Women of any age can wear eyeliner. There is no age limit to apply eyeliner.
Applying a thick, black eyeliner makes your eyes appear really small and beady — making you look older than you are. An easy solution to this problem is to switch your back eyeliner with a brown one for a softer and more youthful appearance.
Mistake #5: Your Eyeliner Technique
A makeup artist once told us that harsh, thick eyeliner will age you like no other, especially if you only apply it to your bottom lash line.
Liquid is best
“I recommend using a liquid eyeliner with a felt tip as it's easier to control and apply with less tugging and pulling of the skin. As we age, the thin skin on our upper eyelids tend to crinkle and many work around this problem by stretching the eyelid during application, which isn't a good idea.
Eyeliner for older eyes
Eye makeup for older women should be softer and more subtle – for women with lighter coloring go for a brown shade and for women with darker coloring a darker color (read black) usually looks better. Less is more. Thick heavy makeup will almost certainly make you look older, not younger.
Ditch liquid liners
Thick black lines don't do any woman over 35 any favours as it makes eyes that are already getting smaller with age look even tinier. And the rock-chick look is too harsh for ageing skin tones, so switch to brown or charcoal-grey.
“You may have heard the trick to apply white pencil eyeliner to your waterline to brighten your eyes and make them look younger. However, this can look unnatural and too retro. Instead, opt for a champagne shade or nude eyeliner on the waterline.
"Keep the liner to the top lid for a more lifted, youthful effect." If you really, really want to go after your bottom lash line, Stiles recommends using a lighter color there than you're using on the top. "This will still give you definition, but feels softer and more flattering," she adds.
Loss of muscle tone and thinning skin gives the face a flabby or drooping appearance. In some people, sagging jowls may create the look of a double chin. Your skin also dries out and the underlying layer of fat shrinks so that your face no longer has a plump, smooth surface.
Despite what you may have heard, it's not the best idea to apply dark eyeliner to your bottom waterline because this can actually shrink the appearance of your eyes. Instead, apply your go-to eyeliner just below your lower lashes to help make your eyes look bigger.
For Brown Eyes
You can't go wrong with earthy browns, but "amber and midnight-blue tones emphasize the light flecks in brown eyes," says Tilbury. If you're not ready to commit to too much color, line just the waterlines. Rimming the eyes in dark blue gives the same effect as black in a less severe way.
A statement color, glowing skin, and graphic eyeliner are not going out of style anytime soon. And don't forget to add on your face gems–they're a must-have (trust us).
For the most part, if you're doing your own makeup and you're over the age of 50, you want to go for a dewy lightweight formula. "When you're younger your skin is thicker and healthier and it can hold more weight of product, and as you get older, that's just not true," says Linter.
“Using a small eye brush, start from the outer corner of the eyes and work inwards, so that the color gets gradually lighter. It'll give you a bigger, wide-eyed look.”
A little white or nude eyeliner on your bottom lid can work wonders to make you look more awake and refreshed. Gently pull on your under-eye and trace the line between the lower lashes and the inside rim.
It is best not to use liquid liner at all on the bottom lashes since it has the potential to smudge unevenly and create fine lines below the eyes. Additionally, it can make the eyes appear harsh because it is difficult to blend.
Your 50s and Beyond
Excess liner ages the eyes and makes them appear smaller. After age 50, lighten it up! Since skin at this age is less supple, Patinkin likes to use a muted black or dark grey eye shadow on the upper lash line to create a smoky definition without looking too strong.
The obstruction of the glands, caused by the use of eyeliner in the waterline, means that the eye is “not producing healthy tears,” Dr Carver explained, adding in the caption that patients can experience dry eyes, or Dry Eye Disease, as a result.
Like we mentioned, the best eyeshadow for mature eyes tends to be cream formulas, since they won't settle into fine lines. That said, it's a good idea to set cream products with powder formulas to avoid any transfer. You can do this for both your eyeshadow and eyeliner, by using a matte eyeshadow.
Opt for a lighter eyeshadow rather than a dark, smoky shade on your eyelids and around the eyes, like Jenna Dewan Tatum. "Highlighting the corners makes eyes look brighter and fresh," says Ahnert. "Use a light color shadow in matte or shimmer to inner corner, lower lash line in outer corner, and the inner lid."
DON'T line your whole eye.
Drawing your eyeliner from outside corner all of the way to the inside corner of your eye, on top and bottom, is just a whole lotta eyeliner. It's harsh and unflattering, and makes your eyes appear smaller. It also makes it look like you wear a studded black belt over your Billabong t-shirt.