A few weeks ago I sat in front of my computer and using the screen as a mirror I filmed myself applying my eye makeup. I posted the resulting video onto Facebook and within 5 days it had had 110,000 views!
I was absolutely gobsmacked because I hadn't realised how keen older women were for help and advice with their eye makeup.Â
The reason is not that difficult to understand because it IS particularly challenging to apply eye makeup for older women. Why? Read on. I'll explain why it's so different applying eye makeup to mature skin, and then give you some guidelines to help...
The LFF Guide to Eye Makeup for Older Women
Dry and 'Crepey' Looking Eyelids
The skin on our eyelids becomes thinner and may also become loose and stretchy as we age. What I do is...
- Apply the serum and moisturiser I use on my face to the eyelids as well to ensure that this area is properly moisturised
- Also remove makeup with our 'A Clean Sweep' Eye Makeup Remover, which is specifically formulated to be gentle on delicate eyelid skin
Eyebrows and Eyelashes
My brows are really quite alarming these days! The individual hairs are variously white or overlong and hooked in shape or they are very short and stick straight out instead of lying flat! So I...
- Use a magnifying mirror to pluck out all the offending hairs
- Then use our ingenious Bring Back Brow Shape to recreate the illusion of beautifully balanced and groomed brows
- I also prefer our Lithe Lash Mascara which leaves eyelashes pliable and silky rather than stiff and over-volumisedÂ
Hooded Eyes
We have a very popular video on this subject. Do please watch this if you have hooded eyes!
- Apply Instant Bright Highlight, our highlighter, to the brow bone
- Apply No Shimmer Eye Shade in Cream, or Sheer Brilliance Lid Colour in Silver Mist or Soft Moss to the eyelid
- Then apply either Taupe, Cocoa, Aubergine or Forest Eye Shade in an arc of colour (following the shape of the brow) where the socket line should be
Messy Eye Makeup
Makeup just doesn't stay put on an older face. The reason is that the skin is drier than it once was, so products get absorbed into the skin...
- The solution to this is to apply our Smooth Out Eye Prime
- This flesh-coloured liquid primer is best applied with a brush (Concealer Brush 4Â works well for me)Â
- This will then keep all other eye products fresh looking for hours at a time
Eyeliners
However attached you may be to your black eye liner I would say it might be time to re-appraise whether this still suits you!
- To create the illusion of thicker eyelashes, I now find a darker shadow pushed into the roots of my lashes with a small wedge brush looks far softer
- You can smudge the line slightly so that it doesn't matter if you cannot create an absolutely perfect line
And how long does all this take? If I am totally honest I would say it takes me about 10 minutes to apply my makeup really professionally, and around 15 minutes if I am doing a makeover on another person.
But I also say that is the best 10 minutes you will spend on your appearance!
Why? Because all day people will tend to be looking at your eyes when they are talking to you. Older faces lack something called 'luminance of contrast', so by adding definition to the eye area (and restoring that lost contrast) with some carefully applied and beautiful colour, you also bring the whole face to life!Â
Scroll below to shop our eye makeup products..
Tricia x