Some tips on working with mature skin

Mature skin can be tricky to work with. This post can be helpful for those who would like to do makeup as a profession, or just be able to do their mother's or grandmother's makeup for any occasion.

Of course, depending on the type of skin the person has, and the effects of sun damage, etc, application techniques will vary. Lets say 50+. The type of skin we are working with has reddish age spots from sun damage, wrinkles and dark under eye circles.

1.) The best way to conceal the reddish age spots would be to neutralize them with a green concealer. This may sound crazy, but when you go over it with your foundation, it will not look green. MissChievous (youtube) has a wonderful video on color correction.


2.) When working with wrinkles, you must be careful not to tug on the skin, because you may contribute to even more wrinkles. So for eyeliner, don't pull down on the waterline. For eyeshadow, don't pull the eye across to get a smoother application. (THIS ALSO APPLIES TO YOUNGER FOLK WHO WANT TO PREVENT EARLY AGING.)

Also, avoid shimmery products on the skin. That means bronzers with glitter/shimmer, sparkly highlighters, (MAC's Mineralize Skinfinishes). Pretty much anything with glitter/shimmer/sheen/sparkles. It will just settle into the wrinkles and make them 10 times more pronounced.

3.) For dark under eye circles, a salmon/peach colored concealer should be used to neutralize it, followed by foundation.

*** A tip on reducing puffiness is to use tea bags on your eyes. Green tea has caffeine which is anti-inflammatory. You make your tea as you normally would, but before you add anything to it (if you do), remove the tea bag, and freeze it overnight. When you wake up, wrap the tea bags in napkins and place them over your eyes for a few minutes. (15-20 minutes usually does it) And your eyes should no longer be swollen! ***

4.) It is very easy to make more mature skin look ashy, so I prefer to use liquid foundations. Be careful when setting with translucent powders, because applying too heavily can also make the person look ashy. I've used MAC's mineralize skinfinish natural to set liquid foundation with no problems on mature skin.

5.) On an everyday basis, try to keep things natural. Fill in brows lightly, avoid dark colors and shimmer. While deeper lips are probably what they prefer, try going a little lighter. Corals usually wake up most skin tones. Light tints on the lips or sheer colors rather than opaque colors make a huge difference! The idea is to create a more youthful and awake look.

** If you so desire to do a smokey eye, and the person's lids are a little "droopy" (for lack of a better word), it probably isn't the best idea to use black to create the smokey eye. Try bronze and browns, even blues. Gold will also work, but use it carefully. A little shimmer is ok, once it is controlled.

6.) So avoid black eyeliner. On the waterline especially, because it really closes up the eye, making the person look tired. Brown eyeliners are great though (eg. Teddy by MAC). In some cases white eyeliner will look great on the waterline, but it's my preference to use white with light to medium skin tones. A light yellow toned eyeliner should work with all tones, though.

7.) Avoid using really bright colors like an electric blue (eg. Freshwater or Electric Eel by MAC) because it will draw the eyes downwards, and probably put emphasis on the wrinkles there.

***My little disclaimer***
I am not a professional, but these are things that I have discovered from my experiences with working with mature skin.

I hope this was helpful.
Tracey.