By Nadine Kam

Went to the Halekulani yesterday where someone remarked that I’d never looked better. Hmm. Maybe I looked like s— before, but I tried to think of anything I was doing differently.

I did change my attitude toward makeup a few months back after interviewing Dermagenics founder Sherry Klinger. What she said at the time was that her skin had improved so much from using the product that she no longer needed to use foundation. Being the impressionable sort (I once stopped eating at McDonald’s for about 5 years after a chef told me he hadn’t eaten there in 10 years, just to see if it was really possible) I wished my skin was good enough to go without foundation. Then I thought maybe I just need to let go of the idea of perfection and just accept what’s there, dark spots and all.

I recalled a conversation I had with a reporter about a year ago, in which she came up to me requesting that I do a story on “makeup for old people.”

“I was thinking of doing that,” I told her. “I don’t have time right now but I’ll give you 3 words: Less is more.”

She thought I was being a wise ass and walked off in a huff, saying, “You’re no help!”

But I was trying to help. If you look at very young people, what do they do? Nothing. Youth has its own unpolished splendor. If you were to emulate youth, therefore, you would do very little. But what is the first thing “old people” do? Try the cover up. From what I see on the streets it doesn’t work. Trying to cover every blemish and wrinkle only creates a thick, discernible mask with the unintended consequence of making people look older than they are.

Here’s what I used to go to Halekulani, clockwise from left. On a typical work day I would eliminate the gloss, concealer and Murad for a 2-minute makeup routine. Applying the BeneTint and eye liner takes the longest.
1. LipFusion gloss in “Fresh”: Any sheer gloss will do.
2. Make Up For Ever blue Star Powder: Applied with Sephora angle brush in a line over eye liner for thin touch of color.
3. BeneFit BeneTint lip stain: Not for the clumsy because it will stain anything if you spill it; also if you have deep lip lines, use a lip pencil to keep the color from bleeding, or stay away from your lip line. Wear alone for a natural rosy color, or layer under gloss for more saturated color. I learned this trick from “The Devil Wears Prada.”
4. Murad Essential C Renewal Complex: Just a touch works great as “spackle” in perfecting your skin.
5. Stila Sun bronzer on cheeks and eyelids.
6. Laura Mercier Undercover 2 Secret Concealer: Dabbed on sun spots. Don’t bother to hide them completely, but minimize them.
7. i.d. Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil: Only enough to blot oil and even skin tone.
8. Bobbi Brown “Espresso” eye shadow as liner, applied with the angle brush. Set if you must with English Ideas Liner Last (not pictured).

A person can go crazy trying to cover ever dark blotch and wrinkle, but don’t do it. Acceptance of yourself, warts and all, is the first step toward inner radiance.

But for your outward radiance, cosmetics have gotten a lot better over the decades, and new products are more invisible than ever, starting with mineral foundations. Some people complain about the dry look they give, but you can restore some moisture by applying just a single dab of BeneFit’s Some-Kind-A-Gorgeous Foundation Faker over cheek bones or Murad’s Essential-C Daily Renewal Complex (in an amount no bigger than half a pea) over mineral makeup. I don’t think the Murad product was intended to be used as “spackle,” but it really works! Just don’t try to overblend.

Old skin also loses its glow and elasticity, things I’ve had to put back by doing what was unthinkable when I was an oily-skinned teen, like washing with Shu Uemura oil and adding gloss to my cheeks in the form of liquid bronzers like Clinique’s Up-lifting Liquid Illuminator or BeneFit’s Jewels liquid cheek and eye color. There’s a whole gloss trend in makeup that sounds silly conceptually, but makes sense for those who suffer from crepe-y eyelids and need to put moisture back somehow.

Of course cosmetics don’t work the same way for all people, so you’ll have to experiment and are always welcome to sample products at Sephora or get a simple makeover at the Neiman Marcus or Macy’s cosmetic counters.

Above is the makeup I was wearing at Halekulani. If you have any tips or tricks, please share! There’s nothing like real results vs. those seen in magazines on already beautiful, but airbrushed models.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 21st, 2007 at 11:24 am and is filed under makeup, Face. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.