‘Tis the season of sparkly cocktail dresses, well-coiffed up-do’s and a slightly heavier hand in the whole make-up department. Calm down Tammy Faye. This does not mean it’s okay to shellac your entire face in color like a toddler-gone-wild with a gonzo pack of Crayolas. We simply meant… perhaps… a daring smear of red on your pout or a smokey line on your lid. According to a recent issue of Good Housekeeping, there are cosmetic crimes that might, in fact, be aging you. (*cue the tears.)

Now, now my little ducklings. We here at Project Beauty aren’t about to let you go down like that. There’s no reason for a bold holiday face to sink your stylish ship. Let’s take a look at some of the top criminal offenses in order to avoid any cosmetic catastrophes, shall we?

Number one “Good God, Why Would She Do That?” list is choosing the wrong foundation. And by ‘wrong’ we’re talking color. Age brings all sorts of… interesting changes… with it and one of those… interesting changes… is a growingly ghoulish pallor. Yep, it seems that skin tends to grow more pallid with age, so rocking that same porcelain hue you did in your 20’s could have you looking a touch Havisham.



Put that belief that your foundation must match your skin exactly to bed and embrace a shade slightly warmer than your old one. Since warmer tones have fewer pink undertones to them they’ll counteract any ruddiness too. Or, if you feel fear at the prospect of an entire shade darker, simply mix the warmer hue with your old foundation and blend it with a foundation brush.

You also might want to reconsider your logic on the cream foundation front too. As your hormone levels drop (another thoughtful accompaniment of age) your skin inevitably gets dryer… leading you to believe that a super creamy foundation will do the trip. Well… consider that thicker, creamier foundations are typically packed with more pigment, which is actually powder and you’ll eventually noodle out that the very foundation you thought was helping is actually sucking what little moisture you have right out from under your nose (and eyes and mouth and cheeks… and soul.) The key to any skin camouflage is and always will be hydration. My current do-it-all favorite is the recently launched Miracle Skin Transformer by Sarah McNamara (it hydrates, it conceals, it protects with our friend SPF - it's like the Wonder Woman of make-up... ahem... I mean skin enhancers.)



And while we’re on the topic of skin camo, nothing sinks a youthful-looking ship faster than cakey concealer that settles into your fine lines basically shining a beacon of light onto your age. The pros (as in professional make-up artists) suggest only applying concealer to the inner portion of your under-eyes – of course this is after applying a wonder-of-all-wonders eye cream like my own new favorite Teamine Eye Complex. Or… (*sit down for this one)… skip concealer altogether and opt instead for a moisturizing brush-on highlighter pen with super-awesome light diffusing powers.

Now that your canvas is properly primed let’s attend to your frames… you know those lovely little hairs that frame your precious peepers: eyelashes and eyebrows.

Whether you’re 20 or 70… your brows are best au naturale. Sure a little clean up is sometimes in order, but over-plucking or over-filling is a sure fire way to make a gal look over-cooked and downright cartoonish. Avoid using eyeliner pencils to fill in any sparse spots (seriously some things were not meant to multi-task) since these pencils are softer and go on waaay to strong. Just invest in an eyebrow pencil (do it), it won’t slide off like powder and will ensure that you don’t look like this:



And what of those luscious lashes? While the sea of lash-licious mascaras out there is vast there’s little reason for your peepers to not pop, but overdo it and your lashes can look weighted down. Too much mascara can undo the very curve that the mascara gods intended. A gentle, conservative hand with the wand wins.

NEXT UP: Lips to Eye to Cheeks: A Color Conundrum