When you first start wearing makeup, it's easy to go a little crazy experimenting on your face. While that's a fun and important component of the learning process for teens, there are some times when thick winged eyeliner and neon green eyeshadow doesn't do you many favors. If you want to look older and more sophisticated, follow these key makeup tips!
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Create Contours on Your Face
Possibly the biggest reason why you look younger could be because of a rounder and/or softer face, rosy cheeks, a button nose, or maybe simply because you are of small stature.
Makeup tips to look older include changing the perceived shape of your face with contrast and shading. Contours add definition and the appearance of a harder bone structure to even out a fuller face. Using blush adds curves to your cheeks. Pick a darker color than your normal skin tone and apply it just under your cheekbones. Extra tips on where to apply your blush: give yourself a great big smile in the mirror and color in the ‘apple’ of your cheek, the area where you actually blush. Then, apply a lighter tone just above your cheekbones. This makeup should heighten your cheekbones and add depth to your face.
In order to look older, it is important to emphasize the angles of your face with contouring. Contouring is a technique used to create shadows and highlights on the face to emphasize certain features. To contour, use a matte bronzer or contour powder that is two shades darker than your skin tone. Apply the contour powder to the hollows of your cheekbones, temples, jawline, and sides of your nose. Blush can also be used to make your face look older. Choose a blush color that is slightly darker than your skin tone and apply it to the apples of your cheeks. You can also add a highlight to your face by applying a shimmery powder to the tops of your cheekbones, bridge of your nose, and cupid’s bow.
Eyebrows can also be used to create an older look. Fill in sparse areas with an eyebrow pencil or powder that matches your hair color. Brush the brows up and out for a more mature look. For the eyes, use a neutral eyeshadow palette and apply a light shade all over the lid. Then, apply a darker shade in the crease and blend it out. Finish the look with a few coats of mascara.
Use a Light Foundation
Have you ever heard the term "cake face" used to describe a girl who uses way too much foundation? Well, that word is usually applied only to teenagers. So, to look more mature and more natural, use a light foundation, BB cream, or CC cream. This gives you coverage, but doesn't look like it—exactly what you need!
Frequently asked questions
Makeup can make you look older by defining your features more dramatically, using darker and more sophisticated colors, and creating contours and shadows that suggest a more mature bone structure.
To look older, choose darker, more muted tones like deep reds, browns, and plums for your lips and earthy or smokey shades for your eyes. Neutral tones for foundation and powders can help provide a mature finish.
Yes, lipstick can affect how old you look. Darker shades, matte finishes, and defined lips can all contribute to a more mature appearance.
For a more mature look, apply a foundation that matches your skin tone for a flawless finish, and set it with a powder. Avoid heavy shimmer or glitter as they can make the skin appear more youthful.
Well-defined eyebrows with a slightly arched shape can make you look older. Avoid overly thin or excessively bold shapes, which can detract from a mature look.
Sharpen Your Nose
If you have a button nose (small, soft and “cute as a button”), another good makeup tip to look older is to sharpen up this symbol of youthful adorableness and make it slimmer and edgier.
Tips on how to be a hard-nosed no-nonsense interviewee or businesswoman: use coverstick, bronzer or a foundation darker than your normal skin tone and apply it to the sides of your nose. Remember to still blend it in with your usual skin color around the edges. Then, delicately apply a lighter colored coverstick to the bridge of your nose to make it a thinner and pointier.
To enhance the illusion of a more mature nose, highlight the tip slightly with the lighter coverstick to elevate the nose profile. For a touch of sophistication, contour just beneath the tip to create the appearance of a more defined, downturned nose, which is often associated with maturity. To ensure your revamped nose remains the highlight of your face, avoid shimmery highlighters which can bring back that youthful glow we're trying to downplay. Instead, opt for matte finishes that speak more to a refined and understated elegance.
Wear Lipstick
Forget the days of gleaming lipgloss. Lipgloss is usually the winner in a teen choice award, with its shimmering effect with the occasional added glitter: elements not suited for professionalism. Lipstick is usually associated with maturity. Even if you don’t think it suits you, choosing stick over gloss will add grace and glamour over sparkles (and stickiness!)
When it comes to makeup, the goal is to look more mature and professional. Lipstick is a great way to achieve this look. Lipstick comes in a variety of colors and finishes, from glossy to matte. Matte lipsticks are great for a more professional look, while glossy lipsticks are better for a more youthful look. When choosing a color, avoid bright colors like pinks and reds, and go for more muted tones, like browns, mauves, and nudes.
When applying lipstick, make sure to use a lip brush to get a precise application. Start by outlining your lips with the lip brush and then fill in the color. Use a lip liner to define your lips and make them appear fuller. Apply the lip liner slightly outside your natural lip line to give the illusion of larger lips.
Once your lipstick is applied, you can add a layer of lip gloss for extra shine and moisture. However, be careful not to overdo it; too much lip gloss can make you look younger.
Dark Lipstick
Darker colors, like browns, burgundy or deep reds, will add maturity to your lips. Make sure to still use a color that complements your skin tone.
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Use a Lipliner
I don't care how steady your hand is, you need a lipliner! I used to think a lipliner was only for outlining your lipstick so it looked crisper, but lipliner actually serves the purpose of preventing your lipstick from spreading to the skin around your lips throughout the day. Messy lipstick is a dead giveaway that you're still new to makeup! So make sure you always use a lipliner whenever you wear lipstick, especially dark lipstick.
