As we talked about in Part 1 of this series, as the days and years go by, we notice quite a few more physical changes. In fact, we may often notice so many changes in our hair, eyes, and skin that we may actually wonder: “What isn’t changing?”
But we’re fortunate that there are some amazing beauty products today that can help us live our best beauty life. In Part 1 of this series we focused on how to solve the six beauty problems that confront us with our hair, eyebrows, and eyelids, as well as challenges with hooded eyes, eyeliner and thinning eyelashes.
Today we’ll shine a light on ways to solve six more beauty issues that many of us with mature skin also experience. And by the way, there are certainly procedures available through dermatologists and plastic surgeons that can also help solve these problems, but we’ll just be focusing on ways that makeup can make a difference.
The Solutions for Dry Skin
The first biggest beauty problem is dry, dull skin. Approximately 70 percent of us in the 50 to 60 age range experience dry skin and that figure increases to 85 to 90 percent after the age of 60. So it becomes more important than ever to moisturize from the inside out.
Drinking lots of water and loading up on moisture-rich foods is crucial. And the good news is that some really delicious foods are brimming with water content. Strawberries are approximately 91% water, cantaloupe is 89% water, oranges are 86% water. And that spinach that we add to salads is a whopping 91% water. It’s also important to be aware that soft drinks, coffee, energy drinks and alcohol can contribute to dehydration.
In our beauty routine it’s important to replace harsh, stripping soaps with gentle cleansers and use moisturizers with humectants such as glycerine, hyaluronic acid and propylene glycol that draw water into the top layer of the skin. And we also want those products to include emollients that fill in cracks in the epidermis and seal in moisture such as shea butter and cocoa butter.
And though those of us with oily skin may tend to avoid moisturizers, this can actually backfire. That’s because if those of us with oily skin don’t use a moisturizer, the skin will try to overcompensate for missing moisture by producing even more oil. A good rule of thumb for those of us with oily skin is to look for a moisturizer that doesn’t clog pores – and is oil free.
Two of my favorite moisturizers for my very dry skin are from two clean beauty brands. I love the Versed Skin Soak Moisture Cream and the Merit Great Skin Priming Moisturizer.
How to Create Beautiful Glowing Skin
We’ve talked about dry skin, but to absolutely look our best we have to banish dull skin and create beautiful glowing skin. Nothing says beautiful more resoundingly on a mature face than radiant, glowing skin.
Some of my current favorite products that can create a beautiful glow on our skin are Kjaer Weis’ Beautiful Skin Primer, Merit’s Great Skin Glow Serum, the stick highlighters from Versed and Merit, Saie Beauty’s Glowy Gel, Rare Beauty’s Positive Light Liquid Luminizer, Wet and Wild’s Halo Glow Liquid Highlighter and RMS Beauty’s Cream Luminizer.
Be sure to check out Elise’s YouTube channel which specifically focuses on makeup tips, techniques, and product reviews for those of us 50+. Don’t forget to subscribe!
How to Deal with Increasing Facial Hair
The second biggest beauty problem is facial hair because we have more of it as we get older due to a decrease in estrogen. Then testosterone – since it’s unopposed by estrogen – causes us to grow more facial hair and less hair on our heads.
Removing facial hair allows skincare products to penetrate the skin more effectively which maximizes their benefits. Without facial hair, makeup glides on more evenly which results in a more polished finish. And it is a myth that the hair grows back darker and thicker. While it might appear thicker and darker due to the blunt tip of the shaved hair, the actual hair follicle and its growth characteristics remain unchanged.
As we get older we also need to choose a method of facial hair removal that is safe. So a product that I always recommend and use several times a week is one that is safe and easy and very quickly removes facial hair. It’s the Flawless by Finishing Touch Facial Hair Remover.
Solutions for Thinning Lips
The third biggest beauty problem is our lips. Who knew that they’d get thinner?! And something most of us never think about is how important our teeth health is for our lips. If we don’t take proper care of our teeth, they can wear down or the supporting bone can be lost. These changes result in less lip support so the lips appear thinner and smaller.
If we don’t want to go the route of invasive procedures such as fillers, we’re fortunate that lip liners can be our best friend. What we can do using lip liner may seem minor but it can really make a big difference. Instead of lining our lips with lip liner along the lip line, we can line our lips on the outer edge of our lip line. Just this small adjustment – tiny as it may seem – can really be impactful. I’ll show you what a big difference this makes in the video.
The second product that can make our lips look larger is lip gloss and here’s why. First, when light hits the glossy surface of our lips when we’re wearing lip gloss, it reflects and refracts which creates the illusion of volume. Second, lip glosses are often formulated with hydrating ingredients such as oils and waxes. When applied to the lips, these ingredients can plump up the skin and make it look more supple.
Third, some glosses contain pigments that make our lips appear brighter and more defined. This can draw attention to our lips and make them appear larger. And fourth, the texture of lip gloss can also play a role in making our lips look fuller. Since glosses are usually thicker than lip balms or lipsticks, they can create a 3D effect on the lips. Three of my favorite lip glosses are from Cellmetics Beauty, Lawless Beauty and Catrice.
The Solution for Jowls
My favorite beauty solution for jowls is the contour stick from Westman Atelier or the liquid contour from Elf. But you can certainly also use a concealer that’s several shades darker than your skin tone. And if you have oily skin, a cool toned powder may be the way you want to go. This technique is all about creating a shadow, so we want to place the contour color beneath the jaw line and blend it downward.
Facial Contrast – What Can We Do?
Several years ago there was a very large research study with the goal of discovering what makes us most attractive to other people. The conclusion the researchers reached was this: what makes us most attractive to others is the amount of facial contrast we have. And what happens as we get older? We lose that facial contrast because our skin gets paler, our brows get lighter, our lips get paler, and our eyelashes get thinner and lighter as well. So in addition to filling in our brows and using mascara that we addressed in Part 1 of this series, we also need to add some blush and some lipstick in a color that works best with the undertone of our skin so we increase the amount of facial contrast we have.
Facial Discoloration
Our final beauty problem, number 6, was underscored by another research study that was done in Germany. This study determined that what makes the biggest difference in helping us look our best is evening out our skin tone.
That’s because as we get older, we naturally develop various types of discoloration on our face. To even out our skin tone we can use a tinted moisturizer, concealer, a skin tint or foundation – whatever type of product we feel most comfortable applying.
Let’s Have a Conversation:
Which of these beauty problems are most important for you to solve? Which products do you use to solve them?
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