4 Makeup Errors To Avoid Over 40—And Helpful Alternative Tips
Mistake #1: Filling In Your Brows Pointing Down
Filling in your eyebrows can instantly bring dimension and to your face and highlight its symmetry, but not if you fill them in to point downwards, Taylor showcases in the video. As we age, our skin naturally droops, and this means that making your eyebrows point downwards can make them look saggier.
Instead, Create The 'Illusion Of A Lift'
DiPietro explains that "fuller brows" can help lift your face rather than enhance any droopiness. Her first tip for fuller brows is to comb them "up and trim the strays with a scissor." Next, she says to "figure out where your brows should start and end, and follow a straight line from the edge of your nose up to your brow."
That is where your brow should start and will be the thickest, she says. "Then follow a diagonal line from the outside of your nose to the middle of your eye and that is where your arch will be and the highest point," DiPietro shares. "Finally, your brow will end by following a diagonal line from the outside of your nose to the outer corner of your eye."
She suggests to use a powder, pencil, or gel to fill in your brows wherever they are sparse, and to "create more volume on the top portion of your brows just slightly to give the illusion of a lift."
Mistake #2: Drawing Your Eyeliner Downwards
Similarly, if you apply your eyeliner wing downwards or facing down, it may accentuate any droopiness or sagginess you have, as evidenced by Taylor. This could result in you looking older than you are, which is certainly not the desired effect.
However, as Taylor demonstrates, an eyeliner wing and line that face upwards can have the opposite effect, immediately lifting the eye and reducing the appearance of any fine lines or wrinkles.
Instead, Make The Tail Of Your Liner Face Upwards
DiPietro concurs with the idea of a lifted wing, and shares: "Another tip to create a younger look with eyeliner is create a subtle wing." She adds that it's important to "make sure when you make the wing, you start at the last lash and go up just a tiny bit."
She notes that it's best to stop right under where your eye creases "so that the wing doesn't disappear and exaggerate your crease."
Mistake #3: Contouring Too Low
According to Taylor, many mature beauties commit a third mistake by contouring or applying blush and bronzer too low on their face, resulting in a saggier and droopier appearance.
In the clip, she shows how a contour line that is lower than one's cheekbone can inadvertently enhance signs of aging.
Instead, Try Blending Your Blush & Contour Upwards
Dennis says that blush "should not be placed any lower than the end of the nose, so that it gives an uplifting effect." She shares that she is a fan of "underpainting," a technique that involves applying blush where your skin naturally has always reddened to mimic a true flush of radiant warmth.
"I'm also a big fan of underpainting," she notes, adding that "underpainting is where you add a natural flush in areas of the skin like you had like a child." In order to highlight your best assets with blush, Dennis and other artists often recommend adding it along your cheekbones and apples of your cheeks in an upward motion, aiming to draw the eyes up rather than down.
Mistake #4: Drawing Lip Liner Into The Corners Of Your Mouth
The final error Taylor shares is drawing on or applying lip liner excessively, and into the corners of one's mouth. Making your liner look too heavy can enhance wrinkles and fine lines around the mouth area, and also contribute to a saggier look, as she demonstrates.
Instead, Use A Creamy Liner Just Outside Your Natural Lip Line
To keep your lip color lasting all day, Dennis recommends using a lip liner as your first step, and to choose a creamy one to avoid drying your skin out. "Line your lips in either a color a few shades darker than your natural lip color, or a few shades darker than the lip color you are using," she advises.
Dennis says to always "line along the outside edge of your natural lip line." She stresses using "slightly creamy liners versus drier ones," so that when you rub your lips together, you can "easily blend your lipliner with your gloss, or balm, yet they won't bleed." The more you know!