The make-up tricks every woman over 50 needs to look young – and the common mistake that emphasises your wrinkles: HANNAH BETTS
As one prepares for the full blast of fall and winter, the interseasonal slap comes excitingly like a new broom. However, reality often means that one feels strange, strange, not yet in the order to which one is accustomed: colours, textures and techniques in a land without women.
Don’t despair. Being kicked out of one’s comfort zone is actually a very good thing. Our faces, skin, colors and personalities are in a constant state of change; This change is never greater than in middle age; It’s helpful to take some time to re-evaluate.
Val Garland, 66, beautician and judge on BBC’s Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-up Star, is the queen of keeping things going. How does she keep faces looking modern for Kate Moss, 51, Helen Mirren, 80, Tilda Swinton, 64, and herself? Here, she explains the cosmetic tips that every woman over 50 needs…
1. Polish, do not plaster
‘My golden rule is leather, not camouflage,’ Val tells me. ‘The biggest mistake is over-applying products. From 50 onwards, I always say polish, don’t plaster. Focus on the light and the textures that reflect it. Keep your skin smooth: let freckles, lines, stories appear. I am fascinated by skin technology hybrids. Serums that function as primers, foundations that provide skin care with color tone. ‘These formulas are genius because they move with you, they don’t crack or sit in fine lines.’
Lisa Eldridge’s bestselling Seamless Skin Healing Tint (£37, lisaeldridge.com) is the perfect way to achieve this.
It’s hard to believe that something this light and shiny (it’s 78 percent filled with skincare ingredients) can achieve this much coverage. Fascinatingly gorgeous. Val favors high-tech Japanese brand Suuqu’s new Skin Care Cream Tint (£48, selfridges.com).
In his decade-long research, he describes it as ‘pigment wrapped in beauty cream’. The Ordinary Serum Foundation (£6.40, theordinary.com) or No7 Restore and Renew Serum Foundation (£21.95, boots.com), are his budget choices.
2. Trendy texture
‘Don’t fall into the trap of nostalgia,’ advises Val. ‘Makeup should evolve with you.’ Like me, he sees texture as a way to shake things up. “For fall 2025, embrace a graphic element,” she continues, “but make it wearable.” Maybe softened eggplant lining instead of black; or a blurry metallic cover instead of a harsh sparkle. For lips, opt for stain; Something that feels bitten and fuzzy rather than scratched’.
Val is obsessed with using ‘gel liner’ to ‘tight line’ (applied along the inner edge of the upper lash) and kiss the roots of lashes for invisible definition. ‘It awakens the eye without screaming’. Try Stila Stay All Day Smudge & Set Waterproof Gel Eyeliner in Plumfull (£18, stila.co.uk) for its trendy eggplant. L’Oreal Paris Paradise Le Shadow Sticks (£7.99, superbdrug.com) gives a great shine. For blemishes, Val prefers Maybelline Teddy Tint (£11.99, superbdrug.com), I’m going to invest in this right away.
3. Crafty color
Overly neutral faces are aging unfashionably. Val recommends: ‘A color that has depth but isn’t harsh; That’s what makes it modern. I will never stop using cream blush. It’s the fastest way to create life on a face with feather-light textures on the market. ‘Rushes that look like your own blood rising to the surface.’
Like Greta Lee (42), Sarah Jessica Parker (60) and Jenna Lyons (67), I love Merit Flush Balms (£26, meritbeauty.com), one of which is sold every 30 seconds. From where? Flush Balm delivers a gorgeous, lit-from-within glow. I can’t get enough of Après, a fruit of pure ski chalet chic.
4. Brush
‘Another obsession of yours must be brushes!’ Val is crying. ‘Blending is your best friend after 50.’ Val prefers the Duo Fiber Face Brush (try NYX Professional Makeup Pro Brush 04 – Duo Fiber Foundation (£16, asos.com) for a flawless surface.
It also needs a Fan Brush (for example, No7 Fanned Powder Brush£16.95) to mix highlighter with Hollywood shine. Suqqu’s soft, synthetic Face Color Brush (£110, selfridges.com) is her secret weapon for styling her ‘face-lift’ bronzer. Check out the similarly dome-shaped Bobbi Brown Blush Brush (£42, lookfantastic.com) if this is too steep.
5. Less hardware, more energy
Val’s final message is: ‘Less equipment, more instinct. Makeup should feel like play, not hard work.’ Very true. Over the next ten days, I challenge you to wake up, take care of yourself, and do something different. Gold flecked eyeshadow, dewy ‘cloud’ blush or that smudged lip you’ve been ignoring too often may now become your favourite.
Autumn hair strokes
Anti-aging hair care? Actually yes. In three minutes, brittle curls are magnificently repaired.
New smoothing spray from the best-selling hair oil brand: boosts shine by up to 141 percent.
Bows, tapes, clips and this beautiful buckle are on sale at the V&A’s Marie Antoinette exhibition.
race with you
Wondering how my salon could do the job in a single swipe, I always shopped and bought the cheapest nail polish remover, only to be left with messy, uneven results. No more! Mylee Acetone-Free Gel Polish Remover (£9.99, mylee.co.uk) is a one-wipe wonder for normal polish removal, or soak and scrape to get rid of gels, acrylics, tips and adhesives. Life-changingly efficient. It’s worth the dosh.
longing for cosmetics
Since August, I’ve been trying to do extremely light weight lifting to counteract midlife muscle decline, as we’re advised to be over 50. Considering this is the first exercise I’ve tried, there are moments when I feel sore like a 54-year-old woman. Until I soaked myself in a tub of Weleda Arnica Muscle Bath Milk (currently £13.12, hollandandbarrett.com).
This gorgeous, aromatic pacifier is adorned with arnica, rosemary, lavender and birch leaves and is utterly gorgeous. When it comes out I rub it in a little bit Weleda Arnica Massage Oil (now £15.96) in the region and everything has improved. One doesn’t even need to brag about his ‘knee’, ‘hip’ or ‘shoulder’. This is just a remedy for October.
