A Celebrity Makeup Artist Told Me 4 Tips to Look Younger (If You’re Into That)

Celebrity makeup artists are like gatekeepers to the best products, treatments, and techniques for maintaining glowing skin. They have access to all the top brands and beauty experts and regularly touch the faces of some of the world’s most famous women, so they know a thing or two when it comes to creating a youthful appearance. Some of the techniques they use are better left to the pros, but I wanted to know the easy tricks that we mere mortals could use in our day-to-day routines to amp up our makeup looks.

I reached out to celebrity makeup artist Sofia Tilbury, who counts Candice Swanepoel, Shanina Shaik, Sienna Miller, and Irina Shayk as clients. She also happens to be the niece of Charlotte Tilbury, one of the most famous makeup artists of all time, so she has a few tricks up her sleeve worth noting. She revealed her top four makeup tips to look younger, and they’re all surprisingly easy to do. From the first step she does on every face she works on to the lip-enhancing technique that creates a full pout, below are her best tips for a youthful glow.

“Hydration is essential!” Sofia says. “I never do makeup without Magic Cream. Whenever I’m working with a celebrity client, I massage this all over the skin to create a dewy, glowing base while reducing the look of fine lines and wrinkles.” Starting off with an ultra-hydrating moisturizer will get the blood flowing throughout your face and plump up any pesky lines you may have.

“Heavy, cakey powder is the enemy of mature skin! I recommend using a super-finely milled powder like Airbrush Flawless Finish on your T-zone, leaving the high points of your face glowing and free from powder,” explains Sofia.

“People are so afraid of shimmering formulas—especially on mature skin—but it is actually an amazing way to attract light to the face, blurring the look of fine lines and wrinkles,” Sofia reveals. “When creating a really glowy, youthful look, I like to use Charlotte’s cream eye shadow, Eyes to Mesmerise in Jean, on the eyes for maximum impact with minimum effort. It is so easy to use. You can even apply it with your fingers, washing the color all over the lids, into the inner corners, and along the lower lash line to give the appearance of brighter, wider-looking eyes. Then, simply curl your lashes and add plenty of volumizing mascara!” So with just one creamy, champagne-colored eye shadow, you can create the look of brighter, wider eyes using this technique.

“As we age, our lips tend to lose their fullness and can even start to fade in color, so lip liner is essential! Take the Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk and trace the line of the lips, really focusing on creating a defined Cupid’s bow. I’m a real lip-liner girl, so I do this every day. You can instantly cheat and redefine the look of your lips for a youthful, perfected pout.”