In this article we will explore how to get younger looking skin, and also give you some tricks to look younger, even on those days you feel and look blah.
While cosmetics applied correctly can take years off your face when don correctly, but makeup can only do so much. The real secret to looking more youthful is to look after your skin. The younger you start, the better the long term results will be.
What Causes Our Skin To Age?
While we have yet to find the one magic antidote or fix-all, today we have more insight into what causes our skin to age and it goes beyond skin deep.
There are two primary culprits that cause aging skin, intrinsic and extrinsic agers.
Intrinsic refers to the internal, less controllable factors – namely our genetic programming and physiological decline.
Extrinsic are the external, controllable factors such as sun exposure, smoking, sleep, diet and stress, lifestyle choices.
Everything we put into and on our bodies, along with our environment, stress levels, and sleeping patterns have an impact on the skin.
Diminishing estrogen levels as we age also lead to a decrease in the skin’s collagen content, and the collagen is less able to maintain an adequate water supply, resulting in drier skin.
If you have dry, thin, looser skin, it’s crucial to help it along in its renewal process. To do so you need to reduce the outer, dead layers of skin once or twice a week by gently rubbing with a facecloth, then hydrating with a rich emollient cream.
Alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) such as glycolic aid enhance exfoliation by helping to loosen dead skin cells, making them easier to wash away.
This dead layer of skin gives a dull appearance, and reducing this will make your skin look more radiant and help it to absorb moisturizers better.
How To Get Younger Looking Skin
Following a good skin care routing throughout your life is crutial, and will make a huge difference to the way that you age.
Cleansing
Water provides moisture, but too much of it can strip away those protective oils. Washing your face just once a day, in the evening will help, particularly with the dry skin types.
Moisturizing
Moisturizing your skin daily is one of the best habits you can adopt. The best time to do it is right after your shower or bath, when the skin is slightly damp. Lotion traps in the water that the skin absorbs during bathing.
In your moisturizer, look for ingredients such as shea or cocoa butter, vegetable glycerin, aloe vera, and natural oils. For severely dry skin try pure oils.
As you age-proof your face, don’t forget about your hands, as hands are a dead give away to your real age. Even in your 30s and 40s, they can show the effects of sun damage and natural aging and dryness, scattered brown spots, and thinning skin.
Add that to the wear and tear of an active lifestyle and your hands can look more worn out than you feel.
Fortunately, you can slow the clock on aging by pampering your hands with the same TLC – and antiaging strategies- you give your face.
What To Eat To Lift Your Face
If you have a big event coming up and you want your skin to look absolutely fabulous, concentrate on eating some or all of these foods for 48 hours before your special occasion.
You can actually produce a healthier-looking complexion in 48 hours by eating high-antioxidant foods.
- Fruit, especially berries
- Egg white omelet
- Broccoli, green, red, and yellow bell peppers, cauliflower, green beans sauteed in olive oil.
- 4 to 6 ounces of broiled salmon
- Leafy greens, with olive oil and lemon juice
- Cantaloupe or honeydew melon
- 8 to 10 glasses of water each day
- Take a collagen supplement from the age of 50
Looking after you skin every morning and every night goes a long way when it comes to how to get younger looking skin.
Serums
As you age, it is a good idea to make use of serums underneath your moisturizer to help to replenish the skin. Here is some more information about serums.
Makeup Tricks To Look Younger
There comes a time in almost every woman’s life when standing bleary-eyed in front of her bathroom mirror, she offers up a brief prayer of thanks for the existence of makeup.
Trouble is, you never want to look like you are wearing it, or at least too much of it. Here are some tips that will help you to avoid looking like a clown.
Stock Up On The Basics
Many women think that more is better when it comes to cosmetics when their complexion starts showing signs of age.
Wrong move, rather keep it natural. Once the skin starts to lose its firmness, believe it or not, less is better, because makeup tends to slide into and accentuate lines and furrows. These basics are all you need to look great.
To read more about makeup application, click here.
Concealer
Concealer is great for lightening dark undereye circles and it can instantly make you look well-rested and younger. Choose a smooth creamy formula that’s yellow-based and one shade lighter than your skin tone.
