How To Get A Natural ‘No Makeup’ Makeup Look Over 40
In This Article:
- Cleanser and moisturize
- Primer or primer/tinted moisturizer combo (apply with fingers or a sponge, be sure hands are clean)
- Foundation/BB Cream
- Concealer (optional)
- Eye Primer
- Blush/Bronzer
- Brows
- Our Favorite Beauty Products On Amazon
- Eyeshadow… go easy on the shimmer. Think light and neutral
- Eyeliner (optional)
- Mascara… curl and put a light coat of mascara
- Lipstick/Lip gloss…choose a shade that actually matches your own lip color
(If you are more of a visual learner, scroll down to check out my favorite Beauty Influencers Over 40 on YouTube)
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5 Minute Makeup For Over 40: Less Is More
As we age, there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to makeup. For an everyday look, a good philosophy for those of us who are getting a little more mature is…less is more. A no-makeup makeup look over 40 is easy to do for those of us who still want a fresh-faced look without feeling overdone.
Think of it more as just enhancing your natural beauty with just a nice light to medium coverage, so you feel put together without being overdone. I am not an everyday makeup girl myself, but I know when I do wear it, I feel pretty good about how it looks.
There’s a balance to be had when it comes to embracing your fine lines and wrinkles while still putting your best face forward. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing!
Natural-looking makeup for over 40, 50, and beyond doesn’t have to be complicated!
These easy tips will give you a beautiful, natural no-makeup look, whether you are over 40 or not…a fresh, glowy 5-minute face for every woman!
10 Tips For An Easy ‘No Makeup’ Makeup Look Over 40 (or any age!)
Cleanse and Moisturize
Stay away from using soap on your face, as it is drying. Instead, choose a creamy facial cleanser that moisturizes. Exfoliating mature skin is also so important to renew your skin cells and get that healthy glow! I love this refining facial scrub as it is a cleanser and exfoliater all-in-one.
Hydration is key so…Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize! And I mean from the inside too. The importance of drinking water and keeping your body hydrated can’t be emphasized enough. Find yourself a good quality daytime moisturizer with an SPF to protect your skin from those pesky UV rays that cause skin damage.
I wash my face morning and night with a gentle cleanser followed by my serum, facial oil, and moisturizer. At night I apply a rich night cream and eye cream as well. These work their magic overnight.
If you prefer an all-natural way to get glowing skin, here’s my fave DIY skin serum recipe with Frankincense and Lavender. I swear by this stuff!
Primer
Foundation primer provides a nice base for your foundation products to sit on. It will make everything go on smoothly and evenly, just like painting a wall right? Applying a face primer will keep your foundation from settling into those fine lines and wrinkles and instead provide a nice even coverage that lasts.
If you choose to use a BB or CC cream, you may not need to prime as some have the primer built-in. But if you are using a traditional foundation, it’s a crime not to prime!
Remember to let your primer set for a couple of minutes before applying your foundation.
Foundation
When going for a natural, everyday look, I find a CC (Color Correcting) Cream or BB cream is the best choice for a subtle, dewy complexion. Much of what works for you will depend on your skin type, level of redness or other imperfections you need to cover, it’s up to you.
Some of us can get away with simply using tinted moisturizers, which are nice too. They give a healthy glow with some coverage as well. Or you can take your current foundation and mix it with your moisturizer.
Again, with the BB cream, you may not even choose to use primer but if your pores are on the larger side, you may want to prime first.
Use your clean fingers to apply foundation if you want a nice sheer look, or use a brush or sponge if you want medium to heavy coverage. Remember, good foundations are buildable, so use a light-handed technique! You can always add more if you need it.
As we age, it is better to not be too heavy-handed with foundation to avoid “cake face”.
No matter which route you go, using a good foundation and quality beauty products is always a wise choice. And while, yes, I do shop at the dollar store for certain items, not for anything that goes on my face.
Not sure what is the best foundation is best for your beautiful over-40 face? Check out this article for some awesome suggestions!
Concealer
Concealer is optional. If you have dark circles under your eyes you may want to use it. When you apply your concealer, be gentle and use your ring finger or a small brush while looking up. be sure to blend well.
