All the smoothing serums and brightening peels and lifting creams in the world will only get you so far in the eternal quest for a fresh face (barring knives and needles) if your makeup sabotages the effort. So we asked a couple of pros to spill their secrets for faking a youthful appearance. Here are their tips for turning back time.
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PRIMED FOR PERFECTION
“Prepping the skin ensures a perfected canvas and helps makeup perform better,” says makeup artist Rommy Najor. Look for a primer that offers instant anti-aging benefits, like Najor’s pick Guerlain L’Or Pure Radiance Face Primer, $74, which “immediately brightens and tightens the skin to mimic a youthful hydrated complexion.” While it creates a smooth base, Najor also repurposes it as a glow-giving finisher by gently pressing it onto skin after foundation.
SMART COVERAGE PLAN
Take a less-is-more approach when it comes to foundation application. “Use a full coverage formula on only the most visible parts of the face to hide redness, dark circles, hyper pigmentation, veins, broken capillaries, enlarged pores, scars, rather than your whole face,” says makeup artist Andrew Sotomayor. Avoid sheer options, which often means piling on concealer and powder in an effort to camouflage imperfections, resulting in a caked-on look. Smooth a moisturizing formula, like CoverGirl Vitalist Healthy Elixir, $11.99, under your eyes, on your nose and chin, and then “use a fluffy brush to blend it towards your jawline and hairline where you need less.”
LIGHT UP LINES
Give yourself a baby faux facelift using the power of light reflective formulas. Najor likes brushing the Givenchy Mister Light Concealer, $37, onto frown lines, tops of cheekbones, outer corners of eyes, browbones and temples of the forehead to get the maximum anti-aging effect with minimal effort.
EMBOLDEN BROWS
“Full boy brows are synonymous with youth,” says Najor. So if your arches are on the skimpy side, consider adding a brow-building serum (Najor prefers Grande Lash-MDLash-MD, $64.95) to your skincare regimen.
In about six weeks, you’ll start to see bolder brows. In the meantime, you can fake the fullness by filling in sparse spots with a tinted brow gel or powder (try Glossier Boy Brow, $16 ).
PUNCHED UP POUT
“The best anti-aging tip I can offer is don’t be afraid to stand out,” says Sotomayor. And his go-to strategy for adding drama and brighten the entire face is by painting lips with a strong berry shade, like his favorite Giorgio Armani Lip Magnet Liquid Lipstick in Front Row, $38. If you have lines around your lips, Sotomayor recommends disguising them by tracing just outside your mouth with lip pencil before applying a matching lipstick.
LUSHER LASHES
Because lashes lose volume and thickness over time, a lush set can automatically give you a younger appearance. To plump them up, Najor recommends using a conditioning lash-enhancing serum on the daily. Then he preps lashes by going over them with two coats of primer, like DiorShow Maximizer 3D Triple Volume Plumping Lash Primer, $29.50, combing between each application to achieve super full and feathery fringe before applying mascara.
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[“source-elle”]