Transform Your Look: A Makeup Guide for Women Over 40

The 40th decade brings new adventures, wisdom, and changes to the skin. Now is the perfect opportunity to revamp your beauty routine according to these changes.

If you’re a makeup lover aged 40 or older, you’ve probably noticed that the products and techniques of your 20s and 30s aren’t cutting it anymore.

Post-40 skin is evolving. So should your beauty routines. Be open to experimentation—a changing face is a wonderful canvas for new possibilities.

skincare is my life meme

Understanding Over 40 Facial Skin

Post-40 skin goes through a second puberty. But this time we can be better prepared.

What’s Changing

Anything and everything, maybe. Perimenopausal and menopausal skin can (sometimes suddenly) change in look, appearance, and texture.

Post-40 skin could become more acne-prone, or super sensitive. It could change type (from dry to oily, etc, or vice versa).

Insert joke about hairs sprouting around the jawline, cuz it’s true.

The Usual Suspects, But Worse

And of course, there are the obvious things: more wrinkles, less volume, and a weaker skin barrier. (Thanks, not using sunscreen until age 30! Or was that just me?)

Not only does this decade bring more wrinkles, but also a new kind! Static wrinkles. These are ones that just are there all the time, regardless of expression (like “11’s” or “marionette lines”).

Actual Structural Changes

The fun just doesn’t stop! When I say faces change post-40, I mean it.

Many see structural changes to their face shape: foreheads and temples become bigger (thanks to thinning hair), noses “grow” bigger (they just droop due to loss of collagen), and eyes grow more hollow while necks get jowlier (chalk that up to facial fat redistribution).

Skincare keeping me young Mean Girls meme

Skincare Tips For Over 40 Face Makeup

A flawless makeup look starts with a solid skincare regimen, especially for the over-40 crowd (we’re facing unique skin challenges).

Here are some essential tips to enhance the wear of face makeup:

Double Cleansing for a Fresh Start

  • Why: Double cleansing ensures the face is thoroughly clean, removing makeup and impurities that can clog pores and dull the complexion.
  • How: Start with an oil-based cleanser to dissolve makeup, followed by a water-based cleanser to remove any remaining residue.
double cleansing products for post-40 skin

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Exfoliate with a Gentle Toner

  • Why: Slower skin cell turnover leads to a dull complexion and uneven texture. Exfoliating helps slough away dead skin cells.
  • How: Use a toner containing gentle exfoliants like AHA or BHA to refine the skin’s surface, smoothing it for better makeup application.
exfoliating toner used nightly on aging skin

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Nourish with an Essence

  • Why: Essences boost hydration while delivering nutrients(I’ve found that they’re a formerly extra step now necessary for my aging skin).
  • How: Use a hydrating essence daily to enhance post-40 skin elasticity, tone, and hydration.
best nourishing essences for aging skin

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Targeted Eye Care

  • Why: The delicate eye area is prone to fine lines anyway and requires special care after age 40.
  • How: Use a separate eye cream with ingredients like peptides, retinol, caffeine, and/or hyaluronic acid to smooth this area (and improve concealer wear).
best eye creams for women over 40

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Don’t Forget the Neck

  • Why: The neck often shows signs of aging first, as the skin is more delicate.
  • How: Extend your skincare routine to your neck, applying face products to even skin tone and texture.
aging backward funny skincare meme

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Add a Serum with Coverage

  • Why: On non-makeup days, a serum with coverage can provide a healthy glow (while treating skin concerns).
  • How: Look for serums that offer slight tint or shimmer (and anti-aging benefits!) to keep skin looking fresh.
Replace foundation with tinted serum in middle age

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Implement these skincare steps into your routine to create a smooth canvas for makeup, helping it look better and last longer. Your skin—and makeup—will thank you!

7 Changes To My Post-40 Makeup Routine

Many of these changes are similar to the ones explored in my post-40 eye makeup guide. It’s all about using more products, in different formulas, more strategically.

