Beyonce Has Mastered The Anti-Aging Makeup Look....Let's Discuss

Remember when you were younger and you couldn't wait to start wearing makeup.  It seems like nowadays younger girls are highly skilled at makeup application thanks to the beauty guru boom on Youtube.  Many of the self-taught, self-proclaimed makeup artists were wearing a full face beat while still in their teens.  They're able to get away with it because their youthful faces, combined with layers of makeup, created an interesting contrast. 

They'll soon realize that once they enter their 30's and beyond, a full face of heavy contoured makeup will have the opposite effect that it once had.  I'm starting to notice that celebrity women who are no longer in their 20s are leaning towards "no-makeup-makeup."  The reason for this is because everyone looks younger when wearing a fresh face. 

Recently, Beyonce released a series of images to celebrate another year of life.  In one pic in particular, she looked much younger than her age.  I'm sure photo was retouched to show Beyonce in her best light.  But that doesn't take away from the fact that Beyonce has perfected the clever strategy of using barely there makeup looks to appear forever youthful. 
After the Destiny Child's era, Beyonce rebranded herself as a solo artist.  More recently, you may have noticed Beyonce wanting to appeal to millennials.  In videos like 711, you see a fresh-faced Beyonce with messy hair and casual clothing similar to that worn by her college-aged fans.  We all know that Beyonce is very calculated in every move she makes.  In my opinion, her strategy was ultra effective! Not only did she secure her position as a relevant entertainer, she found a way to extend her career by continuing to exude youth even as she enters her late thirties.

Here are some of the rules that I think Beyonce follows to execute the perfect youthful face.

Skip the Heavy Contour
The most obvious rule that I think Beyonce follows is "no heavy contour."  Contouring had a huge moment in the past few years.  Most makeup looks on YouTube still involve some type of heavy contour in one way or another.  I understand why contouring was such a big trend.  If done right, you could highlight cheekbones, tweak the size of your nose, and create a more defined jawline.    What they didn't tell you is that a heavy contour has the ability to age you drastically if you aren't in your 20s. 

In your 30's, you're already dealing with the visible loss of collagen in the skin.  Your face is slowing starting to lose its soft, youthful qualities and, by contouring, you're creating an even harsher result.  Even the queen of contouring, Kim Kardashian, adjusted her strategy once she hit 30.  Yes, she's recently launched a contouring line for her brand, but if you pay close attention to her makeup looks, her contour is barely visible.  Before launching her brand, Kim did an IG live where she revealed how she did her makeup before heading out.  She did a little bit of contouring near her hairline and that was pretty much it. She was big into contouring when she was younger, but now she knows that it doesn't flatter her changing face.  Creating a bunch of shadows on the face with heavy contour only draws attention to areas that are starting to lose facial volume. No one wants that.

Heavy Eye Makeup Is a No-No
When I was a kid, I recall a trend where middle-aged women wore a ton of eyeliner, heavy mascara, and dark colored eyeshadows.  This aged them dramatically.  If you pay close attention, you notice that Beyonce prefers to wear as little eye makeup as possible.  Especially when she's trying to play up a youthful look.  When she's trying to pull off the look of a woman in her 20's, she allows her brows to be the main focal point of the eye area.  Most of the time, she barely doesn't even look like she's wearing mascara.  In order to pull this off, you'll need a killer anti-aging eye routine.  The eyes typically show the first signs of aging so it's important to focus on keeping them moisturized and plump to ward off wrinkles.

Beyonce really avoids wearing heavy eye makeup whenever she's rocking a deep colored lip.  This is a very stark contrast to today's trend of heavy false lashes and cut creases.  Obviously, Beyonce does wear eye makeup but even then, she keeps the look minimal.
Conceal Like A Pro.
We can assume that Beyonce's skin is effortlessly flawless or we can attribute her perfect skin to amazing concealer.  The recent heavy makeup trend encourages people to use concealers that are several shades lighter/darker than your skin tone.  I'm here to invite you to find concealers that are your skin's exact match.  Some of my favorites are NARS creamy concealer or the infamous Kevin Aucoin Sensual Skin skin Enhancer.  They make my skin look flawless without appearing as if I'm trying to cover anything.  If you need additional help with dark under eyes, try this method to color correct prior to applying.

Lastly, I think Beyonce is able to pull this forever young makeup look because of the quality of her skin.  When your skin looks great, you don't need to wear much makeup at all.  From what we know of her routine, Beyonce consistently exfoliates using enzymes, she drinks around a gallon of lemon water a day, she goes to bed greasy and enjoys high-end facials.  Sounds like the recipe for flawless skin if you ask me.  Because she's taken such great care of her skin, she can afford to sport very little makeup and look amazing doing it.  If you're going for the minimalist makeup look, be sure to invest in finding an amazing primer that illuminates the skin. I heard that Beyonce likes this one from Charlotte Tilbury. 

Looking like you have a bare face while wearing makeup looks easy but requires a bit of practice.  One benefit of wearing minimal makeup is that it causes you to be more diligent about your skin regimen.   So even though you're trying to minimize your imperfections at first, you'll end up with prettier skin in the long run.  Sounds like a win-win to me.