Makeup tips: The surprise $7 makeup tool celebrity makeup artist says we need to replace more often

Beauty for Mia Hawkswell is all about feeling confident at any point in life.

“I just want to look like I’ve slept, I’ve eaten all the veggies and had my litres of water, which I haven’t, but I just want to look like life isn’t affecting me as much as it appears,” Hawkswell, 48, tells 9honey.

The celebrity makeup artist, who has worked in the industry for over 30 years with a client list including Delta Goodrem and Rachel Finch, didn’t think much about age until recently when she found herself adjusting her own techniques to suit her changing face.

She understood that some of her previous techniques didn’t work quite as well as they used to.

With this knowledge in mind, Hawkswell came up with an idea; to help women over 40 make the same adjustments.

“I sat on that idea for a little bit and just didn’t know how it was going to live. Then last year, I woke up at 3 o’clock one morning and went, ‘You know what? I’m going to start talking about my age online’,” she says.

She found herself fielding questions from other women who would tell her they didn’t know how to do their makeup anymore as their faces changed, and techniques and formulas that once worked didn’t have the same impact they once did.

Hawkswell decided to shoot a video of make up “dos and don’ts” for women over 40.

And it went “ballistic”.

So she decided to launch the Over 40s Club, a website that is dedicated to teaching over 40s the best makeup techniques to suit their age.

To get you started, here are some of Hawkswell’s top tips.

1. Find the right products for you

Hawkswell says women need to “find the products, and once you know what works for you, you don’t really have to venture too far off that to create a daytime or a nighttime look”.

“If you’re tight on time, look for multi use products – one product two or three ways saves time while not compromising on results. Hydration, blurring imperfections and protection in one step is underrated.”

2. Buy a new eyelash curler

Hawkswell loves a lash curler, explaining they are one of the most effective tools of the trade, particularly for women over 40.

But all too often, women hang onto one for far too long.

She points out that “you often get two rubbers, the one in the curler and then a replacement”.

“And a great rule of thumb is once those rubbers are done, you need a new lash curler,” she says, adding that women usually hang onto them for far too long.

Eyelash curlers can be purchased for as little as $7, although Hawkswell’s go-to is the Shu Umera eyelash curler from Mecca that retails for $35.

3. Stop trying to look like others

“Concentrate on developing that skill rather than being so swept up in the scroll going, ‘I should look like that’,” Hawkswell advises.

“The ‘noise’ can be disheartening and overwhelming.”

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4. Avoid AI makeup apps

“These may be a slippery slope, especially for people who don’t have any idea and they’ve no knowledge or experience to compare it to, and it just might be so far off the ball,” she says.

5. Practice when you don’t have an event

Once you learn techniques you like, Mia says to “practice when there is no pressure, so you’re perfect when there is” and you can cut application time “down to 15, 20 minutes”.

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