7 Ways Your Signature Look Is Making You Look Older

Red lipstick

Can you even imagine Gwen Stefani in the 1990s without her bold red lip? A bright red lippie can give you confidence and project a bold, self-assured look, and scientists at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom even did a study showing that red is the sexiest lip color! However, sticking to any single look over time is a beauty mistake. “People think it’s cute to have this look that is always recognizable as ‘you’ but it’s such a dated idea,” says San Francisco-based makeup artist Julieann Tillman. “We should all be updating our makeup and hairstyles at least every few years as we age, so we don’t end up looking like we’re caught in a time warp!” Red lip color also become problematic for another reason: As we age, our lips become thinner and the borders become more diffused, so bright, deeply saturated hues can bleed and feather at the edges of the mouth, highlighting deep lines and appearing too harsh. What’s more, many red shades can make the teeth appear more yellow. If you’ve been rocking a crimson lip, consider branching out to a sheer gloss that’s more forgiving of your lips’ borders (we like H2O+ Beauty Oasis Lip Gel in Currant Mood and Coral Authority), or experiment with nudes, as Gwen Stefani herself has done. (Curious to know what your lipstick shade says about your personality?)