It’s undeniable as we get older and actually even more beautiful everyday, we as women begin to agonise about what we “think” we see when we look in the mirror.
It is so important these days in a world full of social media and perfectly edited images thrust upon us, that we remain confident and completely in control of our perception of what defines beauty.
A month ago I had the pleasure of working on three lovely ladies from the same family, across three generations to help breakdown the differences we apply to our beauty and makeup routines, from the tender age of 13 through our 30’s and well into our 60’s. We wanted to prove once and for all that beauty simply put, has no age, and through the art of makeup we can work with what we naturally have to put our best face forward.
Melissa, her daughter Cailan, and Mel’s mother Connie paid me a visit shortly after the new year to discuss this further and have a bit of girly makeover afternoon.
From left to right: The lovely Connie, Cailan and Mel taking a quick #selfie after the afternoon with me.
We started with Connie Mel’s mother, and discussed what she was already using and her general preferences and went from there. Connie still works in a professional environment, so she really needs a look that is easy to apply and maintain across her long days at work.
As a mother and grandmother most people would suggest Connie is an absolute glamour with or without makeup, but we did discuss her love and the importance of her makeup application before she leaves the house, even making sure she had a little bit of makeup in coming to see me. She is a woman after my own heart because I am also guilty of this even to just go grocery shopping.
The key in making up a more mature skin, is that less is a more and quality product that has a higher level of pigment payoff, and subtle but beautiful soft reflection can help your client to look super fresh, whilst having a long-lasting finish and the cover-up they desire.
The main hero products of Connie’s look were skin prep in the form of Embryolisse Moisturiser and Napoleon Perdis Primer followed by cult favourite Cover FX Customer Cover Drops. The drops were used alter the pigment levels in a softer water based foundation (Koh Gen Do). This provided breathable and hydrating foundation whilst not sacrificing the coverage that the client prefers. Cover FX Custom Cover Drops is not just another foundation, it is a vital tool in all makeup bags to transform any of your liquid products, moisturiser and liquid highlights into working foundations with varying levels of coverage, consistencies and finishes. It adds value to your makeup bag and can help to give you many more options from the products you already own.
Back to Connie’s look, where Connie was more conservative with eye makeup we really concentrated on playing up the cheeks and applying a lovely lip colour that brings out the best in her eyes and skin colouring, so we worked with bronzes and peaches on the cheeks for effortless colour and focused on highlighting features rather then contouring heavily. As we age, we naturally become angular in our face so to add further contour is simply not as complimentary for us. For lips we moved into a pinky nude keeping within the same palette but certainly more depth to ensure the lips and skin remain looking tonally different to the rest of the makeup.
Take a look at the result below and products list to follow for Connie and contact me to ask any questions you might have relating to age appropriate techniques and application methods on the contact page.
Products list for Connie: Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentrate Moisturiser, Napoleon Perdis Auto Pilot Primer, Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation, Cover FX Custom Cover Drops, Bare Minerals Bare Skin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer, Napoleon Perdis Camera Finish, China Doll Tao Gel Eyeliner for filling brows and eyeliner application, Too faced “The Power of Makeup by Nikkie Tutorials lalette for eyeshadow and cheek colour (eyeshadows: “Ivy”, “Painkiller” and “Makeup and Chill”, cheek colour: “I will Always Love You”, “Justify My Love” and soft contour with “Chocolate Soilel”), Makeup Addiction Cosmetics highlight “Sunkissed”in the Holy Glow Palette, Mac Viva Glam IV and Essence lip “Satin Mauve” lip liner, Urban Decay Perversion mascara.
Connie’s Daughter and Cailan’s mum Melissa …… Um , yes I said mum, at 37 is a picture perfect example of a woman who has looked after her skin and tries her best to lead a healthy and balanced lifestyle, so we took advantage of the great canvas to push the envelope when it came to a sexy evening look for those of us in our mid 30’s.
In deciding to channel a more intense smokey evening look on Mel, the results really do show us how far you can take an evening Makeup for wearability into your mid 30’s, whilst still looking demure, sultry and sexy.
Skin is still very much the most important part of getting any makeup application right for this age group and we used the same moisturiser and primer for all the girls in this session.
Interesting to note with the healthy look of Mel’s skin even before makeup application, Melissa says she uses Nucerity and Ultracueticals frequently with great results. On that note, any makeup artist will tell you good skincare is not only essential but also integral to the finish of the makeup and boosts the look of your canvas from inside out.
