5 Sneaky Ways to Look More Youthful
We all know that the preparation process is sometimes the most important part of doing anything well! And applying makeup in order to look your best is no different. So today's post is more about the PREP work BEFORE the makeup is applied.
I’ll be sharing with you some of my personal suggestions of things I do and products I use on myself, to make me feel like I look more youthful and refreshed BEFORE any of the makeup goes on!
As a 45-year-old mom of three, wife, and professional makeup artist, I have certainly been around the block and tried “all the things” and tricks, so I can pass them along to my clients, friends, and family.
I find that I have learned a lot of new ways of doing things from other creators about products, treatments, and procedures, that maybe I hadn’t ever thought of trying before. So that is my aim with this blog post today. To let you in on what I’m using that actually works to make me feel like my face overall, looks its best….before I ever apply any makeup to it.
And just maybe, some of these tips combined together help me to appear a wee bit younger than the 45th birthday I celebrated back in January…
So let’s jump right into my sneaky little ways to appear more youthful before makeup…
TL;DR
 Jennifer shares tips and tricks for looking more youthful before applying makeup
 All of Jennifer's product suggestions are shoppable via text- and image-widgets
5 Sneaky Ways To Look More Youthful Before Applying Any Makeup!
1. whiter eyes = a more youthful look
The first thing, and probably the easiest way to look a tad younger or at least more refreshed, is to whiten the whites of your eyes. Yes, whiter eyes = a more youthful look. Red tired eyes are not doing your face any favors, so if you can whiten and brighten the whites of them, it will immediately make your eye beds look alive and fresh.
I was turned onto the Bausch + Lomb Lumifiy Redness Relief drops, $20, by a girlfriend who labeled them as, “miracle drops,” and haven’t turned back! I now carry these Lumify drops with me on my makeup jobs in my kit to help my clients who might struggle with irritated red eyes from allergies, staying up too late, or my older clients who have gotten more yellowed eyes just from aging.
Everyone is always amazed with how something so simple and easy to use, can make you look so much better. And aren’t our eyes the first thing people notice when they meet us and look at us in the face?? Absolutely - so make those eyes shine! (then add mascara, wink wink ;))
2. Teeth Whitening
Second thing I do, and in keeping with the whitening theme, is to whiten my teeth. Again, this is a pretty simple procedure and something that you can do at home with various things like using a whitening toothpaste, whitening mouth rinse, or Crest white strips.
I have been using the Snow At Home Teeth Whitening Kit, $99, for over 6 months now and love it. Think about it - when a makeup artist is challenged with making a character in a movie look older, one of the things they have to do (besides apply prosthetics and fake wrinkles) is to make the actors teeth look more yellowed and darker bc it naturally happens with age. So an easy way to appear more youthful, is to get those teeth looking pearly white again!
The Snow kit, has multiple attachments, so I can just plug the LED mouthguard into my computer or even my phone, as I’m working on emails. I do this anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes at a time, whatever I can do. Now that my teeth are in a good realistic shade of white, I only use it about once a week for maintenance.
This system is amazing and truly brightens my smile and makes me feel more confident knowing I can fake whiter teeth AND still enjoy my daily 2-3 cups of coffee 🙂 Be sure to check out their reviews and ratings to see why people are so impressed with Snow.
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3. Eye masks
The third thing I do, to look as young as possible is to consistently use reusable or throw-away eye masks along with my favorite eye cream. Dry, crinkly, dehydrated looking under eyes, do not look youthful, period. You also can’t apply concealer there and expect it to do its job well if you’ve got dry under-eye beds!
Now you do have to be religious with this practice to see results though. You can’t just apply these eye masks once and hope you’ll look 5 years younger…nope! It takes daily use of doing this to see those under eyes looking plumper and more hydrated.
Now if you hate the idea of throwing away those one-use eye masks, you do have the option of buying reusable ones. I just found the Pacifica Beauty silicone patches, $15, and I have liked them a lot and they also come with a cute tray to store them in. They are a bit thicker than the throw-away kind, but that doesn’t bother me at all. Either way, you can get results with consistent use of eye masking.
I currently go between reusable masks and also these disposable Lavone Collagen Gold eye masks, $10, on Amazon. I actually found out about them thru a celebrity makeup artist on Youtube who swears by using them on her high-profile clients. But whatever you do, if you buy the throwaway masks, buy the ones that come in the tubs, not individual packets for less waste.
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Here’s a PRO TIP - store them in your refrigerator. Because when you take them out of the fridge, the cooling sensation helps to de-puff the under eye which is an extra bonus. It’s not a miracle at depuffing, but it will help a little. And a little is better than none at all. And the coolness feels incredible to my 45-year-old tired face - it immediately perks me up!
