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

[Anonymous]

Yes it sounds like you want to wear makeup.

[Anonymous]

52 with very clear skin thanks to tretinoin. But I don’t do fillers or Botox, so I look my age or perhaps a very slight year or few younger due to religiously applying SPF, wearing hats, and not having any grey.

I wear lip tint, occasionally concealer, always brush my brows, and sometimes (rarely these days) add light brow pencil to fill in a few thinner spots and a light coat of mascara on my lashes. I often apply a few coats of the lip tint to get darker look and give my face some color.

Just do what feels right to you. At this age, full makeup doesn’t do me any favors and I’m happy with my appearance. And actually now that I think about it… I’m more confident because I’m not worried anymore about makeup caking or wearing off or making me oily or my dry patches standing out.

[Anonymous]

Yes! Don't need for face but do eye makeup, lip color.

[Anonymous]

One thing I have done is kept up my eyebrow and lash tinting, just to have more definition on my face.

[Anonymous]

Yes makeup helps! Also don't forget to fill in your eyebrows with a pencil

[Anonymous]

Yes

[Anonymous]

I’m 36 and I definitely look better with makeup. I can’t think of anyone that honestly looks better without any makeup unless they apply makeup poorly.

You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to though. If you don’t like it, don’t bother.

[Anonymous]

To look good, no. To look your very best, yes.

[Anonymous]

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

Which tinted sunscreen are people using?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.?

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

So you’re asking advice on balancing g your hate for all makeup with looking better? Why do you hate it? Do you think it feels bad?

I would suggest asking a friend whose makeup look you like and has similar coloring. Hard to give advice without knowing that. I’m very fair and l always wear eye liner and mascara to work or social events, otherwise my eyes just look tiny and blah. I have good skin but it’s gotten dryer and more red over the years (I’m 48) and l do like the feel and look of a light foundation or tinted moisturizer to help with the redness. I don’t bother with eyebrows or blush because my cheeks are naturally red. I also like various lip liners and balms, in nude colors.

[Anonymous]

I’m in my 50s and just wear mascara and sometimes eyeliner. I’ve never mastered the art of concealer and foundation, the few times it became flaky and fine lines looked worse. If I was patient and good at it, I’d probably wear it. My skin is pretty good for my age so I don’t really feel the need for the foundation, but it’d be nice to be “dressed up” when I go out.

[Anonymous]

I also have good skin these days and never wear foundation, but i look dramatically better with a tiny bit of mascara, eyeliner, a quick swipe of Jones Road Miracle Balm as blush, and lip balm. Like, SO MUCH better. I look awake and happy (20 years ago I could skip all of these and still look awake).

The one day that I skipped this routine, one of the neighborhood dads texted because he was worried that I looked "unusually sad" and he wanted to make sure everything was OK.

[Anonymous]

I used to be wake up all dewy faced, but at 49 those days are long gone. At the very minimum, I need to define and add thickness to my eyebrows, some lip balm. I don't need foundation, but a little tinted sunscreen does wonders.

[Anonymous]

one note -- as we get older, the constrast in our face fades (lip color is less rosy and eyelashes are thinner). Constrast is what makes features look more attractive. So, as we age, adding a bit of contrast with mascara or sublte lip color can bring you back to a more youthful and attractive look.

[Anonymous]

This post sounds like a humblebrag. OP sounds like she’s really proud of how she looks in her 50s and wants to gloat about it and feel good about herself. Not sure what advice you are looking for here. No one knows what you look like so obviously we can’t tell you if you “need” make up or can get by without. Clearly you are implying that you can get by without so what is the point of the post? Obviously most people look better with the right make up. The issue is whether they want to wear make up and whether they know which make up makes them look better and how to apply it.