Bobbi Brown and Trinny Woodall win over Gen X with their beauty and skincare tips

Earlier in the pandemic, makeup artist Bobbi Brown got on TikTok, mostly to appease her niece. First, she uploaded a dance video as a joke. Then this year she tried her hand at something more on-brand: “beauty tips for women over 50.” Two and a half million people have watched it. “It showed me there’s this incredible, rabid audience of women who are not being talked to, and they just want to look better,” says Brown, who is 65. The beauty industry has marketed an effortless makeup look to millennials and Gen Z but had assumed that Gen X and older wanted something heavier. Not so, says Brown: “They want to keep it simple.” This group also has deep pockets. Women in the U.S. who are 45 and older spent almost $14 billion on prestige beauty products in 2021, according to research by the Estée Lauder Companies.

“It’s not necessarily that I’m not being spoken to, but rather that it doesn’t reflect how I feel,” says Trinny Woodall, founder and CEO of the beauty brand Trinny London. “It’s what some 30-year-old marketing person thinks I feel, and it’s just so non-relatable.” The 58-year-old Woodall has a one-million-strong following on Instagram that looks to her for her unfiltered take on style and beauty. “We’re so experienced in life,” she says of her audience, which spans a wide age demographic. “What influences our buying decisions isn’t a celebrity spokesperson but seeing a woman who has energy—a spark—and you think, ‘I want some of that.’ ” 

Makeup artist Daniel Martin, who works with Meghan Markle and Maggie Gyllenhaal, both in their 40s, believes this new simplicity holds cross-generational appeal. “It’s very ’90s, and Gen Z is obsessed with this aesthetic,” he says, citing the fresh-faced vibe that designers like Helmut Lang and Jil Sander popularised during that decade. “The millennials had the ‘Instagram look,’ but for Gen X and older, it’s about ease,” he says. To get the look, consider these tips, which make every complexion look more vibrant and awake PREP Martin always starts by exfoliating the skin, preferring a liquid formula like the one from Tatcha (2) over a scrub. “From there, makeup goes on seamlessly,” he says. Follow with moisturiser, which is “the most overlooked step,” Brown says. “The more hydrated your skin, the less makeup you’ll need.”

FOUNDATION AND CONCEALER 

When it comes to foundation, Martin uses his hands instead of a brush. “The warmth of my fingertips melts the product into the skin,” he says. He prefers a lightweight version like one from Nars (11). Brown skips “the whole ‘foundation-powder moment.’ It just looks cakey on most women of a certain age,” she says. Instead, she conceals underneath the eyes (to brighten) and around the nose (to get rid of any redness).

BLUSH 

Don’t overthink it. “There’s only one place to apply it, and it’s on the apples of your cheeks,” says Brown. Powder or cream—it’s all a matter of preference. Martin likes using neutral shades across lips and cheeks for a monochromatic look.  

EYES 

When choosing an eye shadow, the colour is critical, says Woodall. “There has to be a synergy in tone around your face,” she says. The Trinny London Match2Me online system (trinnylondon.com) simplifies the process. Woodall isn’t a huge fan of traditional liner (“It can look too harsh”), preferring to smoke out shadows with a small brush to create definition. Finish with a “really black mascara” applied as close to the roots as possible. Finally, fill in your brows, a must for everyone over 40, says Brown.

LIPS 

Martin looks for lipsticks that are hydrating and balmy. A current fave? Sisley Paris Phyto-Rouge Shine (9), which is sheer but packs pigment. For definition, trace (even fill in) lips with M.A.C lip pencil in Spice or Burgundy ($19 each), says Martin

This piece originally appeared in Harper's Bazaar US