They say beauty is a fleeting thing; a temporal construct that diminishes with time. Well, we at Vogue Singapore, beg to differ—along with the legendary Michelle Yeoh who boldly declared in her Oscar acceptance speech for Best Actress: “Ladies, you should never let anyone tell you you’re past your prime.” Indeed, there is no expiration date to determine when beauty or the moments of our peaks should cease—instead, it’s abound as long as we recognise and accept it in our own skin. Whether it be our faces that alter with mature skin, shape of our bodies and the inner light that we exhibit. The same goes with the realm of make-up; the fun shouldn’t stop just because we’ve reached a certain numerical milestone.
Dolling ourselves up to look and feel good should still feel natural and breezy with age. We can easily apply eyeshadow pigments and lipsticks swatches on a slightly, more mature mien as with we did in our early 20s. Yet not without a few new considerations—given that our facial features change with time. Skin becomes thinner, skin loses its plumpness, eyes become droopy, pigmentations and discolourations appear more often—these are the changes that we might notice, according to local make-up artist Dollei Seah.
But those concerns shouldn’t detract us away from make-up—in turn, we can still use cosmetics to beautify ourselves, while at the same time navigating around the gradual changes of our skin. Below, we seek out tips from Seah and make-up artist Cheryl Ow, as they share their personal techniques on applying make-up on older, mature skin.
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What are some common make-up mistakes that people make for mature skin?
With new concerns that we face, come more inclinations to cover those up with make-up. But going overboard can backfire in the case of “too heavy make-up, overly drawn eyebrows, heavy contouring and excessive eye make-up and heavy lashes”, according to Seah.
Ow also encourages to dial back on the foundation and instead “go for a sheer base, where you can still see skin”. After which, cover the spots or dark eye circles with concealer. This builds a more natural and youthful look.
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How do we go about perfecting the base for mature skin?
Behind every show-stopping make-up look, is the perfect base. Seah says: “Always keep the skin hydrated and use a primer.” With the latter, Ow concurs: “I like to use a product, which doubles up as a filler too, to fill in the fine lines for a smoother base. Peter Thomas Roth FIRMx No Filter Primer is a good one for mature skin. It fills in the lines and gives a youthful appearance.”
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How important is skincare before make-up?
Consider this step the ‘prime’ before the primer. “Make-up adheres better to properly hydrated skin with no patchy dry bits and helps the foundation to look smoother and more natural,” says Ow who cites Kiehls Hydro Plumping Hydrating Serum as a personal favourite.
But it isn’t just the pre-prep that requires dedicated skincare. Seah stresses on the post-care, which involves make-up cleansing. First with Bioderma Sebium H20 Micellar Water then Guerlain Abeille Royale Anti-Aging Fortifying Lotion Toner. Of course, your nighttime skincare routine should then follow suit.
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With eye make-up, what are some personal tips and tricks to navigate around saggy eye lines?
“Saggy skin on the eyelids does affect the way eyeliner is applied. My suggestion is to look straight into the mirror to apply eyeliner instead of lifting the skin or tilting the head up as most people do. There’s better control on the outcome because you see it as it is. Using an eyelid primer does help to fill in any fine lines on the lids,” says Ow. Another tip from Seah, is to tilt a tiny wing at the corner of your eye—to create a lifting effect.
