Real Simple: Makeup mistakes that make you age

With the help of makeup artists (and two very game models), we’ve illustrated common beauty blunders, from meager brows to harshly lined lips, that can make you look older than you are. All are easy mistakes to make—but just as easy to correct.

Cosmetic Changes
Using makeup is a double-edged sword. Apply it correctly, and it can make you look youthful and fresh: Witness our well-made-up models, both in their forties. But use too heavy a hand or dated techniques, and it can just as easily add years to your face. See the 10 errors makeup pros singled out for us, plus the easy fixes to make.

Mistake: Skipping Foundation
You may think that the older you get the more makeup you need to “youthify” your face, but the opposite is true. Pack on the makeup and you run the risk of looking older than your years. But one makeup item you should never skip in the name of lightening up your routine: foundation. The right one may be your best friend. “No foundation is better than bad foundation, but good foundation is best,” says Maybelline New York makeup artist Melissa Silver. Shown without foundation, the model’s skin tone is dull in places, shiny in others, and noticeably ruddy. But the sheer, translucent finish (note: not a mask of makeup) that a good foundation provides not only corrects those issues but livens the skin. Want proof? See the next slide.

Solution: Wearing the Right Foundation
With foundation, her tone is even, with a youthful glow. A powder foundation, like Laura Mercier Mineral Pressed Powder SPF 15 ($35, lauramercier.com), is best for oily skin; sweep it on with a fluffy brush for a soft finish. For dry skin, apply liquid foundation or a tinted moisturizer with a slightly damp sponge (try Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20, $42, sephora.com). If you have normal or combination skin, “use the formulation you feel most comfortable in,” says Silver.

“When trying out a new foundation in a department store,” she advises, “wear it for a few hours and check it out in natural daylight to see how it settles. Cakey? Try again. Looks natural? It’s a winner.” A trick she likes, especially for women who shy away from foundation altogether for fear that it will settle into (and highlight) any fine lines: “To sheer out a foundation that you feel is too opaque, mix it on the back of your hand with a drop of moisturizer—which also creates your own customized tinted moisturizer.”

Mistake: Going Too Natural
Even the loveliest skin needs foundation to even out the tone—note the ashy patches when the model goes without—plus smooth the skin and give it a flawless, polished look.

Solution: Covering Up
To find the best color for your skin, test the foundation on your cheek, close to the jawline. “This area will give you the truest match,” says New York City–based makeup artist Tanya Rae. When in doubt about the best shade, choose one that’s slightly darker—rather than lighter—than your complexion, so it warms your skin; going too light can make you look ashen. Blend with a damp sponge (or a brush) so the foundation lines disappear into the skin, says Rae, who likes Lancôme’s Teint Miracle

Mistake: Applying Blush Incorrectly
A frequent makeup mistake: adhering too literally to that old adage about putting blush on the apples of your cheeks. The clown-like rounds of makeup that can result flatter no one. Another no-no: brushing on blush too far below the cheekbone, which visually pulls down the face, making you look jowly. Applied correctly, blush should look like, well, a blush. Rather than concentrating it on the apple of your cheek, brush it—sparingly—up along the cheekbone, using the center of your eye as a guide for your starting point. The upward sweep also gives the illusion of pulling your face upward, slimming it. One blush to try: Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush

Mistake: Choosing Blush in the Wrong Color
When blush is not harmonious with your lip color, it looks harsh, as the blush here—which is too dark, too blue—does: The blue-purple undertones almost make the skin look bruised. Choose colors that are soft and sheer, giving the cheeks a fresh glow.

Women with fair skin look best in rosy pinks and peaches, “nothing too brown,” says Silver. Pinks and peaches work well on medium skin tones, too—even something slightly mauve will flatter those with cooler skin tones. Corals, oranges, berries, and rich bronzes complement darker complexions; avoid anything too blue or too light, which will look ashy. Silver recommends Three Custom Color Specialists’ Crème to Powder Blush ($22.50, threecustom.com) for all skin types. “It applies easily and is totally controllable, never going on too heavy, and comes in all the right shades,” she says.

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