As we age, the lips lose fullness and elasticity. Fine lines settle in, making it hard to apply lipstick without emphasizing them. Luckily, Chang-Babaian says that creating the illusion of full lips is easy -- and you don't need to get anywhere near a needle to do it. Here's how to plump them with makeup.
- Choose a neutral lip liner slightly darker than your natural lip color.
- "Create fullness ... by drawing a V shape, duplicating the Cupid's bow (often shrunken on mature lips) on the upper lip line. Then draw a dash under the center of the bottom lip. Connect the corners, drawing the line slightly above the natural lip to minimize a larger lower lip to create better balance."
- "Create width by drawing slightly outside the corners of the mouth to give the illusion of a wider mouth."
-Fill in the lips with lip liner and apply color.
- "Apply gloss to the center of the bottom and top lips to give the illusion of full, hydrated lips."
- Choose a neutral lip liner slightly darker than your natural lip color.
- "Create fullness ... by drawing a V shape, duplicating the Cupid's bow (often shrunken on mature lips) on the upper lip line. Then draw a dash under the center of the bottom lip. Connect the corners, drawing the line slightly above the natural lip to minimize a larger lower lip to create better balance."
- "Create width by drawing slightly outside the corners of the mouth to give the illusion of a wider mouth."
-Fill in the lips with lip liner and apply color.
- "Apply gloss to the center of the bottom and top lips to give the illusion of full, hydrated lips."
Eyeliner gets trickier as we age. "Simply following the line of your top lids can actually exaggerate the 'fall' if you don't angle the end of the line upward," says Chang-Babaian. Here's how to lift your eyes with eyeliner:
- Line the top lashline. If your eyes are close-set, begin the eyeliner at the iris.
- Create an angled line at a 45-degree angle as you reach the end of the lashline to lift the eyes up.
- Connect the tip of the angle to your lash line, and fill in the space between.
- Line the top lashline. If your eyes are close-set, begin the eyeliner at the iris.
- Create an angled line at a 45-degree angle as you reach the end of the lashline to lift the eyes up.
- Connect the tip of the angle to your lash line, and fill in the space between.
The tail end of brows are one of the first things to go as you age, says Chang-Babaian. Here's how to keep yours looking full and youthful:
- Hold a pencil on the side of your nose and inner corner of the eye. If your brow does not touch the pencil, fill in lightly with a brow pencil or pomade in a slightly darker color than your natural brows. Use short, hair-like strokes.
- The arch should start above the outside of the pupil. Aging brows often begin falling here. Fill in above the arch to create the illusion of a lifted brow.
- Hold a pencil at an angle from the inside of the nose to the outside corners of the eyes. The tails of the eyebrows should end here, but aging makes them thin and shorter. Extend the ends with light, gentle strokes with an eyebrow pencil.
- Hold a pencil on the side of your nose and inner corner of the eye. If your brow does not touch the pencil, fill in lightly with a brow pencil or pomade in a slightly darker color than your natural brows. Use short, hair-like strokes.
- The arch should start above the outside of the pupil. Aging brows often begin falling here. Fill in above the arch to create the illusion of a lifted brow.
- Hold a pencil at an angle from the inside of the nose to the outside corners of the eyes. The tails of the eyebrows should end here, but aging makes them thin and shorter. Extend the ends with light, gentle strokes with an eyebrow pencil.