Best Products for those of us growing older gracefully….

Now when I was asked to do a blog for 'older skin' I was quite taken a back, one because the lady asking me was in fact my aunt who isn't even old, and secondly when I look at a person that is of an age, I don't look at them and think, god your old, I think god your beautiful and you look amazing! What are your secrets???

The older generations nowadays are so beautiful with great skin, both my nana and my grandma have amazing skin!!! If I look like either of them when I'm in my 70's I will be more than happy!

I think a lot of it is to do with your gene MAKEUP, rather than the actual MAKEUP and products you apply in your younger years, but for those of you that want quick fixes, here are some products I have found to work wonders at filling in fine lines and wrinkles that probably are only visible to you :)

One thing I will say is moisturise every day!! This will keep your skin supple and hydrated, which may give you a head start and may prevent age setting in as quickly.

So facially, I have done a few 'older ladies' makeups and I have found that they LOVE my Garnier Essentials Rose moisturiser, so stick with this if you have followed my previous recommendations.

I would also recommend one of my newer products that I have purchased by Fashionista, it is called vanishing cream, and it is supposed to re-texturise skin, filling in fine lines and pores. It went missing out of my Makeup box recently and I found it on my mothers dressing table…I asked why it was there and she said oh well you don't have wrinkles (neither does she) but I asked if she liked it and she said she LOVED it, so I let her keep it and I bought another, it is also soooo cheap at the minute £3 instead of £10, AMAZING.

Foundation wise, I think one with a sheer finish is lovely on older skin, it gives a soft glow to the skin, making it look hydrated, and youthful! I would recommend Bobbi Browns Skin Foundation, this is a truly modern foundation that provides its user with a lovely flawless coverage, filling in any fine lines and hiding pores!

Powder wise, I wouldn't recommend using powder, as it may lie in the 'creases' which won't give you a desirable look, try and stick to cream based products so that your face keeps hydrated.
For your eyes, try and avoid shimmery shadows, use matt shadows, a lighter shadow on the lid itself, and a slightly darker shadow in the crease to enhance the socket of your eye, if you do want a bit of shimmer, then this is absolutely fine, I'd advise using a light shimmer though, so that it illuminates your eye, making it look bright, and awake!
The benefit big beautiful eyes pallete would be perfect! It contains a light shadow, a darker shadow, and a shimmery light shadow!!

Mascara again is about preference, but a smaller brush may be easier to use especially if your lashes aren't as long as they used to be! One I have recently come across that I will be purchasing as the brush is perfect for the bottom lashes is one by Givenchy, the brush is round, enabling you to get right to the lash line, ensuring all of your lashes are covered.

Eyebrows, again I am a massive fan of keeping your eyebrows groomed at all times, even when i'm at work on the sewer works I maintain my eyebrows, Pencil is best or shadow, try espresso from MAC thats a lovely sublet brown shade, or get your hands on a grey pencil, I know bobbi brown do one!

For your lips, a liner is essential to ensure feathering of the lipstick doesn't occur…My faveeee lip liner that is quite a neutral colour so will work with most shades of lipstick is one by Art Deco, in sensual teak. Then apply your favourite lippy, and your good to go!!!!

Finallllyyyyy I have recently seen this product that I am desperate to get, and I've mentioned it to my mum and she wants it for Christmas, so I haven't used it yet, but it looks incredible, so if you purchase it then let me know how it works for you, or whether its a gimmick, and if you want to wait till I buy it I will be reviewing it in the New Year, the product is a setting spray by Skindinavia called 10 years younger, you apply it after your makeup and suddenly your 30 again!!!!

Now I hope this blog has been helpful, but please remember you are beautiful no matter what age you are, I am looking forward to growing old gracefully (I hope) and like I said before if I look anything like my Gran or my Nan then I will be a happy Lady!!!!

Any questions please feel free to get in touch, and any questions please ask, Enjoy!!!

Lots of Love

Alex 

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Absolute Must Have's

Concluding part 5 of 5 of the Must Have Items in your MakeUp bag.

The 5 Key Products that will be in my handbag, day and night over the coming months will be...

For the Face, I will be using, My BB Garnier Cream, which gives you the moisture needed when the cold sets in, it also provides you with the coverage required on a day to day basis!

I will also be using, the Springsheen/Peachykeen MAC blusher, which are both soft, and subtle yet giving you a youthful radiant glow, in these colder months.

The next absolute must have is your Scandal Eye's Mascara, lather those lashes, once, twice, three times if you feel the need, until you achieve the desired, volume and colour on them.

Now I'm going to cheat slightly, I'm going to use the same product in two different ways..versatile!!!

