I hope I don't shock you with this, but your girl here is 31.
Now don't get me wrong: I love getting older. I'm smarter, cooler, and my hair looks so much better than it did when I was in my twenties. But beauty-wise… well, things are definitely different. And I'm about to get extremely real with you guys about what exactly that entails.
Here are 7 ways my makeup game has changed now that I'm in my 30s.
My cat eye is different.
Because the skin around my eyes is a little more delicate and prone to wrinkling now, it's harder to draw on the rounded cat eye that I rocked for most of my twenties. Since I'll abandon my eyeliner when you pry it out of my cold, dead hands, I now wear my cat eye in a much wider, more triangular shape. This means that you can always see it over my eyelid wrinkles (hey, they happen) and I don't have to tug my ~delicate~ skin to draw the line, which can mess up the end result.
(You can find my favorite liner brands right here, btw.)
I have to be a LOT more careful with makeup removal (and skincare in general).
I've shown you guys my full skincare routine, and a lot of people were like "Are you kidding? You do that every night?"
Yes, you bet I do. My skin is CHALLENGING at the best of times; if I don't take care of it properly, I see and feel it immediately. This has definitely gotten more pronounced now that I'm in my 30s — with the fun addition of some new skin sensitivities I never had before. For example, alcohol-based makeup removers? Those will peel the skin under my eyes right off my damn face. Any foundation left on my skin overnight? Forget it, there will be a huge zit there the next day.
Which brings me to…
ZITS.
Yeah, they kinda never stopped. But the good news is I've gotten really good at covering them up; the bad news is everything else.
Oh, and did I also mention that in addition to getting beautifully spotty, you also get to deal with…
Wrinkles.
I don't hate my wrinkles. I don't even really have all that many to hate — bless these giant chubby cheeks that everyone teased me about in grade school! — but under my eyes and by my mouth? Definitely have some lines there that I never did before. Cool.
To deal with this, I always use a great primer to avoid product gathering in my wrinkles, and tend to avoid setting powder unless I'm filming. Smashbox Photo Finish ($36, Ulta) is the best I've found.
I also don't mind saying that I'm a big fan of Botox — I get a lil bit in my forehead, and I truly love the results.
(I think it's important to be honest about this; you don't have to follow my example, but I don't want to pee on your leg and tell you it's raining.)
I embrace a lot of liquids.
Liquid and cream highlighters are my lifesavers, post-30. They keep me looking luminous without settling into every tiny line and wrinkle that pops up when I smile. I used to hate anything liquid that wasn't also foundation; now I can't live without it. So goes the world. NARS Liquid Illuminator in 413 BLKR ($30, NARS) is currently my jam.
I'm uh, also not sure why I'm making this face. Don't judge me.
Primers are no longer optional.
I used to think that primer was like an optional extra… not anymore. I practically bathe in the stuff — especially on my eyelids. Who wants to see cakey eye shadow? Damn nobody, that's who. I really rely on Urban Decay's Primer Potion ($12, Sephora) to prevent my makeup from migrating into my eye creases.
And neither is lip liner.
I now experience the dreaded "feathering" of my lipstick out into the little lines around my mouth. It happens no matter how great the formula, and if I have to pick one thing about aging to get mad about, IT'S THIS. Luckily, it's an easy fix — I just always have to wear lip liner now. Liner forms a slightly waxy barrier between your skin and the product, preventing it from migrating outward.
How has your makeup routine changed as you've gotten older?
Let me know RIGHT HERE, or over on Facebook!