Look More Radiant Over 50

 

I've been experimenting with a few new beauty products.  It helps pass the time when we're in lockdown.  None were gifted, so I will give you a completely honest opinion on what's working for me, and what didn't. 

I have particular requirements for beauty products. For age-related issues like lines, pigmentation, dark shadows under the eyes, dull skin and dryness -we need specialist products to hide imperfections and help us look radiant. 

Here are the products I've been trying:  Studio 10 Radiance Glow Bronzing Veil, Studio 10 Wake Up & Glow Lip/Cheek Flush, Charlotte Tilbury Eyes to Mesmerise, Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in cool sand, Rumi VolumeCare mascara, Trinny London Miracle Blur, Eye of Horus Liquid Define in Babylon brown and Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick in malted pink.

On the left, what we're starting with, completely unedited and without any face cream or serum. I have't been sleeping well this week - a stressful time at work is keeping me awake - so the shadows around my eyes are worse than usual.  My skin's looking dull and sallow.  So I start with my prep products, Regentiv The Specialist Serum, Strivectin R & R eye cream and Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream.

Then I use my usual foundation, Clarins Everlasting Youth Fluid. On my eyelids I use Look Fabulous Forever Eye Prime. Sometimes I use it on its own - it's great for removing that dark skin tinge.  As the dark circles under my eyes are quite bad at the moment, I usually use a concealer on top.  I must say I wasn't very impressed with Bobbi Brown's Creamy Concealer in cool sand and pale yellow.  The colour match is quite good for me  (although their website is useless for describing colours) but it just doesn't seem to give much coverage. I'm so over having to use a finishing powder on top. My concealer of choice is Charlotte Tilbury's Magic Away for pigmentation and Mini Miracle Eye Wand for under the eyes.

Now I'm not a big fan of bronzing powders.  They often make your skin look a bit dirty or dull, particularly at this time of year.  But a lot of beauty experts seem to use them all year round, with good results, so I decided to try the bronzer from a range specifically created for older women, Studio 10.  

Studio 10's bronzing veil is a fine milled formula that doesn't cake or settle in lines, and allows for blending and building. I used a big brush and just one light layer, but as you can see in the "after" picture, it provided quite a bit of colour. I'm not quite sure what the other powder is for - it's described as a "luminizing colour-correcting powder for bespoke blending."

I'll definitely use the bronzer a lot more as summer approaches.

Staying with Studio 10, I was attracted by the idea of a lip and cheek flush and ordered a shade called Roseberry.  I would recommend that they improve the colour information on the website.  Apart from the usual drop down showing you the colour of each product  (which is not very reliable depending on the screen you're using), there's nothing to say which colours are warm or cool, blue toned or yellow toned, and so on.

I felt sure Roseberry would be a blue toned cool shade, but in fact it's a brick red colour that looks quite flat and dull on me. They say you can send anything back for a refund, but I don't like to do this with beauty products I've opened.

The other Studio 10 product I tried is their Youth Lift Glow-Plexion. This is a highlighter/illuminator in a cream formula.  It doesn't contain shimmer, which is a no-no for older skin as it tends to gather in lines in an unflattering way.  I've tried it under foundation but I prefer to use it on top of foundation, dabbing it on the cheekbones, down the centre of the nose, in the cupid's bow and in the centre of the chin.  It's a good highlighter that gives a little glow and luminosity without that Kardashian white glare you see on so many Instagrammars. 

A Winning Mascara

Regular readers will know about my quest for the perfect mascara:  one that doesn't transfer to the lower lid, stays put all day, and improves the sparse appearance of the eyelashes.

I've been using a mascara from a small family business, Rumi Cosmetiques, for a few months now and I REALLY rate the VolumeCare+ mascara. I have spent literally hundreds of pounds on mascaras over the last few years from brands including YSL, Lancome, Estee Lauder, Hourglass, Max Factor, Dior,  Charlotte Tilbury - the list goes on.  This one costs £24 and was specifically created for mature women  with thinning eyelashes.  It's intended to provides more volume to even the thinnest and sparsest eyelashes, and also to make your natural eyelashes grow over time. The ingredients are vegan and suitable for sensitive eyes. 

Anyway - I confirm it works.  There's no panda eyes transfer, it doesn't clump, and it doesn't aggravate my eyes as some mascaras do.  The only downside for me is that it's not very easy to remove.  I don't like to use water in the evening but it takes a couple of goes with my normal oil based eye make-up remover.

Tight Lining

If you're keen to keep makeup to an absolute minimum, I'd strongly recommend that you include an eyeliner as one of your key products. The secret is not wearing it as you did in your 20s, when it was all about a dramatic line above the lashes with a winged end, but tight lining.  This is pushing the pencil or pen of your eyeliner into the eyelashes.  It fills in the gaps and makes your eyes pop, particularly with mascara.  

As we get older, our eyes get less noticeable, so I'm a great believer in tight lining, mascara and well defined brows.  I like the brand Eye of Horus for their Goddess pencils - very soft - and their Liquid Define is a good eyeliner, like a felt tip pen, which doesn't transfer. Buy from Beauty and the Boutique.

Cream Eyeshadows

There are a couple of cream eyeshadows in the picture - a pretty little pot from Charlotte Tilbury in shade Star Gold, and a stick from Bobbi Brown in a creamy pink.  The Tilbury gold looks like a dense bronze and is a bit frightening if you apply too much, but the colour seems to fade to a smooth beige which lasts well and doesn't gather in folds.   The Bobbi Brown eye stick is a strange colour but again I was impressed by the formula and its longevity.  I just wish both brands would be a bit more adventurous with their colours.  They stick to golds, beiges and pinks mostly, which don't much for me. I would love to see their cream eyeshadows in blues, greys and greens.

Trinny London Miracle Blur

This is a putty like paste that you use like Polyfilla on lines, wrinkles or little dents in the skin.  Smooth it in gently and apply your makeup over the top. It really does work.  I use it occasionally on the line between my brows and a line above my top lip where I had 2 stitches years ago.  But I hardly ever remember to use it because it's a bit of a faff.

Tackle Sparse Brows

I didn't much care for Charlotte Tilbury's Legendary Brows.  They had run out of my usual brow product, Brow Lift, which has a brush at one end and a pencil at the other, so I tried Legendary Brows instead. This contains filaments to make your brows look fuller.  It was no good for my particular problem which is brows that I have been plucked so much they don't start and finish where they should.  I use Brow Lift to draw a start and finish to my brows and it works very well for that. Fortunately it is now back in stock and I bought two. 

What are your beauty heroes, the products you can't be without? Do share in the comments.

Now it's time for #WowOnWednesday, where bloggers find new readers, and readers find new blogs to read!

Last Week's Favourites

Chrissy from Granola and Grace with her post: What I Wore: The Color of Freedom & Crowned Free. Chrissy shared her Valentine's week outfits and some spectacularly lovely bracelets.

Claire Justine with her post "Snow Way!! What I Wore In The Snow: Over 40 Style".  She wore a very cute teddy bear coat and looked stylish while cosy.

My favourite was Jacqui from Mummabstylish with her post January Review.  Jacqui has got the most amazing dressing room now - have you seen it?

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