When talking about foundation prep exclusively, options in primers are limitless and there is something out there for every type of skin condition and look you want to achieve. Over the past 12 years working as a freelance artist though, I have not been able to fault or find a primer that is anymore suited to a wide range of people and situations, as fabulous as the Napoleon Perdis Auto Pilot Primer.
Its taken years of experimentation, but the Auto Pilot Pre-Foundation Primer never lets me or my client’s down. I’ve tried a lot of primers in my time and even travelled to America to purchase all of the cult brands and so called hero products as recommended to no avail, and hands down Napoleon Perdis Auto Pilot Pre-foundation Primer has my heart, and keeps providing the goods when it comes to longevity and creating that smooth finish to the makeup that the clients of this age group in particular, always crave.
Most 30 something’s whether they have children or a manic career, have figured out a few things when it comes to their grooming. They know what products apparently work for them and what colors work for their skin and features. Some have it spot on and others are stuck exactly where they left off at 18 and could do with a few private lessons to get them up to speed and thats the key.
Mel is definitely somebody who has through experimentation and a general interest in beauty made sure she stays with the trends, try’s new innovative products, and has had lessons with makeup artists and industry professionals, to validate she is on the right track with her grooming. In my opinion the girl is doing it right, however we wanted to take her look to the next level!
Whilst working on Mel the main thing that surprised her was the intensity and brightness of the colours being chosen for her and although trusting me, she mentioned she would never think to go to that side of the Violet Voss palette I was using. I used strong bronzes and reds with gold’s to work with her green eyes.
Mel said she usually uses, browns because then she always knows what she is going to get and from a Makeup Artists perspective is a good way to go. Browns look great on everyone but how do you customize the type of brown you pick even further to ensure it makes your eyes sparkly and your skin pop?
Mel has green eyes, so basic colour theory suggested to work with either purples or reds. Reds if not on the lip, are a risk if applied on the eyes, however red based browns have all the warmth of a red and the wearability of a neutral. Simply put, the trick is to pick your brown eye shadow tones with complimetray undertones in mind.
Above and beyond the use of browns in the makeup and eye shadow applied, we kicked it up a notch and went with reflective copper and red bronzes as spoken about before. She loved the result and proclaimed “The white of my eyes look so sparkly and my eyes are so green! Gaby you do it every time…. how?!!”
Mel’s skin was also amped up with Cover FX Custom Cover Drops not only into the Face Atelier Ultra Foundation used, but the Cover Fx Custom Cover Highlighter Drops to give luminous night time skin across the height of the cheekbones etc. The Silicon based Face Atelier foundation goes on in just a small pump giving full coverage and soft finish to the skin. Being Silicone based, the durability is beyond impressive and have had nothing but amazing feedback from all I have used it on, including Mel.
Continuing on to the rest of the look, balance is the key with any evening makeup on all ages and with our smokier eye in mind, cheeks and lips were applied with enough intensity to balance the look, but not overpower or compete. We went for a soft luminous pink on cthe heeks and a dusty pink on the lips to keep the look in check.
Melissa’s products list: Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentrate Moisturiser, Napoleon Perdis Auto Pilot Primer, Mac Strobe Cream, Face Atelier Ultra Foundation mixed with Cover FX Custom Cover Drops, Cover FX Custom Dover Highlight Drops in “Sunlight” to highlight the bone structure, Bare Minerals Bare Skin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer, Napoleon Perdis Camera Finish, China doll Tao Gel eyeliner for filling brows and liner application, China Doll Eyeliner in Yin to darken and smoke up lashes and water line, Violet Voss Laura Lee Eye Shadow Palette eyeshadows: “Bitty” “1988”, “Rammer Jammer”, “Mama Bird”, “Basic” and “Fleeky”, Laura Mercier “Devotion” Face Illuminator to highlight, Urban Decay Bronzer/Blush in “50/50”, Mac Lipstick “Honey Love” and Essence lip liner in “In the Nude”, Wasp lashes in “Claudia”, Essence “Get Big Lashes” Mascara.
Finally it was time to spend a quick moment with Cailan.
Cailan is a high school student and part-time model, just starting out in the industry. Her skin is in great shape for her age and its obvious she has a healthy diet and grooming routine which helps her skin and hair look as fabulous as it does. Also easy to see Mel and Connie are a contributing influence to Cailan’s healthy outlook on all things makeup and beauty and also passing on some great genes.
The trick to her makeup as a professional makeup artist working with and on someone under the median age for makeup applications, is all about working with what the client has already. You have to keep everything easy on the eye and easy to achieve. Too many young girls these days with amazing skin and features mask their natural beauty with layers of unnecessary makeup for the wrong reasons. I Mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the expression of oneself through makeup and makeup as a creative outlet and to create a visually appealing aesthetic, but we miss the point, when trying to convert the wearability of some makeup looks from their place on social media to everyday, in real life and suitable to be seen in the light of day.
