted powder in the evening, for instance
a pale mauve, if you’re very sallow.
• Use cream or liquid blusher
rather than powder rouge on your cheeks; it looks much better
on a dry or lined complexion. For cheeks with high colour
or broken veins, mix a little concealer with cream rouge and
pat on in thin layers.
• Try using lip pencil to outline
and then colour in your lips, rather than lipstick; this will
avoid bleeding into any tiny lines around the mouth. Top with
gloss if you wish. If your lips have grown thinner with age,
never use deep, dark colours; go for soft, bright shades such
as coral or apricot - Bourjois make a lovely shade called
Abricot.
• Every woman of every age can get
an amazing lift by using eyeliner: use a soft pencil
in charcoal, deep grey, deep blue, taupe or bronze green depending
on your skin tone. Dot along the outer third to half of your
upper eyelids, right up against the lashes, then smudge upwards
with your little finger; you can also try a few smudges under
your lower lashes, on the outer corners only.
• Use eye drops and (plastic)
eyelash curlers to open and brighten eyes, and make
them look more youthful. Then apply mascara in the direction
of the lashes, rolling the wand up and away at the outer corners
of the eyes, so the whole eye is drawn up. (Choose soft brown,
grey or navy mascara, not black, if you have grey hair.)
• To minimise droopy eyes, brush on a touch of
deep brown or grey shadow on the bits which sag, usually in
the creases and at the outer corners. It’s important
that you do this looking straight into a mirror at eye level.
• Check the style and shape of your
eye glasses. A different pair of specs can make a dramatic
difference, and the choice today is huge. Take a trip to a
good optician with a wide range of frames and sympathetic,
knowledgeable staff.
HOW MUCH MAKE-UP IS ENOUGH?
If you emphasise all your features for an everyday look -
eyes, lips, cheeks - then you are going to look over-painted,
although you can get away with more make-up at night. Kevyn
Aucoin identifies four basic make-up combinations. Opt for
the combination which enhances your good points. (If you’re
unsure what these are, just ask your best friend or partner,
who should be relied on to give you an honest answer based
on how they see you. When we look in the mirror, we tend to
focus on the parts of our face that we like least.)
1. Light eyes, light mouth - the
ultra-natural look. Remember to apply a little colour to cheeks,
otherwise this look can make you appear washed-out.
2. Light eyes, darker mouth - a
natural-looking face, with extra emphasis on the lips.
3. Dark eyes, light mouth - a sophisticated
look, but better on younger women. Older women need some lip
colour.
4. Dark eyes, dark mouth - a dramatic
look that’s really only suitable for evenings and parties.
Make-up artist Shu Uemura: ‘Approach make-up the way
you do food. Always stop when you’re 80 per cent full.’
Cold Comfort Make-up
Coming down with a cold can zap good looks fast. (As can
allergies such as asthma and hay fever.) Make-up pro Laura
Geller, used to making up snuffly supermodels, says you can
disguise the problem.
1. Begin with non-medicated eye drops, to help soothe itchy
eyes.
2. Apply a fragrance-free moisturiser to chapped, dry zones.
3. Use an eye gel to get rid of puffiness.
4. Skip foundation if skin is super-dry and flaky. But dot
concealer under the eyes if you need it, and over the lids,
to camouflage redness and irritation. Dab a bit on both sides
of your nose, to cover up any redness.
5. Apply mascara but skip eye make-up. (You don’t want
to emphasise itchy, watery eyes.)
6. Dust translucent powder or bronzer all over your face
with a big, fluffy brush. A touch of glimmer or a light-reflecting
powder will liven up pale skin.
7. Sweep a rose or coral blush on the ‘apples’
of your cheeks.
8. Slick on medicated lip balm and a bright lipstick, to
perk up your face. But avoid brown and wine hues, which can
make you look washed out.
You may not feel better after this. But at least you’ll
look it.
DEPARTMENT STORE MAKEOVERS
- HELL OR HEAVEN?
If you can’t afford a consultation with a private make-up
artist, a department store makeover is a fast (and free) way
to find out how your look could be updated. First, look around
a department store until you see a consultant whose look you
like; unless you like dragon-green eyeshadow and laminated
red lips, head for a counter where the staff look fairly natural.
Then, advises Bobbi Brown (who’s done literally thousands
of makeovers): ‘make an appointment and go to it wearing
your everyday make-up so that the artist understands your
style. And say exactly what you want - whether you’re
adapting a look from a magazine or just want to add drama
to your everyday make-up.’ Offer feedback: say if you
like a colour, or you’d like your lips brought out more.
If you’re still not thrilled with the results, don’t
suffer in silence. ‘It’s often a matter of fine-tuning,’
believes Bobbi. ‘Try blotting your lips, rubbing in the
blush and blending the eyeshadow. Talk to the artist and tell
her what you’d like redone.’ Never walk away until
you feel comfortable.
Blusher Tips From the Pros
• ‘Invest in a proper
blusher brush,’ advises Bobbi Brown. ‘The teeny
ones you find in compacts just aren’t up to the job,
and will give visible brush strokes.’
• Don’t use blusher to
give yourself instant cheekbones. The most flattering way
to apply it is on the ‘apples’ of the cheeks. Locate
yours by drawing an imaginary line down from your pupil to
the centre of your cheek. Then lightly stroke outwards, towards
the top of the ear, covering the entire cheekbone area in
soft, sweeping strokes.
• Kevyn Aucoin sometimes applies
blusher to the cleavage and along the hairline, too. ‘It
adds warmth to powder and foundation, making the whole look
more realistic and healthy-looking.’
• Carol Shaw advises applying
blush when you’re smiling: ‘Add a little blush in
that ball of your cheek and bring it back a little towards
the bone.’
• ‘You want to look like
the noon sun has hit you on - not under - your cheekbones,’
believes Mary Greenwell.
• Like many make-up artists,
Maggie Hunt likes to ‘double-blush’, first applying
one layer of blush, then powder, then blushing again: ‘It
helps the colour stay put.’
• Shu Uemura’s resident
make-up artist Andrea says that in summer, older women should
avoid powder blusher: ‘It can look dusty. Instead, try
rubbing some lipstick into your cheeks, which gives a much
more natural result.’
• Says Kevyn Aucoin: ‘Over-blushing
can always be corrected by blending in a little powder.’
