When I talk to makeup artist Richard Grandinetti he always gives me a tip that makes a difference. He suggests not too much, not too little, and like baby bear’s porridge the makeup turns out just right.
Richard knows how to help women enhance what they have without turning the look into a freak show. So I asked him to put together a list of 10 easy makeup tips for any age. And because I’m particularly interested in makeup for Baby Boomers and older women, I asked him to focus on us.
Lisa, who just turned fifty, 
and Peggy, who is eightyish, volunteered their faces. I think you will find the tips easy to follow and agree that Lisa and Peg look great.
Richard Grandinetti’s 10 Makeup Tips For Any Age
Step 1
Brighten The Eye With A Base
Richard says, “Most people worry about eye shadow. All you have to do is brighten your whole lid and take away the darkness and redness as well.” He uses a neutral eye shadow base. In this case, it’s Trish McEvoy’s Bare Essential, Bare.
Step 2
Use Pencil To Fill In Your Lashes
Use a pencil and dot in between your lashes as you look in the mirror. Richard thinks this is better than drawing a line because you don’t have to worry about it coming out straight. He says, “You just hold your eye secure and you push it into your own lash line. It makes the lashes look longer.”
Step 3
Apply Mascara
Step 4
Brighten Under The Eye
Richard says most women have darkness, redness or thin skin under their eyes. He use Trish McEvoy’s Instant Eye Lift and applies it in a V from the corner of the eye near the nose down to just above the cheek bone and back up to the corner of the eye. But he brings it up a little higher on the outside of the eye to highlight the cheekbone.
He suggests using a product that is a shade lighter than your skin.
Step 5
Even Skin With Tinted Moisturizer or Foundation
Richard says, “You don’t have to put foundation all over. Look at yourself objectively and see where you have redness or discoloration.” He suggests starting at the bridge of the nose, using a brush, and blending out: “You want to even out the T-zone and blend a little around your mouth.” And he adds that if your chin seems red than you need some there too.
Using a brush, he says, helps lay down the thinnest amount possible.
Step 6
Apply Bronzer (Instead of Blush)
Richard thinks a bronzer will give you a more current look for every day instead of using what he calls “a blazing color.” He says, “Using a little bronzer sculpts the face and adds warmth. Most people make the mistake of using bronzer all over the face. You don’t want to do that. You apply it a thumb away from the eye and a thumb away from the nose just caressing your cheek bones.”
He also recommends that you brush a little under your eyebrow on the bone to contour the eye and a little under the chin and in the middle of the neck.
Step 7
Apply Lip Color
Richard suggests using a bright lip color, but not a dark color. “You want to be careful when selecting a lip color that you are not going too dark. Dark lips slim your lips the way black slims your figure. And we don’t want that,” he says.
He likes to use a brush, but also recommends putting lipstick on from the tube. “You are going to put it on again, and again. Women always say that their lipstick doesn’t stay on. That’s why you need to reapply it several times.
Richard cautions you not to blot the lipstick. “That’s the same as taking it off,” he says.
He also lines the lips after he puts on the lipstick to create definition.
Step 8
Fill In Brows
Richard suggests filling in the brows with a pencil starting at the thicker part near your nose. He likes to use a thin brow pencil to help define a natural brow. He says, “You always want to make your brows a shade lighter than your hair. Dark brows can make you look mean.”
After you fill in, brush up and smooth the hairs into place. “You always want to use a light hand with brows,” Richard reminds us.
Step 9
Apply Eye Shadow For An Evening Look
Richard likes neutral eye shadow colors like gray, beige and brown. He applies the shadow in the outside corner of the eye and blends it down into the lash line. He cautions us to keep the inner corner of the eye light.
Step 10
Apply Blush For An Evening Look
Richard likes small brushes to apply cheek color. He recommends that you start a thumb away from your eyes and a thumb away from your nose and just dust on a little color.
Richard Used The Following Trish McEvoy Products:
Bare Essential, Bare
Deep Aubergine Intense Gel Eyeliner Pencil
Precision Brow Shaper
Lash Curling Mascara
Instant Eye Lift Under Eye
Beauty Balm Shade 1
Golden Bronzer
Nude Lip Essentials on Lisa
Red Lip Essentials on Peggy
Long-Wear Lip Liner
Easy Going Blush
Richard Grandinetti works as a makeup artist for Trish McEvoy at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City. You can reach him @richardgrand@gmail.com.
