Of the 10 makeup mistakes that make you look older, going overboard on concealer is one of the most obvious—and also one of the most correctible! While many of us get through our 20s with just concealer, mascara, and lip gloss, that simply doesn't cut it later in life.
Look for non-matte products that do double, triple, even quadruple duty—say, by adding a dewy glow, intense moisture, sunscreen to ward off spots and wrinkles, retinol and even a filter-like finish. “Dewy foundations give you a more hydrated, youthful look than matte foundations,” says Duque.
Neutrals and Pinks
Neutral and pink colored eye shadows also make you look younger. Neutrals will also complement your everyday look without making you feel that you have over done your makeup, whether you are in the office or college.
To achieve a younger look, Hughes recommends using champagne eyeliner rather than the go-to white pencil. “You may have heard the trick to apply white pencil eyeliner to your waterline to brighten your eyes and make them look younger.
"The key to looking fresh is using a cream blush—it's more blendable," Brooke says. Warm shades with a hint of pink or rose gold in them work best for most skin tones.
With age, that fat loses volume, clumps up, and shifts downward, so features that were formerly round may sink, and skin that was smooth and tight gets loose and sags. Meanwhile other parts of the face gain fat, particularly the lower half, so we tend to get baggy around the chin and jowly in the neck.
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.
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.
Unhealthy Eating
Fatty food, coffee and even sugary drinks are not the best options if you want to have radiant and youthful-looking skin. Junk foods can also load your system with free radicals, which are those nasty buggers that can only hasten the process of aging.
If you've ever thought your makeup makes you look more wrinkled, it might be by virtue of dehydrated skin. Makeup has a way of leaching the moisture from the skin, accentuating pores, and highlighting fine lines and wrinkles. So if your skin looks worse with foundation, this could be a major culprit.
Drinking enough water each day replenishes your skin's tissue and cells, allowing for younger and healthier looking skin. Another key to maintaining a youthful appearance is to simply get some rest! When you sleep, your body continuously releases hormones that promote cell turnover and renewal.
Being gentle with your skin will cut back on prematurely aging your skin, but less makeup will have your skin looking younger. You'll have less bacteria on your face. Bacteria is all around us but you don't want it on your face. Every single time a makeup brush touches your face, you're adding bacteria to your skin.
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."
The most universally flattering, can't-go-wrong blush shade? Peach. "Anybody can put on peach blush and look fantastic," says Ciucci (which is why you'll see this shade as a pick for multiple skin tones). On fair skin, peach is especially flattering if your complexion has yellow undertones.
Clothes with gray undertones can wash you out and make you seem older, says Natalie Jobity, an image consultant and author of Frumpy to Fabulous. “This is especially true about the colors you wear closest to your face, like those in scarves,” she says.
Having fuller, thicker eyebrows is a great way to make your face look more mature. Fill them in with an eyebrow pomade to give them more definition and to help frame your face. Thin, sparse brows can make you look younger, so make sure they're filled in and shaped well to accentuate your best features!
Dark circles under your eyes may make you look tired or older than you are. Dark under-eye circles have many possible causes. But they're usually not a symptom of a medical problem.
"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.