If you have oily skin you may want to use a mattifying loose powder. This lightweight mineral powder from bareMinerals is pretty awesome.
Lightly dust on your shiniest areas first (the T-Zone) and then on the rest of your face. A nice translucent powder will cut down on any shine. But remember, the key here is to apply lightly. A natural look should not look heavily powdered and if you have dry skin you probably will not want to add any powder.
Eyelid Primer
Using eye primer lets you start your eyeshadow look with an even palette.
Eye primer neutralizes the eye area, darkness, and redness. It primes and neutralizes your eye area so your shadow will last all day and not crease. Eye primer also gives your eyeshadow something to adhere to.
Never put regular foundation or concealer on your lids, it will also crease your eyeshadow. Instead use concealer made specifically for eyelids. A lot of us over 40’s will start to get those lovely blue veins that show up on our mobile lids. Eye primer is a great way to camouflage those little guys!
Blush/Bronzer
For this natural makeup look, nude, peachy blush colors are perfect for a hint of color!
Apply blush to the apples of your cheeks and then blend up and out towards the ears. If you choose bronzer, remember, don’t be heavy-handed. You’re trying to achieve a nice, natural glow.
This look gives you just a bit of a glow, but you can still see your skin through it. It’s a warm sunny feeling that lifts and gives subtle dimension to the face. You can also dust a little bronzer on your neck and decollete area.
Brows
Having a defined brow helps to lift and frame the eye. You can use an eyebrow pencil definer or lightly tinted brow gel for this. It all depends on your brows, certainly.
Some of us have thicker or thinner brows genetically. But as we age, we all tend to get a bit sparse on the outer brow so pay attention to that.
Fill in the brows a little bit, again, not too heavy-handed. Create feather-like strokes and fill in lightly. Follow your own brow arch, just to give them a little bit of a pop in a nice natural way.
Remember, we are going for the no-makeup look here, so don’t draw on a heavy dramatic brow. A soft brow powder is great to use to gently fill in the sparse spots without worrying about accidentally drawing a harsh line.
Ready to shine!!? Here are our top premium beauty and makeup picks from Amazon to put your best face forward and embrace your natural beauty!
Eyeshadow
For your eyeshadow, choose pretty nude eyeshadow palettes ( I really like this one, Naked 2 by Urban Decay) and for a daytime look, skip the shimmery eyeshadows. For nighttime or special occasions, however, I like a bit of shimmer so I use the Naked 3 or the Naked Mini palette!
When you are aiming for a neutral look, stick with matte neutral shades like browns, tans, peach, and terracotta. These colors will let you add some dimension to your eye without going over the top.
There are some cool makeup tricks you can use to open up hooded, downturned eyes and give the illusion of a larger eye.
I only recently learned how to do this by watching a video I found on YouTube and wow! It makes quite a difference in the look of my eye. I have learned so many great makeup tips by watching simple TikTok or YouTube vids. Whichever social platform you hang out on, do a quick search for yourself. You’ll be sure to find some amazing beauty influencers who can give you makeup tips and tricks.
They share so many great techniques for eyeshadow (among other things) that can help you create the look you want. Even if you have no idea how to do eyeshadow, don’t worry. These ladies make it easy to understand! Being a visual learner, I find watching a video tutorial is the absolute best way to learn.
Eyeliner
You may choose to skip the eyeliner altogether but just adding a little dark brown eye pencil to the underside of the upper lid (tight-lining) can help open up and define the eye.
To thicken up the lash line a little more but still, without going too heavy, use a good quality eye pencil on the actual lash line and smudge it up. This opens up and defines the eye. Simply, go back and forth with little strokes, And remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Keep it soft-looking as too harsh a line will be aging.
Also, don’t go too high up your eyelid with the liner pencil and apply little or none on the bottom.
Mascara
Choose whatever mascara you like in a brownish-black color and remember not a dramatic one like “Falsies For Miles” or something like that.
For a more natural look, the goal is not to have those fluttering spidery-looking lashes. Instead, just something light to open up the eye a bit.
- Start with an eyelash curler and then apply mascara.
