It snuck up on us before we knew it and now wedding season is in full swing. Perhaps you’ve found the perfect wedding guest dress and finally figured out a wedding guest hairstyle, but are now in search of the perfect makeup look. If you’re unsure of where to even start, we have you covered — and we’re sharing with you the best tips that work especially well on mature skin. Here, celebrity makeup artists walk us through the step-by-step guides to creating the best wedding guest makeup look for women over 50 with their favorite products, plus their secret tricks of the trade.
Which makeup formulas are best for mature skin?
To start, you need to know the basics of what works best (and what should be avoided) for mature skin. Not all makeup is created equal, and different formulas look different on everyone. And if you’re over 50, your skin is likely to be on the drier on the side; This means you’ll typically want to go for products that have a more dewy, luminous and hydrating finish.
“Luminous formulas are best for mature skin,” affirms celebrity makeup artist Cara Lovello. “I would avoid full coverage and mattifying formulas —because typically mature skin is already drier — to get themakeupto last all day.” Benjamin Puckey, celebrity makeup artist and Global Color Director for Clé de Peau Beauté, agrees, adding that “Matte foundations and heavy powders can accentuate dryness and wrinkles.”
So in short, cream or liquid formulas are typically the best for mature skin. However, another variation many forget about but also flatters mature skin types is baked formulas. “Bakedmakeupstarts as cream pigments and is then baked into a powder — so it maintains its moisture like a cream or liquid but in an easy-to-use format to apply like a powder,” explains Laura Geller, celebrity makeup artist and founder of Laura Geller Beauty. “It won’t cake or crease into wrinkles, plus its hydrating, so It’s great for mature skin.”
How to help makeup last all day while attending a wedding
All you need are two products to ensure a long-lasting makeup look: Primer and setting spray. The primer to start your makeup and create a solid base and the setting spray to finish your makeup and set it all in place. The pros we tapped share more on why these two products are essential.
“Never skip primer!” advises Gellar. “Primer is going to ensure yourmakeuplasts all day and furthermore, it smooths your skin, creating a better base for your foundation and concealers.
It also enriches the color of yourmakeupso you look more vibrant. I really can’t say enough about the importance of primer.”
As for setting sprays, you want to choose one labeled as long-lasting in some way. And think of a setting spray similar to a clear top top coat that you paint on top of nail polish. It seals in makeup by creating an invisible barrier. For one to try, Lovello recommends Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray.
What can also help makeup last even longer? “Heavily hydrate skin the night before, says Augustina Valiaugaitė, professional makeup artist. And “in the morning before [applying] makeup, use only water-based, light absorbent formulas so that themakeupgrips/sits well and does not slide/move. Water-based moisturizers balance production of oil in skin and prevent excess oil production, especially in the heat.” A moisturizer that she likes to get these benefits is Wonderskin Hydra Gel.
Anti-aging wedding guest makeup tips
To widen eyes and lift droopy lids
As we age, our skin loses elasticity, causing drooping and narrowing of the eyes. To widen the appearance of eyes, Valiaugaitė says “using a pinkish eyeliner in your waterline really opens up the eyes and is a great trick to make them look bigger visually.” Her favorite is Wonderskin Pencil in Icing.
To optically lift eyes, Valiaugaitė says to make sure you are curling your lashes. “Curly lashes open up our eyes so much. Same [with] eyebrows, lifting the tail of your brow can really give a non surgical eye lift,” she says.
Geller likes to add a bit of shimmer to the inner corner of the eye to brighten and widen. She says, “pop some highlighter in the inner corner of your eyes — it makes your eyes look bigger. I also like to add some highlighter or a shimmer light-colored eyeshadow under my brow bone. It gives the effect of an eye lift, drawing attention upward,” she says.
To lift cheekbones and the jawline
To give yourself a “face lift” effect, Lovello says to apply your contour high on features, and “the blush even higher and carry it up to the temple.” This will create the illusion of a narrower, lifted face.
Valiaugaitė agrees on placing the blush higher. “For cheekbone lift, apply your blush right on the bone blending upward right in to the under eyes. Try avoid mid face as this makes the face look rounder.”
Related: Makeup Artists: The Strategic Way to Apply Blush to Accentuate Your Best Features
Best wedding guest makeup look to recreate for women 50+
Now that you have all the products you need, it’s time to create the look! Here, experts walked us through how to DIY your wedding guest makeup to save you money and time, but if you want to leave it to the pros, show the below pictures as your inspiration.
