You may be wondering why does makeup make me look worse?
Often we get our hopes up with all our exciting new makeup products. Then we rush home from the store only to find out we look worse with our makeup than we do with a bare face.
You’re not alone with this. I have often felt the same way. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even wear makeup for about 15 years after I turned 40 because it made my skin look horrible.
So I took I took a deep dive into makeup formulas and application techniques. I learned how to wear makeup that doesn’t make me look worse than a bare face.
I’m here to help you. Let me show you all the hacks that I’ve learned on this crazy makeup journey.
Most women look worse with heavy makeup
Here’s the deal most women no matter what their age look worse with heavy makeup. At least in real life situations.
Most makeup artists are trained to give a flawless look for photography, television, weddings, and other special events.
This flawless look typically requires heavy makeup with contouring. It also involves many steps to achieve the final outcome. This isn’t practical for everyday life.
Even more importantly, this kind of makeup looks terrible in natural sunlight and in most office settings.
I’m of the opinion that everyone looks worse with heavy makeup. If you get close enough to them to be able to see how thick and cakey it really is.
Heavy makeup also requires frequent touch-ups. It is just not going to look as good a couple of hours after you put it on.
And I’m not just talking about foundation and concealer. Heavy makeup around the eyes with eyeliner and mascara rarely wears well all day.
It fades, smudges, and flakes due to the fact that we are human beings. Our skin and eyelids naturally move around throughout the day.
Read my recent article about Best Setting Powder for Mature Skin Over 50
Why does makeup make me look worse than my friends?
Makeup is a very individual product. It is true, there are a few best-selling iconic products. These typically work well on almost everyone. But I still advise that you experiment with brands, formulas, colors, and application methods. It is the only way to find what’s right for you.
Just think for a moment about how unique we all are. Why would you think that the same 4-5 foundations would work for 90% of all women?
It’s just a reality. Different products will look better on some people than others people.
Harsh Lines Around Eyes and Lips
One of the main things that I often see that makes makeup look worse is the harsh lines on the face. be careful with lip liners and eyeliners especially.
Perhaps your lips aren’t perfectly shaped and symmetrical. Don’t worry you’re just like everyone else. very few of us have symmetrical faces.
The issue comes when you outline the natural shape of your lips it emphasizes the fact that your lips aren’t perfectly shaped. You’re not used to seeing this when you look in the mirror. This makes you think you look worse
You just need to practice with your lip liner. Try different ways of applying it until you find something that flatters your lips.
It is the same way with eyeliner. Not everyone can do a cat eye and look better. Nor is a thick eyeliner on the upper lid flattering to everyone. Not everyone looks better wearing eyeliner on the lower lash line.
You don’t have to spend alot on lip liners, here is an affordable lipliner.
Lip liner and eyeliner are very obvious. They should be used to flatter and enhance the shape of your natural eyes and lips.
In my opinion, they make you look worse if you’re trying to apply them in a manner that does not suit you.
So How Do You Fix Your Makeup?
- Watch and read makeup tutorials regarding lip liner and eyeliner.
- Take note of the different ways people apply these products.
- Ttry these different ways out on yourself
Always give it a few hours to decide if it looks good on you or not. We are just not objective about our own faces because we see them all the time.
But if you glance in the mirror while you’re walking by on your way to get another cup of coffee sometimes it will suddenly strike you. You will think, “hey this eyeliner looks pretty good on me!”
That’s how I found out the best way to apply these products on my own face.
Not blending enough might be the reason your makeup makes you look worse
Blending takes time when you’re playing with your makeup. I think you generally have to blend twice as long as you think you should
Even though it sounds silly I often sing the ABC song when blending my makeup. This way I know I’m spending a little more time blending my makeup than I naturally would.
This is especially true if you use brushes to blend your makeup.
Blending with your fingers is typically faster, and easier. But there is a good reason professional makeup artist use brushes, it’s because they can get a better blended look
Most of us do not look better with a chiseled face. Contouring and shadow can be applied in a dramatic fashion without blending to give a chiseled look.
The truth is most people look better with the softer blended makeup application.
The Color is Off
Color is a tricky thing. Ask any fine art painter about color and how to master it. They probably will be talking to you for hours and hours
It is not a simple thing to learn.
Here are some beginner tips to help you with color so that your makeup will not make you look worse. Don’t mix warm and cool tones on your face at the same time.
If you are using cool-tone eyeshadow don’t combine it with a warm peachy blush
It’s going to look like the color is off, and it will make you look worse.
This goes both ways. If you are using warm-toned eyeshadow colors, now is the time to use the warm peaches, browns and oranges on your cheeks and lips
I find this to be especially obvious when the cheeks and lips do not have color cohesion.
Why does makeup make me look worse in selfies?
I have noticed that my iPhone camera makes me look worse when I’m wearing makeup. This is because it sharpens and clarifies the colors and the edges of my features.
This happens more when I have the phone held horizontally.
Try to always take your selfies vertically. Somehow it recognizes that a face is involved and I look better
This may be true with Android phones as well I am not sure. Don’t despair, you don’t really look like that in real life. It’s the crazy phone technology doing this to your face.
When I’m not wearing makeup it tends to blend and soften my features more.
Why does makeup make me look worse over 50?
The most obvious reason for this is you’re still using the techniques and products that you used in your 30s and 40s. This just simply does not work anymore.
It is time to change, grow and learn some new makeup tricks. Unless you do this, you’re probably going to think your makeup makes you look worse.
It is a trial-and-error process. Keep in mind no one can see the things you see in the 10X magnifying mirror. You can do this. don’t give up.
There are plenty of ways to wear makeup as an older woman that are going to make you look better than you do with a bare face.
