While makeup has the power to conceal acne, emphasize your best features and help you develop your personal aesthetic and style, it could also inadvertently add years to your look if not used correctly. With that said, we reached out to professional makeup artists for two quick, go-to tips to keep in mind for a more youthful-looking, radiant feel overall. Read on for tips and suggestions from professional MUAs Mandie Brice and Mary Winkenwerder.

Mistake #1— Using a Drying Foundation

As we age, our skin loses its elasticity and produces less oil. This, Brice explains, means that using a foundation with a matte or drying effect can draw more attention to wrinkles and having an undesired peeling effect. "I would say that the main issue is when people use foundation that is drying, like powder, or even liquid," she says. Skin with texture (aka wrinkles), works best with a "cream or serum foundation," she advises, as anything drying can accentuate the wrinkles.

"Skin prep is also a huge part of it," she points out, so ensuring that you are (at minimum) cleansing and moisturizing can "also help the foundation look better," as well. In addition, Brice says many people are in the habit of using powder as a last step, and they may not need it. "Our skin produces less moisture as we age, so we may not need powder to matte-ify and set anymore, but could be unnecessarily applying it," again, as she stresses, "accentuating" the wrinkles.

#2— Adding Too Much Blush

While too much of any makeup product won't create the look you're aiming for, blush can look unnatural if not used sparingly, Winkenwerder says. Blush should be applied with a "poofy" or densely packed brush with lots of soft bristles for a soft application (like a kabuki brush), Winkenwerder explains.  "When too much color pigment ends up on the brush and then on the face, it creates an uneven application of color," she warns. To avoid this, she suggests "gently dabbing the brush onto the pigmented blush or lightly swirl," then gently tap the brush to shake off any excess color. Afterwards, she emphasizes, it is essential to clean the brush.

Another error here could be using the wrong blush color or one that is too bold. "The creative element is great, but the reality of wearing heavily pigmented color in public is not so great," she says.  Extreme colors like purple, bright fuschia, neon green, neon orange, and bright yellow are "better suited for Comicons, special events, and editorial purposes," she says, as extreme makeup colors worn on the face or in specific places on the face, are "specially made for short-term wear." If your skin is not used to wearing the ingredients used to make these unique products, she concludes that skin irritations can set in. "In addition, these colors, if not washed off the face after wear, cause extreme skin irritation," Winkenwerder says, which will also accentuate wrinkling.

Marissa is a Brooklyn-based culture journalist and staff writer at SheFinds, covering edgy celebrity style, timeless beauty trends, lifestyle and entertainment news. Her coverage of indie music, NYC fashion, underground and pop culture is featured in PAPER Magazine, Paste Magazine, The Knockturnal, Bandsintown and more. You can reach her at [email protected]