Has anyone else found makeup 'ages' them as they get older?

[HepburnKNotA]

The obvious thing first: I have, and perhaps could even more, tweak my 'old' makeup. I have tried switching my old midnight-blue eyeliner and black mascara for browns. I've tried a different shade and format of blusher.

But these days when I put on makeup I feel I look older with it on, and not in a good way!

I'm 42 btw.

I have (and I'm not ashamed to say it, given the amount I've bloody spent on it in products and effort) really good skin for my age, very very few lines (apart from Number 11s) and since I gave up sugar (and started using Emma Hardie and Sunday Riley stuff) a couple of years ago my skin is smoother than it's ever been. I've never really needed any foundation, barely used tinted moisturiser and these days I don't wear any base at all, ever.

But I do like a bit of eye makeup (liner and mascara) on nights out etc and now I don't know what to try as whenever I put it on, I feel like I suddenly look haggard and over my real age instead of under it! And blusher used to 'freshen' me up, but now I don't know, it has the same ageing effect.

Still happy with my trusty nude lipsticks and glosses, tbf.

Should I just give up and at least enjoy the fact I have good skin (until inevitably that all falls off a cliff in a few years...)? Or should I keep trying different shades? Techniques? I spend all my 'beauty' money on bloody (admittedly amazing) Space NK products so don't have much left for experimenting with makeup if it's not going to work!

Does anyone else feel the same way and if so - did you give up on makeup and just go bare-faced? I feel it's not enough 'effort' for a night out! Though I've never been a big makeup person at all, really.

I mean I do have blemishes!

Thank you Xing, I've ordered the soft bronze Sensai.

Lisa Eldridge is so good at this kind of make up. She all about accentuating what you have rather than one big cover up. One of her tips that I started doing a couple of years ago is to apply foundation lightly to the centre of your face and blend it outwards rather than putting it everywhere. Then build up coverage if you really need to (or want to) only in those places. Also to use concealer very lightly for blemishes etc rather than foundation. She also uses a very small brush to lightly tap on powder where needed/wanted, rather than the big fat brush all over technique. Basically less is more, so what everyone here is saying.

I like using a water spray (those ones in spray cans from Avene, Vichy or La Roche Posay) over my finished make up and then very lightly tap with a beauty blender. Seems to make it look all blended together and it lasts longer.

For those wanting eyeliner on lower lids but finding it too harsh, have you tried using a powder instead? One of those teeny tiny skinny brushes dipped in a dark brown shade and applied to the outer part of the lid, not right along. Then wipe it lightly with your ring finger. Gives enough colour to define but no heaviness or obvious line.

Has anyone got a lipgloss they love and could recommend? So glad they're coming back after the popularity of heavy matte liquid lipsticks.

@DreamTheMoors ooh I think i know which one you mean with the swirly pattern, is it Max Factor that’s the equivalent? It’s like foundation and white/cream swirls? I’ll check amazon now.

@EnidButton I’ve just decluttered pretty much all of my lip product collection (left with two nude, a pink, a red and a plum lipstick and a lip liner) as I’m leaning more towards a glossy look again. I went to Boots today and bought one of the Dior Lip Maximiser glosses which seems really lovely. YSL also do some beautiful glosses which I think I’ll have a look at and Lancôme do really nice shaker lip products. According to one of the youtubers I watch the Beauty Pie lip gloss is brilliant.

Yup. I don't bother with foundation (creases) or lipstick (wizened) now, just focus on very good quality skincare, moisturiser and gloss on lips, bit of a smoky eye and decent hair.

@DefinatelyAWeeGobshite Yes! That’s the one! I didn’t know there was an equivalent like Max Factor. I recommend the CoverGirl/Olay highly. It comes in a bottle and also in a pot. I prefer the bottle but they’re both great.

DreamTheMoors is it a CC cream? The Max Factor is foundation. Is it this one?

xing I'm now on Harrod's website looking at Sensai bronzing gel. All the colours look dark but I'm assuming soft bronze is the lightest shade for a white woman?

That's the one Citadel. You can sometimes get it a bit cheaper on Allbeauty.com (IIRC) and their p&p is much cheaper than Harrods!

There's some on eBay for £17.50

Have to say I like Nars Laguna liquid bronzer more than the Kanebo:Sensai one.

Thank you Def I love Dior lipglow lipstick so I'll look at their glosses first and then check out the others. Might have to get a couple

Enid if you buy two products they’re giving away a travel bag which is quite nice, it’s small and squishy. I’ve got my new lipglosses, a mirror and a hand cream stored in mine.

Def Ooh that is nice! I'm supposed to be on a beauty purchase ban (self imposed). But, my Diorshow mascara is getting low so...

Not RTFT (yet!) but would appreciate some advice. I actually started a thread about this but no one really knew the answer!

If you wear reading glasses, do they give a true reflection of what your sink looks like. The reason I ask is that I'm in my 50s and I've had foundation applied at the Bobbi Brown and Clinique counters. Both times it's looked really good when I've looked at it through the magnifying mirrors in store but when I've looked with my glasses on (in an ordinary mirror) it looked caked and my pores looked huge.

So does a magnifying mirror give a more accurate reflection than reading glasses? If that makes sense!

Once your eyesight starts to go aberrational/wonky, it is time to check every product individually, and in full daylight, before buying. I have made more cosmetic errors between 45 and 60 than at any age. I have a drawer full of cosmetics I don't like or use.

crystal if I ever have my makeup done in store, like Debenhams, I always go outside in daylight to check it. The lighting in stores is totally off I find, it’s so bright it almost washes out the colours and you don’t see a true reflection. I’ve learned the hard way by buying foundations I’ve tested in store but not seen in daylight so I’ll either ask for a sample or ask to have it tested on my skin and then check it outside before buying it.

I use a little x20 magnifying mirror to put my eye make up on.

I’m not hairy by the way I’ve tested the mirror on a dog!

Rested

Have you tried getting your lashes and brows tinted? I’ve found this is way better looking than mascara as I get older!

I recently switched from powder shadows to cream, Charlotte Tilbury Eyes to Mesmerise. It’s revolutionised my eyes! No more crepey skin, it’s buildable and has made me look much younger.

Once your eyesight starts to go aberrational/wonky, it is time to check every product individually, and in full daylight, before buying

But if I look in a magnifying mirror in daylight, the foundation looks good. If I look in a regular mirror (in daylight) with my reading glasses on, it looks shit. So I'm not sure which is the more accurate reflection, iyswim. I would ask my optician but he's just retired.

Life is so much better without glasses! And this gloomy weather is also very flattering! I look reasonably ok when I check myself at a distance in the mirror before I go out...

Recently in a hotel there was a magnifying mirror extreme in the bathroom. I could have wept (and nearly did) at the sight of all the crater-like wrinkles. A real confidence zapper that mirror was.

I only use the magnifying mirror for eye make up. I use a normal mirror for the rest of my face or a very slight magnification of 3x if I’m painting in a blemish with concealer etc

I love this thread but it’s made me look very hard at my black eyeliner, which I have worn forever. I’m now seriously worried it looks awful and DH has been too polite to say anything, will ask him later! I’m really worried feel a bit lost without it, it feels a bit like a signature for me but I might have a go at the powder instead as suggested.
However, thank you to who suggested Nars radiance. I tried it out and love it, also bought a gorgeous unusual colour lipstick whilst I was there!