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7 Makeup Tricks Every Woman Over 30 Should Know

Your teens were a time for experimentation. (“Hey, lip gloss, cool!”) And your 20s a time for taking risks. (“Teal mascara, hey why not?”) But now you’re in your 30s, dammit. Time to own your beauty routine from brow to chin. Here, seven makeup tricks all adult ladies really ought to master.

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woman applying lipstick
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1. How To Rock A Bold Lip

By the time you've reached your third decade, you should be well-versed in the rules of boldness, whether that means a bright red pout you pair with an all-black ensemble, or a vampy oxblood that looks killer with slicked-back hair.

It’s Bold Lipstick Season—Here’s How to Master It


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2. How To Make Lipstick It Last All Day

Create a base by applying a lip or eyeliner that’s close to the color of your natural lip, then swipe your favorite color on top. Place a tissue over your lips and tap translucent powder over it to set. Voilà: Serious staying power.

woman applying mascara flawlessly
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3. How To Have Full But Non-clumpy Eyelashes

Hint: Always use two mascaras. Start with a volumizing one to create full, thick lashes, then follow up with a waterproof, lengthening formula to define and separate.

woman shopping for foundation
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4. How To Match Your Foundation To Your Skin

Walking around with a face that’s a totally different color from your skin? Major no-no. Grown-ass women know how to match (test it on your collarbone, not the back of your hand), blend and conceal. And they approach contouring with extreme caution.

6 Foundation Tricks to Fake a #Flawless Complexion


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5. How To Fill In Your Brows

You’ve probably experimented with enough brow powder and pomade to realize that too-dense brows are just as bad as patchy ones. Make your 30s the decade you get it right. (Hint: It’s all about short, dash-like strokes that mimic your eyebrow hairs.)


washing off your makeup at the end of the day
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6. How To Remove Your Makeup

You spent your 20s falling asleep in false lashes and waking up with lipstick all over your pillows. Now is the time to become a master of removal. To take off eye makeup without pulling on your skin and creating unnecessary bags, saturate a cotton ball with makeup remover and hold on your lids for ten seconds each, before swiping away that flawless cat eye.


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7. How Not To Follow Every Beauty Trend

Chrome nails, sure. Glitter lipstick…probably not. Know your limits, know when to say no and leave the passing fads to the kiddies. You’re too busy being effortlessly beautiful.


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Freelance PureWow Editor