This Is Why You Hate Your Makeup
You’re not alone. We all do.
by Audie Metcalf
Makeup is hard. I want to start with that. We are all meant to feel like it should be easy, but with the overwhelming abundance of new products, YouTubers telling us to wear 17 layers of white concealer, and zero guidance from our mothers, we’re all just out here doing our best.
And then we turned 40.
And it all got harder.
So we tried thicker creams and higher coverage foundations and darker liners.
And we hated how we looked even more.
So I am here today to share the 8th wonder of the world, the riddle of the sphinx, the reason you hate what you see in the mirror when you put on your makeup:
You’re wearing too much of it.
I devoted a day to taking photos of myself to show you what I mean by this because it took me a cool 46 years to understand what I was doing wrong, and today, I pass on what I’ve learned.
If you love makeup, you’re probably wearing too much of it.
If you don’t know what to do with makeup, you’re wearing too much of it.
Apart from people who literally wear zero makeup on their faces, we are all just wearing too much.
Now, this doesn’t mean “you only need 3 products and you’re good!” No. Quite the contrary. I use many, many products, in order to look like the most natural version of myself. Being a woman is fun!!
SKIN PREP IS EV.ER.Y.THING WHEN YOU’RE OVER 40
Ok so. Here I am, with the best moisturizer on earth and the best face sunscreen on earth, and that’s it. 90% of the game is skincare and skin prep.
Yes, my pores are huge. Yes, I have rosacea. And those are the main reasons I wear makeup. You probably have different reasons. So identify those reasons and get extremely specific about what you’re putting on your face to downplay what you hate, and highlight what you love.
FOUNDATION, BUT MAKE IT SO VERY CHILL
Next, the lightest layer of foundation known to man. I love Chanel Les Beiges tint because it’s like a wash of tinted moisture that fills in pores, evens skin tone, and looks utterly undetectable. That stumpy little Merit brush is perfect for smearing it all on.
I usually go for foundation colors that are a whisper too dark for me and bring it down my neck and on my ears because being pale makes me desperately sad. This is not to say pale skin isn’t beautiful. It is. Just not on me. I then press some of this HONESTLY MAGICAL LOOSE POWDER to keep my extreme shine at bay throughout the day, and to further fill up my cavernous pores.
THE STEP YOU MUSTN'T EVER SKIP
Bronzer brings life to the face. I use powder bronzer in the summer because I’m an oil slick, but if you have drier skin, THIS cream bronzer is gorgeous. Also THIS is the best bronzer brush ever to exist.
However, never ever ever ever ever wear bronzer with sheen. Never. It does the exact opposite of what you want bronzer to do which is to mimic being kissed by the sun after a day of yachting in Monaco. Shimmer just makes everything look fake and bad so then what are we all even doing here?
Use an enormous brush and use a LIGHT layer around your hairline, lots on your nose, and haphazardly on your cheeks and temples. If you’re too precious about it, it looks fake.
THE SECRET WEAPON DEVICE THAT JUST MIGHT WORK
As I crowed about at the beginning of this interminable article, skincare and skin prep is 99.9% of the game post 40. The better our skin looks, the less we have to faff about with makeup. I’ve been using THIS LED light tool that claims to fight wrinkles/fine lines/acne, and I think it…might actually work?
I smear on some serum, and glide this on my face for 5 minutes each night. I would say the major difference I see (and feel) is an overall smoothness, and sort of de-puffed undereye which I’m overjoyed with. I asked Solawave to give us a custom code so that you guys could try it out. They do a 30-day money back guarantee so if you hate it, you’re still golden. No, not sponsored. But when any of us try more expensive stuff that we love we always try to get you codes You’re welcs.
Use the code CANDIDLY15 for 15% off.
ET VOILA
Just a 46 year old gal, who likes what she sees in the mirror. Nothing is cakey. Nothing exacerbates my wrinkles or pores. And nothing looks glaringly like makeup. Sure, there’s little spots and things and I would much rather that than be covered in makeup that cracks when I smile.
The final bits and bobs that finish the look are the best lipgloss on earth that’s sort of a non-color, literal cement brow gel that tames my old man brow hairs, this amazing pore-filling putty, and this pencil I use instead of concealer because concealer is the devil in disguise. Just use it in your inner corner of your eye where it meets your nose and maybe some under the nostrils if you’re red. Do NOT spend a ton of time using concealer to “brighten” and “cover” because it’s just highlights stuff we want hidden.
The secret to looking fresher and more bright eyed is to use little to no concealer and just use your foundation under your eyes along with this pencil. That’s it.
Yes, I have lash extensions and wear exactly zero eye makeup ever. I have extremely (sensitive) hooded eyes so this is a godsend for me. I was also so tired of constantly having raccoon eyes from laughing or even “talking” and no mascara on earth doesn’t smudge on me. If you fall into any or all of these categories I highly recommend spending an hour a month on this service, so that you can spend zero hours on eye makeup for the remaining 29 days. If that’s not your jam, I recommend THIS curler, finding an incredibly long-wearing mascara, and if you must do liner, scribble it onto the roots of your lashes to mimic fuller lashes.
Under almost no circumstance is an eyeshadow a good idea. And like whatever you do you, but if you hate your makeup (which you do because you clicked into this article about hating your makeup) I’m here to tell you that eyeshadow is a total scam. It makes you look overly made up and tired. And so does liner on the bottom of your eyes. And so does color on your lips. And a drawn-in brow.
And of course, if we’re being totally honest here, NOTHING works unless we’re taking fastidious care of our skin. I see a huge different when I use THIS GORGEOUS NIGHT CREAM and THIS PERFECT SCRUB regularly. Makeup goes on smoother and better because my pores are smaller and tighter.
WHAT NOT TO DO
And because I like to put my money where my mouth is, here I am, wearing all those things.
Prepare for a jump-scare:
Eyebags always look worse if you wear color on your lower lash line. Always. Lip color always ages us. And too bold of a brow can veer into this territory:
THE LIVED-IN LOOK AFTER A FEW HOURS OF WRITING THIS VERY ARTICLE
When you use impossibly thin layers, skip many “traditional” steps of makeup, and focus much more on sublime skincare, you won’t need to do a lot of worrying and fussing about your makeup.
You’ll just look like you.
And when you look in the mirror, you’ll like what you see.
Audie Metcalf is the Editor-in-chief of The Candidly, and lives in LA with her family. You can find more of her articles here.
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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