- Apply at the base and wiggle it back and forth, and then apply to the length of the lashes.
- For a no-makeup makeup look, especially over 40, you may want to skip the lower lashes (or apply VERY sparingly).
Remember, we want to draw attention upwards, so avoiding any heavy eyeliner or mascara on the bottom lashes probably isn’t helpful. I usually add a very tiny bit of mascara on the bottom and that’s all.
Lipstick/Lipgloss
For a no-makeup makeup look, you obviously want to choose a nice neutral and something that matches your natural lip color. Urban Decay moisturizing lipstick is terrific and comes in a wide range of colors including peachy and pink nude shades.
Start with a neutral lip liner that is as close to the lipstick as possible. This helps the lipstick not to bleed and keeps everything in place.
For an even more simple natural look, you might want to only a nice hydrating lip gloss.
Just steer clear of anything too bright, glittery, or over-the-top dramatic/dark for this natural look. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with a pop of color for an evening look or to make a statement! As a matter of fact, now that I have transitioned to grey hair, I am rediscovering colorful lipsticks! But for this natural look, I stick with nudes.
our Favorite Beauty Products On Amazon!
- Lancôme Créme Mousse Facial Cleanser & Makeup Remover with Rosehip Oil
- Lancôme Rénergie Hyaluronic Acid Serum
- Mad Hippie Vitamin C Serum for Face with Hyaluronic Acid
- Sunday Riley Vitamin C Rich Hydration Day Cream
- Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask with Vitamin C & Antioxidants
- bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Moisturizer for Face
- bareMinerals Original Liquid Mineral Concealer
- Lancôme Renergie Lift Foundation
- bareMinerals Original Loose Powder Foundation
- Grande Cosmetics Lash Serum
- Grande Brow-Fill Volumizing Brow Gel
- Lancôme Drama Liqui-Pencil Waterproof Eyeliner
- Grande Buff Lip Scrub
- URBAN DECAY Naked Mini Eyeshadow Palette
- URBAN DECAY Vice Hydrating Lipstick
- Lancôme L’Absolu Creamy Lip Gloss
BEST MAKEUP OVER FORTY YOUTUBE CHANNELS
The channels below are a few of our favorites for beauty, hair, and fashion for mature women.
Check out and play around with the various makeup techniques these gorgeous over 40 ladies suggest and I bet you will find one that works well for you.
I have found some excellent tutorials for pretty, light makeup looks on these channels!
Nikol Johnson
Nikol’s mission is to empower women to show up, and be bold, fierce, and unapologetic. She also provides a lot of content about her journey to grey hair as well.
And while she does have her own cosmetic line, she also provides useful tips on which drugstore makeup to buy if you are on a budget.
You may also like: I’m Going Grey And Ready To Rock It! (Transitioning To Grey Hair)
Dominique Sachse
Dominique shares inspiring “Yes, you can do it!” tips for transformative hair and makeup,
Hers is an excellent lifestyle/vlog-style channel featuring health and wellness-related content for the mature woman who’s in her prime.
Nisha at Sugar Puff and Fluff
Nisha has some excellent video tutorials on eyeshadow for hooded eyes!
What I love about her is that often she will do just one eye with the technique and the other without.
So, you can really see the difference that applying the eyeshadow in a different way makes.
Angie at Hot and Flashy
Beauty, anti-aging, and health how-tos from an actual mature woman!
Angie comes across in a very down-to-earth way and has amazing beauty tips for women over 50.
A no-makeup makeup look for us over 40 somethings is a quick and easy way to have a fresh-looking face and feel good about yourself, enhancing your natural beauty.
I am no pro but shhhhh….here’s the secret.. (You don’t have to be either!)
The most important is to have fun and put your best face forward at any age.
Have fun with your makeup, try new beauty products, and NEVER be intimidated by the thought of trying something new!
Until next time, K.
Kelly Blakely is the founder and creative force behind Just Our View From Here. As a first-time mom over 40, she brings a fresh perspective to parenting and family life on her blog. Kelly also explores a wide range of lifestyle topics in her writing, including fashion, beauty, self-care, and well-being.
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