By Zoe Ruffner

• To create a beautiful base for makeup, nothing’s more important than hydrating the skin. I put on many layers of moisturizer and really tap and press it in; the wrinkles don’t disappear, but they do plump. A greasier product like May Lindstrom’s Blue Cocoon can create shine in certain areas. Hydration is what makes the skin look radiant, not shimmer or highlighter.
• Don’t try to cover everything with foundation; just use it to blur any discrepancies. For everyday, I like a thin veil of Ciele’s Tint & Protect. If you have parched skin, Westman Atelier’s Drops are good. Using either your fingers or a soft nylon-hair brush, apply it starting at the center of the face around your nose and then tap outward for a sheer, seamless finish.
• Never load concealer under your eye. Instead, apply it in a V shape, starting at the inner corner of your eye and ending at the outer corner before blending, for a lifting effect. Tower 28’s Swipe Serum Concealer doesn’t crease and has a good color range.
• As our faces mature, contouring can be helpful — but don’t overdo it. Choose a cream formula — my favorite is Victoria Beckham’s — in a shade that isn’t too warm, to create shadows. Then, lightly shade below your lower lip line and your cheekbone at a slight outward — not downward — angle. If your neck bothers you, you can trace under your jawline; I’d draw it just like a plastic surgeon and then mush it in with a big brush.
• Blush brings life back into the skin. Take a creamy formula like Fwee’s Blurry Pudding Pot and tap it onto the upper, outer apples of your cheeks. Don’t go too low; it’s all about being lifted.

• I start by putting Sheer Cover’s Base Perfector Primer all over my face. It helps minimize the appearance of any imperfections or fine lines. Sometimes that’s all I need.
• I don’t use any powder, because that ages you. If I want to look nice but don’t want to wear a lot of makeup, I’ll gently tap on Glo Skin’s tinted moisturizer with my fingertips.
• For evenings out, I put on a few false lashes by MAC; I call them the high heels of my eyes. To bring out my hazel eyes, I tend to put a bit of MAC’s Gel Liner in Pool Shark on my lower waterline, and sometimes I’ll smudge some cocoa, gold or even chartreuse shadow from a Pat McGrath palette onto my lids for a subtle shine. When you’re older, you want someone to notice your eyes, not your makeup.
• Enhance your bone structure. I love to use a glowy highlighter on my cheekbones and down my nose — Boom Beauty’s Glimmer stick makes me feel like a gleaming statue!
• I’ve just discovered the Dewy Fixer Setting Spray. It keeps my makeup from looking like a landslide at the end of the night.
• When I don’t have to wear makeup, I just put on a bunch of castor oil for nourishment before the next paint job. I leave it on for a day, and then my skin bounces back to its glory.

• I first apply Clearstem’s Hydraglow moisturizer. When I was young I used Chinese rice powder, but now I like my skin to look hydrated rather than chalky and opaque.
• It’s important to be able to see your skin. Too much coverage doesn’t look fresh or natural. To even out my skin tone, I put a little dot of foundation onto just my cheeks and the tip of my nose — never under my eyes — and then blend it with my fingers. For touch-ups, I’ll use the Anna Sui Foundation Compact; even though it’s a powder, it’s silky.
• For blush, I use the Sui Black cream, which goes on sheer and gives you a buildable, rosy glow. Sometimes I also put it onto the cleft of my chin to give it some contour.
• I’ve basically been wearing the same makeup look since the ’80s, but now it’s softer. My eyeliner is charcoal instead of black, which I decided looked too harsh; I still finish it off with a wing at the outer corner of my eye, but it’s no longer so pointy. I use Nars’s lip pencil in Cruella, a brownish red, during the day, and Dragon Girl at night, but I always finger-smudge my lipstick — I actually end up wiping most of it off.

• Embryolisse Lait-Crème Sensitive, $32.
• Trish McEvoy Instant Eye Lift, $48.
• Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Perfect Natural Glow Foundation, $69.