More and more brides are now over the age of 40. In this Blog, I will be discussing how Brides in the 40+ age bracket can look just as beautiful in their wiser years, with #5 easy to follow tips on the best Makeup Products and applications.

Brides to Be Over 40

Once Upon a time, we said 'I Do, and forever this day forward...' and right then and there, we meant every single word of it. But sometimes, for many, it was never meant to be forever. And that is OK.

And then, years zip by and for whatever reason, the right person comes along again, or you and your partner had never felt marriage was right at the time but you stayed together anyway. And then getting wed suddenly becomes a thing again.

But now you're older, over 40 now , or 50 even. And everywhere you look - dress, makeup, hair jewelry inspo is modeled only by radiant youthful bride. Their already perfect hair and skin digitally enhanced to enviable perfection.

Over the years, I've been lucky and privileged to be some Brides to be - Wedding Makeup Artist more than once. But this time around they are far more relaxed and know exactly what they want and how they want to look. Often choosing simpler dresses, less makeup and more relaxed hairstyles than the first time around.

Brides Makeup Tip #1 - Keep your Makeup look Simple, Fresh & Glowy.

The problem with makeup back in the day was the popular choice of shimmery grey eye shadows teamed up with jet black eyeliner. A safe choice of colour palette you would think. But actually,it wasn't. As the flash of the camera bounced across the light reflective particles of the shimmery grey, what you saw on the photographs, sadly looked like a less flattering shade of pale blue.

I'm sure there are brides up and down the country looking back at old Wedding pics wondering just who it was that persuaded them to go with late 80's blue eye shadow shades.

So this brings me to the subject of eye shadows, not just on Brides of a certain age, but of women over 25 in general. You see, as our skins age, we do not showcase shimmery eye shadows very well at all. I am, like many, a Magpie of sorts. I love sparkly things. And if I browse the makeup section of any store, my eyes and my finger tips are magnetically drawn to those sparkly shades, knowing full well I couldn't possibly pull them off. To be honest, I find it sad to admit, but those glitters belong only on the Nightclub Dance floor - think Sophie Ellis Bextor's Murder on the Dance floor vid - stunning glitter green (ah how I miss those sparkly glittery nights, but that was another life)

But thankfully we now have an abundance of super flattering matte eye shadow shades in many of your favourite colours and I heartily recommend them.

But that's not to say a shimmer should NOT be worn, but their application needs much careful consideration in where they are placed on the eyes and face. That's where I, and my fellow Super Pro Makeup Artists come in, to ensure they are applied for maximum flattery.

Brides Makeup Tip #2 - The over 40 Eyeliner trick

How many times I've been presented with inspo pics of a glossy haired, wide eyed beauty with dramatically perfect black winged liner tapered to perfection.

"That's how I would like my eyes" I'm told and my heart sinks.

Why? Because, put simply, I can't.

I can do some decent free hand flicks, but on someone older, guess where that flick is going to end up? On a sad downward slope, or disappearing completely under the slight fall in the skin.

I don't want to upset anyone, but I guess its easier when you're no spring chicken yourself. So, we do what we CAN do. We use brown pencil. We create a soft buffed lifting wing that continues from the outer edge of the eye and blends away then sealed with a fine application of dark brown or charcoal shadow This technique is way more flattering than attempting to recreate the picture in hand.

Brides Makeup Tip #3 - Don't fear the False Lash

'Oh I don't want to look like Daisy the Cow' is often what I hear when I mention the must-have false lash.

Look, I don't like fake and false, if it looks fake and false. (That goes for everything from tans, to nails, to lips to brows and eyelashes).

But faking it to look undetectable, then I'm in.

And that goes for the use of false eyelashes. They need to blend in with your natural lashes. they need to add volume. And they need to flatter. My favourites at the moment are half strip lashes. they're easier to apply and they give a wonderful lift to the eyes to flatter and add subtle glamour. Trust me, you'll love them. You may find this post useful Tried & Tested: Trying Out the SNAP- Luxury False Eyelashes BY Snap Beauty. Snap False Eye Lashes Review (paulapacemakeupartist.co.uk)

Brides Makeup Tip #4 -Lip Tricks

Sometimes during a trial I ask the bride to be for her usual lipstick. This helps to keep some kind of familiarity when every part of the makeup has suddenly changed. (many of us are guilty of applying our makeup the same way we did 10 years ago). But quite often, the lip colour produced by the bride is the same lipstick shade that has been worn for years. Ten years ago, we may have had more colour in our skins, our lips will have been plumper and pinker. And now that very same lipstick just drains the colour from the skin. Its been said that shades of matte peachy nudes are far more flattering for more mature skin types. Teamed up with a slightly darker lip liner sketched slightly over the natural lip line, (just a gentle slight over line, nothing obvious) can create plumper fuller looking lips.

Brides Makeup Tip #5 - Skin and Base

Your base foundation is only as good as the skin it lies over. And it may be the ultimate cliche - but for good skin you need to hydrate it, inside and out. As we get older, alcohol in our skin is way more evident than it used to be - it robs the skin of its luster and seems to like to leave a sepia imprint under our eyes. So maybe abstain from it before your wedding. Get it looking naturally glowy again and follow a strict skin care regime. There are lots of fantastic products out there for reducing puffiness under the eyes.I use The Ordinary Caffeine solution.

Moving onto your base foundation. I've never been a fan of full coverage foundations. But I know some of you are. (one popular brand left brides looking like paper on their photos) But as skin gets older, heavier formulas look more apparent on the skin and less natural. Thankfully there are lots of light reflecting formulas that will give you a glowy finish without weighing the skin down.

Creamy Concealers will add the coverage needed in places where extra coverage is required. Read my Blog on everyones favourite - the concealer #14 Ways to Maximize The Benefits of Concealer in Your Makeup Routine. Expert tips. (paulapacemakeupartist.co.uk)

I love primers that add a glow UNDER the skin before base is applied. I like BPerfect Mrs Glam - Peachy Elixir Strobe Cream - BPerfect Cosmetics

Quite often I find Airbrush Makeup just the right amount of natural long lasting coverage and most brides over 40 seem to love it. You can read more here .10 Benefits of Airbrush Makeup for Your Wedding Day (paulapacemakeupartist.co.uk)

What next?...

Perhaps you are going abroad to get married. Maybe you could think about having a makeup lesson to learn how to apply your wedding makeup.

You can read more here to find your perfect wedding makeup artist How to Choose Your Perfect Wedding Makeup Artist: 5 Tips for Your Big Day (paulapacemakeupartist.co.uk) and The Importance of a Pre-Wedding Makeup Trial: What to Expect and How to Prepare (paulapacemakeupartist.co.uk)

If you have any tips, I would love you to share them here.