My Makeup Routine for Women Over 50

Did you take a break from wearing full makeup while the kids were growing up, and find things have changed now you want to get back into it? I certainly did! I rediscovered makeup at 50 and found that the everyday makeup routine included lots of products I’d never heard of or used before. It took me some time to figure out what was supposed to be used where, and I watched a lot of YouTube videos to see how to do it. Now I think I’ve figured it all out. Well most it it, some is still a learning curve. So I’m going to share my makeup routine with you and let you know what products I use on a daily basis and in what order. I’ve also included a ‘get ready with me’ video I did a few months ago, so you can watch how I do it.

My Makeup Routine – The Base

Primer

I always start by doing my cleanse, tone and moisturise routine and leave my skin for about 20 minutes. This lets all the creams sink in and dry. Then I start my everyday makeup with a face primer. My husband is a painter & decorator and he’s always said you need to use a primer on woodwork before you add any gloss. And the same is true for your face! Using a primer makes your foundation look so much better and helps it stay put for longer. I’m using a couple of different face primers at the moment. One is a Lacura Vitabase Moisturising Primer which is light and is said to be a dupe for the Bobby Brown Primer. I alternate this with the Revolution Face Base Primer. A clear gel primer that gives your skin a lovely smooth base. With either of these I leave for a couple of minutes after applying for it to sink in properly.

Foundation

The foundation is step is really important, as this evens out your skin tone and disguises any redness or blemishes you may have. A lot of people make the mistake of picking a foundation that’s too dark for their skin. I think they feel this will give them a tanned look but it usually ends up just looking wrong. You need to match your foundation to your actual skin tone for the best results. You’ll find it much easier to buy foundation in a shop where you can try samples. I’ve bought a couple online over the last year and they haven’t been great matches. And you can’t return them! If you have to buy online and the colour is either too light or too dark, you can always mix the foundation with another one to get the right match.

I have two favourites at the moment. The first is the Glamza Phoera foundation in Nude 102. This foundation matched my skin tone perfectly and applies like a dream. I use a beauty blender sponge for my foundation. I couldn’t believe this foundation was only £4.99 for 30ml. My second go-to foundation is the Federico Mahora (FM) Ideal Cover Effect in Soft Beige. This one is a bit more expensive at £17.50 but it’s a great product. It covers well and looks really good. I’ll just point out that I have quite a pale complexion and my skin is dry. When you’re using foundation make sure you blend it down from your jaw to your neck so you don’t get that unsightly ‘tide mark’ I was sometimes guilty of back in the 80s. If the foundation doesn’t cover in one layer then build it up with a little more till it looks right.

Eye Concealer

I usually have dark circles under my eyes so I find a concealer just helps to disguise them. I’ve tried a few over the last couple of years and have gotten it wrong a few times. I’ve gone for concealers that are too light for me, giving me that ‘panda’ eye effect and then ones that were too dark that just made my dark circles worse. I really like the Revolution Eye Bright Illuminating Under Eye Concealer. It has a sponge applicator and looks very natural, and most importantly hides the dark lines. I just blend it in with my blending sponge. I bought this concealer online and was really impressed to find a great colour match facility on the Revolution website. There is a drop down list with loads of different foundation brands. All you need to do is select the one you’re using and it tells you which concealer will be best. Brilliant idea.

I also top the concealer off with a bit of Revolution Eye Bright Setting Powder, applied with a soft brush. I find this helps the concealer settle better.

Bronzer

Once you have evened out your skin with the foundation it’s time to ‘warm up’ your face with some bronzer. I don’t think we ever used bronzer when I was young so this was a new step for me. It adds a bit of colour to your base, giving you a slightly tanned look. Most of my makeup routine products are cruelty-free. My bronzer is L’oreal so it isn’t. Which is a shame because I love the product, but when it’s finished I’ll be looking for an alternative. I add the bronzer to my face with a large makeup brush, sweeping it across the top of my forehead, the hollows of my cheeks, my nose and my jawline. Be careful not to be too heavy handed with it though.

My Makeup Routine – The Cheeks

Blusher

Next comes the blusher to give you a healthy rosy glow. I apply this to the apples of my cheeks and upward into my hairline. Basically where you would get a flush if you’d been walking outside. The blusher I’m using this week is the Stila Complete Harmony Lip & Cheek Stick. It’s a creamy, twist up, blush in the colour Sheer Lillium and I love it. It gives a really soft peachy glow to my face. I’d always thought cream blusher was bad for mature skin but it’s really not!

