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    This is why women over 40 feel unrepresented in beauty

    14 Mar 2020 3:01 PM | Posted by
    bh's Samantha McMeekin's picture
    bh's Samantha McMeekin
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    The beauty industry has come leaps and bounds in the past few years in terms of inclusivity. Foundations are no longer launched without a complete shade spectrum, women of all nationalities, religions and sizes are being used in campaigns and textured hair is finally getting the full attention it deserves. 

    So why do women 40+ still feel invisible? "What is represented in the media leaves a large gap between how older women are looking, feeling and living their lives, and how they are represented," says The Indigo Project Psychologist, Martha Tsakalos.

    "Older women are boxed into overly simplistic images and roles by the media, which minimises all they have to offer as a person, and mutes their personality. This narrow stereotyping is in stark contrast to the research which shows that for women over 40, one's sense of self, positivity and confidence is the highest in our human lifetime! There's quite a disconnect."

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    Try this: Think of a cosmetic brand, type it into Google and head to the corresponding homepage. What campaign images are you met with?  If it's not a smooth-skinned, 20-30 something woman smiling back at you, we'll eat our hats. Even the brands who we applaud for being diverse use youthful, wrinkle-free models to showcase the 50 shades of foundation they worked so hard on. Do people over 40 not wear foundation? Of course they bloody do!

    Admittedly, older women aren't boycotted entirely. There are plenty of brands with 'faces' over 40. But have you noticed that they're always a celebrity (so that we know for sure how old they are) and that they're always promoting skin care? Serums, retinols and moisturisers are still 'on theme' apparently, but since when did lipsticks, blush, mascara and all the other fun stuff have an age limit?

    It's something many of us don't notice until we reach that age ourselves. After all, if you fall into the 18-35 bracket, you're well catered for and when something isn't effecting you directly, it's hard to sit up and take notice. Well, consider this your notice.

    We're not here to call anyone out, and we're no angels ourselves (despite this being heaven), but as a community with beauty loving members who span across all ages, it's something we felt strongly enough about to raise in support of the women in our forums who feel they're not being respresented.

    And when you think about it, why aren't brands looking past the age of 40? These are the women who have paid their mortagages, raised their kids, climbed the corporate ladder and are very likely to have a more disposable income. Why wouldn't you want this ready-to-splurge crowd covetting your products? It seems like a missed opportunity to us...

    Please don't consider this a cry for 'age appropriate' products, either. The aim is inclusivity, not exclusivity. Frankly we can't say it better than one of our members who wrote:"There is one aspect of the beauty industry that I find annoying, which is the well-meaning advice for older women about the type of makeup we should wear. We are often told to wear neutral eyeshadow, brown eyeliner, apricot coloured lipstick, and not to wear black eyeliner and shimmery eyeshadows. I am 56 and I love to wear colourful lipsticks. I wear black eyeliner, but not in the same way as when I was younger. I wear cobalt blue, green, violet, navy and aqua eyeliners. I wear shimmery eyeshadows, I wear matte eyeshadows."

    So, how can brands stop the blatant age discrimination?

    "Firstly, it is important to include older women in the marketing itself. It is also important to update the notion of what it means to be an older woman in today's society - showcasing greater diversity and also, more depth into their character and who they are beyond what the media has traditionally cast," Martha says. "The research shows that with age comes increased acceptance, confidence and positivity - speaking to and highlighting their inner confidence is a step in the right direction."

    Speaking of a step in the right direction, after conducting a study that discovered that only 12 per cent of women over the age of 40 feel accurately or adequately represented in the media and society today, Priceline decided to take action. They've since launched a brand new beauty movement that celebrates women of all ages and encourage representation industry-wide: The Festival of YOU. All about understanding different needs and helping women to find the perfect products for them, with age of no matter - because ageing is beautiful, and it's about time we celebrated it.

    The Festival of YOU will run instore until March 26th.

    Main image credit: @pricelineau

    Image credits: Priceline Pharmacy Festival of YOU

    What are your thoughts on ageism in the beauty industry? Do you feel represented within beauty?

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    76 Member Comments

    skitzkitty 21 Sep 2021 1:10 PM

    Any beauty company that doesn't focus on the over-40's (which isn't even that old any more) is missing out on a whole lotta business. The psychology of using younger models as "aspiration inspiration" actually turns me off using their products - I don't want to look 16, I want to look good for my age!

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    Trish_D 10 Jun 2021 9:56 PM

    The silliest part of this thinking is that more mature women, in the main, have more disposable income to use than younger ones hence are able to and usually do spend more on beauty products.

