I was blog surfing last night when I chanced upon a recent photo of Taylor Momsen (Jenny Humphrey from Gossip Girl) performing for her band, The Pretty Reckless. Clad in what looked like a worn nightdress, fishnet stockings, bright red lips, and really, really, REALLY, dark eye makeup. Really, this girl is JUST 17 years old — but she looked at least 5 years older. My awe turned into shock when I saw her with a pack of cigarettes rolled in her stockings a la Ponyboy Curtis and the rest of his “greaser” buddies in The Outsiders.
Seeing her photo inspired me to do a post on how to look older. So, ladies, without further ado:
- Too much black eyeliner: As exemplified by Ms. Momsen above (seriously, did she forget her just forget to wear her bottoms?), lining your eyes with too much kohl makes them look a lot smaller and leaves a garish look to your face. Really, leave this look to the Hamburglar.
- Makeup Overload: Kohl, strong blush, and bright lipstick. Have all three of the above? Girl, walk back to your room and wash them off. All off. I like to stick to the “less is more” philosophy when it comes to makeup. Too much of too many things going on the same time can leave you looking, well, too much.
- Very strong (and DARK) Eyebrows: Unless you’re trying to emulate Joanne Crawford, then go easy on the brows. As a general rule of thumb, your eyebrows should be a shade lighter than your hair so as not to look too harsh. Neither should it be over-filled/line. Look in the mirror — too much? Trust your inner-voice.
- Too much eyeshadow: See a pattern here? Too much of something is never really a good idea. So, remember Magda from There’s Something About Mary? Yeah, try not to do your eye makeup like hers. Frosty baby blues, baby pinks, bright yellows — they all look really tacky, at least in my opinion, when piled on the lids.
- Not taking care of your skin: Makeup looks best on well moisturized skin. Also, concealer, foundation, etc. tend to settle in fine lines, so moisturizing your skin well is tantamount to watering your flowers. Don’t water them and they will dry up.
Have any tips of your own? Please share 
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i think applying too much powder/foundation makes people look old! i know this but sometimes i’m a victim to this! haha
Yes! Thanks for pointing that out
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I was there a couple years back and I couldn’t help but notice that many girls wore a LOT of powder on their face? I don’t know what brand they were using but I think they were trying to lighten their complexion so much that it looked ashy on their skin?? Was I just imagining that?
Don’t wear foundation myself — don’t like the feel of it on my skin.. like it feels as if it’s suffocating?! But Clinique has some nice ones.. MAC, I find too heavy. What do you use?
I think the look she was going for in this photo was ANGRY. She succeeded
I think people often look older with dark lipstick. It’s still a look I can like, though 
hahah she often does look a little “snooty” no?
Dark lipstick! That’s why I never hopped on the dark/emo lipstick trend.