Wealden Times | WT210 | August 2019 | Restoration & New Build supplement inside

Beauty
Rewind & Revitalise
Josephine Fairley explains the beneficial effects the right
make-up products and techniques can have on ageing skin
It happens to most of us, at an
uncertain age: one day we wake up,
reach for our make-up bag, go through
the usual motions of doing our face –
and realise it’s just not working the way
it used to. With confidence wobbling,
one of two things tend to happen. We
decide that ‘more must be more’, and
overdo things. Or alternatively, with
images of spider-lashed Barbara Cartland
or lipstick-smeared Baby Jane haunting our
nightmares, we start to use less make-up –
which instead brings the risk of fading away. I’ve
seen it happen, time after time. Complexions get
paler. Hair colour tends to do the same, and brows,
with it. And before we know it, we’re almost ghosts
of our former, younger, more attractive-feeling selves.
Yet used judiciously, and with some adjustments,
make-up can absolutely roll back the years. Indeed,
as consultant dermatologist Dr. Andrew Markey once
observed to me, “More women should explore what
make-up can do for them before taking a leap into the
world of cosmetic surgery.” So, over my decades as a
beauty editor, I’ve pumped many top make-up artists
for the how-to. Here are the key lessons learned…
Foundation is your friend, not your foe. Says Mary
Greenwell: “Every woman over 40 has to wear foundation.
Ironically, up until that point it can be ageing.” But go
lightly, and choose the right formulation. You almost
certainly want ‘light-reflective pigments’, which help recreate
the radiance of younger skin, without looking too shiny.
As the creator of my all-time favourite age-defying base,
the (weirdly-named and somewhat pricy) By Terry Terrybly
Densillis Foundation, £78 for 30ml, make-up genius Terry
de Gunzburg knows her stuff here. “After your forties,
skintone is no longer uniform – which makes you look tired.
Your complexion may be a bit red, or look a little shadowy
or grey and sallow. But this doesn’t mean just applying
more of the foundation you’ve always worn (if you have).
Layers of heavy foundation make all lines look worse.” Use
a foundation brush and light, feathery strokes; microfibre
brushes – like the brilliant Cailyn O, Wow! Brush, £12.49
(amazon.co.uk) – deliver an incredibly seamless finish; first
apply the foundation to the back of your hand and pick
it up from there with the brush. Other great age-defying
foundation finds include Guerlain L’Essentiel, £44 for 30ml
(best applied with the fantastic matching charcoal-infused
fibre brush, £38) and Nars Natural Radiant Longwear
Foundation, £35 for 30ml. None of these, you’ll note, are
inexpensive. But foundation is one area I’d never ever skimp
on – and that becomes even more important as we age.
Conceal flaws with a whisper-light concealer. Where you
need extra coverage – under-eye shadows, for instance – use
a light-reflective concealer and pat into skin. I’m a massive
fan of the new Giorgio Armani Power Fabric Concealer, £32
(it comes in an impressive 18 shades) – or check out the
new options in the legendary YSL Touche Éclat line-up.
Powder lightly. When face powder settles dustily into lines,
it looks Miss Havisham-esque on the best of us. So Mary
Greenwell recommends using a smaller 2cm (¾-inch) brush,
to apply powder. “This is small enough to make it easy
to avoid getting powder into crinkles, which emphasises
them,” she advises. Use it just on the T-zone, which at this
stage in life is probably the only bit that needs de-shining.
Rethink your blush. Ariane Poole – who is of a certain
age herself and has a wonderful make-up range that
accommodates the needs of more mature women
(arianepoole.com) – observes: “The placement of your
blush has to change as you age. You need to move slightly
lower down with your blusher placement and focus on
the apples of your cheeks, rather than higher up the
cheekbone. This will give your cheekbones a lift and make
your face appear less jowly as the colour is centred in the
face. If you do apply your blusher upwards towards the
corner of your eye this will just highlight the crow’s feet
and lines and actually make the eyes look smaller.”
And avoid ‘tawny’ shades for cheeks. Adds Ariane: “We
lose pigment as we age, and our skin gets paler, so we
need that pop of colour. We notice the pigment change
in our hair but it’s more difficult to notice the change in
the skin so women will often continue using their matte
brown shades, but this will age you. You want that pop of
colour that gives you a healthy, youthful flush.” (A perfect
shade, in fact, is her own Matte Mineral Blush, £18.50,
in Whisper. Pinks and peaches are the thing, here.)
Adapt your eye make-up technique. It’s difficult to be
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