70s Makeup Tutorial for Mature Skin 🎀 Fierce Aging with Nikol Johnson & Her Mom

Quick Answer

In this Fierce Aging episode, Nikol Johnson does a soft, natural makeup look on her mom, who is 74, for anyone in their 60s, 70s, or beyond who wants to feel fresh without looking "covered." The look starts with deep hydration (facial cotton cleanse, hydrating and vitamin C serums, and a gua sha), then adds subtle definition to the eyes, brows, and lashes, warms up fair skin with BB cream, and finishes with cream blush and a soft-pink lip. The whole philosophy: enhance your natural features, don't mask them.

Key Takeaways

• Makeup at any age is about enhancing your natural features, not transforming your face.
• Hydrated skin and lips are the real foundation of a fresh look on mature skin.
• Cream blush gives a lit-from-within radiance that powder can leave looking "beige" or chalky.
• A tightlined, smudged waterproof liner thickens fine lashes without a heavy line.
• Natural-looking brows come from light, hair-like strokes that bridge sparse areas, never a solid filled-in block.
• A nude pencil on the lower waterline instantly makes tired eyes look more awake.

The Return of Fierce Aging

Nikol Johnson is bringing back her much-loved "Fierce Aging" series, and this time she features her own mom. The series started in March 2019, when Nikol featured women in their 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s to show that beauty has no age limit. The response was so strong it became a recurring series. While the new studio is being built, Nikol is reviving it with familiar faces, and there is no one more fitting to start with than her mom, who is 74 and recorded this look right around Mother's Day.

Nikol's mom actually said no the first time she was asked in 2019 ("I'm very shy," she admits) before calling back to say yes, then returned in 2020 and again now. Back in 2019 she described looking in the mirror and feeling "beige," like she had lost color and definition. Since switching to more color and cream blushes, she says she no longer feels beige. Her new concern is that her eyes can look tired, so this tutorial focuses on adding color to the skin and brightening the eye area, all while keeping things light and comfortable.

How do you prep mature skin before makeup?

Nikol stresses that hydration is the real foundation of a fresh look. She preps her mom's skin before touching any color.

1. Apply a Vitamin E lip balm first, so lipstick later won't cling to dry patches.
2. Cleanse with soft Shiseido facial cotton dampened with EVER Beauty Water (her mom compares it to "silk on the face" versus rougher cotton rounds).
3. Press in EVER Advanced Hydrating Quench Booster serum for lightweight moisture, without anything heavy.
4. Seal it with EVER Daytime Brightening Serum, a vitamin C booster.
5. Glide a gua sha tool along the cheekbone out toward the ear for three to five minutes to help drain fluid, boost circulation, and gently contour. The stainless steel stays cool and slides easily over the serum.

How do you make tired eyes look brighter and more awake?

The goal for the eyes is definition and lift without heavy, obvious makeup.

1. Sweep a creamy eye primer in a light-medium shade from the lash line up to the brow bone to neutralize redness, blue, and gray tones (it has a slight yellow tinge to correct darkness). Avoid white, which reads too stark.
2. Apply neutral eyeshadows with a soft sheen using the essential makeup brush kit: a mid-tone swept across the lid, the lightest shade up on the brow bone, and the darkest tapped into the outer corner with a smudge brush for dimension. Use one, two, or all three shades, there are no rules.
3. Tightline with a waterproof dark chocolate eyeliner, pressing small strokes right into the lash line to fake thicker lashes. Chocolate is softer than black on fair skin.
4. Soften and lift the liner with a smudge ("eraser") brush, so shaky or imperfect application still looks polished. Add a little liner to the lower lash line for balance.
5. Curl lashes with a Shu Uemura curler, then coat them with a curved, flat mascara wand with teeth on both sides that grips fine lashes at the base and lifts (a heated lash curler can help set the curl).

How do you fill in thinning eyebrows so they look natural?

Nikol notes her mom's brows have thinned and lost their arch with age, one sits higher than the other. The fix is technique, not a heavy fill.

