I'm 55—These Are the 5 Fountain-of-Youth Makeup Hacks I Swear By
Melissa Meyers is a Los Angeles based influencer with a focus on beauty, style, travel, and wellness. Her blog, The Glow Girl, aims to empower women to embrace the best version of themselves, age gracefully, and cultivate a glow from the inside out. She also happens to be a 55-year-old with a passion for beauty. Below, hear from Meyers on the top five makeup tips she swears by for feeling and looking 10 years younger.
At 55 years old, I've made a commitment to continue feeling and looking my best as I get older, and as a beauty lover, I'm always on the hunt for the very best products that can help me achieve this! I get lots of questions about my best tips for aging gracefully, and I definitely have a few great secrets in my bag to help turn back the clock a few years. Below, I'm sharing five makeup hacks I use regularly to help erase a few extra years off my face. Keep scrolling…
Hack #1: Embrace Products With Blurring Power
Use a blurring primer. Finding a great primer is a necessity when it comes to ensuring a smooth, long-lasting makeup application. That being said, not all primers are created equally. One of my top anti-aging tips when it comes to makeup is to invest in a primer that's specifically marketed as "blurring," which will actually help soften the appearance of fine lines or wrinkles.
Farsáli makes a great clean beauty primer called Skintune Blur Perfecting Primer Serum ($54). It is one of the best for achieving that soft-focus finish that's deeply flattering as we get older. I also like StriVectin Line BlurFector Instant Wrinkle Blurring Primer ($39) for its ability to fake the look of younger, airbrushed-looking skin. It's almost like a magical optical illusion!
Hack #2: Prioritize Your Brows
Since our eyebrows start to thin and get more sparse as we age, creating the look of thicker, fuller brows helps mimic create a more youthful appearance. Having a great brow filler in your makeup bag is a must.
Ere Perez makes a great pencil to fill in those inevitable gaps that can come with age, and the brand also has a great clear gel to help groom them naturally. Its Aloe Gel Lash and Brow Mascara ($24) is one of the best in clean beauty, plus it's sweat-proof and water-resistant.
I also like BeautyCounter's brow gel. It comes in different tints and has a buildable formula to give the appearance of thicker brows. Luna Nectar Moon Boost Lash and Brow Serum ($75) is another new find I recently discovered while at the Indie Beauty Expo, and even though I've only been using it for about a month, I've already noticed tons of new brow growth! (It's so good that I even featured it in my onTuwi Boutique.)
Hack #3: Get Glowy
One of my top makeup hacks for looking 10 years younger than I actually am is to use glowy products. A highlighter can add definition to your bone structure and complexion while also gifting skin with a radiant, youthful luminosity. I recommend concentrating your application on top of your brow and cheekbones, and maybe just a touch along the bridge of your nose.
Ilia's liquid highlighter is amazing. It has a lightweight gel-based formula that infuses your skin with a warm and dewy finish. I also use legendary makeup artist Gucci Westman's Westman Atelier Lit Up Highlight Stick ($48). It's super flattering, as it melts into your complexion and also boasts specialized ingredients to strategically help encourage collagen production (which naturally and gradually depletes as we age).
A great drugstore option is by CoverGirl. The brand just launched a clean beauty line, and its Clean Fresh Cooling Glow Stick ($11) is super portable and has a light shimmery finish. For an all-around glow, it's also worth checking out the newest clean beauty product from Saie: Its Glowy Super Gel ($25), which comes in a universal shade and is great when worn alone for a fresh natural glow or under foundation.
If you prefer a powder formula, I like PYT Beauty Upgrade Highlighter ($22). It’s satiny smooth and buildable for a sun-kissed glow.
For a dewy way to highlight your skin that's more skincare focused (and super-natural!), try using the Olie x Melissa Meyers Golden Ray Drops ($112) dabbed lightly on top of cheekbones over your makeup. This new face oil is not only the perfect primer for your skin, but it also leaves it with an overall velvety texture. It's made with French marine algae—an active ingredient that's proven to build collagen.
Hack #4: Don't Neglect Your Lips
Plump and condition your lips. As we get older, our lips thin, leaving our pouts not so plump! A great lip plumper will be your best friend if you find the right one. The big secret here is to find a formula that will moisturize and plump. I have a few favorites…
Glossier's eye and lip-plumping cream is a great option because it actually does double duty as a lip and eye product. It hydrates both of these delicate areas by plumping the skin. Plus, it never feels sticky.
I also love using the Bare Minerals Moxie Plumping Lip Gloss ($18) in addition to the brand's Gen Nude Under Over Lip Liner ($16). It's a great product combination to help mask those fine lines around my mouth.
If you're worried about irritation, Whish makes a great Watermelon Lip Balm ($20) that's made with organic ingredients and is wonderfully hydrating. It's made with bakuchiol—a less irritating (and plant-based) alternative to retinol.
Hack #5: The Great Cover-Up
Dark under-eye circles and skin imperfections can definitely make us look older or more tired than we actually are! This is where a great concealer can come in handy. My all-time favorite is RMS Beauty Un Cover-Up Concealer/Foundation ($36). It's made with clean, organic ingredients and comes in a ton of shades. It also never gets dry or cakey on the skin, which many other concealers tend to do.
I never leave home without using one of the most cult-loved beauty must-haves in the industry: Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat All-Over Brightening Pen ($35). I even keep one in my bag at all times for touch-ups. For super-dark circles and tired eyes, YSL has one that offers even more coverage as well. It's truly one of the best products to camouflage and brighten tired eyes.
Another game-changing concealer that works wonders for hiding dark circles and sunspots is Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer ($28). It’s no wonder why they call it the "magic eraser." Plus, there are a ton of shades on offer.
Of course, there are fantastic skincare products and other non-invasive procedures that can also help with aging softly, but many of those things take time and patience to see results and can get costly. Sometimes, we just want a little more instant gratification! That's when I turn to makeup hacks for a quick and easy confidence boost. I recommend experimenting with these tips and products and seeing how you feel.
Next: A 54-Year-Old Shares 9 Beauty Products That Make Her Look 10 Years Younger
This article was originally published at an earlier date and has been updated.
Erin has been writing a mix of beauty and wellness content forBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing for over four years. Prior to that, she spent two and half years writing for Byrdie. She now calls Santa Monica home but grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and studied writing, rhetoric, and communication at University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. She studied abroad in Galway, Ireland, and spent a summer in L.A. interning with the Byrdie andBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing family. After graduating from UW, she spent one year in San Francisco, where she worked as a writer for Pottery Barn Kids and PBteen before moving down to L.A. to begin her career as a beauty editor. She considers her day-to-day beauty aesthetic very low-maintenance and relies on staples like clear brow serum (from Kimiko!), Lawless's Lip Plumping Mask in Cherry Vanilla, and an eyelash curler. For special occasions or days when she's taking more meetings or has an event, she'll wear anything and everything from Charlotte Tilbury (the foundations are game-changing), some shimmer on her lids (Stila and Róen do it best), and a few coats of the best mascara-type product on earth, Surratt's Noir Lash Tint.
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