Prep the skin with eye cream first, then use your finger or a concealer brush to apply a generous amount of concealer under the eye, up to the lash line and at the innermost corners.
Blend by gently tapping with the pads of your fingers. if you still see darkness, apply a second layer.
Avoid concealer that is too light, too pink or white, too chalky or too greasy. Never use it to cover blemishes. Because it’s designed to be lighter than your skin tone, it will actually draw attention to the blemish.
To cover blemishes rather use a blemish cover-up or a foundation stick that matches your skin tone exactly and remember never to put concealer on your eyelids, as it will cause your eye makeup to crease.
Foundation
At most, you need two shades of foundation, one that matches your skin tone and one that will work in a different season when you are either lighter or darker. Find a formula that meets your skin’s needs and your lifestyle. You’ll have many choices, from tinted moisturizers to liquid creams to portable stick foundations. All of them come in moisturizing and oil-free versions to suit every skin type.
Test the color first by putting some on the side of your face and check it under natural light. Spot-apply foundation just where the skin needs to be evened out. You can use your fingers or a sponge or makeup brush to blend. You will know you have found the right shade when it seems to disappear into your skin.
Avoid pinky-beige foundation as it looks unnatural. Yellow-based foundation looks the most natural on all skin tones. If you have to apply makeup on your neck to make it match your face, you are using the wrong shade.
For aging skin use an opaque concealer or stick foundation over brown spots and broken capillaries instead of foundation, then use a sheer concealer to eliminate shadows under the eyes and in and around skin folds.
Lipstick
With just a little extra effort, you can put an end to creeping lipstick. As we age most of us will develop lines around the lips and as they become more prominent, they form little paths that allow lipstick to travel down them.
A few simple makeup tricks will add staying power to your lip color.
First blend foundation and powder over your lips instead of stopping at the edges of your lips to create a stable base for the lipstick. Next, outline your lips and color them in completely with lip liner. Top with a coat of lipstick. The liner’s way texture will help stop lipstick from feathering.
For extra coverage, try lightly blotting the first coat of lipstick, then covering the lips with a tissue and dabbing it lightly with loose powder using a makeup brush. This process leaves a fine dusting over the initial coat. Then apply a light second coat of lipstick on top.
Most importantly, remember that lipstick needs to be attended to every couple of hours, so check it every few hours.
As you age it is better to use matte or pencil type lipstick, rather than a glossy one.
Blush
You only need two shades here, one that is the color of your cheeks when they are flushed and a slightly brighter shade for a pop of color.
Powder blush is the easiest and longest-lasting way to fake a natural flush. It blends well and works on all but very dry skin types.
Correct overly strong color with a dusting of face powder. For the evening try a powder shimmer blush alone or as a highlight on cheekbones layered over powder blush.
You can also try a cheek tint or gel for a natural-looking stain that’s ideal for oily skin. It takes some trial and error because if you layer on too much you will look splotchy.
Use a sponge to avoid tinted fingers and work quickly as it is hard to blend the color once it sets.
Avoid cream blush because it can look streaky unless you have very dry skin. Try a soft cream to powder blush whih stays put and won’t get caught in nearby crow’s feet.
Powder
Finish your face off with a loose powder which will give your concealer and foundation staying power and take away shine.
Pale yellow-based powder is the most flattering on all skin tones.
Choose one with a silky, lighter than air texture. Use a powder puff to apply, dusting off excess with a powder brush.
Avoid translucent powder, because it’s not invisible and it makes the skin look pasty and ashy. Stay away from purple, pink, or green powders that are designed to correct color, as they don’t look natural.
Eye Shadow
You need just three shades to make eyes stand out, a base color (white, bone, banana, or toast) that blends into your skin tone, a medium-toned lid color (taupe, gray, or heather) that doesn’t require blending, and a dark color (mahogany, charcoal or navy) to use as a liner.
Powder shadow works well on all skin. types creating both subtle and dramatic effects with color that stays true. There are three types – soft matte which is an all round flattering option, shimmer and glitter.
Powder shadow can go on sheer if you use a brush with long loose bristles or can appear more opaque if bristles are tightly packed.
