I get a makeover & new makeup for the Over 50s.

This is a sponsored post, but I genuinely love this makeup and can't get over how smooth my skin looks.  I think you know me well enough to know that if I hadn't liked the product I would have walked away. The before & after photos below say it all and I hope you enjoy the make over as much as I did, especially the top tips for women Over 50. 

Before and after my make up was applied by a professional.  I have also added filters, such is my vanity, but you will see the real me below!

I went to the Look Fabulous Forever headquarters in London, without a scrap of makeup on, apart from my tinted eyebrows (to cover the grey hairs) and a tiny bit of eyeliner. I couldn't wait to try this makeup & get some colour on my cheeks but must admit that I was not looking forward to sitting in a chair for ages having my makeup done for me. After years of working in TV and, more recently, photo shoots, I get fidgety and impatient. And although full makeup looks great under studio lights it often doesn't look so great outdoors in real life. You know what I mean, powder in crevices springs to mind! But I couldn't have been more wrong, apart from the sitting in the chair bit not talking…………

THIS IS ME BEFORE THE MAKE OVER, EVERY LINE ON FULL VIEW.  NO WONDER PHOTOGRAPHERS ALWAYS EDIT THEIR WORK!

My makeover was done by a professional makeup artist and was filmed for one of the many excellent tutorials Look Fabulous Forever, put up on their YouTube channel (you can also watch the video of my makeover at the end of this blog). This meant me sitting completely still and NOT TALKING for a good 40 minutes! Anyone who knows me or watches my You Tube videos & Lives on Instagram will know that not talking is a real challenge to me!

LFF's makeup artist, Linda Sullivan, did a fantastic job on me using concealer, primer, foundation, bronzer, a little eye make up and, my favourite, Foxy Lady lipstick! And the 40 minutes was very relaxing. I just zoned out!

Here's the After pic without any editing, brightening or filters, under TV lights. I think I look very well, if very lined, my skin's glowing and, best of all, it looks natural.  But will I be able to do this makeup myself, and quickly? Read on......

WHY A MAKEUP BRAND FOR THE OVER 50s?

LFF is the brainchild of Tricia Cusden who started the company in her mid-60s when she had that light bulb moment: the big makeup brands simply don't cater for older skin and the high street is all about anti-ageing rather than pro-ageing. (Hear, hear to that!)

So Tricia developed a cruelty-free brand of make up that is specifically formulated to suit our more mature faces, eyes & lips. Just four years and 70 video tutorials later LFF is just going from strength to strength. Tricia's positive ageing philosophy says it all, " I want to encourage older women to accept and embrace their ageing self whilst doing all you can to have the healthiest and most fabulous 'third act' that you can possibly achieve." 

Tricia cusden, the founder of lff, look fabulous forever. makeup for the over 50s.

HAVE I GOT TIME TO DO MAKEUP LIKE A PRO AT HOME?

Here are just four top tips that I took home with me from my makeover that have helped me carry on in the real world. (You'll find many more tutorials and tips on the LFF website)

The first tip is to use a good primer before your foundation. The LLF Smooth Like Silk Face Prime does what it says on the tin: (or can if you're in the U.S.!) 'it smoothes the skin and fills in open pores and fine lines leaving the skin looking soft, matte and visibly younger. Secondly, it ensures that your makeup stays looking fresh all day.' And it does. My makeup still looked fresh seven hours after the shoot.

SMOOTH LIKE SILK FACE PRIME BY LOOK FABULOUS FOREVER

The second tip is to use a good foundation. Tricia likens wearing the right foundation to being as important as wearing a bra! And LFF didn't disappoint. After applying the face prime, the Continuous Cover Foundation just glided on leaving my skin looking really dewy. I've not seen a foundation do that on my skin since my 40's.

Both products were an absolute revelation to me after years of using BB creams or tinted moisturisers that just don't cut it when it comes to proper coverage.  All because I hated the thickness of most foundations. This LFF foundation is really light but still covers properly without looking heavy and caked on. Result!  

