Makeup artist Lisa Matson on how to change your routine as you age – The Little Things

Lisa Matson is a popular makeup artist for the likes of Toni Street and Hilary Barry. Photo / Supplied

One of New Zealand’s top makeup artists has some words of wisdom for women looking to change their makeup as they get older.

Lisa Matson is well-known in media circles, and is favoured by the likes of Toni Street and Hilary Barry, as well as regularly working with major brands.

And across her career and her personal life, she has had to adapt as people get older.

Speaking to Francesca Rudkin and Louise Ayrey on the NZ Herald’s lifestyle podcast The Little Things, Matson said women definitely need to change how they do their makeup as they get older, but many don’t.

“I mean, I still meet people that are still wearing makeup from the 80s and 90s.”

She said it can sometimes be an issue around picking colours that aren’t fashionable or a struggle to find products that make them look youthful, but people do need to adapt.

“Because everything – gravity, menopause, all the things through middle age, are fighting against you looking particularly fabulous.

“So you can use makeup as a tool to enhance the things that you love about yourself, and to hide the things like under-eye bags.

“For me, I’ve got sun spots, but I don’t conceal them. I put my foundation on them. For me, that’s enough concealer because to conceal them, I have to put something heavy on. And that can actually just be more ageing.”

Matson said that one common issue women face is that makeup won’t sit on their face as well as it used to.

That often comes back to women not using moisturisers and cleansers, which she believes is one of the core things you should be doing.

“And the one thing I’ve always found that a lot of people don’t do is that they moisturise on the dry skin and it should be a damp skin, because that locks the moisture in. And you’ll notice a massive difference just in the hydration of your skin.

“Because the worst thing when you’re wearing foundation is a dry skin. Because even if you’re using a light foundation, it just grabs and you can see it just sits in the texture of that dry skin and it’s really ageing.”

She said you also need to consider your diet and how much water you drink, as well as environmental factors from your youth, such as sunbathing.

And while it is her job to make people look good, Matson is a big fan of no-makeup days, and lives by that herself.

“The first thing I do when I get home is take my makeup off. I love the feeling of no makeup on. And even if I have clients that come to my home, no matter who they are, if it’s a weekend ... I will always pretty much not have any makeup on.

“The first thing I say when I come to the door is apologies, I’m having a makeup -free day because you’re coming to my home.

“But it’s really good for you too, I think, to have breaks from wearing lots and lots of makeup.”

Listen to the full episode of The Little Things for more advice on makeup as you get older - and tips to pass on to your daughters.

The Little Things is available on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. The series is hosted by broadcaster Francesca Rudkin and health researcher Louise Ayrey. New episodes are available every Saturday.