As a professional working makeup artist who specializes in helping those of us over 50, one of the ways I hope I can help you is to test both high end and drugstore makeup to see how these products perform on mature skin.

Today I’d like to share with you the products that I tried in 2020 that are my top picks for products that can work especially well for us now.

Drugstore Favorites from Elf

First on the list are five products from the drugstore brand Elf.

Camo Concealer

In 2020 they introduced a more hydrating version of their Camo Concealer – called Elf Hydrating Concealer – which works much better for most of us with mature skin.

As we all know, it’s really difficult to pick the correct concealer and foundation color from photos on a website. But Elf has created a great system that enables you to either look at all of the shades or go through a two-step system to help you zero in on your best color choice.

Cream Contour

The next product is a cream contour kit. The shades are incredibly creamy and blendable. They have a nice range of color and truly rival higher end products. There’s also a darker contour kit, and it’s only $8.00 – a really good value.

Eye Pencil

Elf’s $2.00 Instant Lift Eye Pencil comes in six colors. But what I most love about this eyebrow pencil is the formula. It glides on so easily. Although Elf has another eye pencil with a smaller tip, this one is a little bit wider, so it really does the job of filling in the brows quickly.

Considering the cost of eyebrow pencils from other brands – including drugstore ones – this is an amazing price point as well as an amazing product.

Eye Shadows

Elf also debuted eight four-shade “bite size” eye shadow palettes. Now, is this the best eye shadow formula out there? No, it’s not. But it is amazingly good and a great bargain– each of these little eye shadow palettes costs $3.00. And once we can travel again, these are wonderfully small and packable.

Retro Eye Shadow Palette

Finally, my favorite Elf product is the Retro Paradise Eye Shadow Palette. I find this palette appealing for several different reasons. First, it’s a great value. There are 18 eye shadow pans, and it costs $14.00. Second, eleven of the 18 colors are mattes which I think makes this palette especially versatile.

Third, there are light, medium, and dark colors as well as some brights, so whether you’re going for a neutral day look or want to glam it up with darker shades for evening, this palette really does it all. And the pigmentation of the shadows and the quality of the shimmers is really quite amazing.

Excellent Lip Products from L’Oreal

If you have issues with lipstick feathering, L’Oreal created a wonderful product for that problem when they debuted their Age Perfect makeup line for women over 50 last February.

Lip Liners

The lip liners not only come in eight beautiful shades – from a light pink to mocha to deep burgundy – but they have ingredients in them that help prevent lipstick from feathering or migrating. The only unfortunate thing is that these lipliners do have to be sharpened.

Lipsticks

They also released two different lipstick formulas from this line: one is called Satin Lipstick with Precious Oils, and the other is Luminous Hydrating Lipstick with Nourishing Serums. Both come in 10 colors. The formulas glide on beautifully, and they have a lovely luminous finish.

I really do think L’Oreal hit the mark in creating lip liners and lipstick formulas that work especially well for those of us over 50.

Be sure to check out Elise’s YouTube channel which specifically focuses on makeup tips, techniques, and product reviews for those of us 50+. Don’t forget to subscribe!

Medium and Higher-Priced Products

Juvia’s Place came out with a number of new eye shadow palettes in 2020. However, I really love their older palette called “The Warrior.” It’s a wonderful complement to my very favorite “Warrior II” eyeshadow palette which is all matte.

“The Warrior” palette includes shades of gold, bronze, and brown in mattes, shimmers, and metallics. Here’s a video I recorded on this brand:

Three other really gorgeous palettes which have excellent formulas for those of us over 50 are from Sydney Grace, an independent California brand owned by two sisters, and from Natasha Denona.

The Sydney Grace “Enduring Love” palette is a cool toned palette that can provide an easy, everyday look, but also has three brighter colors which make the palette more versatile. These eye shadows spread like butter and blend beautifully together.

The Natasha Denona palettes I tried and loved in 2020 include one of her smaller five-pan palettes – the “Mini Lila Palette” – and one of her 15-pan palettes called the “Sunrise Palette.” For me, it’s all about the amazing color story and the amazing formula of these buttery shadows. They glide on effortlessly.

Excellent Face Products

Next on the list are the liquid blush and the liquid highlighter from Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty brand. The Soft Pinch Liquid blushes are highly pigmented and come in eight light to deeper colors ranging from corals to reds to pinks and violet/purples. They absolutely melt into the skin for a gorgeous, soft look. And since they are so highly pigmented, you only need one or two drops.

The Positive Light Liquid Luminizers also come in eight shades – from pearl to pink, gold, peach, and bronze. They’re stunning and buildable. These liquid products are especially wonderful for those of us over 50 because as our skin gets drier, powder blushes and highlighters can sometimes look splotchy and uneven. These absolutely give a lit-from-within natural glow.

Two Highly Recommended Products

In 2020, I discovered my absolute favorite products. The first is Colorescience’s Total Eye 3-in-1 renewal therapy product. It not only brightens the eye area but also reduces the appearance of dark circles and puffiness.

It has a chemical free, 100% mineral SPF of 35 and provides excellent hydration to help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. This is pricey, but the good news is that a little goes a very long way, so it lasts for quite some time.

Finally, here’s something that exceeded my already-high expectations: the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Ghost Edit palette that has two setting powders, a strobe highlight powder, two blushes, and a bronzer. Hourglass comes out with a new palette each year around December so there was a 2020 version of this palette with different colors.

Let me say it’s quite expensive, but it lasts an incredibly long time. I use it often and haven’t even made a dent in it. Also, each of the blushes, bronzers, finishing powders and highlighters in this palette comes in quite a few different colors and can be purchased individually in a regular size and in a less expensive mini size.

There is something almost magical about this formula. It simply melds together every product on the face and makes the entire face appear perfectly blended and seamless while also creating a gorgeous, soft glow.

So, these are my finds for 2020. What are yours?

Did you find some new makeup products in 2020? Which ones have turned into favorites? What do you like about them? Please share with us makeup loving women!