I leave both types on for a minimum of 20 minutes in the morning while I’m drinking my coffee and getting the kids lunches together or making breakfast. You do have time for these - make time for them. And if mornings are too rushed for you, do the eye masking at night while you lay in bed and look at your phone or brushing your teeth. Just do it.
If you’re curious, I love to add the Pixi Beauty Collagen eye serum, $24, underneath both - yes even the ones from Amazon that include the skincare goodies like collagen, hyaluronic acid, and such. The more hydration the better IMO so I slather this stuff on and it’s one of the best eye creams/serums that I find actually makes a visual difference for me.
4. Derma planing
Now, the fourth thing I do to look younger, and it’s a little more involved and time-consuming than the first three, but around every 3 weeks I do my own derma planing at home.
If you’re not familiar with Dermaplaning - it’s basically similar to a man shaving his face and you do this by using a blade to remove unwanted facial hair and the top layers of dead skin. But, although it does remove that fine vellus hair (peach fuzz) its biggest benefit is to encourage skin cell renewal. It does this by immediately removing the dead skin cells, which in turn leaves my face looking refreshed and more youthful, bc my skin surface is literally smoother after doing this.
Now if this makes you nervous doing it yourself, because there is blade involved, you should absolutely go to a professional med spa or esthetician first and try it because you will see how much prettier and glow-y your skin will look after having it done. I can’t afford to go to a professional all the time, so that’s why I prefer to buy the Tinkle razors off of Amazon for $5 a pack of 6 and I learned how to carefully do it at home.
Here’s the thing - men have been using razors on their faces for yeeaaars - women can get the same benefits with ease just like they do. It’s not that scary once you practice.
Now I can whip right thru this process and I usually do this only at night when I am not rushed. I then add my serums and moisturizers and they soak in so nicely AND my makeup lays so much better and smoother the next day after a fresh dermaplaning session.
And it is a MYTH that once you start this, those fine facial hairs will grow back darker and thicker. No no no. This is a non-invasive exfoliating technique and it’s just not possible for your hair to do this. It’s just once you start and see how awesome your skin looks being freshly derma planed, when those original peach fuzz hairs grow back, you will immediately want to get rid of them and just feel like they’re more obvious because you now know what it’s like to not have them.
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5. Curl your eyelashes
The fifth and final thing I recommend to do before makeup is to curl my eyelashes. I use an eyelash curler every single day. This under-30-second process makes such a difference in how it will open up your eye bed and make your mascara look 5x better when you apply it.
It’s so simple, but a seriously effective way to make you look more awake and bright-eyed - which translates into youthful! I only use metal lash curlers and my faves are the Kevyn Aucoin lash curler, $21, and the Shiseido lash curler, $24. Gently squeeze them at the base, middle, and tips with a few pulses, and watch your eyes pop open! Make sure to do this BEFORE mascara is applied on clean bare lashes.
There you have it - my 5 tips for appearing more youthful BEFORE makeup! Incorporating one or all of these tips into my daily routine certainly boosts my confidence level and helps me to put my best face forward! Let me know in the comments if you do any of these or which product you’re wanting to try!
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Very simple, straight forward suggestions, but things easily overlooked. A very helpful column.
Great Gayle! that’s exactly what I like to hear! Glad you found this helpful 🙂
Love these great tips and some products such as the Snow teeth whitener which is new to me! And Happy Mother’s Day to you, Jennifer!
Thank you Nancy! The Snow device is so easy to use at home which is way more convenient than having to go into a dental office!
Jennifer thank you for these great steps . Would you do a feature on serums, what they are, how to use properly and good ones to purchase. Many thanks and Happy Mother’s Day.
thank you Barbara for the Mothers Day wishes! It was lovely. I’d love to talk about serums and will make sure to include that into a future post – I use A LOT of various ones, so I’m a fan!
Just finding time to read my emails. This is all such good, doable information. Thanks for all the information, links and instruction. I need to do some shopping for these affordable ideas. Thank you for your guidance. And….Happy Mother’s Day!
This is wonderful to hear Deanna! I like for my beauty posts to be very approachable and easy and straightforward ideas for the everyday gal. Thanks for taking time to comment
Jennifer, I use the Lumify eye drops and love the way they make may itchy eyes feel in the morning. Here’s a plus, my ophthalmologist told me that Lumify also contains pressure drops and that doesn’t hurt anyone. Lower eye pressure is good for the optic nerve.
Penny that is such VALUABLE info on the Lumify drops! I had no idea about the pressure drop benefit – makes me love mine even more! I appreciate you taking time to share this.