Shown above: Ashunta Sheriff-Kendricks with filmmaker Ava DuVernay.
What's the one beauty product you won't leave home without? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Makeup artist Ashunta Sheriff-Kendricks is no stranger to designing a pretty face. She has worked with icons of all ages including Joan Collins, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Ciara, Sanaa Lathan, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Tika Sumpter, Meagan Good, Sharon Stone, Gabourey Sidibe, Mary J. Blige, Serena Williams and Zoë Kravitz.
Having readied clients for the red carpet, TV interviews, album covers, and everyday appearances, she’s got expertise on how to apply makeup for every face and lifestyle. Sheriff-Kendricks also has an eponymous collection (ashuntabeauty.com) of top-rated tints and tools.
A Gen-Xer who is regularly mistaken for a millennial, Sheriff-Kendricks, 50, also stresses the importance of good skincare—prevent and protect, then cover and correct.
Here are Ashunta Sheriff-Kendricks’ must-haves for a finished face at 50+
1. Wear sunscreen. A primer and sunscreen are absolutely necessary, especially for mature skin. All these expensive serums, all these creams–if we don't use SPF, we might as well throw them in the trash. #HelloSundayTheInvisible SPF 50 is my go-to sun protection that goes on completely invisible and works universally for all skin tones and complexions (hellosunday.com). Because sun exposure is so aging, I use this as a primer. It smooths, blurs and helps to protect skin from harmful sun rays. It is also sweat resistant and water resistant which means it locks out moisture so your makeup will last that much longer! Apply with hands, sponge or brush about a dime size amount to your face and then follow with your makeup routine as normal.
2. Choose a creamy stick foundation. These formulas are hydrating and can help keep skin looking radiant and youthful. My fave stick foundation is Glamazon Beauty Second Skin Foundation (glamazonbeauty.com). It is creamy and velvety and comes in a beautiful shade range that is beyond functional for a range of skin tones and complexions.
3. Don’t be afraid of powders. Mature women have been told to avoid powder because it may settle into lines and wrinkles. Don’t believe it. Just make sure the powder is finely milled. Apply with a finger touch puff (it sits on your index finger like a finger puppet and ensures a gentle touch) to finish your look. Ashunta Sheriff Beauty’s BlurEFX Universal Powder was voted by Women’s World as one of the top Powders for mature skin on the market in April 2024. This powder is super finely milled and does not contain mica and does not flash back (ashuntabeauty.com). You want to use a brush or puff to apply powders. They tend to break down over time during the day when you set them with a sponge. Sponges absorb more powder and apply it in a blotchy way.
4. Lip liner is more important as we get older. Lips tend to lose collagen over time. Liner helps to define your lips. Depending on how you apply it, liner can make them appear fuller. Plus, it can help you keep a finished look even if your lip gloss wears off. LYS, which stands for Love Yourself, is an awesome brand with clean, long-wearing formulas (lysbeauty.com). The lip liners are velvety and have great slip but lock on. Lip liner really frames the lips too and holds lipstick and gloss in place, so it doesn’t feather and bleed. I like to line lips first and then using a lip brush I feather it and soften the edges. Then I apply lipstick or glosses in the center and just have clients mash lips together to do a natural blend out.
5. Consider a switch to waterproof eyeliner. We tend to have runny, more sensitive eyes after we reach 50. Look for hypoallergenic products. Waterproof liner is great to define eyes and really enhance them. The best way to apply a liner is close to the upper lash line. If making a straight line isn’t easy, then make dashes across the eye outlining where you want the liner to be placed. After, connect the dashes. Voilà! You have a nice top liner that’s enhancing your shape and lifting your face too!
6. Brighten your face with blush. The best blush looks as natural as if you are flushed or as if someone has pinched your cheeks. So, if it’s in the pink family or coral family, that’s the natural blush color tone that best suits your skin tone. That does not mean you can’t explore other blush colors. Just be sure to adjust your makeup cooler or warmer to compliment the new color. Our PH-color changing blush oil actually changes with your body's PH chemistry, and it’s been voted one of the best liquid blush oils by Oprah Daily. It’s called Thermal Blush, and it helps remove the guesswork out of selecting a blush color. It self-adjusts to the best color for your body chemistry. It has healthy skin ingredients like hyaluronic acid, sunflower seed oil, rose hips, jojoba oil, vitamin E, peppermint oil, apple essence and neem leaf to name a few. It dries down matte and gives an under-glow stain. It can be applied with a brush, sponge or fingertips in a circular motion.
7. Use setting spray. Especially for peri- or postmenopausal women who may experience hot flashes or excess sweating, setting makeup helps to lock everything in place. Apply setting spray in an X and T formation to fully cover the face! It’s a tip I learned from my drag performance clients back in the late 90’s.
8. Exfoliate at least twice a week to slough off scaly dead cells that pile up and can dull skin.
9. Invest in a serum. More important than moisturizer, serums are micro particles and moisturizers are macro particles; therefore, the tiny particles or serums are absorbed deeper into the skin and do the most to restore, repair and regenerate skin cells. Moisturizers lock and seal acting as a skin barrier locking in all the serum’s goodness that are down in the cells healing and working to anti age, clear, lift and give us better skin. I like two Black-owned brands, Shani Darden (www.shanidarden.com) as well as Bronze Glory (www.bronzeglory.com) .
10. Have a healthy relationship with water. Use it to steam your face and pull-out toxins. And drink as much as you can to clean out your system.
What's the one beauty product you won't leave home without? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
