Q: At what age, should I stop wearing shimmer?
A: First it's best to distinguish between shimmery, sparkly and luminescent make-up.
- Modern shimmer has come a long way since it's '70s and '80s predecessors, when it had more of a heavy-duty glitter quality that matched the outrageous hair and make-up of the times. Today, shimmer beauty products are way more flattering due to advances in make-up technologies that allow for a smoother and finer jet-milled finish.
- Sparkly make-up has larger glitter particles that are best left for 9 year old girl's dance recitals or a night out clubbing (for those 30 and under).
- Luminescent make-up has tiny light-reflecting ingredients that help to give it a subtle shimmer. Luminescent products include foundations, concealers and powders.
With age, you
do have to be mindful of wearing shimmer. For females in their teen years to their early 30s, shimmer is anyone's game. But as the skin tends to crepe up, women in their late 30s and up will likely have to adjust their make-up routines if they've always worn shimmer in the same way. For women in this latter age group, I would avoid using shimmer eyeshadow on noticeably crepey eyelids. We have to be especially careful with shimmery make-up, as we want people to notice you from across the room and not your high shine make-up! Instead of using shimmery make-up, choose luminescent make-up products as described above. These will help to give the skin a hint of shimmer, while the light-deflecting ingredients will help to take the focus off fine lines. A subtle amount of shimmer also helps give the skin a dewy glow that is characteristic of young and healthy skin. For tips on where to highlight, check out a previous post
here. So as long as the choice and placement of product is adjusted with age, women of a diverse age range can pull off shimmery make-up - there is hope for us perpetual shimmer addicts yet!
