9 Easy Fixes For Makeup Mistakes That Make You Look Older

You might feel set in your ways with your tried-and-true makeup routine, but sticking with your old routine can work against you! Between acquiring new lines and wrinkles and losing elasticity and firmness, failing to adapt your makeup routine to suit your changing skin can make you look older than you’d like.

On the bright side, it’s easy to avoid making your skin look older when you know what you’re doing, which you will by the time you finish reading about the 9 common makeup mistakes that can make us look older!

With just a few simple changes, you can ensure your makeup routine works in favor of your aging skin to help you look energetic and beautiful!

9 Makeup Mistakes That Make You Look Older

1. Flat Or Droopy Eyelashes

Curling your lashes is a quick way to boost the youthfulness of your look. It opens your eyes and makes you look more energetic!

Use your eyelash curler as the base of your lashes (carefully!) for about 15 seconds on each side. If your lashes are really long, you might need to curl them again about halfway down the lash to get the look you want.

2. Using A Too-Pale Foundation

Our skin becomes more pallid as we age, so using a perfectly matched foundation can make you look washed out. Select a slightly warmer tone of your favorite foundation, or grab the next darker shade and blend it with your current shade on the back of your hand before applying. Either way, you’ll get a warm glow you’ll love!

3. Too Much Eyeshadow

A dense, cakey layer of eyeshadow can make your eyes look heavy and weighted. Instead of using more shadow, apply an eyeshadow primer to your lids first, then apply your shadow. With a primer, you’ll need considerably less eyeshadow to achieve your desired color, all without adding a heavy appearance to your eyes.

4. Amplifying Wrinkles With Concealer

Caking on concealer underneath your eyes might camouflage those dark circles, but it can also accentuate the fine lines under your eyes. To avoid drawing unwanted attention to wrinkles, apply concealer only on the inner half of your under-eye area.

5. Overdone Eyebrows

If you have fine brows, you may be tempted to use a heavy hand with your brow pencil. But severe and unblended brows can make you look older than you might want, so use your brow pencil lightly and then blend it with a brush afterward for softer, more natural-looking lines.

6. Lipstick Bleeding/Feathering

Those fine lines around your lips are like magnets for lip color, which can lead to that dreaded effect of bleeding or “feathering.” I’ve shared some great lipstick and lip color tips for older women, including tips on getting your lip color to stay where you want it.

7. Not Using Moisturizer

Dropping hormone levels can hinder our skin’s ability to keep itself moisturized. Dry skin and makeup rarely get along, so your daily skincare routine needs to include a good moisturizer! (For even more moisturizing power, apply a hydrating primer before starting on your makeup.)

8. Uneven Eyeliner

The skin on our eyelids becomes less firm over time and makes it hard to draw a clean line when applying eyeliner. To get around this, try using a liquid liner instead of a pencil (and be sure to avoid pulling or tugging while you apply it!)

9. Muddy Eye Color

Warm eyeshadow shades like browns, reds, and yellows can make you look tired. Instead, reach for jewel tones to make your eyes look more lively and awake!