1. Natural wedding guest makeup
Don’t typically wear makeup? Don’t fret! You can wear makeup to enhance your features while still looking like the natural beauty you are. “To achieve a natural look, make sure you work in thin layers and build everything up slowly,” says Valiaugaitė. “Apply products first to your hand or a palette and prime the brush well before you go on the face. This will allow you to be more precise and in control instead of placing the makeup straight on the face first.”
Get the look:
- After moisturizing, apply primer. Puckey is a big fan of serum primers, as he says they can smooth the skin and “enhance makeup longevity.” If you’re looking to splurge, Puckey likes Clé de Peau Beauté Correcting Creme Veil SPF 21. For more of a budget-buy option, we like Refy Glow and Sculpt Face Serum Primer with Niacinamide, which has a roll on applicator that feels cooling on the skin and niacinamide, which helps even out skin tone.
- Next, apply a light-coverage foundation and blend out with a brush or sponge. You can even use a BB cream or tinted moisturizer rather than foundation if you want an even lighter coverage. Our favorite drugstore light coverage foundation is Makeup Revolution Skin Silk Serum Foundation, which comes in 20 shades and never feels cakey or heavy.
- Apply concealer, like Kosas Revealer Super Creamy + Brightening Concealer with Caffeine and Hyaluronic Acid or Maybelline Fit Me Concealer under the eyes to brighten and hide dark spots, as well as to any blemishes, then set with a loose translucent powder. “Ilove the Laura Mercier Translucent Powder for mature skin because it’s not too heavy and never looks cakey,” says Lovello. For a more affordable setting powder, Wet n Wild Photo Focus Loose Setting Powder is a classic go-to.
- If you want a truly natural makeup look, you can skip the contour, or apply just a bit of bronzer to the temples and cheekbone to add some warmth. Otherwise, apply a light blush to the apples of cheeks, blending up toward the temples to create the illusion of a more lifted look. “I like to place the contour high to lift the cheekbones and the blush even higher and carry it up to the temple,” advises Lovello. Opt for cream blushes over powder, as they better melt into skin for a flawless finish. Puckey recommends Clé de Peau Beauté Cream Blush which, while a splurge, “blends seamlessly into the skin, offering a natural glow,” he says. Or, try Rare Beauty Stay Vulnerable Melting Cream Blush, which costs a third of the price.
- To keep it simple, just blend a little bit of bronzer onto your eyelids and the crease of each eye for dimension, then apply a light shimmery shadow across your lid.
- Apply your favorite mascara. L’Oreal Paris Telescopic and Benefit Bag Gal Bang are great mascaras for lengthening due to their skinny brushes, as those with mature skin often struggle with thinning lashes. For volume, Lovello recommends Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara. Then, lightly fill in your brows with a tinted brow gel.
- For the lips, swipe on a lightly-tinted/sheer lipstick or lip stain. “Try lip stains that look super natural and are super long wear, perfect for an event like aweddingwhere you eat and drink all day,” suggests Valiaugaitė. “Wonderskin does such a wide range oflip stains,any skin tone will be able to find their favorite.”
- Finish with setting spray.
Related: Makeup Pros Share the 9 Best Mascaras for Thin Lashes + the Application Trick That Boosts Volume Instantly
2. Soft glam wedding guest makeup
If you want to dial up the glamour a little bit more, a soft glam look is for you. Think light pinks and nudes, fully filled in lips and perhaps a classic pair of false lashes. This type of makeup is perfect for a co*cktail attire dress code.
Get the look:
- After prepping skin with primer, apply a medium-to-full-coverage foundation with a foundation brush, or your fingers, as suggested by Puckey. Lovello’s go to foundation for mature skin? Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, a highly-beloved formula with a cult-following from makeup artists and regular consumers alike.
- Apply a full coverage concealer under the eyes, on any blemishes and across the T-zone, which consists of the space between your forehead/space between brows, down the nose and on the chin. Set with setting powder.