You'll see how the two products went on in the video below but if you think, like me, that you just haven't got time for a full makeup session every day, worry not. Tricia shows you how to save time and still do your makeup properly, on her blog: Applying Makeup - Fab or Faff. You will see me mentioned as not having time to Faff with my make up, but, thanks to Tricia's top time-saving tips, such as mixing your primer with the foundation, I am now happier to put makeup on my face nearly every day!

CONTINUOUS  COVER FOUNDATION BY LOOK FABULOUS FOREVER.

The third essential for a fabulous, flawless face has to be concealer. Tricia noticed that women, and I'm one of them, thought highlighters would brighten the face, which they do, but would also work as an under eye concealer, covering up those dark shadows. They don't!  "That's why I added a rich creamy concealer with sufficient pigmentation to properly conceal eye bags, age spots and blemishes to the LFF range," adds Tricia. 

Now I know why Touche Eclat has done nothing for my under eye shadows and bags since hitting 50. I am now using LFF's Cover to Cover Conceal with gay abandon: under my eyes & to cover my red thread veins & blemishes. It's like having a photo filter, they just disappear!

COVER TO COVER CONCEAL BY LOOK FABULOUS FOREVER.

Tip four: use a blusher brush to pop on a natural looking bronzer all over your face. LFF's Fabulous Bronze added a warmth to my skin giving it a sun-kissed glow on top of the face prime, foundation & concealer. Done!

These four steps to looking more fabulous take no time at all.  Just practise and use Tricia's informative videos to help you..... from how to apply eye makeup to how to have luscious lips, everything an Over 50 needs to know about makeup is there. 

Thanks to Tricia's advice and the tutorials, I've now got these four products down to a fine art and will not go out without wearing them unless I'm having a quiet day at home, and then I would probably use the concealer & blusher at the very least. What a turnaround for someone who used to wear as little as possible on my face, apart from a good moisturizer with SPF, and wondered why my selfies were so scary!

Finally, you know me and my lippie, that's one thing you will never see me without...........

FABULOUS BRONZE BY LOOK FABULOUS FOREVER.

........ for selfies, photos, & going out in public. And that's a relatively recent addition as well. Could LFF come up with a lovely red that both suits my skin tone and looks vintage? Tricia suggested Foxy Lady and it was just perfect, I'm sure you'll agree.

Last top tip: get a lip primer to pop on before applying lipstick. The LLF lip primer is a godsend and an absolute must for me as it stops the lipstick from feathering and bleeding into the many crevices around my lips.

So here I am fully made up at the end of the makeover & shoot. I got home some 7 hours later and was gob-smacked to look in the mirror to see the same dewy, smooth complexion.  Apart from the lippie, nothing needed re-applying.  Amazing after nearly eight hours of eating, talking and traveling home. 

For fellow lazy-bones out there, taking your time and faffing around with your make up is really worth it if you want it to last all day & all evening.  But you can also do the bare minimum really quickly too. I am now certainly a convert to wearing make-up for going out to face the world, as you never know who you might meet and even if it's just the bare essentials, (primer, a tiny bit of foundation, concealer & bronzer at the very least for me) I really do feel fabulous when I look in the mirror and see a smoother, even skin tone.

So that's my latest venture into wearing proper makeup on my 60 something skin.  I wasn't sure I was going to be able to rave about it, but if you are following me on Instagram, you will know that my delight with LFF is real and authentic.  It's awesome for older skin. And, most importantly, it's really reasonably priced so kind to your purse as well.  Talking of which..........

The kind folk at Look Fabulous Forever are offering a special reader offer of 20% discount for the NEXT TWO WEEKS ONLY ........from Monday 6th November to Sunday 19th November (inclusive) 2017.

Just pop in this Code: LFFAA20 at checkout.

Terms & Conditions: Excludes p & p,  collections, samples and gift vouchers. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. New customers only.

Meanwhile, while you await your booty, get a cuppa, put your feet up and enjoy my makeover video, click below. 

There's also an interview Tricia did with me coming up soon. I will alert you!  Meanwhile, as you know, I am all about looking good and feeling great so can I remind you of my smoothie recipe using the very best foods for beautiful skin, from the inside out, as well as weight loss. Double whammy. Just click here.