I'm going to use my Espresso MAC eye shadow, and line my upper lash line, using a blending brush to take off that sharp edge giving you a subtle smokey look, and you can also line the lower if you want to darken the eye a little more, and then taking the same angled brush, and the espresso shadow, I will define the brows! :)

My last Product that will 100% be in my MakeUp bag over the winter, is Cherish, this Lipstick, is one that can be worn everyday, on its own, obviously I would wear it with Mascara, but if you are looking for a little colour in the lips, and nothing else, then absolutely wear this!!

I will also be sneaking in my MAC balm, and my blistex tinted balm, depending on the mood I wake up in, in the morning, but I'm terrible when it comes to MakeUp, and this was a really difficult request for me, as I will always take more than one lipstick with me in my bag! Options ladies...Always have your options, keep them well and truly open :) May even sneak Craving in there aswell! ;)

Sooo get your hands on some BB cream, a peachy blusher, brown eyeshadow, Scandal eyes mascara, and a plum/brown lipstick! And you will be ready for winter :)

Enjoy Girlies...

Alexandra Louise

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Face Must Haves...

First of all, I don't know about you, but I have normal skin, which for the majority of the year is absolutely fine! However as winter approaches it dry's out, only slightly but when applying MakeUp it often doesn't quite give the finish I always aim to achieve...FLAWLESS, and this frustrates me! So first of all, a good moisturiser is an absolute necessity!

Now there is a few I would highly recommend:

• Garnier Soft Essentials, Replenishing Day Care Cream, essence of Rose water.
• MAC Studio Fix Moisture with SPF 15 - avoid if having photos taken!!
• Garnier Moisture Match - Ultra Hydrating (perfect for winter)

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My preferred of the above three is the garnier rose water, its light, suits all skin types, and from home bargains its a steal at £2.99 :) It also and most importantly provides a great base to apply your MakeUp onto.

Each of these products have other products within their range for the different skin types, for those of you with Oily skin (your skin will be brilliant during winter), or Dry Skin (you may need a very intense moisturiser) the 3 I have mentioned above will all cater for your needs! They all smell great, and more importantly do a fabulous job of looking after your skin, in the cold winter months :)

Apply before putting your foundation on, OR combine your foundation with your chosen moisturiser, for a very natural coverage! Which in the winter, and during the day I opt for anyway! MakeUp that looks inches thick is NOT attractive...avoid this look at all costs! 

Now for the foundation, I'm a big believer in less is more! Especially during the day, more is more becomes slightly more acceptable and necessary when we are making the transformation from day MakeUp to Night time MakeUp!

At present 'BB cream' is a huge success! I personally use the Garnier BB cream, which is lovely and light, and provides quite a dewy, medium coverage!

If I was going to apply my foundation, I would mix it with one of the above moisturisers, the foundation I use is a MAC Studio Fix, which provides full coverage for a night out, but still doesn't look too heavy, so combined with a moisturiser, gives a lovely natural looking finish, which is perfect for wearing during the day!

I have also whilst shopping around come across another brand of foundation, which is just like the MAC studio fix, only a little lighter, meaning less coverage for the daytime look..The brand is Fashionista, which at the moment is reduced from £12 to £3 BARGAIN, they have a wide variety of products in their range, and they provide great quality for only a fraction of MACs cost, always a winner :)

For those of you that prefer using powders instead of foundations! Which sometimes for speed, I also use instead, I would 100% recommend the MAC mineralize Powder, use it either on its own, for a lovely light, yet flawless finish, or set your foundation with it, this will not pack your foundation out, making it look like you have a lot of MakeUp on, it will just take any unwanted shine out of the skin, and give you an all over beautiful, flawless look..also fab for contouring (future blog to contain information on contouring, watch this space)

With regards to brushes, I have a variety of different face brushes, all bringing different qualities that assist, and enhance the application of the face MakeUp.

I use different brushes to apply foundations with, but one brush in particular that I couldn't live without, is theMAC stipple brush, number 187, this brush enables a full, flawlessfacial coverage. It can also be used to apply face and cheek powders.

Crown Brushes are a new favourite of mine and they do the exact same brush for a fraction of the cost, of the same quality!! A smaller version of this brush is also available on both MAC and Crown Brushes websites. 

This YSL touche eclait is another must have, its not necessarily a day to day essential, but can easily be made into one, if you have dark circles under the eye, or if you want to highlight certain areas of the face! My ultimate brush for applying concealer, and it now also gets used for pretty much every aspect of makeup I do is the...The flawless concealer brush from ELF...great for creamy based product application, and also for blending powders :)

Next Blog to contain 5 Must have Cheek Products...These are my 5 must have face products, every single one of them, on their own or combined will enhance your natural beauty, showing that MakeUp really is Beauty's Key Accessory...

Keep Reading,

Alexandra Louise

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