No matter your age, experimenting with makeup can be a fun way to highlight your favorite features. However, it’s important to be aware of makeup trends that could unintentionally make you look older by emphasizing fine lines or wrinkles.
To avoid this, we sought advice from professional makeup artists and experts who recommended two eyeshadow shades to steer clear of if you’re over 40, as well as two alternatives that can help achieve a more flattering and anti-aging look this winter.
Read on for tips, suggestions and insight from Kerrin Jackson, celebrity, film and television makeup artist and creator of The Makeup Refinery blog and Oscar Velasquez, professional makeup artist and beauty expert.
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2 Eyeshadow Shades To Skip For Mature Beauties, According To The Pros
1. Red Shades
One eye makeup color Jackson suggests skipping if you want to look younger is a red, scarlet or crimson one. “Red eyeshadows can add years to your face simply by making your eyes look tired, irritated and generally giving a look of being unwell.”
There is very little that is flattering about a red eyeshadow, Jackson stresses, and she always advises “avoiding red on the eyes altogether.”
“I generally avoid red eyeshadow because it is such a tricky shade to get right on the eyes,” Jackson points out. This, she says, is purely because of the “color of our blood,” which is red.
“What happens when we cry, or have an allergic reaction to something, rub our eyes, or get a bruise? Our skin and eyes go red,” she adds.
This, she emphasizes, is why using a red eyeshadow can inadvertently look like “you have been crying, have allergies or something unpleasant altogether is going on. It’s not a very appealing or flattering look.”
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2. Metallic Shadows
As seen on Euphoria, BeautyTok and elsewhere, “metallics are back,” Jackson says, and “for us over 40s, that may not be such good news anymore.” A shimmer eye shadow, she emphasizes, can be “particularly cruel to even the most slightly textured skin.”
Due to the light-reflecting flakes or ingredients in many shimmer products, this kind of eyeshadow can “end up highlighting every wrinkle, line or textured surface you usually spend your makeup time trying to soften,” Jackson warns.
As a makeup artist, she says she “avoids metallic eyeshadows on older skin because shimmers and metallics are so harsh on textured and wrinkled complexions.”
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2 Better Alternatives For A More Flattering Look
1. Satin Finish Shadows
When it comes to the type of shadow to look out for, satin finish eyeshadows boast a subtle hint of radiance, lending a dimension that is neither completely flat like matte nor too flashy like shimmer. As a result, they are an excellent choice for women above the age of 40, who desire a moisturized and smooth appearance.
Velasquez notes that when it comes to eyeshadow colors for mature beauties, looking at your natural eye color and then finding “shades on the opposite side of the color wheel” is a great place to start. As Jackson shared before, skipping red colors and anything that is too shimmery is good to be safe, though!
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2. Neutral Matte Shadows
Since metallic or sparkly shadows can “cause lines and wrinkles to look more pronounced” than they actually are, Jackson says that the best bet for mature beauties is to “avoid these products and stick with neutral colors and matte eyeshadow types instead.”
“If you must use a shimmer eye shadow, try a cream-based product that you can blend in softly,” she concludes. This will be “far more flattering and flexible on your skin” than a powdery metallic or shimmery eyeshadow. Got it!
