Here at Beauticate, we firmly believe all aspects of beauty are for everyone to enjoy, and need never be limited by something as irrelevant as age. If you want to wear a glitter shadow and a neon lip to your 90th birthday party, please do (and please invite us). However, often as we get older, not only do our wants and needs change as they pertain to both skincare and makeup, but the skin itself and the very structure of the face changes. In short, what worked for you at 30 may need an overhaul at 70. So we spoke with renowned celebrity makeup artist Rose-Marie Swift, 65, who shared with us the techniques and products she uses herself and recommends to clients her age and beyond. Think easy switches you can make to ensure a healthy glow (wonderfully flattering at every stage of life), and to show the world your favourite version of yourself, whatever age that may be.
“RULE 1 – DON’T BE AFRAID OF OIL
More dermatologists than ever are recommending oils for mature skin, because as we age our skin makes much less oil naturally. It is very important to choose the right oils for skin – for not all oils are created equal. Jojoba oil is closest to sebum (your skin’s natural oil), buriti oil has very high levels of vitamin A and beta-carotene, and coconut oil is both anti-fungal and anti-bacterial, and can be used to remove all traces of makeup while moisturising the skin, brows, and lashes. I always begin and often end my day with my RMS Beauty Oil, which contains many of these ingredients; it nourishes the skin and the adaptogenic herbs it contains help balance issues including rosacea, eczema and psoriasis. This product also can be used as a primer, worn underneath makeup to create beautiful, glowing skin.
RULE 2 – WEAR LESS FOUNDATION
Remember, makeup cannot erase wrinkles. The sheerer the makeup is, the better, as that will result in skin that appears more hydrated and youthful. Our goal with makeup and skincare is to put back the moisture and oils our skin loses with age, not to take them away. Products containing alcohols and clay are drying agents, so you definitely want to avoid them. Opt for oil-based foundations and concealers. If you wear too much foundation it can sit in fine lines and wrinkles, and this ages your appearance more than if you were wearing nothing at all. For a sheer foundation, our RMS Beauty “Un” Cover-up is lovely when applied following the Beauty Oil. Start by dampening the skin with clean water, then add a few drops of my oil and let it absorb, before applying makeup.
RULE 3 – SAY NO TO POWDER…
The magic recipe for beautiful skin on mature women is to use creams, not powders. Continued use of powder can overly age us in two ways – in the long term it can cause actual, premature ageing due to its dehydrating ingredients, and in the short term it creates the visual appearance of ageing by exaggerating areas of the skin that aren’t as smooth as they once were. If one has excess oil, which is anti-ageing in itself, try not to fight it too much – I would suggest a very light dusting of powder only in the oily areas (usually the T-zone) to bring down the shine. I created the RMS Beauty “Un” Powder to be a light, oil-absorbing powder that does not dehydrate the skin. I recommend that you use the puff that comes with the powder, as that helps with minimal application and gives a superior end result over a brush, which tends to collect excess powder that ends up sitting in your lines. The only place I powder myself is a slight touch under my eyes.
RULE 4 – …BUT DO USE POWDER FOR YOUR BROWS
One exception to the rule regarding powders is to use powder eyebrow products, which, on older women, give a more natural, refined look. Non-powder products like pencils and gels will collect in the brow area’s pores, which, like all pores, tend to look larger as we age. These products are often too heavy, too thick, and usually too dark, so end up looking very fake. (Yes, we will be coming out with a brow powder, but not for a while yet!). Another tip is to never square off your brows in the front, closest to your nose. It visually knits the brows and eyes together, resulting in one looking stern and hard, instead of natural and open. I use the Swift Shadow in Tobacco Road #97 for my brows.
RULE 5 – CREAM BLUSH IS YOUR FRIEND (AND LEARN HOW TO APPLY IT)
A cream blush will make the skin of your cheeks look moist, rather than dry as it can under a powdered blush. When applying blush, never take the colour too low on the face. I use the base of the nostrils as a guide – never apply colour below that line as it tends to pull the face down, which is not flattering at any age! Applying it higher lifts the face upwards. I also like to apply the blush high enough on the cheeks that it meets the bottom of the eye ‘bags’ (discolouration of the eye area), which lessens the look of them. I think that blush applied in a high stripe like a contour is very ‘80s, so it is ageing both in being a dated look and in giving a gaunt appearance to faces that have already lost volume naturally. For myself, I prefer a very subtle, almost brown tone over reds and pinks, but you should choose what works for your skin tone.