Darken Your Eyes
You can look older and more sophisticated if you avoid light pastel colors for your eyes. The ‘smoky’ look is bold but it can add depth and intensity to your eyes to counterbalance any fresh youthful brightness in your face. Use black eyeliner rather than a colorful one to narrow and frame your eyes. Apply a dark mascara to make your eyelashes appear fuller and healthier.
Darkening the eyes is a great way to add an element of sophistication to your look. When creating a smoky eye, start by using a black or dark gray eyeliner to line your upper and lower lash lines. Make sure to smudge the liner to create a softer look. Once you’ve lined your eyes, apply a dark colored eyeshadow over the entire lid, blending it up towards your brow bone. Choose a matte color for a more natural look or a shimmery color for a more glamorous look. To finish off the look, apply several coats of dark mascara to your lashes. This will help to enhance the shape of your eyes and make them appear more defined. With these tips, you can create a look that is sure to make you look older and more sophisticated.
Create Balance
One of the lessons women learn throughout their years of wearing makeup is that balance is key! As a teen, you might want to put all the prettiest products on your face at once, but this is really overwhelming to others. If you go for a bold eye, make sure you tone down your lips and go with more muted tones. However, if you want your lips to pop with a bold, stunning red, you can wear it, but make your eye makeup look more natural.
Choose a Palate Based on Your Eye Color
Also as you get older, you'll get to know your face better. But why wait? Just learn what colors flatter you most now!
If you have blue eyes, try using metallic shades like gold, bronze, and copper, as well as a light and flirtatious champagne! Brown-eyed girls can be a little more bold, especially if you have darker skin; go with bronze and peach for daytime looks, and navy, purple, and teal if you're feeling a little daring at night! For ladies with lovely green eyes, I recommend rust, purple, and pink. And last but not least, for my fellow hazel-eyed girls, you should try gray, dusty pink, and burgundy!
Tightline
This is a trick my mother always uses which creates a more subtle makeup look. Tightlining is when you apply your eyeliner between your lashes on your lashline. You'd be amazed by how much fuller your lashes look and brighter your eyes look when you tightline! Plus, it allows you to avoid using tons of eyeliner above your lashline—a trademark look for youths.
Tightlining is a great way to create a more mature look without having to use a heavy amount of eyeliner. It involves applying eyeliner between your lashes on your lashline, which gives the look of fuller lashes and brighter eyes. It also eliminates the need to use a lot of eyeliner on the top lashline, which is often a look associated with younger people.
Tightlining is a great way to create subtle definition around the eyes without having to use a lot of makeup. It can be done with either a pencil eyeliner or a liquid eyeliner. When using a pencil, you should use short, light strokes to apply the eyeliner between your lashes. When using a liquid eyeliner, you should use a thin brush to create a thin line between your lashes.
Tightlining can be used to create a subtle look for daytime wear, or it can be used to create a more dramatic look for evening wear. It can also be used to create a smoky eye effect. When using a pencil eyeliner, you can smudge the eyeliner with a brush to create a softer look.
Mascara
You should definitely use mascara to bring your eyes together. However, make sure you use a good-quality mascara that doesn't look too cheap. Also, make sure you only apply two coats, then comb out your eyelashes if you see any clumps. Clumpy eyelashes look tacky and silly, so if you want to look older and more glamorous, less is more!
Color in Your Eyebrows
If your eyebrows are a little wispy, use an eyebrow pencil or eyeshadow to fill them in. It is best to choose an eyeshadow that matches your natural hair color (or eyebrow color), or one only slightly darker. DON’T OVER DO IT! Otherwise you might end up looking like Helga from Hey Arnold.
Distinct eyebrows frame your face and make your features bolder and sharper, which can take away youthful softness in the face.
Cover up Any Acne or Spots
It’s no secret that teenagers suffer the worst from spots or acne than other generations due to hormonal imbalances and typical teenage angst. One of the key makeup tips to look older is to definitely cover up those blemishes. If you still suffer from acne or have a sudden breakout of spots, use concealer and foundation to avoid looking like you’re in the office not for business, but for work experience.
Look Natural
This may be the most important tip that encompasses everything else stated above. Be sensible. With age, comes wisdom; make sure you apply it when applying on your makeup. Don’t be too heavy handed with your brush otherwise the desired effect could backfire and you may look like a pre-teen trying too hard to be grown up. In my books, less is more and subtlety is sexy.
Wear Confidence
The best makeup is confidence. Cheesy, I know, but really accurate! Young girls tend to be more insecure and self-conscious of what others think about them. But once you're older, you care a lot less about what other people think. So smile, love yourself, and you'll instantly look so much older than any amount of makeup could make you look!
I can’t guarantee that you won’t keep getting IDd at clubs, bars, or even supermarkets, but with the help of makeup you can look older, more respectable and even indomitable—if you want to put others in their place and state your sharp sophistication! Plus, give it a few more years and you’ll be beaming at your youthful complexion when you’re forty and you look thirty. These makeup tips are here to help combat those times your youthful looks have hindered your adult wishes. Remember you aren’t alone, comment below if you have any funny stories on the silliest moments you’ve been IDd or mistaken for a teenager!
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