Makeup Mistakes That Make You Look Older

When used correctly, makeup can make you look years younger. Unfortunately, a lot of women do not use it correctly as they age. When women don't understand how makeup techniques need to change with age, the makeup makes them look older than they are. Read on to learn some of the makeup mistakes you might be making that make you look older than you are, and learn how to correct these mistakes.

Dark eye shadow and liner do not have a good effect on older skin. They fill in the lines and wrinkles in your skin, and draw attention to your crow's feet. If you want a similar effect without the drawbacks, use a soft chocolate or smokey tone. It will give your eyes the same kind of look without accentuating your wrinkles and fine lines.

Too Much Foundation

If you apply too much foundation, it will build up in your lines and wrinkles, making them more pronounced and your face look more aged. Apply your foundation sparingly and blend it in thoroughly to hide any skin problems.

Too Little Foundation

Of course, if you wear little or no foundation, all your normal skin problems look a lot more obvious. You need to experiment a bit to find just the right amount of coverage to hide your skin flaws without accentuating fine lines and wrinkles.

Not Using Primer

One way to strike the right balance with your foundation is to use primer. Primer helps minimize your skin's flaws so it doesn't take a lot of foundation to achieve the effect you desire. Use a silicone-based primer, which will minimize fine lines and large pores, allowing the foundation to settle more evenly.

Heavy Mascara on the Lower Lashes

Heavy mascara on your lower lashes can add years to your apparent age by drawing attention to dark shadows around your eyes. Instead, keep your mascara on your top lashes, which will make your eyes look more doe-like.

Thin, Light Eyebrows

If you want to look younger, then you need to frame your face with your eyebrows. Thin brows won't do the trick. If you have light or thin brows then enhance them with some pencil work.

Not Using Lip Liner

As you get older, fine lines develop around your mouth. Lipstick that bleeds off the edges of your mouth will get into these lines and emphasize them. Use lip liner to prevent this from happening.

Too Much Blush on your Cheeks

Applying too much blush to your cheeks alone does not make you look younger; it makes you look like a clown or a doll, particularly on older faces. After applying blush to your cheeks, apply it to the sides of your face as well, which will give you a much more natural look.

The Takeaway

Avoid the mistakes that make you look older than you are. If you update your makeup techniques as you age, you can use makeup for its intended purpose: to make you look younger and more beautiful.