Categories: health & beautyUncategorized

A Simple, Everyday Make-Up Look for the Over 40s and My Go-To Nail Colour

Following on from last month’s post about optimising your skincare routine to fight ageing, I’m bringing you part two which is my everyday make-up look and go-to nail colour. Judging by my current reader survey many of you are keen to see make-up tutorials and more health/beauty posts on the blog, so I thought showing you how I wear my make-up on a regular basis – and the products I use – would be a good place to start.

(If you haven’t yet completed my reader survey I’d really appreciate it – you could win £30 of Yosa jewellery or accessories, it’s open till the end of February!)

What you may or may not notice is that my go-to make-up look is not what you tend to see on Instagram or Pinterest – if you’re wanting a lot of contouring, false eyelashes and Instagram eyebrows I’m afraid that’s just not me. Like clothes, everyone should be free to wear their make-up however they want, so I think it’s great that girls are experimenting with make-up and being bold with their choices. But what you’ll get from me are more natural looks that I believe work for my face, lifestyle and 43-year-old skin. Another example of #iwillwearwhatilike…!

Like last time, I’ve teamed up with Seven Seas, the vitamins, minerals and supplements supplier, to bring you two posts about the Simple Things, their campaign encouraging us to embrace the simple things in life that make you feel young.

Please do note I’m not claiming to be a make-up or nutrition expert (I’m nothing of the sort!), but I’m hoping that these two posts highlight how what you put into your body has a huge effect on the outside – a lot of it is good, old-fashioned common sense.

I’M HOPING THAT THESE POSTS HIGHLIGHT HOW WHAT YOU PUT INTO YOUR BODY HAS A HUGE EFFECT ON THE OUTSIDE – A LOT OF IT IS GOOD, OLD-FASHIONED COMMON SENSE.

What you will also notice about the make-up posts that I do is that I use mostly drugstore brands – very rarely do I buy high-end brands. I’ll also have roots showing from time to time (getting grey roots retouched is costly, so sorry if that offends!) and you’ll be seeing my skin with all its fine lines without any retouching. There’s no point in showing make-up for the over 40s (that I’d like to think is also relevant for the under 40s!) with all the wrinkles and pores Photoshopped out because I think it’s important to see what 40-something skin really looks like close-up.

So yes, I’ll look a little shiny (I like to call it “dewy” – I won’t be caking on thick, matte make-up just to look good in the photos, though the lighting used is very forgiving), my roots will show and my fine lines will be there for everyone to see. But hopefully the make-up will be real and practical, and for all women.

So without further ado, scroll down to read about my everyday make-up look, I hope you enjoy it!

What is your go-to everyday make-up look? And what are your thoughts on my first proper make-up post – tell me in the comments or tweet me @notlamb!

My everyday make-up

I’ve decided not to do a full tutorial this time – I just wanted to concentrate on just showing you this very simple make-up look and the products I use because it is exactly that – simple.

The most important part of the look I go for every day is a dewy look to my skin achieved with a light BB cream or foundation and non-chalky face powder. Please do realise I do not have perfect skin – even without any Photoshopping it’s amazing what results you can achieve with make-up and the right lighting. It surprised me how good my skin looked here!

But even though it looks a little shiny, I’m happy that it doesn’t look cakey. I don’t walk around with a 600W ring light on my face(!), so it works better in real life and has more of a dewy look to it.

The other important part of my make-up routine is my eyebrows. Again, they are something of an illusion – they may look quite thick and full but the overplucking of the early 90s took its toll (as with many women my age or older who succumbed in the 70s), so I fill them in with the Stila waterproof brow colour pen. I’ve tried many ways to do my eyebrows over the years, but this is by far the best product I have ever used: You can literally draw on individual hairs, it’s that accurate and fine. On the outer part of my brows, about half the hairs you see are drawn on. You need a steady hand and a lot of practice…!

I’VE TRIED MANY WAYS TO DO MY EYEBROWS OVER THE YEARS, BUT THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST PRODUCT I HAVE EVER USED: YOU CAN LITERALLY DRAW ON INDIVIDUAL HAIRS, IT’S THAT ACCURATE AND FINE.

Other than that it’s simply about adding some colour. A little cream blush, a touch of brown (not black) eyeliner with soft taupe eyeshadow and curled lashes. I’ve found the best pink-brown lip liner ever that works for a totally natural colour lip that only needs a touch of red gloss dabbed on with your finger.

Make-up products used for this look

Eyes: Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Brow Colour in ‘Dark’ | Rimmel Soft Kohl Liner in ‘Sable Brown’ | Body Shop Eyeshadow in ‘Chocolate Linger’ | Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Mascara in Black

Lips: Maybelline Lip Liner in ‘Sweet Pink’ | A touch of deep red lip gloss (Bourjois Sweet Kiss Lipgloss in ‘Cart Rouge’ is similar)

Key tools used: Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge (used damp for applying/blending BB cream, concealer and blush) | Stila Brush No.9 (for eyeshadow) | Shu Uemura Eyelash Curlers | Real Techniques Lash-Brow Groomer

SHOP THE KEY PRODUCTS:

Nail health and my go-to nail colour

The go-to nail colour I use is Barry M’s Gelly Nail Paint in ‘Lychee’ – taupes and nudes are perfect for slapping on when you’re in a hurry, usually give great coverage if you’ve only got time for one coat and go with anything you’re wearing. Oh, and they also flatter all hands because taupe colours make your fingers look longer (same principal as nude heels).

SHOP NUDE NAIL POLISHES:

I’m often asked about my nails – yes, they are long and no, they are not false nails or extensions. Sort of. I’ll probably write a post about my nails as I do have a trick that means I can keep them long, but I don’t think they’d be as strong as they are if I didn’t eat well and put good food into my body. Like in the post about my skincare, getting enough Omega 3 is vitally important for all sorts of health reasons, but a lot of people just aren’t getting enough of it.

The health benefits of cod liver oil include*:

Healthy hair, skin and nails
Strong bones and teeth
Good vision
Building resistance to infections such as coughs and colds
The relief of muscular pains, joint pain and stiffness
Maintained brain function
Support for a healthy heart

*Disclaimer: Food supplements are intended to supplement the diet and should not be regarded as a substitute for a varied diet and a healthy lifestyle. See the Seven Seas cod liver oil product details for more information.

So you can see that this supplement is important for the outside as well as the inside. Make-up does a lot to help us improve what we’ve got, but getting the bare, naked base as healthy as we can should be our number one priority!

Linking up to: Style Stories, iwillwearwhatilike, Visible Monday, Let It Shine, Monday Mingle, Style Sessions, Turning Heads Tuesday, Trend Spin Link-Up, What I Wore Wednesday, Brilliant Blog Posts, Throwback Thursday, My Refined Style, Passion for Fashion Friday, Friday’s Fab Favourites

Disclosure: I have written this post in collaboration with Seven Seas (click here for my full disclosure). All content is original, however, and opinions are my own and 100% honest.

Catherine