Helen Miren is the epitome of aging gracefully and keeping things interesting as she does. While she leans more toward classic looks, she’s also taken some risks with thick, winged eyeliner and bright lip colors. L’Oréal Paris global makeup director Val Garland has done Mirren’s makeup many times, along with Kate Moss, Andie MacDowell and more. Garland shared one of her favorite makeup tips she uses on Mirren’s lips and recommends for anyone with mature skin.
Garland says she uses a pore minimizer around Mirren’s mouth, pressing it with a flat brush to fill in little lines. She claims this reduces makeup bleeding. She avoids using lip liner on mature mouths, especially if they’re on the smaller side. Instead, with Mirren, she uses an ashen-colored brow pencil lightly on the outside of her lip line and blends it in.
“When you first do it it looks like a mustache” before blending it in, admits Garland. “Your client in the chair has to have confidence that you know what you’re doing.” This technique creates a shadow around the outside of the lip which “pushes” the lips forward, helpingthem appear bigger, she explains.
Garland says another favorite trick of hers is using lip color as blush, which she loves doing on more mature skin. She has used L’Oréal Intense Volume Matte Lipstick ($14) on Mirren because it has hyaluronic acid, which promotes a “radiance within” look without looking shiny or greasy.
