In Part 1 of ‘Keep Young & Beautiful‘, we discussed various factors that affect our skin as we age, including the fact that some women will age more slowly than others because of their family DNA, environmental factors and lifestyle habits.

Here now are my 5 Top Tips for picking the right skin care product for you.

1. Make sure you have sun protection minimum factor 15 either in your makeup or in your day cream to put on every day.
2. Choose a richer cream for night time as this is when your skin renews itself.
3. Always use an eye cream around your eyes. Don’t use your face moisturiser as it is too rich and may cause puffiness and eye bags.
4. Buying a good cleanser is just as important as your moisturiser. That “squeaky clean feel” is not always a good thing and may mean your cleanser is too harsh and is stripping away your natural oils. Aim for something that makes your skin feel clean and soft. I like cream or oil cleanser that you use with water.
5. Don’t exfoliate every day. It takes 2-3 days for your skin cells to renew and if you exfoliate every day you don’t allow those bright new cells to form. It can also make your skin more sensitive to outside elements leading to more damage.

Beauty isn’t only skin deep. It’s incredible what a bit of makeup can do for our confidence. Putting our best foot forward as they say can lift your spirits and make us feel better about ourselves.

As our face’s change, so must the way we apply our makeup. We wouldn’t wear the same clothes for 50 years so why would we wear the same makeup? Often I find my mature clients become either too scared to wear any makeup in case they look like mutton dressed as lamb, or they do the opposite and pile it on thinking the more they wear the younger they look which is not the case. Makeup applied correctly can be like pain-free plastic surgery – it’s amazing how a slighter fuller brow or a soft rosy cheek can take years off you!

From this summer, The Session School in London’s Baker Street will be running weekend Master Classes in Mature Makeup were you will learn just that:

How to analyse the skin correctly.
How to identify correct skincare products suitable for mature skins.
How to perfect the face, using foundation, concealer and powder – suitable for mature skins.
How to use blusher, lipstick and eye shadow’s to enhance & compliment mature skins and the different textures and products available for mature skins.

The classes are small and myself and the other teachers have a wealth of knowledge to help you get the results you’re looking for. It’s a great way to pick up a new skill as a makeup artist and you can pass on your new-found knowledge to your friends, helping them to look and feel their best too. Have you ever wanted to help your friend stop wearing the same blue eye shadow she has done for the past 40 years? Well now you can bring her along too!

It’s a great fun way to learn the tricks of the trade to keep you looking young and beautiful for the next 50 years!

Written by Sara Hill for Third Age.

Sara Hill is a celebrity makeup artist whose innovative, creative ideas and passion have led her to work globally with the biggest names in the fashion, film and music industries.

Her celebrity client list includes music artists Grace Jones, La Roux, Athlete, Lemar, Jill Jackson, Kanye West, the Sugababes and many more.

Sara has worked backstage for fashion labels such as Vivienne Westwood, Biba, Fashion East, Reem, Noki, Osman Yousefzada, and Ashish. She has also assisted leading makeup artists Lisa Butler, Kirsten Piggott, Sally Branka and Georgina Graham as part of the M.A.C pro team.

Her work has been featured on many front covers and articles as well as television commercials, music videos and films. She has worked for MTV, BBC, ITV and STV and has provided special effects on Sci-fi show ‘Star Gate SG1′ in Vancouver Canada.

Sara and others are currently offering a Mature Makeup Masterclass at The Session School in London.