Have you adjusted your makeup application as you've gotten older?

So far, not that much has changed for me. I find that I am more likely to wear what I like in terms of color/style and care less about whether someone else thinks I should, which is definitely a feeling that comes with age for me.

— Christine

24 Comments

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Mariella Avatar

The only “change” or adjustment I can think of is that I now wait to apply my under-eye concealer until AFTER I’ve done my eyeshadow but I wait to apply liner under my eyes until AFTER I’ve done the concealer (so I don’t end up making a smudge-y mess of the liner mixed in with the concealer or have a weird little gap between my concealer and liner that is the natural pinky tone just under my lower lashes). That’s about it except for applying Elizabeth Arden lip primer every time I wear lipstick. It makes such a nice difference.

Lauren Avatar

Oh absolutely. I can no longer just slap makeup on with my hands and fingers and expect it to look perfect. I have to pay more attention to blending and not adding too much powder to certain areas, I have to apply eye makeup in a different way as my lids now have folds on them, my lips are more particular so liquid lips are out and hydrating formulas that will not bleed are in (I never had to be fussy about lip products until maybe 5 years ago). I’ve also gotten more into highlighters and bronzers which I never bothered with a couple decades ago.

One thing that hasn’t changed is my love for color other than I’ve gotten more into wearing bolder colors and color combinations more often.

Ana Maria Avatar

Not really. I always had hooded eyes and a bigger jaw, so I had to learn from an young age a couple of the tricks one uses with age as features start to drop.
I think the most significant changes with age are that I feel more confident both to wear no makeup and to wear a bold lipstick when I wear makeup.

Seraphine Avatar

Definitely. My lips are not as full as they were when I was younger, so darker colors don’t work on me anymore. My eyes have changed, too, being a bit more droopy now, so I have to apply my eye makeup differently. And my skin tone has changed, too. I used to have perfect brows that needed minimal plucking, but they never fully grew back after chemo 15 years ago, and now I’m even finding an occasional white hair in my brows. I don’t know what to do about that! Lol

A Avatar

I just turned 30 this year and I’ve noticed my eyes are getting more hooded as I get older, so I’m trying to experiment with different shapes & color placement for eye makeup. I also find that powder foundation doesn’t work for me like it used to (settles in forehead lines and just looks dry), so i’ve switched to liquid.

Nancy T Avatar

Yes, in some smaller ways I would have to say that my application style/placement have evolved gradually over time. For one thing, I do what Mariella mentioned above, I apply my concealer only after doing my eye look. The difference between our two methods is that I do mine after I’m all done with everything, and I sweep away any excess or uneven edges of eyeshadow with my beauty sponge. Upwards on the outer edges lifts my eyes, too! My eyes have literally ALWAYS been super hooded and not the easiest to maneuver and manipulate, but I have learned to do exactly that.
As for my face products…boy, have I learned a LOT over the past 13 years! Like; using a face primer, applying setting and finishing powders. Up till 50, I just used foundation or tinted moisturizer. Usually Revlon Colorstay foundation, which did work for many years. Couldn’t do that now, though!

Lesley Avatar

Absolutely. No more dark lips or undereye liner. I have to take greater care with powder and with blush. My eyes got too dry to wear contacts comfortably so my eye makeup application needed to change. Shimmer on my eyes still looks good but I have to be aware of dry or puffy spots that are accentuated by shimmer. I still wear my lime green eye shadow, though.

peach Avatar

Yep! I use colorful eyeshadows as liners or washes of color more now. It doesn’t look the same with my current eyeshape. It’s less what will others think of me and looking like a badly done clown *to me.*

Nina Avatar

When I was in my 30’s/40’s I would wear eyeshadow the way you wear it up there or is is down there?!? I would wear a transition shade then a crease shade then an outside v shade. Now? I can’t be bothered or it’s that it doesn’t interest me. I love looking at it on others. Me, I toss on my Naked Lunch and either fine line or smoke out my line with an eyeliner and I’m off.

brendacr1 Avatar

As I’ve aged I’ve learned less is more. Which to me means less full coverage foundation because full cover foundation settles into lines. A little less shimmer as sometimes it accents crepey eyelids so go with satin instead. It doesn’t mean you still can’t look good it’s just finding a way around an issue. I’ll never stop wearing makeup because I love it, so I will make it work one way or other.

Kathy Avatar

I find it difficult to find satin finish eyeshadow these days. The finishes are all glitter or shimmer or metallic. I have started experimenting with eyeshadow pencils a little bit more and I am having some success I think but it means I have to re-purchase all the colours I like to use

Genevieve Avatar

To a certain extent I have adjusted my makeup application as I have aged. I have now turned full circle and come back to using my neutrals, often with a pop of colour. Hence my newer appreciation of how good Urban Decay’s original and best Naked palette truly was. I am finding that the neutral mid tones suit me best, that darker eyeshadow shades end up making the eye look muddy and far too dark for my porcelain complexion.
I have also moved towards more mid tone lipstick shades as well, not the dark vampy shades I loved so much in the past.
Using a primer has made a big difference as well – both on my eyes and my face.

Deborah S. Avatar

The changes are really too many to list. I would say the most significant is that it does take me longer to do my makeup as I really have to pay more attention to every step of my process. It seems to take more products, more time, more blending, more prep etc. When I was younger I could slap things on and in the end it would look great. I have to work harder to even look presentable.

Helene Avatar

I’ve found that I’ve had to re-think my application of both eyeshadow and eyeliner as my eyes are hooded and the hoods are really falling downwards, darn gravity! 🙂
I can do a tiny little kitten flick, but no more winged out eyeliner.
I still use shimmery eyeshadow and any colour I feel like, but have to pay a lot of attention to the hooded things so it doesn’t look like I’ve been in a fight and have a healing black eye.
I still have oily skin and prefer a matte foundation, but I apply it sheerer.
My lips haven’t changed and I still wear dark lipsticks, or bright ones or classic reds and even more neutral ones.
Oh, and I don’t use concealer under my eyes due to the crepey inner part , if I do use it, it has to be very sheered out.
So, yes quite a lot of changes, I feel I find a way to make everything work and look good and suddenly over night I have to rethink everything. Seems to happen every second or third year. Odd, isn’t it!

Nikki Avatar

I’ve never exactly been dedicated to any one particular application style, but I have started using makeup products over the last few years that I never did before (highlighters and bronzers-I’m picky about shades, especially bronzer shades, so that my pale/cool skin won’t look dirty!) and I wear more complicated eye looks more often now than I did when I was younger.

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