I'm 55—Here Are 10 Things I Do Before Video Calls to Look More Photogenic

If you've been reading our beauty content for a while now on Who What Wear, you're likely already familiar with one of our favorite lifestyle, beauty, and fashion bloggers, Melissa Meyers (also known as The Glow Girl). Not only is Meyers practically a savant when it comes to navigating clean, nontoxic beauty, but she also loves to routinely share her best tips and tricks when it comes to aging. Refreshingly, Meyers is all about embracing the aging process and empowering women to be the best version of themselves—whether that's taking the leap and experimenting with clean beauty products, embracing self-tanners (instead of the sun), or just knowing the best and most effective makeup hacks. 

Being the font of knowledge that she is and in light of many of us still working from home, we reached out to Meyers for her best makeup and skin tips—video-call edition. We asked Meyers to share her best skincare and makeup tips. In other words, what can we do to look as photogenic and bright-eyed as possible? Keep scrolling for 10 beauty tricks Meyers has for how to look photogenic in your 50s. 

Yes, that's plural! According to Meyers, one of her best-kept secrets for looking refreshed and keeping her skin plump and hydrated is prepping her skin pre-camera with a face mask catered to her main skin concerns and using a separate masking formula to address the delicate eye area. 

Even though video calls aren't the highest quality (aka you probably can't see every line and pore as you would IRL), the goal is still to have radiant and dewy skin with coverage that mimics the health of your natural skin. The best way to accomplish this? Seasoning your canvas with a luxe oil to aid in hydration. To boost your glow even further, Meyers likes to work the oil into her complexion using a rose quartz gua sha tool. 

Yep—your skin can still reap damage from the sun or from the blue light emitted from your laptop and phone. Meyers tells me she likes to multitask with coverage and SPF protection by opting for lightweight BB creams or tinted moisturizers that soften and diffuse the look of her skin for video calls while staving off any potentially damaging light. 

Meyers tells me she loves to play up her eyes when she's preparing for a full day of video calls or photos. Her secret? Creamy, bronze-hued eye shadow and some concealer for a dose of strategic camouflage. She also recommends sticking with clean formulas, which can be less irritating to the sensitive eye area, discouraging any pesky redness. 

Sure, pretty much any mascara will draw attention to your eyes and enhance your lash line, but for those looking to beef up your natural lashes (which thin as we age), Meyers recommends choosing a clean formula that's enhanced with growth- and thickness-boosting conditioners and ingredients. Not only will your lashes receive instant gratification, but they may get stronger and healthier over time as well. 

Makeup artists always wax poetic about the importance of maintaining, shaping, and caring for your brows. (Like our lashes, brows can thin and lose their shade and luster as we get older.) Luckily, that's nothing a great eyebrow pencil can't handle.

Adding a pop of creamy color to your cheeks can make all the difference when it comes to looking well-rested, youthful, and vibrant. In fact, you'll want to go a little more heavy-handed with your application than you would for face-to-face encounters since the color translates less intensely over your video calls. (Same goes for your mascara application!) 

By now we all know that sitting out in the sun (especially sans SPF) is one of the worst things you can do for your skin as we get older. If you are going to be outside for hours, please douse yourself in sunscreen to keep skin damage at bay. Or do like Meyers and feign the look of a sun-kissed glow with a nontoxic bronzer instead. 

Youthful skin is often attributed to bright and radiant skin, but that's just not always attainable—even for those of us in our 20s or 30s! Therefore, wrinkle-, line-, and spot-diffusing highlighters can be a game-changing addition to your routine, and they can add a touch of warmth and luminosity to your complexion. Just make sure you don't choose a formula that's too glittery or disco ball–esque in its finish. This can actually draw more attention to fines lines, texture issues, and the like.

Lips (like our hands, necks, even our brows) are one of the features that can easily be forgotten but can be a dead giveaway for your age. Not that that's a bad thing, but keeping your pout plump, shiny, and hydrated acts as a filter of sorts for lines, wrinkles, and loss of volume, which can all intensify as we get older.