With adept use of eyeliner you can visually lift the outer corners of your eyes, giving them an almond-shaped appearance. Line your upper lashes with black eyeliner, making the line slightly thicker at the outer corners.
Finish with a subtle "flick" before applying mascara to boost lash length and volume. A liquid liner like Max Factor Masterpiece Glide & Define Liquid Eyeliner, RRP $19.95 (right) will give you a more precise application.
BROW-RAISING
Your eyebrows are a powerful anti-ageing feature - if you treat them with respect. When shaped to suit your face and filled in they can provide your face with an instant lift. If your brows have bnecome sparse with age, simply fill them in with a brow pencil one shade lighter than your brows (unless you're blonde, in which case try one shade darker) to help emphasise your bone structure and create a fuller appearance.
Use short, feathering strokes and concentrate colour on the top edges of brows. To improve their shape, consult a professional who can guide you in the right direction - one shape does not fit all. Follow their tips at home with the help of a brow-shaping kit like Benefit Brow Zings.
GET GLOWING
Bronzer is a great tool for mature skin - but only when applied correctly. "Remember there is a difference between `sun-kissed' and `sun-tanned'," advises Estee Lauder makeup artist Jahi Ireland. Using a matt bronzer, gently sweep all over your face with a large makeup brush.
We like Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Soft Matte Bronzer. Finish with soft pink blush over the cheekbones for a natural glow.
WHAT A CHEEK!
Anyone can fake chiselled cheekbones with the help of a contouring and highlighting blush. Use a duo such as Bourjois Sculpting Duo Effect Blush in Medium Pink, RRP $23 (below, left), applying the darker shade from the hollow of your cheek (just beneath your cheekbone) to up towards your temples.
The goal os to create a shadow which adds definition to your facial features. Be sure to beldn awaye any harsh lines.
Next, highlight your bone structure by sweeping the lightest shade over the top of your cheekbones.
Now that your cheeks are defined, you can leave them as they are or finish by applying your favourite blush shade over the apples of your cheeks.
PLUMP YOUR POUT
Age may have left you with thinner lips and fine lines but that doesn't mean you have to accept it as inevitable. To make lips appear fuller, dab a sheer gloss in the centre of your lower lip to reflect light. Another option is to apply a lip-plumping gloss throughout the day.
CAMOUFLAGE
Used correctly, concealer can be your best friend (and vice versa). It's definitely worth getting it right. Start with a concealer that's one shade lighter than your skin tone and has a yellow base, as this will offset the blue tones of your circles.
Try Covergirl & Olay Simply Ageless Eye Concealer in Light Medium. After your foundation has set, dab concealer (using your index finger or a concealer brush) over your whole under-eye area, including under your lash line and on the inner corner towards the bridge of your nose.
Build the coverage with layers rather than one thick coat, allowing each application to set before applying another. But also remember not to overdo it! Once you've reached your desired coverage and your dark circles have vanished (or at least diminished), set the concealer with a fine layer of translucent mineral powder.
PRIME YOUR CANVAS
Primer is possibly one of those products you're not too familiar with but it will enhance your whole look. Not only does it help foundation in place longer but for mature skin, it's great for filling in fine lines, evening out skin tone and reducing shine.
Look for primers that contain silicone, as it blurs fine lines and gives skin a fresh and smooth finish. We recommend Jan Marini Age Intervention Prime Face primer.
FLASH LASHES
As we age, our lashes can become dry and brittle, which causes them to thin out and lose their colour. To promote a fuller appearance try false lashes. Use individual lashes to add thickness where it's most needed. Try Revlon Fantasy Lengths Maximum Wear Lashes.
WHITER WHITES
A navy eyeliner is great for offsetting the yellow effects of ageing around the eyes.
Apply along the upper lash line and outer corner. Try Revlon Luxurious Color Eyeliner in Blackened Sapphire.