RULE 6 – LET’S GET PHYSICAL… WITH YOUR FACE
We exercise our bodies and yet many people forget their face. Our face atrophies with age if we don’t stimulate it. When you apply your makeup, use a brush that is somewhat firm and circulate it over the skin, to stimulate the lymphatic flow and bring oxygen towards the surface. Our Skin2Skin brushes were designed perfectly for both stimulation and application, resulting in a beautiful tone to the skin. I apply my “Un” Cover-up with the Skin2Skin Foundation brush for a perfectly blended foundation just where I need it.
RULE 7 – MATCH YOUR LIPLINER TO YOUR LIPS, NOT YOUR LIPSTICK
Most women will usually line, or even alter the shape of their lips, using a pencil which is the same colour as their lipstick. This often looks fake and harsh. As the lipstick fades, it leaves behind a bright coloured line of pencil around the mouth – not the best look and very ageing for naturally thinning lips. Instead, you can enhance the lips by using a pencil that matches your natural lip colour, and will help prevent the lipstick colour bleeding into the feathered lines around the lips. From there you can apply the desired lipstick colour over it, and it will look much more natural as it fades, without leaving behind the stencilled lip outline.
The exception to the rule of natural-coloured lip liners is when wearing red lipstick. Then, the liner should also be red. For example, on myself, I use the RMS Dressed Up Red lip liner under the RMS Red from our ‘Wild With Desire” lipstick selection for that pop of colour. A pop of colour always perks up any face, so don’t hesitate to go for it!
RULE 8 – SOFTLY DEFINE THE EYES
Dark eye makeup can be very harsh and exaggerate the appearance of ageing eyes. This is especially true with powders, which is why yet again, creams are my product of choice. Our RMS Beauty Cream Eye Polishes are light-reflecting and subtle. It is true, though, that creams don’t last quite as long as their powder cousins, so if you do prefer a powder, try to use it in conjunction with a cream and choose one which is pressed, not baked. Baking is a common technique which involves heating the powder shadow which can result in a dry product, and sometimes creates glitter particles that end up dropping down from your eye area and landing all over your face. Our Swift Shadows are pressed, without using heat, and contain oils such a buriti and jojoba, which nourish the eyelid rather than dry it out.
RULE 9 – GET GOOD (GLITTER-FREE) GLOW
Living Luminizer is our cult hero product, with good reason. This cream highlighter instantly provides the ultimate, ethereal, lit-from-within dewy glow that is never over the top – truly, anyone can wear it. There’s no obvious sparkle or glitter here. Also, many traditional highlighters leave a white residue which is particularly obvious in fine lines and wrinkles, or they are a frosted powder type which doesn’t work well on drier skin. I wear Living Luminizer every day, and when it comes to night time either add more of it or switch to Magic Luminizer. I like the added hit of luminosity to the cheekbones and on the centre of the eye lid. Then all you need to dress up your look for evening is to darken your brow a little and add a red lip.
RULE 10 – KNOW YOUR LIGHT
My best overall beauty tip, for people of any age, is to get to know where your light is and how to use it. Never lower your face down to avoid light in a room – instead, lift the face and welcome it. Every model knows this trick. Light on the face is what makes you beautiful, not shadows. Also, remember to lift the face when taking a picture or looking at yourself in a mirror in a cosmetic store. You can see this phenomenon yourself – just go and take a hand-held mirror and look down into it, out of the light. Then go into the light with the mirror held high, lift your face into the light, and you will see. Both for the light, and even more importantly for yourself, don’t forget to always walk into a room with your head held high!”
ROSE-MARIE WITH HER BELOVED LATE PUP (AND RMS MASCOT), FRANKIE. IMAGE: @RMSBEAUTY
Interview and story by Zoe Briggs. Images from @rmsbeauty.
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Great content! Super high-quality! Keep it up! 🙂