50- Do I have to wear makeup to look good?

[Anonymous]

Obviously I know that I don’t have to wear makeup and I don’t need to follow society’s rules. But, as I age I just wonder if I should be wearing makeup to look better/more feminine/ youthful etc.?

At 50, my skin looks better than it ever has. I no longer get random hormonal pimples that I would sometimes get as a 20 something. And due to religious sunscreen/retin A/IPL/botox (and the salary to pay for it all) I don’t need foundation.

I actually hate all makeup- but, I feel like I am doing myself a disservice by not wearing it. What do you all think?

[Anonymous]

I'm in a similar boat and I think it depends on the situation. My skin looks good, for sure. But I'm more washed out that I used to be, and when I see photos of myself without *some* eye makeup, my eyes look small. Same thing with my lips -- texture, size look fine, but without a little color, I look washed out.

So while I don't think I look bad without makeup, I definitely look better with.

[Anonymous]

You definitely look better with it than without it.

Your call as to whether or not the situation is important enough to you to bother with it.

[Anonymous]

When I look in a mirror, I don't think I look much different with or without makeup. On Zoom calls, I also don't think I look much different with or without. But once I was on a Zoom "happy hour" call, and after a few sips if red wine, my nose was noticeably redder on the Zoom camera. That was my wake up call that make up is better at our ages. I don't overdo it, though, and never have.

[Anonymous]

No! It sounds like you don't need make-up unless you want to go with the super smooth, pretend-natural look. It will be a lot of work for not much difference, considering you're already starting from good skin.

I'm the same, and as a rosy-cheeked brunette, I never wear make-up except for fun eyeshadow and lip gloss at parties.

[Anonymous]

Yes, if done correctly. Plus botox.

[Anonymous]

I rarely used to wear makeup aside from a little blush, but at 49, I feel my best with concealer and blush at a minimum. If I'm going to see clients, I add on mascara, brow gel, and a touch of powder foundation. I feel like most eye makeup makes me look older, so I skip eyeshadow and eyeliner.

[Anonymous]

Yes you will look better with makeup. It doesn’t need to be a full face and I would definitely skip foundation.

But just adding some color to cheeks and lips makes a HUGE difference in youthfulness. Mascara and filling in brows is good too and will make you look more polished. But cheek and lip color make to biggest difference

[Anonymous]

I'm almost 60 and rarely wear makeup. I focus on really good skincare and hair (although I don't color it). So, no. I don't think you need to wear make up to look good and my young adult DDs agree with me.

Having said that, now that I only have 1 kid left at home, I've been playing around with makeup. I've got some age related puffiness under my eyes, some jowliness and my hooded eyes are a little more hooded. I think I look best with less makeup so I just use some color/concealer here and there in an 'mature-friendly' manner. I also switched to a tubing mascara. I think I look great when I do it but don't feel compelled to.

[Anonymous]

For me, at this stage, eyeliner and mascara are most important. I’ve grown my brows back using grand brow.

[Anonymous]

You will undoubtedly look significantly better with makeup, assuming you know how to use it. If you don't, you run the risk of looking worse.

I'm early 50s, and it takes a lot of work to look less old and tired. Makeup, yes. But grooming is important too -- I look a lot better when I have my eyebrows shaped and tinted, and my face needs good moisturizer. And people will argue over this, but most of the women I went to law school with started getting botox and fillers 20 years ago, and they tend to look better, actually a lot better, than women their age who don't. Exercise and diet matters. All of that stuff matters. But you didn't ask about that -- you asked about makeup. Yes, makeup helps; but it is only one piece of how to fight looking old and tired.

[Anonymous]

It is an unpopular opinion here but the women who have had Botox in their 40s look dramatically better than those who don’t at 50.

With makeup - I definitely look better but some days I just don’t bother

[Anonymous]

Tinted sunscreen
Vaseline on lips
Cream blush

[Anonymous]

Tinted sunscreen, lip gloss, groomed brows (I use a tinted gel for taming and thickness), mascara, and a touch of cream blush. The routine takes 2 minutes, doesn't feel gross, doesn't cover up great skin you want to show off, and makes a huge difference.

[Anonymous]

Tinted sunscreen
Blush
muted lip color
eyeliner (maybe)
My eyebrows are a mess so I put powder on them so they show up.