Taking away the ring light, skin smoothing, Photoshop and editing capabilities of our phones and half of the images young people are presented with would not exist, so its important to see this imagery as art imitating life rather then the reverse. I believe in this art but not at the price of young girls perceptions of what really defines beauty.
Encouraging young girls to celebrate their uniqueness and enhance their features naturally and carefully will set them on a good path for their grooming and beauty routines as they grow into young women. The way we groom ourselves as young adolescent girls does in a way shape our routines and style as we grow older.
The time spent with Cailan was short and sweet as she was an absolute gem to work on. She wasn’t idealistic about her look or what she was “meant to look like ” after getting her makeup done and was happy to work with my recommendations as we talked about her age, what she was influenced by and what other girls at her age were doing with their makeup.
We chatted about what we thought was appropriate for her age and the type of events or celebrations she might attend where a little bit of makeup would be acceptable.
I was in my element as a makeup artist as we played up her extremely well-kept skin with beautiful soft glowing highlight and illuminating the right parts of her bone structure, such as cheekbones, cupid’s bow and brow bone.
All other elements of her look were simply touched upon to sharpen and define the finish of the look as opposed to making it look like she had obvious makeup on. The brows were brushed and lightly filled with shadow, not only to keep them soft but quite easily achievable to someone new to a filling product and angle brush.
The eyes and were also very clean and well blended and we focused on softening the structure and shape that most eye makeups usually feature. We used colours to compliment the undertone in the skin and those complimentary to the blue in her eyes. We used peaches and pinks to keep it overall a very warm palette, and of course fresh and youthful!
A big hero for Cailan’s makeup is keeping the skin looking like skin by using the Cover FX Custom Cover Drops Highlighter in “Sunlight”, only this time mixed in with the foundation to give an all over glow. Instead of powdering the liquid foundation, powder highlight and contour were used in direct contact with the liquid foundation to enahnce these areas.
For Cailan at 13, I feel it was important for me to ensure the look created was wearable and achievable to herself and the peers in her age group. It is also extremely important for parents to be part of these changes as their daughters enter their teens and have their expectations met on what is suitable grooming is too.
Caitlin’s Products list:Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentrate Moisturiser, Napoleon Perdis Auto Pilot Primer, Face Atelier Ultra Foundation mixed with Cover FX Custom Cover Highlight drops in “Sunlight”, Bare minerals Bare Skin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer, Napoleon Perdis Camera Finish, China Doll Tao Gel eyeliner for filling brows and liner application, Violet Voss Laura Lee eye shadow palette eyeshadows: “Larlee” “Ragga Muffin”, Laura Mercier “Devotion” Face Illuminator to highlight, Urban Decay Bronzer/Blush in “50/50”,The Lip Lab Lip Plumper, Inglot AMC Lipgloss “542” and Essence lip liner in “In the Nude”, Essence “Get Big Lashes” mascara.
Across the board the products listed for each of the lovely ladies, are products that are completely transferable across all sorts of clients and age groups and that is the point of my article.
New innovative products and techniques flooding our Instagram and social media feeds aren’t for everyone and sometimes don’t do for us what they do for others, but ask a trained professional about any “on trend” product or technique and they will tell you what they really think. Great makeup artists will also tell you colour theory is everything when it comes to great makeup and the more you are educated in this area, the better a makeup shopper you become. Sit with a Makeup Artist and have a colour theory lesson, to define if your beauty bag is hit or miss and get them to help you save money and make better choice when buying your eyeshadow, blush and lipstick palettes. Leaning on the expertise of a makeup artist can add value and speed to your makeup bag and routine and correction of those old habits that die hard.
I absolutely love what I do and have a passion to share my makeup knowledge and experiences, and every time I do a makeup application or makeup lesson my “secrets” are openly shared with my clients and always sprinkled with some friendly application advice to go.
I was so was lucky that Cailan Mel and Connie, gave me my first opportunity to share this information usually reserved for private lessons, in a more public forum, and I am forever grateful for their time and commitment to my ideas and the work that went into my first blog.
Please head to my contact page for any questions you might have about products used and please do ask me about private lessons/consultations and personal shopping sessions to get you on track with your makeup regime and streamline your makeup bag and application techniques!!
I look forward to hearing from you…
Gaby M
xox
Up next…… “Spend vs Splurge? You will be surprised what is worth spending the big dollars on and what is worth the saving!”
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