Forty-five is akin to thirty is the latest thing in the present; the age of your body is less important than the degree of confidence you have in it. For those aged 30 — a mark of maturity — it is beneficial to have some practiced techniques for looking polished and beautiful. In this article, Charlotte Tilbury, the British makeup artist renowned for her work with celebrities such as Kate Moss, outlines the five basic techniques she suggests each woman of any age should know.
Perfect Skin
“By the time women hit 30, they should have their healthy, happy, glowing skin routine at the ready,” Tilbury states. “As you age, time-saving, quick, and easy skin secrets and complexion saviors are key.”
Tilbury initially proposes “drenching the skin with moisture” to prepare it. “You can’t have a beautiful painting without a beautiful canvas,” she explains. The next step is to target your undereye area–” the most delicate part susceptible to aging and developing wrinkles due to dehydration”–by gently tapping the eye cream with your fingernail. “It will instantly turn back the ticking time bomb,” she claims.
A great foundation is crucial. Tilbury is looking for heroine ingredients, like the pore-slimming extract of mushrooms and the plumping hyaluronic acid that can improve and rejuvenate skin. This is followed by an under-eye lightener, one lighter than the concealer, to disguise the dark. “This will bounce out the light and make you look like you’ve had eight hours of sleep!” she declares. Then, you can apply a layer of concealer over the foundation tapping on the red spots and blemishes to cover any imperfections.
Contouring
According to Tilbury, The most effective way to contour easily is in products with glowing finishes. “That way, whatever your age, you are never going to look caked or powdery,” she adds.
To draw out cheekbones, “use my Filmstar Bronze and Glow, or any natural warm bronze contour shade, and a precision brush,” Tilbury states. “Just look at the mirror and then suck your cheeks in as you follow natural hollows. This will show you precisely where to apply the shade!” Tracing the jawline helps draw it out, and an intense highlighter on the cheekbones’ tops and temples gives a nice effect. To reduce the size of your nose’s bridge, Tilbury runs a blender brush on either side, then under the edge “like a windscreen wiper” to raise the tip. “You can also apply a little bit of pearly light-catching highlighter down the middle of the nose,” she states. “I use this trick on Kim [Kardashian West] and many other celebrities.”
In terms of the brush, Tilbury explains that they’re essential to contour. “I always say brushes are like my hands,” she states. “Once you’ve finished contouring, use a bigger bronzer brush to create a sun-kissed finish to the skin and remember to blend, blend, blend.”
The Matte Lip
“Women from 17 to 70 tell me that they are afraid of a bold lip or a lip–full stop–and there is no reason!” Tilbury states. “Lip liner and a matte lip are your best friend at 30.”
If you’ve got a slimmer lower lip, “you can instantly add volume by tracing the natural outline of your lips using my Lip Cheat Lip Liner in Pillow Talk, which is a natural pillowy-pink tone,” she states. “Then add a lip liner using matte lipstick. Matte lipsticks are amazing, because they naturally give the appearance of larger, fuller lips.”
The Golden Smoky Eye
This style offers “instant, spot-lit beauty,” according to Tilbury. “It’s all about magical golds on the eye that make them look instantly bigger and brighter–angelic highlights on the skin that play with the light,” she says.
To get it done, use an application brush with a blender and apply a bronze-colored cream shadow similar to the one from Tilbury’s Bette across the lid with a back-and-forth motion. “Then use a smudger brush to define [the lid], using a darker bronze shade, and add lashings of mascara!” she adds. “Eye cremes are your secret anti-aging weapon, as the textures are so gorgeous,” she says. “They give a fresh glossiness on the eye that plays with the light.”
Natural-Looking Blush
“No one wants to look like Aunt Sally with swirls of pink on their cheeks at 30!” Tilbury declares. “A beautiful blush can youth-boost and paint the color of love back into your cheeks in seconds.”
Tilbury is a fan of a dab of blush in cream and then slapped onto the apples of cheeks. “The key is to mimic the way you naturally blush,” she says. Skin-smoothing formulas like Ceramidone, she says, are ideal for creating the appearance they “make you look instantly airbrushed!”