Tips & Tricks: Makeup For Mature Skin

Happy Friday! The UnitWise Heroes have been super busy behind the scenes to bring you this week's Tips & Tricks blog. October doesn't have to be all about halloween makeup (but stay tuned for next week's surprise Halloween Makeup Challenge) and the UnitWise Heroes have been noticing there're really isn't much availble for applying makeup on mature skin. We have our beautiful model, Kay, with us today and I will be demonstrating the Heroes best tips and tricks for mature skin. Let's get started...

Prep
First things first, moisturize. With mature skin you don't want to just spread the moisturizer all over the face. Instead, warm the moisturizer in your hand, then gently pat the moisturizer on the skin - starting from the neck and working upwards. This technique is more gentle,as well as it will help plump fine lines and fill pores better than just rubbing it all over the face.

Give your moisturizer a minute or so to absorb before following with a primer. I like to use a very thin serum-like consistency primer for mature skin. It glides more smoothly on the skin and absorbs more evenly. For Kay, I am using an illuminzing primer to give the skin a nice subtle glow from within. Primer is very important because it will prevent any product from settling into fine lines or pores.

Face
After primer, let your face set for a minute. Now it's time for a touch of foundation. I like to keep it very simple and actually opt for a tinted moiturizer instead of a foundation. Anything you apply to the face will need to stay light. If you use a heavy foundation it will settle into lines and look a hot mess by the end of the day.

To apply the tinted moisurizer, I use a flat foundation brush. I will then go over the face with a domed kabuki brush to buff everything out. I do this because if I just buff in the foundation with a kabuki brush, it might settle in places I don't want it to and look very streaky. It always comes out perfect by applying it with a flat foundation brush first then using a kabuki brush.

To brighten Kay's eyes and prep the lids for shadow, I used a yellow-tone concealer and applied it with a flat concealer blush. I concentrated on the inner corner first, then blended it down and under the eye.

Eyes
I started by just lightly defining the brows. Then I applyed an eye primer to prep the lids.

I started with a light matte brown for the base, blending out the edges really well. Then, I went in with a darker matte brown in the crease. I applied the color right about the crease for a lifted effect. When blending the crease color, I used upward sweeping motions so I wouldn't pull the color down. Kay likes a little shimmer, so I used an ivory shimmer as the highlight. It adds just the right amount of sparkle.

For the lower lash line, I took the same light matte brown shadow - with a tiny smudge brush - and lined the bottom lash line from outer corner to where the lower lashes end; right before you reach the inner corner. I then went in, using the same brush, with the darker matte shade just on the outer corners to really open her eyes. I always like to do this step before darkening the outer corner of the upper lash line.










I took a very dark, almost black, matte shadow - with a tiny smudge brush - and really smudged the shadow just on the end of her lash line.

For the lashes, I create a base with lengthening mascara, then go over it with a volumizing mascara. It gives them that little extra oomph. For the lower lashes I just a apply a little lengthening mascara on the outer corner. This will help to make the eyes look bigger.






Contour/Blush
Contouring is great to give a more lifted look, but the trick is to apply it very lightly. When I say lightly, I mean very lightly. Like barely tap the brush in the product then tap it on the back of your hand to get any excess off. Instead of carving out the cheekbones like a normal contour, I applied the bronzer just above the bottom of Kay's cheekbone. Blend, blend, blend, It will lift the face instantly.

For the blush, I use a mauve-pink tone and apply it just above the bronzer. You only need a little blush and focus on applying it from the hairline going inwards. Make sure to keep the angles going up to maintain the lifted effect.

 Rember to apply the blush very lightly, just like the bronzer.

Lips


For the lips, I went for a nice pinky-nude. I started with a nude liner that glides on very easy. When applying the liner I started on the bottomlip at the corner and brought the line down just on the edges. Doing it this way will make the lips look more plump. I did line the entire upper lip to match the fullness of the bottom. I applied a nice pinky-nude lipstick with a lip brush -very important- and had her blot the excess on a tissue.





Finishing
I dusted a fine translucent powder all over the face to set everything. Natural looks are some of my favorite to do, and it works perfectly on mature skin.

When applying makeup to mature skin, be sure to moisturize, keep the foundation light, and matte eyeshadows work best. What tips & tricks do you use when it comes to makeup for mature skin?

If you enjoy the UnitWise Heroes Tips & Tricks, be sure to check out the enter series including:

Tips & Tricks: The Vamp Look

Tips & Tricks: All About The Mascara

Tips & Tricks: Luscious Lips