Highlighter

I top my blusher off with a swish of highlighter to make my cheekbones pop and add a bit of shimmer. I don’t have a specific one I use regularly but I do like the Bella Pierre Champagne Highlighter & Eyeshadow I got in my beauty advent calendar at Christmas. It gives a lovely light rose gold sheen to my cheekbones.

My Makeup Routine – The Eyes

Once you’ve got your face sorted, it’s time to do the everyday makup on your eyes. I’ve noticed some people on YouTube doing their eye makeup first and then the face part, but I prefer do my eyes after. You could always leave the eye makeup if you wanted, but I feel like my makeup routine isn’t finished if I don’t put eye makeup on.

Eyelid Primer

I’m not entirely sure why you use a different primer for your eye lids, probably something to do with the colours you put on your eyes. But I since I started using an eyelid primer my eye makeup stays on much longer. I use the Revolution Prime and Lock Longwear Eyeshadow Primer and it does a great job.

Brows

While the eyelid primer is drying I sort my eye brows out. I never used to bother doing anything to them, but as I’ve got older my brows are getting sparser and greyer. I’ve got a gift voucher to get my eyebrows micro-bladed, but obviously I need to wait until the shops are open again. So in the meantime I’m using the W7 Brow Bar Deluxe Eyebrow Kit to fill them in and give them a darker look. I use a little brow brush to apply and it just helps define my eyes a little better.

Eye Shadow

Applying eye shadow was the biggest learning curve for me. Back when I used to wear eye shadow it was usually just one swish of blue across the eyelid and I was done. But these days there’s crease colours, lid colours and corner colours! It doesn’t take long to get the hang of it though. I learned most tips from Angie at Hot & Flashy over on YouTube.

If I want a really simple everyday makeup I just use the E.L.F Bite Size Eyeshadow Palette in Rose Water. These shadows give a lovely natural look but also have a little shimmer. I know some older women don’t like a shimmer but if you love it then use it!

If I really want to go to town on my everyday makeup look I use something like the Revolution Cotton Candy Eyeshadow Palette, which has 18 different shades in it. There are some matts and shimmers in there and the range of colours are beautiful. I just love a bit of pink or purple on my eyes.

Eyeliner

I always feel eyeliner along the top eyelid, close to the eyelashes, just gives the eye an extra something. Some days I’ll just use a really dark eyeshadow on a damp brush as an eye liner. It works really well. Or I’ll use an eyeliner pencil, usually in black. I always used to put eyeliner underneath my bottom lashes but these days I usually use the eyeshadow instead along here as it doesn’t look quite as harsh. I don’t have any preferences for eyeline pencils but I’m using a Revolution one at the moment.

Mascara

Your eyes will not look finished unless you apply some mascara. I have terrible eyelashes. Like my brows they’ve become short and sparse as I’ve got older. So I’ve been trying out a few different mascaras. I’m using the Primark False Lash Queen Mascara at the moment and I quite like it. It usually needs a couple of coats and I never put mascara on my bottom lashes. It always smudges!

My Makeup Routine – The Lips

For an everyday makeup look I don’t go for bold lip colours. But I do like using a lip liner. For some reason your lipstick or lip gloss just seems to look better with it. I’m using the Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat Re-Shape & Re-Size Lip Liner and it’s really good, it just glides on. Then I just apply a layer of Floss Lip Gloss in the colour LAX and my lips are done. As I work from home I tend to drink a lot of coffee during the day so I only add the lip liner and gloss to keep them moisturised and make my face look finished.

Everyday Makeup Fixing Spray

This is definitely not something I used in my everyday makeup look until recently. And I’m not sure how I survived without it. It really does make your makeup stay in place and last much longer. I use a lot of ‘budget’ makeup brands and the makeup used to slide off my face by lunchtime. But since I’ve started using the Revolution Iced Diamond Makeup Fixing Spray I haven’t had that problem. There are lots of different fixing sprays on the market with different finishes and different scents so have a good look around before buying one.

So there you have my everyday makeup routine. It sounds like a lot if you’re not used to using makeup but once you’ve done it a few times it gets quicker and easier. Putting my makeup on everyday makes me feel more motivated, especially during lockdown. If you’d like to watch how I put my makeup on then I’ve added the ‘Get Ready With Me’ video below. I may not be using the exact products I talk about in this post but I’ll be using the my makeup routine.