Not many people know more about makeup, skincare and helping others look their best than Kelly Lomas. He’s an industry veteran who’s been in the business of makeup artistry for over 30 years. In that time, he’s seen plenty of makeup trends come and go and has been on the forefront of developments in cosmetics and skincare.
Kelly graciously sat down for a chat with me and dished about how to address some of the challenges that come along with maturing skin. Read on for his best tips on revealing your best self at any age.
Skincare Comes First
Early in Kelly’s career in the late 1980’s, the trend was a very matte, full coverage look that completely covered the skin underneath.
Whatever condition the skin was in was basically camouflaged and invisible beneath layers of foundation, concealer and powder—a look that can actually be very aging.
Over the decades, he’s seen a shift to healthy, glowing skin as the focus for beauty looks and, as a result, a greater emphasis on skincare.
Beautiful, healthy skin is always something to strive for but a good skincare regimen becomes even more important as we mature.
When he’s teaching clients, Kelly spends more time talking about skincare than makeup, including the importance of good nutrition. Healthy skin gives you the perfect foundation for makeup. And when your skin already looks good you won’t need nearly as much makeup to look your absolute best.
Not enough can be said about the importance of sleep and nutrition for the heath of your skin and we’ll keep exploring these topics in future blog posts but for now, simply sleeping on a silk pillowcase can do wonders to prevent fine lines from forming in the first place, especially if you’re a side or stomach sleeper. Skin glides more easily over silk than cotton and polyester blends which cause skin to wrinkle during sleep.
Gua sha
Kelly is a fan of gua sha which is the practice of massaging your skin with a stone or roller to stimulate circulation and decrease puffiness and swelling. Some people notice amazing improvements in their skin tone and facial contours when practicing gua sha consistently. Tina Engeo has the perfect beginner’s tutorial for learning this ancient practice:
Exfoliation becomes more important with age since skin cells don’t turn over as fast. The resulting buildup of dead cells on the skin’s surface can cause it to look dull and lose that brightness we associate with youthfulness. Kelly recommends exfoliating twice per week— ideally with both a chemical and a physical exfoliant.
Physical exfoliants do just what the name suggests—they physically remove dead cells by scrubbing away the surface of the skin. Physical exfoliation can be done using a washcloth, exfoliating tools like the Foreo Luna or procedures like diamond tip microdermabrasion which is a favorite of Kelly’s. You can also find specially formulated face scrubs that contain ingredients like ground apricot seeds to do the job. Some good scrubs to try are Murad’s Vitamin C Triple Exfoliating Facial and Clinique’s Exfoliating Face Scrub which have the added benefit of reducing pores and reducing sebaceous filaments.
A chemical exfoliant works by dissolving dead cells on the skin’s surface. Chemical exfoliants are acidic formulas that come in varying strengths but they are generally more gentle on skin than physical exfoliants. Kelly recommends Paula’s Choice Liquid Exfoliant for gentle exfoliation.
Both types of exfoliation reveal a more glowy complexion and may also help build collagen and decrease the look of fine lines and wrinkles with consistent use. Another benefit is that your skin treatments can penetrate deeper into the skin, making them more effective.
Apply Products in the Right Order
I asked Kelly if there is a correct order for applying skincare and it turns out there is.
Always start with the lightest product which is usually a serum or essence. These are treatments that hydrate and nourish skin with ingredients like vitamins and hyaluronic acid and also provide protection.
A vitamin C serum, for example, contains powerful antioxidants that help protect skin from UV damage. Let your treatment set for a few minutes to absorb into the skin before applying the next layer. Some serums to try are The Ordinary’s Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Serum and Ole Henriksen’s Vitamin C Truth Serum.
Apply your sunscreen next and then primer (after all skincare). The primer preps your skin for foundation which comes next. Concealer should be applied last- lightly and only where needed on mature skin so it doesn’t settle into and enhance fine lines.
Look for foundations and moisturizers that also contain beneficial ingredients and additives that help maintain skin’s hydration and plumpness to minimize fine lines and dryness. Squalene, peptides and hyaluronic acid all work well to plump and hydrate skin.
Kosas has a great foundation containing niacinamide and caffeine to brighten and even skin tone as well as squalene, peptides and hyaluronic acid for moisturizing.
Patience is key when applying layers of skincare. We’re probably all guilty of rushing the process but if you don’t leave enough time for each product to be absorbed before applying the next, you can end up with pilling—that annoying way skincare products can roll into little balls and come off during application, leaving a mess.
Eye Cream
According to Kelly, by the time you’re into your 20’s you should be using an eye cream (Oops!).
The undereye area is usually the first to show signs of aging since it’s some of the thinnest skin on the body and also the most prone to damage from rubbing, sunlight, poor sleep and diet. An eye cream treats the delicate undereye area with ingredients that plump the skin and deal with fine lines and discoloration.
Look for an eye cream that contains vitamin C for brightening during the day and one with peptides to help with collagen production at night. Some of Kelly’s favorites are Tatcha’s The Silk Peony Melting Eye Cream and Dr Jart’s Ceramidin Eye Cream.
A Primer on Primer
As a woman ages, she should switch to a moisturizing primer and stay away from anything shiny which will enhance the look of fine lines.
