How to Make Your 60-Plus-Year-Old Skin Glow This Summer
Picture this, you are looking forward to meeting up with friends and want to look glowing, pretty, and ready for the summer! When you try to apply makeup; however, you struggle to blend the foundation, and everything looks, well, dull.
Frustrated, you turn to YouTube video tutorials and are instructed to purchase 10 new products to achieve the look you want! How can you have supple, pretty makeup and not blow too many brain cells or the budget? To that end, my friend Janet and I demonstrate 5 easy techniques for glowing, hydrated skin that save both your brain and budget. Let’s go!
Eat Your Veggies!
Okay, I know starting with vegetables is less than thrilling, but car chases and aliens attacking don’t work for a makeover. Having said that, the point cannot be made enough that you are what you eat, and that sticking to whole, natural foods while avoiding all the preservatives makes an enormous difference.
Stick to organic (if possible), brightly colored vegetables and fruits and spring water in copious amounts. And, as I stand on the proverbial veggie soap box, don’t forget Omega 3-6-9 oils, vitamins E, A, C, D, and B-complex. Internal wellness is 80% of a healthy complexion, while external topical products are a whopping 20%. Eat your veggies, take your supplements.
Topical, Hydrating Skin Care
Even though topical skin care is only 20% of great skin, it’s an important aspect that cannot be ignored. A key component to shopping wisely for products is to look for active ingredients located at the top of the ingredient deck.
For example, there are only about 7 actives that matter: vitamin C (THDA not L-ascorbic acid), retinol (vitamin A), niacinamide (vitamin B), hyaluronic acid, ceramides (or EFA’s-Essential Fatty Acids), AHA’s (alpha-hydroxy acids including lactic, glycolic, and salicylic), and vitamin E. I know that’s a mouthful, but understanding what exactly nourishes your skin will greatly assist you in buying efficacious products.
In the video, I use a mixture of vitamin C (for nourishment), hyaluronic acid (to plump), and fulvic acid to help with molecular penetration. Having said that, I know good products can be hard on the wallet, so just be sure you are buying active ingredients that work and give you the glow you want.
Brightening Primer
After eating all those vegetables and layering topical products, let’s turn to a quick fix. Don’t you just love an easy out? Primer is one of those wonderfully simple ways to get your glow on and not burst an artery in your eyeball.
Primer solves several problems. First, it helps your foundation stay put and not droop down your face. Second, it can contain ingredients that give you a long-lasting glow, or keep your skin matte if you are oily.
A fun trick with primer is if you want your foundation to be more sheer, just mix equal parts foundation and primer and apply. It makes your skin brighter and you won’t look as made-up. Don’t you just love a win-win?
Sheer Foundation (NOT Full Coverage)
We all have our makeup defaults, and full coverage foundation is one that many people fall into. My video model, Janet, has uneven skin and some red marks like most of us. In order to cover these issues and at the same time maintain sheer, glowing skin, I applied the foundation and then went back over the specific marks with either concealer, or extra foundation. That way, we kept her skin looking even and bright, while hiding the naughty bits.
As an aside, if you normally use a full coverage foundation, just give it a short funeral and toss it in the trash. If it’s a powder foundation, then make it an urgent funeral. Unless the pigments in the product are very fine (and I mean very fine), it doesn’t deserve a place in your makeup drawer.
Cream Eye Shadow and Blush
Two of the best things about using cream blush, eye shadow, and bronzer/contour, is that you can apply them with your fingers and they look sheer and happy on your skin. In the video, I made full use of a cream palette I snagged by Makeup Forever HD. I use it in my professional work, and it’s been well worth the money.
On Janet, I went for a summer look with rosy cheeks, mauve eye shadow, and bright pink lipstick, and it works beautifully. As someone who never (and I mean never) uses makeup, she was delighted and loved her bright, glowing complexion and vibe. As an aside, I also played up her eyes with a smoky gel pencil liner, and an eyelash primer and mascara that really made her eyes pop.
Let’s go back to the scene where you are headed out the door to be with friends. This time, you glance in the rearview mirror and smile. You’re feeling beautiful and ready for a wonderful time with friends and the warm, inviting summer weather. There are no aliens, you ate veggies for breakfast, and all is right with the world.
