STARING seductively into the camera, Kim Cattrall looks every inch the star as she fronts iconic beauty brand Charlotte Tilbury’s latest makeup campaign.
With her hair in loose waves and wearing baby pink negligee, the icon is glowing and fresh – and looks far younger than her 68 years.
As a 54-year-old beauty journalist with more than three decades worth of experience in the industry, I have one thing to say: thank God beauty brands are finally embracing the mature market.
Seeing Cattrall dolled-up and looking just as sexy as her legendary alter-ego, Samantha Jones, is nothing short of thrilling.
She looks absolutely incredible.
Charlotte Tilbury’s trademark sheeny nudes, taupes and pinks are designed to make lips look plumper, eyes larger and skin eternally glowy. Hers is a palette that transcends age and has made the makeup-artist-turned-entrepreneur a fortune.
It’s an aesthetic women across the world – and of all ages – are prepared to spend a premium on, with Kim’s Pillow Talk lippie priced at a wallet-busting £29.
And while Tilbury may be one of the few to deploy mature glamazons like Cattrall to prove her point, hers aren’t the only products with the power to make women in their sixties look sensational.
The beauty and makeup market is awash with transformative, confidence-boosting and easy-to-use makeup at competitive prices. I should know, as I get to try most of it.
Now in my fifth decade, I need flattering products as much as the next person.
But, from miracle wrinkle fillers to blurring lip liners, I use budget options that give the most expensive brands a run for their .
To prove just how good they are, we’ve used them to recreate Kim’s glam look on Diana D’Aloisio from Wimbledon, south west London, a lawyer, model and mother-of-two aged 60, and left one half bare – to show just how well these affordable midlife beauty buys actually work.
L’Oreal Paris True Match Super-Blendable Foundation, £11.99, lookfantastic.com
One thing not to do when skin ages is reach for heavy, matte foundation textures.
Rather than covering up ‘problems’ such as wrinkles and pores, this consistency just accentuates them, making your skin look lifeless in the process.
Foundations can cover a gigantic range of price points, with coming in at an eye-watering £39.
But this foundation, which is available in a staggering 48 shades, glides on and blends like a dream for under £12.
This unifies without obliterating your features, builds easily and plumps skin with hydration.
The finish on Diana is subtle and gives a radiant appearance, which is by far the most flattering look for mature skin.
Features she hasn’t enjoyed seeing on her face since ageing, like gentle age spots, are covered easily.
NYX Bare With Me Concealer Serum, £11.49, superdrug.com
While it’s a foundation’s job to pull your complexion together, concealer is there to cover up small areas of displeasure such as brown spots, blemishes and under-eye circles.
This concealer is one of the best out there, striking a perfect balance between dense, corrective pigments and a light, deeply hydrating texture that never goes crusty or sits in lines.
The trick for mature skin is to buy a shade lighter than your foundation for under your eyes, as this will cleverly brighten. Then get one in your exact skin shade for blemishes.
Trinny London Miracle Blur Line Filler, £28, trinnylondon.com
This is the product you’ve likely seen fill your social media with what sound like magic, wrinkle-filling promises.
But, in contrast with what we’ve come to expect from over-promising ads, this product lives up to the hype.
‘Wrinkle fillers’ sound like a recipe for disaster, but used sparingly they can be very flattering in deeply-lined areas.
Dab the teensiest amount of this stuff on crows’ feet or forehead lines and take some time to blend it in.
This will ‘smooth the canvas’ before you top it with foundation or concealer, revealing skin that looks like it’s turned back the clock a few years.
Clinique High Impact Shadow Play, £28, Clinique.co.uk
The 20-colour eye palettes – and the fistful of eyeshadow brushes you see in most people’s makeup bags – can be a bit much if you just want to make your eyes pop in the space of two minutes.
Instead, find a product that does it all, like this clever, ultra-smooth gel-cream shadow you can just slick on your lids. No blending with complicated brushes necessary.
At the opposite end to the , pre-dipped into a darker powder shade that you can use for lining lashes and accentuating your eye creases.
Simple as that – you’re done.
Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara, £13, superdrug.com
Lashes become a bit sparser as we mature, so you want a mascara brush that’s not too big and gives you greater control.
You also need a formula that doesn’t clump and lifts your lashes, with no smudging, to make your eyes look wider.
This popular Maybelline one ticks all the boxes. Using brown, rather than your trusty black, actually looks softer on 60-something faces.
Rimmel Wonder’Full Brow, Brow Mascara, £8.98, savers.co.uk
A tinted eyebrow can function almost like scaffolding for ageing features that are losing some of their strength and colour.
Pencils can be harsh, but brow mascaras – which you just take through the hairs to add colour and volume – work with the brows you’ve got for natural but amped-up results.
It’s important to remember to not go too dark as you don’t want to end up with ‘caterpillars’ above your eyes. A good tip is to go a shade lighter than you think.
Refy Blur Liner lip liner, £16, refybeauty.com
Lip liner becomes an essential in later life, anchoring lip colour and preventing it feathering.
But sharp pencil lines can look a little harsh on aging lips.
Enter this softly rounded, yet slim bullet that makes tracing your lip shape a cinch. It glides effortlessly and leaves a soft, diffused, plumping outline that will keep any lipstick or balm in check.
A really helpful innovation that you’ll never want to run out of as you get a little older.
No 7 Pro Artist Colour & Glow Multistick, discounted to £10.47, usually £14.95, boots.com
For a radiant, healthy-looking glow on the go, these creamy, buildable lip and cheek multisticks blend effortlessly to create a fresh, soft-focus flush of colour.
A blushed cheek is always youthful and when looking for colour in your sixties or over, creamy, hydrating formulas are what you should focus on.
Modern ones won’t slip and slide, but they will give your cheeks and lips that flushed-from-within vibrancy.
This double-ended stick is easy to blend and comes in flattering colour combos that won’t scare the horses.
