Truth #20: Not wearing makeup makes you look older than necessary.

I hate to tell you this, but if you are over 35 years old and you aren’t spending at least five minutes on your face to add some definition and color before walking out the door, you aren’t doing yourself any favors. As we age, we not only lose elasticity in our skin, but also color in our face, lips, and cheeks. Brows tend to become thinner as do eyelashes. In my very first Makeup Memo, I give an overview of the special things our faces do around 37 years old. Past that magical age, slicking on some lip gloss and walking out the door just isn’t going to cut the mustard the way it did before.

I’m not saying that everything we do as women should be to look as young as possible, or I’d be suggesting that you wear pink glitter lip gloss and sparkly gold eyeshadow… that would make you look “younger” for sure, but not necessarily better or age appropriate. What I’m talking about here is maximizing your potential and being graceful about your beautification process so it showcases you in your best light.

If you are willing to do the bare minimum and spend five minutes to help yourself look about five years younger, then here are the major points to hit in order to boost your inherent beauty.

Use blush strategically to instantly brighten your face.

Dab on a bit of color at the very top of your cheeks right on and above the apples, blending up and around toward the eye. Then add a very small dash of blush above the temples and on the center of the eyelid.

Find a color that works with your skin tone, which mimics a natural blush or golden warmth that shows up on your face.

For fair skinned ladies, it’s that rosy pink your cheeks get when you’ve just come in from the cold. Use a product like RMS Beauty blush in Promise. For more olive or dark-skinned women, you want to focus on golden shades with brighter orange mixed in, rather than yellow or brown as the base. Try Sunkissed blush from Revolution Organics.

Lift those well-worn eyes.

Using concealer both beneath the eye area and on the upper lid, right near the lash line, will instantly make your eyes look brighter and younger. Need tips on that? Well lucky for you, I did a two-minute video on how to conceal under eye circles.

Also check out this video on how to curl your lashes. It’s a six-second process with a “torture” device for results that give you an instant eye lift. It’s also an essential prep step before mascara… which you should use.

Your mother was right! Put some lipstick on before you go out the door.

It makes a tremendous difference. If you pick the right color, your whole face can look more alive. A perfect lip color can complement the shade of your eyes, hair color or the outfit you are wearing. Read up on finding your perfect lipstick shade here.

Add fullness to your brows.

Now if you have sparse brows, take a moment in your routine to lightly fill in what I call the “naked spaces.” You don’t need to have perfectly designed brows, but making them look a bit thicker gives the illusion of youth and softness with the added benefit of framing the eyes. And guess what? There’s a video on that too!

So after just a bit of dabbing, swiping and buffing, you’ll look perky and fresh, reflecting the vibrant person you truly are!