Ageing with Attitude

Time does catch up on us quickly doesn’t it? It happens to everyone – one day you wake up and look at yourself in the mirror, or in a photo and realise that the years have caught up with you. You suddenly don’t look like you used to anymore! A realisation often comes over when you see recent photos of the celebrities you had secret crushes on when you were younger – when you feel the shock of what they look like now…you realise that yes YOU are getting older too.

It is more a mental process than a tick list of actions to take and products to try (although there are a few in there!). We call it Aging with Attitude. It won’t rewind the clock, but it may encourage you to feel comfortable in the skin you’re in. After all…today is the best age you’ve ever been.

Embrace getting older. Make friends with it. Being careless and feeling confident are much more attractive than youthfulness. BUT you can still look your best – there’s no need to completely give up and stop wearing makeup, getting good haircuts or wearing stylish shoes and clothes. If you still need fabulous try Helen Mirren, Dame Helen Mirren, Dame Judy Dench or 90s supermodel Kristen McMenamy who is 47, mother to three kids, has waist length hair, a nose ring and is STILL a top model.

Skincare is even more important now than when you were younger. Moisturise, moisturise, moisturise! Your skin needs hydration more than it needs Botox. To give skin a god dose of pure hydration, slather the face, neck and chest with a mix of a face oil and repairing moisturiser. Also use a moisturising night cream overnight to wake up with more supple skin.

Colour is your best friend as you get older. You need to wear less makeup, but judiciously applied. A brighter lipstick and blush goes a long way to making your face look (and feel) alive. Colours in the bright pink or rose family are flattering on all skin tones, moving into bright plums for darker skin tones.

Good quality lip and eye pencils give your features back some definition that tends to fade as you age. But please ensure that they are well-blended! A soft chocolate brown liner on the upper and lower lashlines, plus two good coats of black mascara will make your eye colour pop again. Line your lips with a liner that matches your natural lip colour. This provides not only a great base for lipstick but also defines the lip line that starts to fade and develop wrinkles (which allow lipstick to bleed…eek!). Using a face powder over the lipliner also helps to set it and prevent the lipstick feathering into fine lines.

Eyebrows need a bit of extra help as well, as the hairs in your brows change and get more sparse as you age. So to combat this, apply a matte brow powder with a brush or fill them in with an eyebrow pencil.

Less foundation! There is nothing more aging than a face full of visible foundation – especially dry or powdery. Just cover what needs to be covered in terms of redness or broken capillaries and let that skin shine through! Go easy on the powder as well as your skin’s radiance does tend to dull a bit, with powder often making your look extra dry and aging.

And finally why not break a few rules? Let your hair go grey, start doing yoga, paint your nails a bright colour, buy those crazy big glasses or sunglasses and wear that bright red lipstick. Be the real you…embrace yourself in all your glory. Whatever your age.

About the Author

Christabel Draffin, International Makeup Artist

Christabel has been a makeup artist for the last fifteen years and has worked all over the world including London, Paris, the US and now back in her native Sydney.

Her makeup work has been seen in British and Italian Vogue, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar and Cosmopolitan, as well as regularly on the international catwalks. She is a beauty blogger and writer and a passionate advocate for natural and organic products after suffering an autoimmune disorder. Now as EVOHE’s Creative Director she interprets beauty trends, creates content and works on developing the EVOHE Colours makeup line.

Click here to view her website: www.christabeldraffin.com

Click here to view her makeup blog: www.makeupmole.com