    Chicklet 10 May 2021 8:21 PM

    A great article, and sadly all too true.

    lgauci 8 Mar 2021 2:26 PM

    Very interesting they should except woman at any age

    talk-a-lot 3 Mar 2020 6:08 PM

    Age is just a number as they say, women of all ages should definitely be included within beauty industries and areas, great reading.

    Mary Crofton 10 Mar 2020 1:35 PM

    I agree women over fifty and sixty today are not wanting to live by rules! Each of us is different ,and can rock many different looks and colours according to our personality style and individuality. As a makeup artist of many years I have made up women of seventy who still have beautiful skin, and should and could wear bright colours like red on their lips , eyeliner and most important brow and lash colour. I find myself wearing a mixture of matte eyeshadow and more shimmery dependent on where it is placed. The most important step for makeup is prep! Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Daily Peel is the business. Nothing else compares to it, then place on a plumping mask and massage in! Vit C + B serums are the morning bombs and Vit A at nightime. Then a good primer and wella you're looking good girls all day There are not enough mature models being used. I see the same one trotted out by everyone, please there are many great women out there that would like to see themselves represented, we have so much knowledge to give and style and most importantly confidence. Fabulous over fifty and beyond!

    Miramarmari 28 Feb 2020 1:59 PM

    Every age matters

    2663anne 24 Jan 2020 1:03 PM

    Thank your for this great article! I’m approaching 40 and know that in the terms of the beauty industry I will cease to exist.

    S-P 2 Nov 2019 11:36 PM

    I do enjoy ads with older ambassadors like Jane Fonda.

    S-P 2 Nov 2019 11:35 PM

    Our population is ageing so it would be beneficial for everyone to target products for mature people.

    NellAdams 5 Oct 2019 5:49 PM

    Thank you so much for this awesome article. I think it would be fantastic for especially skin and hair care brands to stop being scared of ageing.

    Michele72 4 Oct 2019 2:11 PM

    Definitely a great read

    misfortune8 3 Oct 2019 4:44 AM

    My late Nan wore Revlon Red lipstick into her 80s until her eyes got too bad to apply it evenly. It suited her! Her favourite perfumes were Clinique Aromatics & Miss Dior.

    Companies should wake up & realise who their customers are!

    Sparkle 77 4 Oct 2019 3:05 PM

    Well I hope to be like your Nan M8 and well said on the rest of it. I feel like starting a campaign! In saying that I absolutely do not have the skills to do this :)

    Petal 1 Oct 2019 10:51 AM

    I have reported the previous spam post by sheilabenson908.
    EDIT: Beautyheaven, thanks for removing the spam so quickly!

    Goddess..... 28 Sep 2019 4:04 PM

    I say wear whatever you like & don't worry about society or what other's say, be you. But don't go overboard & "get mutton dressed up as lamb look" it doesn't suit or look good on any older women.

    Gilded 26 Sep 2019 2:10 PM

    Fantastic article. Ageism is not just in the beauty industry; it spills over into other areas of life too. I've experienced ageism due to being underweight. People grossly underestimate my age and treat me like I'm a teenager. Its disrespectful and rude to treat anyone (regardless of their age, including teens) in a dismissive manner.

    Jessica712 25 Sep 2019 9:00 PM

    Really good read. I have seen the thread on the forums and I think it would be great in the beauty industry could be an all ages inclusive thing.

    Petal 25 Sep 2019 10:32 AM

    Samantha, thank you for this excellent article! I started a thread on ageism in the beauty industry, and I would love to see more people commenting on the thread:

    https://www.beautyheaven.com.au/forums/industry-watch/ageism-in-the-beauty-industry?page=3#comment-4466050

    dani_rahmi 23 Sep 2019 11:46 PM

    I was hoping to share a link to this article on instagram, only Facebook and Twitter are appearing as an option.

    Chicklet 22 Sep 2019 8:26 PM

    Well said.

    josella432 22 Sep 2019 4:54 PM

    Great article.

    Beauty Fan 69 22 Sep 2019 4:17 PM

    Thanks, a great read.

    Arty Girl 22 Sep 2019 1:19 AM

    Great article. I hope the Beauty Brands read this and the comments of our Members.

    I am 60 and I use far more skin care products than I ever did when I was younger. As to makeup; I admit I've turned to the matte and more natural eyeshadow shades. However, I will still wear a bright coloured lipstick if the shade looks good on me.

    I have been wondering why it has been 4 months since my last Trial Team Invitation. After reading this article and being informed that the Beauty Brands set the age limits of the reviewers for their Trial products, I now know.

    I see that Drew Barrymore has her own range of make up products now. Would love to be part of a Trial Team for that especially her lipsticks and lip glosses.

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