I’m a beauty editor who’s given hundreds of older women makeovers and here is EXACTLY what you must do to take a decade off

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Reviewing five-star spas, trying the latest luxury products, meeting everyone from SJP (divine) to Naomi Campbell (too late)—there have been moments in my three-decade career as a beauty editor that have made me so sad. But the most rewarding days are the days I get to do makeup on real women.

Often these women lose confidence in themselves and their appearance and have difficulty knowing what makeup to buy and how to apply it.

I collaborated with two A-list makeup artists for our Ageless Beauty makeup series in YOU magazine, and here you’ll find the tricks and tips we believe deliver the most transformative results. They are guaranteed to work for you too.

Don’t put the blush too low on your face. Apply blush to your cheekbones, not the hollows of your cheeks, says A-list makeup artist Ruby Hammer, who is in her 60s (she looks decades younger). ‘Blush can drag your face down when placed below the cheekbones.’

Try stickers better than eye surgery. Tess Daly’s favorite make-up artist Aimee Adams uses it to give clients with droopy eyelids a ‘magical lifting effect’ Contours Lids Instant Eyelid Corrector Strips by Design, around £32 kontursrx.com. These clear patches stick just under the crease of the eyelids to smooth the skin and open the eyes, making them look younger.

Use liquid exfoliator before makeup. Ruby sweeps before applying makeup Aveda Botanical Kinetics Exfoliant, £23 at www.johnlewis.com onto the client’s faces with a cotton cloth. By removing dull dead skin cells, it ‘brightens the skin and creates a better surface for foundation.’

Replace the pink blush with coral blush. “When you get older, if your blush is too red or pink, it can accentuate the redness associated with aging, so I use a peach shade,” she says. Charlotte Tilbury Unreal Blush Healthy Glow Stick in Peachy Glow, £30 at Space NK.

Choose a brownish pink lipstick in a satin formula. My experience has shown me that nude shades look best on older faces and have a shiny but not overly shiny texture. Ruby often uses Zinada NARS Light Lipstick, £34 Aimee likes it ‘because the volumizing satin formula is also long-lasting’ Avon Power Stay Liquid Stain, available at Worth The Hype, £10. ‘This is a great product for mature lips because it doesn’t bleed upwards into any lines.’

Jazz, 45

Apply a thick layer of moisturizer before applying makeup. I’ve found that many older women’s skin benefits from intense hydration as the first step in their transformation. Makeup artists always massage with a plain product to boost circulation and prepare the skin. Aimee loves Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré Nourishing Moisturizer 75ml, £21While Ruby prefers this Bobbi Brown’s Vitamin Enriched Face Base, £54.

Use lip liner to create symmetry on the lips. As we age, our mouths become narrow and often uneven. Adorn the perfect shape with a nude lip pencil – a product category that has evolved greatly over the last few years, where pencils now glide on easily and look natural. ruby loves Jones Road Nude Pink Lip Pencil, £24While Aimee is a fan Real Or Nude Elf Cream Glide Lip Liner, £4.

Define the eyebrows but don’t go too dark. Both Ruby and Aimee warn against brows that are too dark, as they can look both jarring and aging. Ruby thinks the powder formula works best on more mature faces, so she gravitates towards the product. Eyebrow Powder Duo by Anastasia Beverley Hills in Taupe, £24. He uses his own angled brush 0.1 Magnetic Brush Set £25 to apply with (3 interchangeable brush heads and a wand). He recommends always choosing a color that’s lighter than you think. Don’t fill the brush too much, then start at the arch and apply color outwards in both directions.’

Use a foundation enriched with skin care. Aged skin is prone to dryness and so a moisturizing primer will minimize patches. Aimee loves Pixie On-The-Glow Base Hydrating Foundation, £22 at Sephora He says the ceramide-infused product has worked perfectly for more than 50 of his customers. ‘I love this because it’s so easy to apply, just dab it on your skin and blend with your fingers. It is truly moisturizing, provides sheer coverage and makes the skin look warmer.

Find an under-eye concealer that doesn’t crease. Ruby raves. By: Terry Hyaluronic Serum Concealer, £39, www.lookfantastic.com . I love a soft creamy serum concealer and although this one is expensive it doesn’t sit in or exaggerate wrinkles.

Add charm to sparse eyebrows. Aimee doesn’t like anything that looks artificial here, so I wanted a product that would subtly define and strengthen the hair that was already there. I like Rimmel Wonderfull 24 Hr Light Eyebrow Mascara, £8.99It’s pale and ashen, so it looks very natural.’

Turn black mascara and eyeliner into brown. Most of us know that chocolate tones look more flattering on older faces, but we feel that by making this change we will get a less beautifying effect from our product. Not true, the rich pigments in the newest brown shades mean their intensity is equal to the sooty versions.

We’ve tried and tested the best mascaras on the high street.

Mairead, 50

The right eyeshadow can open up your eyes and make you look fresher. Although Aimee generally avoids shimmer on her old lids, she says that doesn’t mean the product you use has to be ‘flat’. She prefers to use a slightly shimmery eyeshadow to “add a little shine” to her client’s eyes. he loves Max Factor Eyefinity All Day Liquid Eyeshadow in Lovely Rose, £3.99, Since it doesn’t crease and doesn’t look too sparkly.

Prefer silky eyelashes, not spidery ones. Avoid the Baby Jane area and opt for the natural look here. Aimee likes itNo7 Anti-Aging All-in-One Serum Mascara, £15.95 from Boots. ‘It’s your lashes but better – a very thin formula with zero bulk.’

An eyelash curler is very important. As you get older, your eyelashes become shorter and straighter. The curling iron gives them an upward curve meaning they look longer. Professional’s choice Kevyn Aucoin Eyelash Curler, £22, www.sephora.co.uk

Invest in a lip mask against thin mouth. ruby pops Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask£21 on her customer’s lips ‘and allows it to sit there and get intensely moisturized and plumped while I do the rest of their make-up.’

You can read our roundup of the best tried and tested lip balms.

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