Let’s Have a Conversation:
What do you do to keep your skin bright and healthy during the summer? Do you have a special summer regime or use summer-specific makeup products?
Why would you choose this model, while lovely, to represent 60? So over making 60 look 80….which btw is in itself a form of ageism…that women is NOT 60 💁🏻♀️
Hi Dgarcia, Thank for your thoughts. To be honest, picking the age “60” is so that the audience understands that it’s probably not the best content for someone in their 50’s. It’s a challenge to communicate if this content is right for someone with makeup and skin care and not put an age range in the title. When I put “60” what I mean is that this for age 60 and up. If I put the age as 70, then women in their 60’s won’t watch it. In truth, the model is in her (I think) early 70’s. I in no way meant for this to have the smell of ageism, as I am sensitive to that as well. Please forgive any misstep on my part, I desire everyone to feel loved, accepted, and heard in an environment of safety and respect. Suzanne
I consulted with a derm doctor yesterday regarding fine wrinkles around my mouth & red/brown discolorations. Has anyone had Fractional co2 laser treatments & what do you think?
Concerning makeup – I have switched to Toups & Company. Prices are reasonable and I love the products.
Hi Shelley, thank you for your comment, and procedures like the one you mentioned do have a positive affect on fine lines. It all depends on the amount of money and down time spent to heal that you are willing to run with. My only advice is to be sure you are actively working on your immune system and skin health because every procedure has a certain life span, and in the end it will be about skin and body health. Best of luck!
Hello! I had fractional CO2 laser done several years ago. I had a bad experience. I developed an infection on my face. It took a while to heal. And afterward, I saw no great improvement. I think a VI peel is a better option.
Wow! Just saw the price of the serums and cream eye shadow! HOLY CRAP! In Canada, $415 for the serums, and $99 for the shadows. Unrealistic for me.
Look into Toups & Co products.
Hi Susie, WOW! That is so pricey! Sorry about that. You can always look into less expensive lines. I tend to go cheaper on makeup and spend a bit more on skin care for the good ingredients. It’s a challenging time for all of us trying to manage life with high prices.
I use TruSkin serum – under $25 US. Keep in mind that the above article is basically an infomercial.
Hi Terri, Thank you for your comment. I would agree that most content on the internet is monetized in some fashion. Having said that, as a professional writer, I am careful with my articles on Sixty and Me to keep with products I personally use and recommend. I do not write about products I either don’t use or like. On another note, most skin care is priced according to the active ingredients used. There is (unfortunately) a connection between efficacy and cost in this arena. I wish it wasn’t true, because stuff gets so expensive and I can’t afford most of it!
I wish you would have added a link to the brightening primer! And all the other products you used. Your friend looks AMAZING!
Hi Susie, I am only allowed 3-4 links per article, so I have to pick and chose. Having said that, in the YouTube video dropdown are every link for every product. Here is the primer: https://amzn.to/4bX2cAM. Hope that helps!
I would add stress and sun reduction to all of this great advice. The sun and stress can add years to your skin. And it’s sneaky because it takes YEARS to show up there. I sold make-up decades ago and was always surprised when older women would come to the counter asking for something that would “take away” their wrinkles. I never just gave in to that and sold them on a cream or serum. I was honest and told them that although some of these products can possibly reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, nothing short of lazer surgery would take them away. And then I went into sun exposure, stress reduction and diet. I never let them leave without a good sunscreen (or at least a sample of one). Maintaining good skin is a collective effort of many things. But unless you start with taking care of your skin, no makeup will ever look good, no matter how much it costs.
Hi Julie, I appreciate your comment and applaud both your experience and your advice. I would like to add to this by saying that taking vitamin E helps protect skin against UVA and UVB exposure, and to shop sun protection that is non-toxic. Most contain oxybenzone and it is to be avoided. My favorite brand is Image Skin Care Protection sunscreen. It’s affordable and non toxic.
I agree. I would only use a physical sunscreen as opposed to a chemical one. I also think it’s healthy to receive the morning sun on the face for Vitamin D.
I appreciate you saying that because it’s TRUE! I’ve had women go ballistic when I have said that, as the skin care industry has demonized the sun to an unhealthy degree. We NEED the vitamin D, and in small doses the sun doesn’t age us but rather helps our cells. I’m all for being in the sun and getting a little color; it is so important for our immune system.