If you have oily eyelids, pass on cream shadow as it tends to creas and probably won’t last. Rather choose cream to powder shadow.
Eyeliner
If you have a steady hand and want a dramatic effect, go for liquid or gel liner. The long lasting formulas are often waterproof, so liquid or gel is a good choice if you tend to rub your eyes of expect to get teary. You can apply a thin line for the day and create a thicker smudgier line for the night.
Power shadow is another option to use as an eyeliner. Use an eyeliner brush that’s thin and flat with straight or slightly angled bristles. Try dampening the brush in water first so that the shadow adheres to it. Tap the brush lightly before applying to avoid the dark specks of shadow that fall under your eyes when you are lining.
Although eye pencils are relatively mistake proof and easy to use, their wax-based formula does make them prone to smearing. For aging skin rim your eyes with a brown powder liner applied with a damp brush for softer definition as harsh lines will exaggerate wrinkles and sagging.
Mascara
The quickest and easiest way to make your eyes stand out is still the age old trick of two coats of mascara. Try brown as a softer alternative, and go for a variant that has a thickening or lengthening formula.
If you want a little color for a special occasion or a night out, use your fingertips to apply a rose-hued powder eye shadow from lash line to crease, smudging it as you blend upwards. With a cotton swab or small makeup brush, swipe a gray or taupe-colored shadow under your lower lashes.
Using Makeup As A Camouflage
How To Redefine The Jawline
With some simple contouring techniques, you can hide the effects of gravity on your chin and jawline. Here are some tricks to look younger.
After completing your makeup application, dust your chin, throat, and neck well with translucent powder. This will allow contouring powder to glide on smoothly and not grab the oilier areas of your skin. The trick behind contouring is to create a natural shadow to minimize the highlighted paleness of a double chin, an area that doesn’t get much sun.
To do this, try using a taupey powder or one that is at least a shade darker than your facial makeup. Use a brush or sponge to apply this darker contouring powder to your jawline and to the area that’s gone soft just below your jaw. Blend well toward your throat, and you’re done.
If you are in a rush a little blush dusted on the extra skin will tone it down and make it less noticeable.
How To Cover Up A Sleepless Night
Some nights you just can’t get any sleep because of insomnia, jet lag, late nights out, or due to illness. Inevitably you wake up the next morning looking just as blah as you feel.
The telltale signs stare back at you in the mirror, unfortunately.
The best way to wake up the skin is to hydrate both inside and out. Start your day with a big glass of water then focus on your skincare routine.
Lube up with a richer, denser face moisturizer than you normally use or switch from your normal lotion to a cream.
Wait a few minutes to let the moisturizer sink in and reapply if your skin still feels dry.
Pep up washed out skin with two shades of blush – your neutral everyday blush and a brighter shade starting on the apple of each cheek and blending up into your hairline.
Very lightly dust the brighter shade just on the apples of your cheeks. This added splash of color will help give you that well-rested glow.
If you usually wear foundation, skip it and rather go for a lightweight tinted moisturizer to tone down the skin’s redness. You can make your own by mixing a few drops of your foundation with your moisturizer.
If you have dark circles under your eyes, a combination of two concealers usually works well. Start with a pale pink concealer to correct the purple-green color of your circles. Then layer on your usual yellow-toned concealer. make sure you apply concealer under each eye up to its lash line and towards its inner corner. Use your fingers to gently pat and blend the concealer, then lock it in place with loose powder in a yellow tone applied with a velour puff.
Droopy Eyes
Minimal makeup is best for tired eyes. Opt for soft matte powder shadow and use light lid shades that blend easily with your skin tone. Dark shades will make your eyes recede and rosy or red-toned shades will make you look even more tired.
After applying lid shadow, pat a white eye shadow lightly on the outer end of your your brow bone for highlighting. Curl your lashes to open up your eyes even more and finish with a coat of mascara on your upper lashes only. This will draw attention away from the tired undereye area.
Don’t use shimmer and cream shadows as they draw attention to the eys and can magnify droopiness and puffiness.
Feel free to comment below if have any other tips on how to get younger looking skin, and please share your triks to look younger with the clever use of makeup.