1. Optionally use brow stencils (classic, slim, full, or bold arch) as a guide to find the shape you want.
2. Map the brow with a taupe skinny brow pencil: start in line with the outside of the nose, arch over the ball of the nose, and end where the corner of the nose lines up with the corner of the eye (keeping it from dragging down).
3. Draw light, wispy, hair-like strokes that follow natural growth, building underneath the sparse brow to bridge gaps and create one continuous shape, rather than filling in a solid template.
4. Blend with a spoolie between passes, and build color gradually if you want it deeper.
5. For extra dimension where hair is missing, add a few strokes of a slightly darker medium-brown pencil, then spoolie again. Brows don't need to match perfectly, just frame the face.

How do you add color and glow to fair, mature skin?

With the eyes and brows done, Nikol evens and warms the complexion, then brings back color.

1. Color-correct under the eyes with a "Just Peachy" peach corrector on a concealer brush, targeting the bluish-green pockets near the nose, keeping it light.
2. Run a nude pencil (not white) along the lower inner waterline to cancel redness and instantly make tired eyes look more awake, one of Nikol's favorite pro tricks.
3. Buff on BB cream, mixing fair and light shades to gently warm the skin, blending down onto the neck with a foundation buffing brush.
4. Add a touch of "Poolside" bronzing illuminator for a subtle glow (a little goes a long way on fair skin), and mention sunscreen for daytime wear.
5. Set only the T-zone with translucent powder, especially helpful in humid climates.
6. Tap on "Palm Beach" cream blush at the apples of the cheeks for a natural, radiant-from-within flush, building as needed. Cream avoids the powdery, chalky look that can read as "beige."
7. Line the lips with a "Glacier Pink" waterproof lip liner, using a subtle "lip lift" that connects the top lip line for a slightly fuller, poutier look (color fades from the top lip with age). Fill in lightly for staying power.
8. Apply "Franny," a bright pink lipstick (named after Nikol's French bulldog, Franchesca), or soften with "Pretty Smart," then add a dab of "Champs" gloss in the center of the lips for a shimmering highlight. Softer or brighter pink both work.
9. Remove velcro curlers for volume in fine hair. Nikol's tip: dry shampoo before the curlers, then hairspray, gives lasting height in about 10 minutes.

The Bottom Line

This look is proof that a little intention goes a long way at any age. Hydrate well, define the eyes and brows softly, warm the skin, and finish with cream blush and a pretty lip, and you get a polished, confident finish that still looks like you. As Nikol's mom put it, the simple, light makeup gives her "a finished look" so she can meet the public feeling beautiful. Whether you're in your 40s, 70s, 80s, or beyond, it's about enhancing your natural beauty and showing up as your best self.

Ready to recreate it? Explore the full range of Nikol Johnson makeup and skincare in our complete collection, and shop the exact cream blush and brow pencil from this tutorial to start building your own Fierce Aging look.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makeup is best for women in their 70s?

Focus on hydration and light, buildable products that enhance rather than cover. In this tutorial, Nikol uses hydrating serums, a creamy eye primer, a BB cream to warm the skin, cream blush for natural radiance, and soft brow and lip definition, keeping everything sheer so the skin still looks like skin.

Why use cream blush instead of powder on mature skin?

Cream blush gives a lit-from-within radiance and melts into the skin, while powder can look flat, chalky, or "beige" on mature skin. Nikol taps "Palm Beach" cream blush onto the apples of the cheeks and builds the color for a healthy, glowy flush.

How do you make thinning eyebrows look fuller and natural?

Use light, hair-like strokes with a taupe brow pencil that follow natural growth, building underneath sparse areas to bridge gaps into one continuous shape. Blend with a spoolie and add a few darker strokes only where hair is missing, never fill the brow in as a solid block.

How can you make tired eyes look more awake?

Color-correct under the eyes with a peach corrector, then run a nude (not white) pencil along the lower inner waterline to cancel redness and darkness. Combined with a curled, lifted lash and a tightlined lash line, the eyes instantly look brighter and more refreshed.

What is the "lip lift" technique for thinning lips?

Since lips lose color and definition with age, Nikol lines just above the natural top lip line and connects it with a lip liner to create a slightly fuller, poutier top lip, without dipping into a dramatic cupid's bow. It's a subtle boost that restores definition before lipstick.