If you’ve never worn makeup at all, your 40s and 50s is a good time to start. 
Recently I had to make up someone for a film role and that was an interesting experience.
M doesn’t usually wear much makeup other than mascara and I had to make her look unflatteringly older, so basically did the opposite of what you’d do normally. But that led to some discussion about how to do her makeup in everyday life – she liked mine but didn’t know what to do for herself – and it made me realise that there must be many women out there who aren’t au fait with makeup.
Makeup can be a good friend to you as you get older. At 50, I’m now at the stage where I think I look a bit ill without it. Days that I don’t wear it – and I don’t wear it every day, on principle – if I catch sight of myself in the mirror I often feel I look a bit tired and grey. At this age, makeup isn’t about looking sexy any more, it’s about looking healthy.
Given that M was also astounded by some of my kit, such as the length of my makeup brushes (she was using the tiny ones supplied with products), I thought I’d write a quick guide to making up in your 40s and older, and the key equipment you might find useful.
Here are my key makeup items, though you don’t by any means need all of them and I don’t use all of them every day. Some of the multiples of an item are products I bought to test, or for my ‘professional’ kit.
FACE
* BB cream: currently Diadermine Lift+ BB Mousse in Nude.
* Primer: Smashbox Photofinish original (black tube); Monistat Chafing Gel (a dupe for Smashbox); Bourjois colour-correcting cream; Boots colour correcting cream.
* Foundation: Clinique Superfit (discontinued) in Neutral (used as a concealer); Clinique Redness Solutions in Calming Ivory; Graftobian HD cream foundation neutral colour palette 1; Beauty UK cheapie foundation from a discount store.
* Concealer/corrector: YSL Touche Eclat in 01 and 02, Maybelline Dream Lumi Highlighting Concealer in nude, Diadermine + Retouche Jeuness BB Crème Pinceau; Shamy six-colour concealer palette (part of box set).
* Blusher: Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in Apricot, Peach and Prune; Shamy six-colour powder blush palette (part of box set).
* Powder: Yves Rocher loose translucent powder; Corn Silk loose translucent powder; ELF Studio High Definition Powder in Shimmer; Dior pressed translucent powder; Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder; ELF Studio Tone Correcting Powder; Ben Nye Luxury Powder in Banana.
* Makeup fixative: ELF Studio Makeup Mist n Set.
EYES
* Mascara: La Roche-Posay Respectissime Ultra Doux, black; La Roche-Posay Respectissime Densificateur, black; Ben Nye mascaras in plum and clear; L’Oréal Voluminous x 5, carbon black.
* Eyeshadow: Maybelline 4-colour Smokey Eyes palette; Terre d’Oc mineral eyeshadow; various cheapies; ELF 144-colour neutrals palette; ELF 100-colour brights palette; Shamy 112 colours in four palettes (part of box set).
* Eyeliner: Revlon Dipped End Pencil in Underwood.
* Kohl eye pencils: Revlon Crayon Eye Liner Suede Brown; Revlon Wet n Dry in brown; several cheapies from a discount store in black.
* Eyebrow colour: Ultima eyebrow pencil with built-in brush (discontinued) in Dark Blonde; HB pencil.
LIPS
* Lipsalve: Klorane raspberry flavour; Carmex; Elevation 3196 Mallow Soothing Balm; Vaseline.
* Lip liner: Yves Rocher and Terre d’Oc – half a dozen different colours; eye liners by Arcancil in pink and orange.
* Lipstick: various, by Chanel, Maybelline, Revlon, Serge Lutens, Yves Rocher, Cien etc, mostly in shades of red and pink, decanted into a colour palette.
* Lip gloss: 16-colour palette in Shamy box set; flavoured lip glosses.
The tools I use to apply these are:
FACE
* Sponge wedges: Alcone and ELF
* Beauty blender: Camera Ready Cosmetics
* Foundation brush: ELF, Nocibé, Yves Rocher and cheapie TomTop from Ebay
* Stipple brush: ELF
* Fan brushes: Tomtop
* Flat topped powder brush: ELF
* Powder puff: ELF, Boots’ own
* Concealer brush: ELF Studio line
* Blusher brush: Nocibé
EYES
* Eyelash curlers: Boots own-brand, ELF own brand
* Eyeshadow brushes: Nocibé, ELF Professional and Studio lines and TomTop
* Eyeliner brushes: Nocibé and TomTop
* Eyebrow brush: Ultima, TomTop, spoolies (disposable mascara wands) from Camera Ready Cosmetics.
LIPS
* Lip brush: retractable from Nocibé, TomTop 24-piece and 22-piece sets.
In Part Two, I’ll look at how to apply a daily makeup.