I recently wrote a post – 9 Simple Makeup Tricks From Experts to Make Your Eyes Pop and I had a request from a reader that is not in her 30s anymore, but wanted some advice on how to do her eye makeup when you’re a bit older. Here are some tips on how to do your makeup to look your best, appear more youthful but, not overdone.
Eyeliner
Eye pencils are softer than liquid liners, which can be harsh on aging eyes. To soften the line even more, smudge it with your fingers or use an angled makeup brush dipped in dark shadow to smudge the line to make it softer. Avoid lining your lower lash line. It closes your eye, makes them look smaller and older.
When applying eyeliner, make sure you apply in both directions. Sometimes if you only apply the liner in one direction, it can make it look like a dotted line. If you use a soft pencil, you can go back a smudge it a little bit for a softer look. You may want to also consider pulling your eyelid towards your hair to get a straight line. Just be gentle on your eye lid when stretching.
Brows
Just by shaping your eyebrow can create an instant lift. Brush your brows upwards and with the help of a brow pencil and colorless gel you can create a great arch. Never draw on your eye brows. If you are making them fuller, pencil in the color of your current brow color, or 1 to 2 shades lighter. Never go darker, it’s very aging.
Lashes
As lashes age, they tend to lose some elasticity and all mascara is doing is weighing them down. To create open and younger looking eyes, make sure you are always using an eyelash curler. This will allow the lashes to hold the mascara and open your eyes and create a more youthful look. Curl your eyelashes twice before you apply mascara and look for thickening mascara. Curl your eyelashes first as close to the lash line as possible, then curl again in the middle. This is another trick for eye lifting effect. Avoid putting mascara on the bottom lash; it will actually make your eyes look droopy.
Don’t be afraid of fake eyelashes. Instead of the full set, add a few lashes at a time to the area of your eye that needs some plumping up.
Eyelids
The right shadow and correct application can help your eyes appear younger. When applying your eyelids try for a lighter color of shades right below the brow and on the brown bone. Medium color shades applied on the eyelid will help make the eye appear larger and not as droopy. If you want an even larger look, apply that same medium color shadow to the outer side of the eyelid all the way up to the end of your eyebrow.
Switching from brown and bone colored eye shadows to greens and jewel tones will bring out the eye color giving the eyes an instant lift and a more youthful look.
Don’t be afraid of a little shimmer in your eye shadow. Today’s eye shadow is much more refined than it was 20 years ago and it can open your eyes. Just be careful to not go overboard.
Dark Circles
Once you’re over 40, eye puffiness can be a big problem, not to mention dark circles. For this you want to avoid light color concealer and eye creams with the brightening iridescence. It will increase the shadows in your indentation under the eye and will make your dark circles look darker and your face look old and tired.
When you’re looking for a concealer, choose one with a dense pigment that matches your skin tone, or you could even go a shade or two darker. Just make sure to blend well. The darker shades will make your eye puffiness not appear so intense and it will appear less dark under your eyes. Make sure you put on your concealer last, after your foundation and use your ring finger for minimal pressure.
Wrinkles
Lines can also be concealed by using a white eye pencil – draw a thin line right inside the furrow or wrinkle – especially that which appear from the nose to the corners of the mouth and those between the eyebrows. Apply your foundation over the top as usual.
Tricks If You Wear Glasses
- Brows are very important when wearing glasses. Keep them trimmed, shaped and not too thin. Make sure to fill in the gaps with feathered strokes in the direction of growth.
- Glasses can make your eyes disappear, so your make-up needs to brighten and define them. Sweep a light peachy-pink shimmery shadow over the whole eye area right up to the brow bone. It can be a great color to open your eyes.
Expert Advice
“Big, sparkling eyes convey youth and happiness. Line the inner rims of your eyes with a cream-colored eye pencil.” – Makeup artist Christian McCulloch. This trick will also offset any redness.
“After age 40, eyelids can start to droop at the outer corners,” says Sandy Linter, a Lancôme makeup artist who works with Christie Brinkley. Her fix: Line your top lash line with a creamy black pencil, then use a pointed Q-tip to smudge the line slightly up and out past the outer corner “to create a subtle lift.”