HANDS OF TIME
"Mature hands are prone to dryness, which highlights fine lines and discolouration," explains Fiona Hay, ORLY nail products' creative director. She recommends keeping hands well moisturised by applying a c
ream a few times a day and exfolitaing once or twice a week with a good hand scrub.
Try Avon's new Avon Anew Clinical Luminosity Pro Brightening Hand Cream SPF 15, which will help even out brown discolourations and offer sun protection into the bargain.
Just as hands show wrinkles with age, so do nails. "Our nails show signs of ageing by forming ridges in the nail plates," says OPI educator Karon McKendrick-Taylor. Contour the peaks of these ridges with a gentle buff and fill in the "valleys" with a product like OPI Ridge Filler.
Once applied, your lacquer will appear smoother. Karon recommends darker shades, which make the surrounding skin appear whiter, brighter and more youthful.
MILLION DOLLAR SMILE
Yellowing teeth are a sign you've enjoyed all the vices of adulthood, such as tea and coffee, red wine and cigarettes. There are many ways to restore your teeth to a whiter, more youthful shade using home bleaching kits or professional whitenings systems in the dentist's chair, but for an immediate improvment, apply a cool-toned lipstick.
Eight colours in the Clinique range have been identified as making teeth appear up to two shades whiter. Try Clinique High Impact Lip Color in Rose Spectrum.
EYES BRIGHT
Coloured contact lenses may be one way to enhgance your eyes, but the right eyeshadow can be ultra-effective:
To make blue eyes pop, use shades darker than your eye colour. Tones of silver, turquoise and fuchsia will also add bang to blue eyes.
Green eyes come to life with browns, peach, purple, deep plum, khaki and forest greens. At night, opt for golds, lime greens and vibrant purples.
Good news brown-eyed girls - your eyes respond the best to using only a little colour. Use shades such a copper, bronze or brown to accent your eyes. But if you want to wear more colour try khaki, royal blue, hot pink or lime green for a vibrant effect.
BASE CAMP
While you may think the more wrinkles you have, the heavier your foundation needs to be, this is not the case. A thick application will sink into your wrinkles and only accentuate them.
Try a tinted moisturiser or lightweight foundation and apply only on the areas that need covering up. We love Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Foundation, because it is both lightweight and contains anti-ageing ingredients that firm and tone the skin throughout the day.
FREEZE!
If you're not ready to take the Botox plunge, to downplay lines and wrinkles try an instant filler, like Freezeframe with Inhibox, which as the name suggests claims to freeze the appearance of lines and wrinkles for several hours.
CREATIVE CONTOURING
If you're not blessed with a perfect oval-shaped face (and how many of us are?!), strategic contouring will help you transform your face. Follow these simple steps to bring out your best features:
ROUND FACE
1. To create a slimming illusion, use a large, round makeup brush. Dip into a highlighting powder and skae off excess. Sweep powder across the middle of your chin, forehead and the area between the top of your cheekbones and just beneath your eyes, using long, broad strokes.
2. With a clean makeup brush, apply bronzer across cheeks, temples and jawline to contour. Choose a bronzer two shades darker than your natural skin tone. This serves to create the illusionj of a more oval and slimmer face.
LONG FACE
1. Skip the highlighting powder as it will only elongate your face further. Instead, sweep the bronzer across your chin to make it appear shorter.
2. Apply blush over the apples of your cheeks and out towards the tops of your ears. This will balance out the length of your face.
HEART-SHAPED FACE
1. Start off by highlighting the area between the top of your cheekbones and underneath the eyes with highlighting powder.
2. Minimise the width of your face by applying bronzer or pressed powder over the contours of your cheeks and temples.
SQUARE FACE
1. Your aim with a square face is to add length through the centre. Contour your temples and the corners of your jawline with bronzer.
2. Apply highlighting powder to your upper cheekbones , the middle of your forehead and the tip of your chin. This will draw attention to the middle of your face and away from its square edges.
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