Fashion

Aisling on beauty: The industry needs to stop alienating older women

Using teen and twentysomething models to flog cosmetics to older women is not the way forward

“Show us more women like Andie MacDowell.” Photograph: Angela Weiss/Getty Images

Aisling McDermott
Tue Mar 8 2016 - 06:00

Mum and I were having a rummage through old family photos when we came across one taken at my christening. When I looked at my granny holding me, a sudden realisation dawned: she was only in her early 60s but, dressed all in black, she looked so much older.

My mother, sitting beside me in her jeans and leather jacket, her hair recently coloured and her face made up, was a complete contrast. In one generation women have changed so much. They are younger in outlook, more vibrant and the way they dress and feel about themselves has completely changed. They really do not want to see teenage and twentysomething models advertising foundation for mature skin.

Tricia Cushdon, the founder of new make-up range Look Fabulous Forever, worked with the London College of Fashion to survey the gap between how older women see themselves and how advertisers represent them. They found that 91 per cent of participants felt they were badly represented or ignored.

What inspired Cushdon to develop the range? She said she was “fed up of buying make-up which didn’t work in the way it should have on my older skin. And secondly, I felt ignored by the beauty industry, which only wanted to talk to me about anti-ageing. So Look Fabulous Forever takes a different position: we believe that with the right make-up – which performs well on older eyes, faces and lips – age is no barrier to looking fabulous.”

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The make-up is flattering and beautiful. I used my mother as a barometer, asking her to try the range. We both loved the foundation, which glides over your skin and instantly brightens and smooths. There are plenty of primers in the range and they are very good, smoothing out the look of lines and ensuring make-up stays fresh. Shades are mainly subtle and flattering. Video tutorials on the site show you how to make the best of your looks at 50, 60 and 70-plus.

Advertisers take note: you are missing a trick with your teenage models. Show us more women like Helen Mirren and Andie MacDowell. You are alienating the audience you want to sell to. lookfabulousforever.com

  • amcdermott@irishtimes.com 
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