When you are over 40 you shouldn’t be using the same make up routine you used as a teenager. As we age so our facial features and skin tones, so we need to do our make up differently.

Step up the blusher.  As we get older we lose some of the pigment in our skin and the skin often has less glow. So don’t be afraid to use blusher to replace it.

Avoid Pink or Beige based Foundation. This will age you instantly. Pink or Beige or any cool toned powder or foundation sucks warmth out of the skin, avoid this at all costs!

Anything cool toned appears paler on the skin that it actually is and results in that washed out look.  Go for warm tones in a shade slightly darker than you think you need, certainly darker than the one you wore at age 20. This also applies to concealer. A slightly darker shade will give a warmer, more natural and flattering look. Too pale and panda eyes can result.

Don’t over-pluck your eyebrows. Maybe fine eyebrows worked in the 1940s and 1950s. Well for Marlene Dietrich or Betty Davis it did.  But unless eyebrows are pencilled in by an expert you can age yourself by a good 10 years this way.

As we age our eyelids become fuller and droopier and they begin to sag, sorry but they do! If you over pluck you will accentuate the puffiness and this will drag your eye shape down.

Don’t use more eyeliner under the eye than on the top. Look in the mirror, place a finger in the middle of your lower lashes and gently pull down slightly.  This is just not a good look is it?

Yet this is what happens when you put more eyeliner or shadow under your eye than above. It drags your eyes down.

Make sure that your upper eye liner or shadow is at least 3 times heavier than below as this will automatically lift your eyes.

Don’t use frosted eyeshadow or white frosty highlighter, not ever. If you own some, bin it!  Any frosted or shimmery eyeshadow or highlighter accentuates lines because it makes skin look scaly, yuch! Also frosty pinks, blues and purples are best left to teenagers.

Don’t forget your decolletage. This area will probably have had more sun damage than anywhere else and will be prone to burst capillaries, lines and uneven pigmentation.

It is such a shame to see a beautifully dressed and made up woman let down by this area because she has not looked beyond her face in the make up mirror. Skillful use of  foundation and powder can work wonders and always use a sunscreen here. If the damage is too bad then a fine silk scarf can be very flattering.

Don’t over-powder. Our skin becomes more porous as we age and the use of moisturisers and anti-aging products accentuate this. The result can be caked powder. If you have time leave a 10-15 minute gap between applying moisturiser and foundation and another gap between foundation and powder.

Don’t use dark or harsh lipstick shades if you have small lips. As we age our lips begin to sag downwards, so applying harsh lip liner or dark shades just draws attention to this.

Try using a lighter shade in the middle of your lips to give them a rounded, fuller shape. Use a little concealer on the outer corners of your mouth and go to just on the inside of your natural lip line on the bottom outer lip corner. This will help to lift the mouth.

Don’t over use lip gloss. Lip gloss makes any lipstick susceptible to running and if you have any lines around your mouth, no matter how fine, the colour will find them and bleed into them. Keep lip gloss to a minimum. Use foundation or concealer around your lips before applying lipstick and gloss and consider a product specifically targeting this area, for example Elizabeth Arden’s Lip Fix.

Last but not least, use an eyelash curler. Always think of creating up-lines wherever possible. An eyelash curler gives your lashes an upward sweep that is very youthful and flattering in just a few moments.

Smoky eyes shouldn’t be harsh they should be subtle and sexy. Keeping the eyes open and fresh with maximum impact.

Quick Tips Before We Start
Lining the inner eye with a creamy white pencil will open up the eyes.

Lining the eyes with black gives you a cat-like effect.

You can’t go past deep violet tones for smoky eyes, especially when you are wearing black.

If you want a little more colour just touch the inner corner of your eye with a bright lavender, gold or blue. Metalic colours are best.

Remember they don’t have to be black and dark. You can achieve smoky eyes with bronzed colours, a jewelled effect and even green.

First of all prepare the eye area making sure you have used no oily products, powder lightly and apply foundation.

Apply a chocolate brown shadow under the eye. Keep the shape slightly rounded.

Using a large brush apply a soft wash of the same colour to the whole lid. All the way up to the brow bone and extend out to the edge of the eye.

Apply a heavy black kohl pencil to the inside rim of the eye and also above the whole top lash. The top line should be smudged rather than defined. Heat the pencil up by rubbing on the back of your hand before use and blend slightly with finger tip or cotton bud.

Mix black and khaki eyeshadow and smudge it around the whole eye, right up to the lash line. Blend with a small brush.

Wet the brush and smudge the black/khaki shadow upward towards the brow bone. Don’t worry if the line isn’t perfect as you will be blending another colour with it up to the brow bone.

Apply an aubergine eye shadow to the under brow area, blending it well with the black.

Clean and tidy up any powder that has spiled onto your face. Define the brows with a pencil and brush. A strong defined brow is important for this look.

Curl your lashes and apply several coats of thickening mascara or false eye lashes.

Finish with a dash of metalic green shadow in the corner of the eye.

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Perfume is the ultimate sensory experience and can conjure up emotions and memories. You can use this in two ways. You can create a signature fragrance just for you. Choose a fragrance you like and wear it all the time. Layer it by using a deodorant, body lotion, bath additives, anything available in the same scent. This will make the fragrance last longer so that the scent is present whenever you are. Someone who knows you well will only have to smell a hint of your own special perfume and memories and emotions of the time you spent together will flood back into their mind.

This has limitations however as you must choose a fragrance that is suitable to all occasions, seasons and time of day or night. The alternative is to choose a fragrance that reflects your mood. A light energetic fragrance for work, a soft floral scent for daytime outings or a heavy, sensual perfume for evenings. Your perfume will help create the mood and feelings that most reflect your own and push the occasion in the direction you want it to go.

Fragrance comes in a number of different formulas and it is important to know what you are buying.

Perfume has 22% Fragrance Oils and it is the most long-lasting and concentrated form. This is not used all that often these days as it is incredibly expensive.

Eau de Parfume is very popular and contains 15-22% fragrance oils. It is still expensive but is a very clean and long-lasting form.

Eau de Toilette and Eau de Cologne contain 4-15% fragrance oils and should be significantly less expensive than the more concentrated forms.

Classically fragrance is divided into three layers of scent called notes. The top note contains the most volatile oils and is the shortest lived fragrance. The middle note last a little longer and is the dominant, central tone of the fragrance. The base note lasts much longer around 24 hours and it is the combination of these notes that gives the famous fragrances their distinctive smell.

Fragrances can be divided into different families.

A Chypre fragrance contains woody, mossy and floral notes such as Oakmoss, Sandlewood, Patchouli, Bergamot and Vetiver.

Examples of a Chypre Fragrance include Cuir de Russe by Chanel. Misouko by Guerlain and Chypre de Coty

Marine Fragrances are a new family of scents that evoke the scent of the sea using an ingredient called Calone. A number of popular modern fragrances like Dolce & Gabana’s Feminine, Escape from Calvin Klein and Aquawoman by Rochas are examples of Marine fragrances.

Oriental fragrances are warm, spicy and sweet. They contain ingredients like vanilla and Tonka bean and sometimes the heavy sensual musk oils. Examples include Opium by Yves Saint Laurent, and Coco by Chanel.

The majority of feminine fragrances are floral. Some are a blend of different flower oils with or without additional oil like citrus oil or a single floral note, again with other undernotes added. Examples include, Chanel no 19, Anais Anais by Cacharel, L’Air du Temps by Nina Ricci and Dolce Vita by Dior.

Remember perfume can both define you and capture the essence of the moment, make it work for you.