A makeup artist has revealed the subtle skincare mistakes over 35-year-olds are making with their beauty products – but are you guilty of them?
Erica Taylor, 48, who has more than 27 years experience in the industry, works as IT Cosmetics’ Global Makeup Coach and a L’Oréal Paris League of Experts member.
She has built up a legion of 2.2 million followers on TikTok alone by creating empowering beauty content aimed at mature skin.
Erica’s own visage is so flawless that she is constantly accused of using filters: ‘I think it’s a stigma, [critics] don’t think that a 49-year-old can have smooth skin so it must be a filter.’
She has now spoken exclusively to Daily Mail about the most essential dos and don’ts.
According to Erica, the number one thing women are doing wrong is not adjusting their beauty routines as they age.
As women get older, their skin loses collagen and elasticity, resulting in more texture. This, in turn, means foundation and eyeshadow that once applied smoothly will no longer sit on skin in the same way.
But Erica stressed the importance of embracing this shift rather than being afraid of it: ‘When you notice your makeup and skincare routine is no longer reacting the same way on your face, you gotta change it.’
Erica Taylor, 48, who has more than 27 years of experience in the industry, works as IT Cosmetics’ Global Makeup Coach and a L’Oréal Paris League of Experts member
The most common errors she sees are not exfoliating, not using face serums, and not immediately doing makeup after applying skincare.
Dry skin can lead to textured makeup as Erica explained: ‘If you don’t get the dead skin off and hydrate your face, it doesn’t matter what you put over it. So the number one mistake is lack of exfoliation.’
Skipping face serums also contributed to the dryness problem. Serums that support natural skin functions like peptide and collagen are a necessity.
‘Peptides help stimulate collagen and Hyaluronic acid is the moisture that keeps the plump and the bounce to the skin. So anything that supports your natural skin function is what we should be using,’ the expert revealed.
Erica explained that waiting too long between skin prep and makeup is a detrimental move: ‘The quicker the makeup is applied the better it goes on the skin and looks.
‘We were taught to wait in between your skincare, but I don’t wait. I just move right through, I like the skincare to marinate into the makeup.’
Erica recommended investing in a good exfoliator, hydrating serum, and barrier cream since mature skin loses its moisture and these products help restore it.
Other mistakes she sees regularly include ‘levitating liner,’ as Erica insisted: ‘If you want the liner on the lash line, you have to put it on your lash line.’
She has now spoken exclusively to Daily Mail about the most essential dos and don’ts for mature skin
‘When you notice your makeup and skincare routine is no longer reacting the same way on your face, you gotta change it,’ Erica shared
Thick eyeliner dramatically changes the eye shape shape and most of the time it is not for the better.
Additionally, she warned against overdoing the powder and using any type of matte product since these highlight textured skin in an unflattering way and leave makeup hard to blend.
Erica admitted that using the same products everyday is a drag and instead, rotating through new ones every few days is key.
She shared that the skin needs to be regularly ‘shocked’ and this method will keep it refreshed.
‘I used to get allergy shots when I was younger, but what do they inject you with? Your allergies. Until your body gets used to it. So if you’re using the same skincare forever your skin is used to it,’ the beauty explained.
‘I always joke around, if you’re still using your same Clinique 1-2-3 step from 1987, let’s evolve. You’re not still wearing the same shoes.’
Erica’s go-to brands for mature skin are IT cosmetics, Doll 10, Laura Geller and Sarah Creel. She honorably mentioned COSIS and L’Oreal.
‘If you have mature skin, look for brands that are made for mature skin.
‘I love L’Oreal, especially for complexion and obviously I love their Rock Eye Bomb. The reason I enjoy COSIS is because their products are super skincare-infused, and that’s my clean beauty option. And IT Cosmetics is geared for mature skin.’
Erica also had tips when it comes to applying the product as well – including a handful of lighthearted catchphrases to explain.
Putting blush on the ‘apple’ of the cheek enhances age so she reminds clients that ‘the apple will fall from the tree’ if the blush is placed too low.
She also said the phrase ‘over the river and through the hood to lifted eyes we go’ to emphasize how she brings the eyeshadow all the way up to the brow bone. This technique enhances the eyes, making them brighter and younger.
‘When I used to study, I would put things in rhymes or sounds that made me remember. I went to school to be an art teacher, and repetition is key.
‘So when I say these things, as much as they’re fun, it makes you remember that the apple will fall from the tree. And this is how I taught my clients,’ she shared.
Erica is continuing to champion the idea that women with mature skin shouldn’t have to fear aging. Finding the right makeup and skincare products can be intimidating but she wants to take the scary out of makeup and make it fun again.
‘Makeup isn’t a tattoo, just wipe it off and try again,’ she joked.
‘My clients come up to me and say “the girls at work said I looked so much younger, or, I feel beautiful, or, I’m not scared anymore. I have fun going to the store and shopping for makeup.”
‘We can still play dress-up in our 60s and 70s, too. And I think there’s some kind of fun part that we thought we had to give up. We don’t have to give our pretty to the 20s and 30-year-olds.
‘We can all share beauty, at the same time.’
