Update your beauty routine with these six makeup must-haves for midlife | Canada Voices

At the Met Gala earlier this month, Tracee Ellis Ross and Nicole Kidman gave a masterclass in effortless beauty. While Ross balanced a statement red lip colour with boldly defined lashes, Kidman played up her porcelain complexion with rosy, luminous cheekbones. When it comes to getting the right makeup routine in your fifties and beyond, Toronto-based makeup artist Jodi Urichuk, who has worked with Dame Helen Mirren, Andie MacDowell and Jeanne Beker, says: “It’s whatever gives you swagger.”

Whether she’s tending to a famous client’s face or her own, Urichuk doesn’t allow age, trends or so-called beauty rules to inform her creative direction.

“You’re only as old as you let yourself be. I’m grateful to be my age, I’m half a century old,” says the makeup artist, who is also an expert for L’Oréal Paris. “Sometimes, I want to wear a little sparkle on my eyes, and I feel great about it. I just need to try different things to see what works now.”

For Julia Grieve, 54, a streamlined kit of makeup essentials starts with a hydrating primer. “It’s a game-changer for how makeup sits on your skin because it plumps fine lines and smooths pores,” she says.

Based in Port Hope, Ont., the former model has run the ethical fashion line Preloved for the past three decades and is now on a midlife mission as the founder and creator of Change Beauty, a line of products manufactured in Canada.

“I want to empower women to realize that our best years are not behind us, they are only in front of us,” she says. And a fuss-free but effective beauty routine makes her feel at the top of her game.

On mature skin, Urichuk suggests using lightweight creamy formulas. “Working in thin layers will give a beautiful finish and help with the longevity of your makeup,” she says. To even out your complexion and boost radiance, try a skin tint, a light-to-medium coverage product with skincare ingredients such as glycerin or niacinamide.

Next, use a liquid or cream blush. “As you age, your skin tone can lose a lot of colour. Blush brings skin back to life,” she says. “That step, along with using an eyelash curler and putting on a great mascara, wakes up and lifts the whole face. It’s instant.”

Place two dots of blush high up on cheekbones and use fingertips or a brush to press it into the skin for a seamless finish. “You could also apply blush before your complexion product to make it appear even more natural,” she says.

Adding luminosity with glossy lips and radiant cheeks is also key. “I really pay attention to how light hits my face now,” Urichuk says. For a subtle sheen on cheekbones, Grieve and Urichuk swear by highlighter sticks. “They’re so easy to apply and everybody wants glowing skin,” says Grieve, “It makes you look vibrant.”

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Makeup must-haves for mature skin