A few weeks back, I began to see an unsettling phenomenon when I did my makeup – everything stopped working. Eyeshadows started to crease, concealer looked cakey, and foundation? Forget about it. From my whole arsenal of six foundations I have with me right now, I could make two work. That was it. And then I realised – is that what they are talking about? Am I now at this point – skin sagging, wrinkles developing – that I’m entering the realm of un-fun makeup?!
40+ makeup routine
Whenever I read makeup tips for people over 40, I used to descend into a mixture of laughter and rage quickly. It all seemed so wrong for my life and lifestyle – use only matte eyeshadow! No glitter! No harsh eyeliner! No dark lipstick! I pooh’ed on the limitations that random people on the internet seemed to impose on others randomly. And why not wear dark lipstick and glitter when you’re over 40? My thinking was always – why not wear it when you want it, and think fondly of Iris Apfel. But then, my whole makeup started to feel wrong (ok, I’m dramatizing this a bit), and maybe, maybe those restrictions started with navigating around those issues? Liner and lipstick bleeding, glitter creasing, etc.?
When I’m older
Age was, until very recently, something that was happening to other people, because I feel young. I look young. Relatively speaking. I basically feel like I was coasting along happily feeling like in my thirties, and one day – boom, holy cow, I’m old! I used to speak nonchalantly with friends of procedures to do ‘when I’m older’, and have to face it right now: Is that mythical time now come? Is it now when I start to look into procedures to decide what I want to look like in the future? Botox, do something for my increasingly hooded eyes? Which is beyond weird. I don’t see myself doing it, because that person looking back at me in the mirror in the morning – is that really me?
I feel better now than I felt when I was younger. Everything that people told me in my youth actually happened: You really grow into yourself, and with that comes a lot of confidence. Would I exchange that with an unlined face? Absolutely not. But I like my confidence in knowing what works and what doesn’t on my face. I like my style that I developed during the last years. I’m not mourning my youth – I’m mourning my usual makeup routine.
A new routine – send help
I was not really keen on starting to learn new tricks, research makeup looks and how-tos like I did when I was in my twenties and new to the makeup game. But then, learning new stuff keeps you young, right? So, does anyone have some recs for great bloggers/ vloggers for 40+ people doing fun makeup? My first step is to look into a new application technique/ new products for foundation and concealer. Stay tuned!
