Fashion

Aisling on Beauty: How to make grey hair work for you

When hair greys with age, it is time to rethink your old favourites

Photograph: Thinkstock

Aisling McDermott
Tue Nov 17 2015 - 06:00

Grey hair is officially cool and has been for some time. Girls in their teens and 20s are dyeing their hair grey, and more and more women in their 40s and upwards are getting fed up with the constant upkeep of their original hair colour.

I was watching First Dates on Channel 4 the other night when I was struck anew by the beauty of grey hair on younger women. One of the hopefuls possessed a glorious mane of lilac-tinted grey hair, worn with bold berry lips.

Younger women can experiment and do whatever they like with their make-up and look great. But when hair greys with age, it is time to rethink your old favourites.

Grey can drain the face of colour, and mature skin can lack the plumpness and moisture of your younger self. However, clever use of make-up means that older women can, and do, look stunning with a clever capsule collection of minimal make-up.

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Don't try to look like you did when you were 30. Remember that the beauty industry loves mature women, because they are more likely to have disposable income. This means that there are many options for you. Choose a light-reflecting foundation and stick to light-to-medium coverage; anything heavier will settle into lines. Clarins Skin Illusion Natural Radiance Light Reflecting Foundation, Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Lift and Firm Makeup and Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation are good choices. For an extra boost, mix with a good CC cream such as YSL Forever Light Reflecting CC Cream, or use a higher coverage one such as Olay Regenerist CC Complexion Corrector instead of foundation.

A light-reflecting undereye concealer or highlighter will lift tired eyes. The classic is YSL Touche Éclat, but there are plenty of less expensive options such as Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Eye Cream Colour Correction. Another good trick is to apply a neutral eye pencil to the waterline of your eyes to make them look fresher; Nars Rue Bonaparte is a good choice.

Cream blusher is the best bet for mature skin, as it adds softer colour and looks fresher. Keeping your eye make-up minimal with mascara and light eyeshadow means you can go to town with a bright lip. Mac Mineralize Lipstick, Lancôme L'Absolu Rouge, Rimmel Moisture Renew, Clinique Pop Lip Colour and L'Oréal Colour Riche are all good choices.

Now get out there and knock ’em dead.

  • amcdermott@irishtimes.com
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