Makeup When Dating After the Age of 45+ Part 1

 

In today’s world of Instagram & Pinterest (where many go to look for makeup inspiration), how are we able to compare ourselves to photos that are photoshopped & highly filtered? These social media stars usually are using strong lighting so that they are able to give their face a “full beat” by wearing a ton of makeup

In real life, we can’t walk around with an Instagram filter! Others need to see us as we are…flaws and all, that is who we are.

I can share with you that at the age of 45, I was thrown back into the dating world after being married for 26 years. Not only is dating very different from when I was younger, but the way I thought about myself was totally different.  

As we age, many things about our face begins to change. First, we begin to lose volume in our face, our cheeks are not as high as they used to be. What can we do? Change the way we wear our blush, contour & highlight.

Please do not wear the same amount of contour as you did in your 20’s! The color we use for contour is not meant to be orange like a bronzer. If you look at a tree in the early morning or late day and see a shadow – look closer. That shadow is a gray tone, not orange. Stop using bronzers and use a cool tone gray product. The skeleton look of bringing your contour in towards the lip will age you by about 15-20 years. A good rule of thumb is to stop your contour at the outer edge of your iris (the colored part of the eye), when looking straight into a mirror.

I love using a couple products for the correct contour color: Kevyn Aucoin The Sculping Contour Powder and Senna Cosmetics Face Sculpting Palette. These products come in 2-3 shades for all skin tones.  My favorite is the Face Sculpting Palette by Senna. It is a cream to powder product for easy application and makes blending really easy.

Let’s talk about blush placement – stop smiling when putting your blush on the apples of your cheeks!  As we age the volume (or fat) in our cheeks starts to drop. Do a test: put your finger or a bright blush color on your apple and smile. Now stop smiling, what happened? Your finger or the bright blush color has dropped quite a bit.

What is the proper placement of blush? Keep it high and don’t come all the way in any further than the inner corner of the pupid (black center of the eye) and no lower than the base of your nose. What do I mean by high? Place your blush towards the top of your cheek bone, bring it up towards the top of your ear and again no further towards the nose than the inside corner of your pupil. Also make sure to blend, blend, blend – it should look like a watercolor and the edges should fade away to nothing.

Please, no shimmer blush if you have acne or acne scarring, large pores, fine lines or your skin is dehydrated. A flush is a pixilation of color showing through the skin and your blush should be reflective of a flush.

As we get older, I find that a cream blush or even a bit of lipstick (a cream product) tends to work much better than powder. Some of my favorite cream blush products are: Senna Cosmetics Cheeky Blush Cream to Powder. It goes on as a cream for smooth payoff and easy blending. Then it sets as a long wear powder with a dewy look. I also like Ilia Multi-Stick and Color Haze. 

Now, let’s talk about highlighters…we need to stop glowing and shimmering like a disco ball! And please, stop putting highlighter on the tip of your nose! The nose is the one feature on the face that sticks out further than anything else. The purpose of a highlighter is to bring features forward – not to look like Rudolph.

Where do you use a highlighter and how shimmery should it be? Highlighters can be used on the highest part of the cheekbone, the bridge of the nose and the cupid’s bow on the top of your lips. How much shimmer to use? Use something more with a soft glow, not chunks of glitter. 

For application highlighter is to be used on the highest part of your cheeks, do not come close to the outer edge of the eye. This will only enhance your smile lines and that’s not a good look. Again, do not bring the highlighter past the outer edge of your iris. When placing on the nose – only the bridge…do not place it between your eyes or the tip of your nose. Keep a light touch, only apply a little bit of product.

My favorite highlighters are: LimeLife by Alcone Blush in shade 06 Glowing, and LimeLife by Alcone Perfect Glow Drops mixed with a drop of Dew Date Facial Oil.

Please remember…on your date just be yourself. With the tips I’m sharing, you will look beautiful, confident and let your beauty shine!

Stay tuned for 3 more blog posts with topics including eyes & brows, lips, and complexion.

If you click this link you can find many of the products I mentioned here in this blog post.