Ways to Look Great as We Age
Make up tips for Aging
How to look good on camera despite aging? Makeup, skin care and lifestyle. Over the course of a career on TV, twenty years as a news anchor and then interview programs I had many makeup artists work on me. I picked up some pointers and some things I learned on my own. I will summarize these because you can find many details on each one through your search engine. The number one thing to do is exfoliate. The idea is not that your wrinkles will disappear but for your skin to appear luminous. I use Plantinum by Avon (I have no relationship with the company). You can also find your own but find one that you apply and then wipe off, not one with particles that you rinse off. The latter will irritate your skin. When I first tried this I couldn't believe how much dead skin came off two hours later. I suggest you use this early in the evening so you have a chance to lightly remove the dead skin before you go to sleep. I alternate this with Retinol. Now you have to alternate these treatments with lots of moisturizers. I slather it on when I am home alone. It appears to be way too much but my skin absorbs it. If I am using make up I always start with a serum. There are many on the market. You want one that is rich in nutrients. This comes first after a clean face. By the way, soap is drying so I always use towelettes for sensitive skin to remove make up. I often use two to make sure I have a truly clean face. I use night creams when I am not using an exfoliant or moisturizer. Again, I slather it on but it is quickly absorbed.
Don;t be fooled that any skin care or make up will take away deep wrinkles, none will. That is why I shop the pharmacy, Avon and Mary Kay products. However, if you are thinking of something more drastic, other than a face lift, I would suggest Fraxel laser treatments. This is not the deep laser that leaves your skin like raw meat and takes weeks to heal. That does work but chances are you want something less expensive and with no down time. I have no use for fillers or Botox. I haven't used any of these in years because I can't see the point and I don't think I need them, not to mention the expense, down time and pain. Usually Fraxel treatments are given in a series of three or more. You can probably do this for less than a grand. By the way, Fraxel may be a brand name but go to a dermatologist or plastic surgeon you trust and ask for the series of laser treatments. They tighten which is what I loved when I had them almost ten years ago. They are designed to even out skin tone but they do more than that. They leave you skin feeling like a baby;s, the wrinkles are there but less noticeable because your skin glows. Your will have a very red face and some discomfort after as though you had the worst sunburn of your life. These treatments make up for those days in sun with baby lotion. I can't believe now that when I was a teenager I used baby oil with iodine and a reflector under my face. Be sure to moisturize moisturize moisturize. In fact, whether you have these treatments or not every chance you can,, clean your face and pile on the moisturizer.
For make up, your best friend is concealer, one shade lighter than your make up. Use this over your serum and moisturizer. Use it under your eyes, in the inside corner of your eyes, along your laugh lines and wherever you have wrinkles. The wrinkles won't go away but the concealer lightens what would otherwise be dark lines. YOu need a concealer that is not so slippery it doesn't stay on your face or one so thick it cakes on. Brands as simple as Maybelline or Cover Girl with do the trick. Just be sure to blend. After the concealer has had a chance to be a absorbed then add make up. As we age we need less. You can't get away with the same look you could thirty years ago. I go for a tinted moisturizer in a shade just slightly darker than my skin. Too light and it is easy to look washed out. Too dark and it looks like a mask. I use Philosophy but there are other good ones as well. I would not suggest the new BB creams. They simply don't offer enough coverage. Use a cream blush and make round circles on your cheeks and then blend blend blend out towards your temples. If you have a problem with make up disappearing in an hour or two then use a light dusting of powder, very light dusting or it will settle in the wrinkles. If you go without it and if you have followed all the steps your skin should look luminous. You have to be so faithful about following a regimen. This isn't something you can do every now and then. I started early, right after the baby oil and iodine. I read the procedures in Seventeen magazine. I stay out of the sun. I always use a moisturizer with an SPF of at least 30. Recently, I was at Disney and I reapplied moisturizer with a SPF of 40 every hour, and it wasn't even sunny. Sun is a skin killer. When it comes to eye makeup, I frequently skip it. If I am going anywhere I use a very light color on my entire lids and then use a liquid eyeliner. I never use just the liquid eyeliner alone. This is very aging! I use a pencil and go over the liner and then extend it only to the very edge of the bottom lid. Too much looks too made up but just a little on the bottom extends the top line and gives width without going all the way across the lower lid. I skip colors and opt for gray, brown or navy, Mascara can be black. That is the final thing. You have to make sure your make up is blended, blended, blended. You want to look good, not your make up look good. Those are just a few of my tips. So far, so good, I don't want to look younger just a youthful 75. Two years ago someone mistakenly thought my son was my husband. Believe me! He was not pleased. I have been offered modeling jobs if I dye my hair white. The advertisers don't want a 75 year old woman with dark blonde hair and streaks. I have no idea what the real color of my hair is, but I can bet it is some shade of gray. I just am not going to have my hair dyed white. I do read the magazines but I don't get carried away with trends. No dark red lipstick or even bright red. We need softer colors. Long lasting lipsticks are drying. Ok you have read my tips, now how about yours!