Primer creates a smooth canvas, conceals pores and imperfections and keeps foundation from settling into creases. Look for one with hyaluronic acid or peptides to plump the skin. Kelly recommends Charlotte Tilbury’s Wonderglow Face Primer.
Foundation Basics
The right foundation is the biggest factor in achieving a healthy, natural look. Kelly says the biggest mistake he sees people make with their makeup is using the wrong shade of foundation.
Always match your foundation shade to your neck to make sure you have a seamless transition—it definitely looks off if your foundation is much lighter or darker than your neck.
You also want to consider your undertones. All skin shades are either warm, cool or neutral in tone. Using a foundation in the wrong tone can make you look washed out, sickly or orange— definitely not what we’re going for! Look at your wrist if you’re not sure what your undertones are. If your veins look blue or purple, you’re cool-toned. If they look greenish, you’re warm and if they look green-blue or it’s hard to tell, you’re probably neutral.
If you can get away with it, don’t wear foundation at all in the hotter months. If you feel like you do need some coverage, try a sheer tint or thinner foundation. Heavy makeup never weathers well in the summer.
A pro tip is to add brightness with a yellow powder. Tap it on any areas you want to look brighter. It’s an industry secret but can be hard to find!
“You don’t want compliments on your makeup- it’s covering the thing you want to be noticed.”
Kelly Lomas
Change Up Your Eyeliner
Gel eyeliner works better than liquid after a certain age. Creases become harder to navigate and liquid eyeliner can be pretty unforgiving and hard to blend. A gel liner can be easily blended and works to camouflage creases to a certain degree. If you can’t bear to give up your signature cat eye flick but find it’s getting lost or distorted by increasingly hooded eyelids, Kelly suggests making the line both fatter and longer than normal and blending it with a gel liner. You can also try raising the line a bit at the outer corner instead of following the natural line of the eye—a little trick that takes some practice.
Keep Your Eyeshadow in Place
Dry skin, crepiness, wrinkles and drooping eyelids all conspire to move our eyeshadow throughout the day, not to mention the mess a hot flash can make of things. Always use foundation and primer over the eyelid before applying eyeshadow to make for a smooth application and to help keep it in place. Charlotte Tilbury’s primer gives you a very good base. Water proof eyeshadows from Cargo and Makeup Forever are also great.
Give Your Face a Visual Lift
We can counteract gravity to a degree with the strategic use of highlighters. Place a subtle dab of highlighter on the brow bone right below the outer brow and on top of cheekbones to visually create lift. Just make sure to avoid areas you don’t want to emphasize including fine lines and imperfections. A great one to try is Rare Beauty’s Luminizer Highlight.
Delete Feathering for Line-Free Lips
The vertical lines around the mouth commonly called smoker’s lines can ruin the look of your favorite lip color. To keep lip color from feathering into lines around the mouth, Kelly uses a lipliner to outline the lip and then fills in the entire lip with liner before applying color.
If you really want color to stay in place, say for a special occasion, dip a tiny brush in foundation and apply it around the lips. Finish by plumping lips with a gloss.
MAC is an industry favorite for lip liners.
What Are Some Exciting Developments in Beauty Today?
As our interview came to a close, I asked Kelly what he wished more people knew about beauty and what exciting developments in beauty we can look out for.
He said the number one thing he wished more people knew was to not be afraid to experiment. Kelly can generally tell the exact decade someone learned to apply makeup because most people don’t change their look at all or try new colors, products or techniques over the years. They tend to stick with what they know and get stuck in a rut. But what if you were to just try something new? There are so many fun new products to play with all the time and different techniques for applying them. “No matter what age you are, just have fun with it,” he says.
As far as developments in the beauty industry, Kelly is most excited about at-home treatments you used to have to go to the spa or a cosmetic surgeon for. These include devices like ultrasound machines that help lift and tighten skin and home treatments for redness and fine lines.
Botox pads with a small amount of botox that can be applied (in a series) at home is another development to get excited about as well as all the companies that are going cruelty-free and considering the health and welfare of animals (the topic of an upcoming post).
I learned so much from our talk and I think my main takeaway from the interview was that even as we mature, we can keep having fun with creative expression and experimentation by trying new things and adapting to the changes time brings. Oh, that and I need to get an eye cream, stat!
What are your takeaways from these tips? Are you going to try something new? Leave a comment below!
6 Responses
A very informative article! I too, have been lucky enough to have Kelly apply my make up many times in the past and had him with me when buying products and his talent and knowledge with make up and skin care products is top notch.
Thank you and I agree— he has so much knowledge and experience and is generous in sharing it.
I have been lucky enough to have my makeup done by Mr Lomas. He really knows his stuff! He teaches you along the way about good skin care and the proper way to apply makeup to an older face. I am so thankful for all the knowledge he had given me to put my best face forward.
Yes, he’s the ultimate professional and a gentleman through and through, isn’t he? I’m glad you got the chance to have your makeup done by him and learn from his experience!
Oh my gosh! I wished he practiced close to me! His advise seem so common sense, why aren’t we doing this? The only thing is- I would love a demonstration of some of the things he says, so that I know how to do it. Does he have a YouTube channel?
Yes, I agree! He’s in the Chicago area and I don’t think he has a YouTube channel but hopefully in the future 🙂