- Lightly contour by sweeping a cream contour stick along the temples, forehead, cheekbones and jawline, and blend out and up. For a super creamy formula, Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Melting Bronzing and Sculpting Stick is a clear winner in our book. It glides on effortlessly to sculpt and lift your features. Set it with a baked bronzer. “I swipeBaked Bronze-n-Brighten Multipurpose Bronzerunder my cheekbones for a lifted look and along my jawline to make it look stronger using myAngled Blush Brush,” says Geller. “I even use it as my eyelid color to wear as shadow to really get a chiseled look.”
- For blush, apply a cream formula to the apples of cheeks and up toward the temples in a medium-toned hue; nothing too light or too dark. Lightly set it with a baked blush, such as Laura Geller Baked Blush.
- For eyeshadow, Pucker suggests using “warmer shades from theClé de Peau Beauté Eye Color Quad in Starlight Splendor” in the crease and outer corner with a fluffy blending brush, then “apply the beautiful pink shimmer on the lids.”
- Instead of mascara, opt for a pair of natural-looking falsies for a soft glam look. “I like to use a half lash just on the ends,” says Lovello. “It also gives a nice lift but something you’ll want to avoid is a lash that might be too heavy or not properly trimmed that hangs too low on the outer corner because that will droop the eye down.” To do, just cut a lash strip in half, and then glue on the outer half and let dry fully.
- Fill in brows with a brow gel, but if you want an even fuller brow, start with a brow pencil followed by the gel. Choose a brow gel that shapes and defines hairs while also providing a bit of a tint, such as Colourpop Brow Gel or Refy Brow Tint Eyebrow Gel.
- Add highlighter to the cheekbones and brow bone to create the illusion of lifted features.
- A good lip will pull the whole look together, but don’t just grab the first one you see in your drawer; Make sure it’s a creamy, hydrating formula and not matte. Lovello loves Buxom Plumping Cream in Blushing Margarita. Our favorite drugstore lipstick is L’Oreal Paris Colour Riche Original Satin Lipstick.
- Apply a nudeish-pink cream lipstick, then spritz the entire face with a setting spray.
Related: The Best Drugstore Foundations for Mature Skin for Under $20 That Will Make You Glow
3. Full glam wedding guest makeup
Full glam wedding guest makeup is perfect for black tie or formal weddings when you really want to look glamourous. For this, we’re talking bold lips and brows, smokey eyes and fuller coverage face products.
Get the look:
- After priming the face, apply a full coverage foundation and blend in with a full coverage foundation brush, such as the Clé de Peau Beauté High Coverage Foundation Brush, suggests Puckey.
- Apply a full coverage concealer to the undereyes, – zone and blemishes; Blend out and then set with a full coverage setting powder.
- Use a cool-toned cream contour stick along the temples, forehead, jawline and cheek bones to chisel/sharpen features. Follow with a warm-toned baked bronzer.
- Apply a cream or liquid blush on the apples of cheeks, blending up toward the temples, and set with a baked blush.
- Apply a glowy highlighter on cheekbones for a less matte look.
- A full glam makeup look really comes down to the eyes. Smokey eye makeup has been the go-to for full glam for decades. Apply a deep taupe, plum or brown shade in the outer corner, blend a medium-hue brown shadow in the crease, then sweep on a slightly shimmery, light colored shadow across the lid. “I’m going to take a neutral color and highlight the top of my brow bone, to help to define your brow, and lift them as well, says Gellar. “This also helps to seamlessly blend the darker shade we just applied, into the top of your lid.”Then, apply a liquid liner across the upper lash line, and light smudge out and form a wing if desired. Line over it with a black powder for more of a smokey effect. Don’t be afraid to go for the drama for this look.
- “For fuller glam looks, also add in false lashes if you have the time. False lashes and/or mascara is the cherry on top of your eye makeup,” advises Geller. She says to add mascara to the lower lashes too“This makes your eyes look not only cohesive, but big too!”
- Brows should also be a bit bolder for full glam. Fill in brows and line their natural shape and arch. Brush through to blend and then set with a tinted brow gel.
- For lips, slightly overline with a nude lip liner, apply a nudeish-pink liquid lipstick (which tend to stay on longer) and follow with a gloss for a shinier look.
- Set face with a heavy-duty setting spray.
See more makeup inspiration:
Best Drugstore Makeup Finds for Women Over 45 — 7 Picks Pros Swear By
What Is Lip Oil? The Science Behind the Viral Makeup Trend That’s So Much Cheaper Than Lipstick
9 Skincare-Infused Makeup Products to Give You an Immediate Glow + Lasting Benefits
