Where does one even start with makeup??

[dubyalass]

Help me, oh stylish ones. I haven’t worn makeup beyond mascara (and maybe a swipe of blusher and lipgloss if I was really making an effort) for at least 10 years, and in that time I’ve gone very grey and, let’s face it, wrinkly too (I’m mid 40s and paying for all the sunbathing and occasional smoking I did in my youth).

The colours I wore in my 20s just don’t suit me any more. I see lots of stylish grey-haired women rocking a red lip, but I just tried it with a cheap supermarket lipstick to see if it would work and it looked awful. Do I need to go to a makeup counter and ask them? I don’t want foundation or anything like that, just something that will make me look less…. Dead?

@womaninatightspot

You don't need to go panstick. Try the bb cream but I prefer bare minerals. It's a powder foundation but you just buff on a tiny amount and you wouldn't know you were wearing it. Am 42 and recently started wearing make up again.

My sister is 65 and she wore this the other day and her skin looked absolutely amazing. It made me realise I need to get mine out from wherever it is and have a go.

@Wavypurple

I’m going to go against the grain here and recommend staying away from counters. In my experience I’ve genuinely never seen anyone come away from them knowing anything really, looking nothing like themselves but £100 poorer.

YouTube is such a great resource as other posters have said.

I’m not an expert but concealer, powder blush (you say you’ve got some wrinkles so stay away from liquids as much as possible) and a natural looking pink toned lipstick would look great.

I would disagree with this to be honest! In my experience, and according to Trinny, powders should be avoided at our age. Liquids and luminosity is what we need for a youthful glow. Hence bb cream and no powder or only a tiny tiny dab of translucent powder on the t-zone if oily. Liquid blush like Daniel Sandford or chubby stick types look natural and glowy. Powder sits in the cracks.

I'm a convert to less is more now that I am older and steer clear of eye colour. I focus on a good base, including moisturiser and eye products to help my foundation. It's pretty much trial and error so testers are always good if they're available.

I love a red lip but have also found my tones have changed over the years and my go to products no longer suit me. There are so many tones and undertones though, that make all the difference.

[quote LadyEloise1]@picklemewalnuts
What neutral lip crayon do you use on your eyes and cheeks ? [/quote]
At the moment, this as it was free in a kit and is a rubbish lipstick for me.

Any caramel lipstick (often free in kits!) does the job. As a lipstick it offers nothing, just leaves me featureless.

Oops.

@Wavypurple

I’m going to go against the grain here and recommend staying away from counters. In my experience I’ve genuinely never seen anyone come away from them knowing anything really, looking nothing like themselves but £100 poorer.

YouTube is such a great resource as other posters have said.

I’m not an expert but concealer, powder blush (you say you’ve got some wrinkles so stay away from liquids as much as possible) and a natural looking pink toned lipstick would look great.

I completely disagree with this too. Op, if you're new to make up then stick with a BB cream to even out your complexion, maybe get a nice creamy concealer for any discolouration (Benefit Bo-ING brightening but not for spots as its light reflecting), as you're cool toned you need a blue based red lipstick (cherry, raspberry etc). Any thing yellow toned will make you look rubbish, you could try the No7 chubby sticks as above, I think a berry tone would look nice. Also give a cream blusher (powder can crack in wrinkles and highlight them)a try, again as you're cool toned I'd suggest a shade that's rosey, or a soft Berry. I wouldn't try a bronzer if I were you as they are very hard to get right if you're cool toned (many are orange or brown based) . A blusher will add the colour you need/want.

Thank you @picklemewalnuts

Amazing, thanks everyone! I'm firing up Trinny on YouTube this evening. Been wondering about getting my colours done too. I'm going to try out the things you've all mentioned and see what works. I've previously used cream blusher (No7) and it worked really well, gave me a glow.

Off to Boots this weekend!

I think the right brushes are important as you get older. After wearing almost no makeup during lockdown I found that my old brushes didn't do it anymore so did some research and got some Hourglass/Bobbi Brown ones.

I started to wear brighter lipstick about 10 years ago after only wearing nudes since the early 90s. It was fine at first then recently, esp in winter, they started to look really harsh. I got a Real Techniques lip blur brush and now always use it as it just softens any colour once you get rid of the strong outline.

I think it's discontinued but looks like there are still some online. They're in a set called Lip Colour & Blur. Or you could use a mini sponge, I expect, but haven't tried it myself. I usually put a bit of sheer lip colour over the top of any matte lipstick to make it look more youthful.

If you need a bronzer, the Fenty ones are amazing. Some decent, non sparkly shades for paler skins. Also, their foundation shade range is extensive and they have some good options for all skin types. I have a liquid, a powder and something called Eaze Drop which is like a BB cream but less oily and is invisible on your skin.

Recently I also got the Hourglass no11 smudge brush and use this to apply eyeshadow as liner instead of a pencil (or over it). I've tried cheaper ones but this is so much easier to use. Tends to look more natural and means I'm finally using up the darker shades in my palettes. I also got the Bobbi Brown eye sweep brush which is perfect as any colour seems to just er, sweep, on perfectly. I don't need all the complicated brushes for using multiple colours, just one that does the job for one colour at a time!

Oh and my mum has finally converted me to brown masacra. Hard to find but it does look much less harsh. I have the Benefit mascara primer which is brown and is more than enough for daytime.

@Picklemewalnuts - what shade is this lip crayon called as it looks nice? I'm a bit confused by your post, do you mean it suits you or it doesn't?

[quote citygirl1961]@Picklemewalnuts - what shade is this lip crayon called as it looks nice? I'm a bit confused by your post, do you mean it suits you or it doesn't?[/quote]
I think she uses it on her eyes and cheeks as it doesn't suit her as a lipstick.

I tried Bare Minerals some years ago but it didn't give enough coverage. Thinking Trinny's BB Cream might be the same and that I need coverage still.

I use Estee Lauder foundation, not double wear, but another pricey one launched a couple of years ago. If I try to put any kind of oil under it (e.g. L'occitaine Reset, my foundation goes blotchy.

I like bright lipstick but worry it's Picasso like and that it highlights my yellowing teeth.
Nightmare!

I'm a lot older than you but have found that my facial features seem to have 'faded' a bit with age! So I wear a bit of eyeliner, I've got a cool-toned Rimmel eyeliner (taupe) which is not too strong and I use brown mascara. Also strengthen my brows a bit as well with a blonde-coloured pencil. I wear a mask all day in work so I'm not wearing any lip colour just now, but do wear blusher as well.

I agree that foundation really makes a difference but I have freckles too so don't wear heavy ones. I either use just a dusting of powder or a powder foundation - but I have dry skin so need to use moisturiser and oil underneath, I have a compact foundation from Maybelline that is easy to use when I'm on an early shift and evens out my skintone enough to improve it!

Interesting about the brown mascara, @jazzchilli. I tend to use brown in the daytime and black at night but maybe I need to switch to brown all the time because I’ve found I can’t wear black clothes next to my face any more, washes me out.

Thinking I might try a lip stain in a brightish colour first. Quite looking forward to browsing the makeup aisles at the weekend!