When the term “beauty vlogger” is thrown about, it conjures images of young preppy videos with teens road testing the latest strawberry lipgloss. With a huge growth in women aged 55-75 now online daily, there is a new market for beauty tips that are more about caring for dehydrated skin rather than glitter make-up.
Frustrated by the continued emphasis on anti-ageing creams and makeup, 68 year old Tricia Cusden decided to the love the skin she was in and created a range of products specifically for her needs and also became a youtube sensation at the same time.
Tricia revealed to the The Telegraph she launched her online make-up brand Look Fabulous Forever because she was dissatisfied with the way the beauty industry ignored the needs of older woman who still wants to look good despite the odd wrinkle or two.
Investing in expensive high-end products which didn’t work was the final waste of money for Tricia.
“One was a foundation that didn’t even match my skin tone properly and the other was a cream blusher which sank into my skin without a trace. Older skin is very absorbent and bumpy, a bit like blotting paper, so we need products that will stay put all day without looking heavy or unnatural,” she said.
Realising she wan’t the only older woman feeling frustrated at splurging on unsuitable products, Tricia floated the idea of created a range specific for her needs and set about creating a skincare and makeup brand which showed that older faces are beautiful too and the wrinkles don’t detract from that.
“I had some business experience in my role running my own management training company but none whatsoever in cosmetics. However, I was mostly retired so I had the time to devote to it,” she said.
“I thought of my age as my biggest asset – I knew from personal experience exactly what was needed, so all I had to do was find someone to make the products to my specifications and support my ideas.”
After finding that person, she was suddenly running a very successful online retain business and began uploading tutorial videos onto youtube, quickly accumulating over 1.7m views.
“I wanted to show the faces of real older women without any digital enhancements in a way that’s rarely seen in traditional beauty ads. We also made two make-up tutorial videos and put them on the website and YouTube. Within three months our videos were being seen by more than 1,000 women a day and the orders started to flood in from all over the world,” she said.
“My life has changed in the most wonderful way since I launched Look Fabulous Forever. I learn new techie things every day, I work with a great team including my two daughters, and every week I meet inspiring people. However, the best thing is the feedback we get from our customers, who finally feel they are being listened to, catered for and represented by a company that celebrates who they are. It’s great to be part of that”
Tricia’s top beauty and body tips to ageing fabulously
Always use a primer
Older skin tends to be thirsty and becomes dehydrated quickly. It is also less even than younger skin and may be quite wrinkly which makes it difficult to get a sharp line with things like lipstick and eyeliner. A face primer, an eye primer and a lip primer can solve a lot of problems
Creating natural looking brows with sparse eyebrows
When you are older eyebrows tend to disappear, they either become fair and faded or are over-plucked. We have created a ‘brow shape’ makeup product and it is a brilliant way to create natural looking brows without having a strong scouse brow, which would look heavy on an older face. A big tip is get your brows shaped, because they frame your face.
Powder plusher will sit in the lines
If you use a powder blusher it tends to sit in those lines, and doesn’t look very attractive. But a cream blusher disappears too quickly. We formulated a cream-to-powder blusher so you can see the effect and colour of it and work it in with a brush.
Use brushes to apply your makeup instead of your fingers
Using brushes is important and even if you just use a foundation brush and buff the product into the skin it looks so much better and doesn’t sit on top of the skin.
Use brushes to apply your makeup instead of your fingers
Moisturise
As I have aged I have had to adjust my skincare regime to accommodate thirstier skin both on my face and body. I do this by exfoliating regularly and moisturising twice daily with facial serums and enriched body creams when I have showered and also before bed.
Exfoliate
Twice a week I use a body scrub and loofah to stimulate circulation, get rid of dead skin cells and bring fresh new skin to the surface. I’ll also use a gentle exfoliator on my face followed by a moisturising cream mask.
Define
Brows get lighter, and eyes, lips and cheeks lose colour as we age. By adding this back in with make-up, we can look more radiant. Moisturise first and use face and lip primers before applying foundation to even out skin tone. Define eyebrows then add a pop of colour to cheeks and lips.
You can check out Tricia’s best beauty vlogs here
Add Comment