“I don’t like to use a lot of eye shadow on women as they get older,” says Carmindy. “It actually weighs down the lids.” Choose muted, natural shadow shades – like taupe, gray, pink, green and soft lilac – in a light highlight color and a medium lid shade. Apply the highlight shade right underneath the brow bone, and blend the lid shade from the lash line up to the crease. – Makeup artist Carmindy, who stars on TLCs What Not to Wear.
In case you missed it, here is a post you also might enjoy: 9 Makeup Tricks from Industry Experts to Make Your Eyes Pop!
Quote Sources: Yahoo Shine, Fabulously 40
I am forever working on ways to lighten my dark circles. Great tips.
Thanks so much Dr. Reginia! I’m glad you liked my tips. The darker concealer on dark circles really works!
Amazing tips. Thank you!
Why Victoria wasn’t thanking you for the obvious time and effort you put into this post which specifically answered her questions,…I’ll never understand. Great information here! Keep up the good work!
Thanks Anonymous, I really appreciate your comment. If she didn’t appreciate it, that’s okay because I wrote it for all my readers to get some tips from this post.
xoxo
Great tips! Thank you for the research!!
Thanks so much! I struggle with eye makeup. My top lid has started a bit of drooping, I’ve always felt my eyes were too small and it looks like from what I read from both posts that I have some corrections to make. Great tips!
As for the negative nancy (Victoria) some people just go looking for drama. I think it’s called trolling. Don’t let her get to you. I am sure she treats everyone this way and it’s really not even worth the effort to try to appease her. I applaud your honest effort to improve on your posts and taking criticism and learning from it, even if the poster just meant to be negative, you made something good from it.
God bless – Tiff
I say enough about Victoria!! This is exactly what she wants ATTENTION.. I love ur tips:).
Thanks so much Tiffany for your support and kind words. Sometimes there is no pleasing people no matter what you do, but I am glad that you and others can appreciate this info. Thanks again so much for commenting!
-xoxo
Amazing Tips!!! Thank you so much and I will use every one.
Thank you for the post. I too am over thirty (52) and appreciate anything that will make my eyes look younger! I will continue to follow your post as I love the tips.
I also wear glasses and these tips are the first I have seen for us.
Hi Truly Anointed and Trish O”Connor,
Thanks so much for your kind words. I wear glasses more than not lately because my eyes were getting damaged with my contacts. So I’m glad you appreciated the glasses makeup tip as I use those tips too!
Thanks for reading and commenting!
xoxo
Erin
I’m in my 20s but unfortunately I have got the laugh lines around my mouth like parenthesis and I’m always self conscious when I wear foundation or powder because I get creases in that area. I tried so many different types of foundations, primers, concealers and what not in an effort to minimize the appearance of creases. But nothing seemed to work. I came upon this post by chance and took your advice of using a pencil (I used NARS larger than life long wear eyeliner which use in my inner lower eye for a bright eyed look) around my mouth and then blended it with a brush and layered it with my foundation. It was like magic! I was out all night and kept checking in the mirror for the crease around my mouth and there was nothing!!! Super smooth!!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
Thank you for your great tips! I am a bit late to the game as I just found a link to you on Pinterest. Can you recommend a good pencil that gives that highlight look on the inside of the eye? It looks like a brighter skin tone. Is it white with concealer on top? Thanks for any recommendations you can provide.
From years of makeup, I did find that it led to more wrinkles. BUT, if you wear a serum under the makeup, it totally helps and it even makes the makeup set and look better. I have been very satisfied with the Lady Soma Renewal Serum to control the wrinkles under my makeup.
My skin really does glow when I use the Lady Soma Serum, so I never let myself run out! The serum made the crepey wrinkles at my lash line disappear. Now I can put on eyeliner and it never skips – that improvement came shortly after I started using it and it remains to this day, even though I’m in my late 30s. The serum perks up my skin and works well under makeup.
I dugg some of you post as I thought they were extremely helpful very helpful.
I love dermalmd anti aging serum. My eyes are brighter and my fine wrinkles are not nearly as noticeable as they were. My eyes aren’t puffy either after using this serum regularly for last few weeks. It goes on soft, absorbs quickly and more importantly to me is that it doesn’t run into my eyes. I have had trouble with that with lots of other products. But not with dermalmd so I am very happy about that. ?