Break Up With Foundation To Explore Polyamory

Foundation has simply become too heavy for my maturing skin. Now I layer different products to achieve the coverage provided by foundation.

These days, you’ll find me applying a good primer, a skin “brightener,” and then concealer. That’s a light makeup day.

If it’s a heavier makeup day, I’ll dot a tinted moisturizer or light coverage foundation over those products (Then I’ll go on to contour, blush, bronzer, etc, if I’m using them.)

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best face makeup for middleaged moms

Consider Creams

Cream formulas sit better on maturing skin. Over the last few years, I’ve made the switch with all my products: blush, bronzer, contour, and highlighter.

There’s a bit of a learning curve, but so worth it. A few video tutorials and some practice later, I got it. You will too.

Ish Mom Recommends:

cream makeup products for aging skin
Probably need more cream makeup products…

Blend Like A Pro

Theoretically, using more products (with new formulas) can lead to cakey-looking skin. It’s even more important to blend products evenly onto aging skin.

Blending is your best friend. Whether it’s tinted serum, concealer, or blush, blend thoroughly for a seamless finish.

Get good tools and keep them clean. And just when you think you’re done? Pat a little more. The motto here is blend, blend, blend, and then blend some more!

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best makeup blending tools for people over age 40

Layer Products For Longevity

I didn’t throw out all my powder products. When makeup needs to last for hours in tough environments, I (lightly!) layer cream products with their powder counterparts.

Powder foundation on top of tinted moisturizer, powder contour on top of cream, you get the picture.

Make sure to layer precisely on post-40 skin. Haphazardly applying powder blush to cream will just get product everywhere (and exaggerate texture).

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powder blush and highlighter with setting powder

Movin’ On Up

As skin ages and features droop, product placement matters.

Apply cream blush and contour higher on the cheeks. Blush should be closer to temples than what will initially feel comfortable.

Cream contour, when used to sculpt cheekbones, should be closer to your eyes than the middle of your face. When used to accentuate the jawline, cream contour shouldn’t drift into the neck/jowl area, it should be up on the actual jawbone.

These techniques counter the natural drooping that can occur after 40, giving a more lifted appearance.

(Also: don’t put bronzer where you put contour. Apply it in a straight line mid-face, from outer cheekbone to outer cheekbone, under invisible sunglasses.)

Use Lipliner Every Day

I had read about the Disappearing Lips of Middle Age, but I didn’t believe it. Until it happened to me.

Consider this your warning: lip lines really do fade into the rest of the face. Lipliner will help alert viewers as to where exactly the mouth is.

It will also keep lip products from bleeding onto the upper lip and chin area (since that barrier is more porous now!).

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favorite lipliners for aging lips

Primer, Setting Powder, and Setting Spray Matter

Only recently have I taken primer, setting powder, and setting spray seriously. In my 40’s, makeup needs to stay put. (It’s strategically covering imperfections!)

And it’s those three products that most positively affect makeup wear and longevity.

Use a gripping primer to help makeup adhere to maturing skin, a good blurring to set all those cream formulas, and a high-quality setting spray to meld it all together.

Ish Mom Recommends:

primer, setting powder, and setting spray to best set makeup for post-40 women

Conclusion

There you have it, you fabulous makeup enthusiasts! A treasure trove of makeup tips tailored for the 40th decade—because it’s all about using the right products and techniques to enhance your natural beauty.

It’s never too late to change up your routine and fall in love with the reflection you see in the mirror each day.

Want More?

Disney ariel makeup meme

You Tell Me

How has your beauty routine changed over the years?

Happy aging gracefully!

Love,

megan imhoff
Picture of Megan

Megan

Megan writes everything on Ish Mom. She possesses a bachelor's degree in psychology, a flair for theatrics, and a whole lotta nerve. She lives in the Midwest (and loves it) with her wonderful husband and three young boys.

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