When it comes to beauty, it seems obvious that what worked in our 20s won’t work in our 40s. Catherine, Princess of Wales, however, just proved that this isn’t always the case. Kate, 44, has just been spotted making a return to her signature noughties makeup, and proves how just a few small tweaks can make a familiar look work even more beautifully as we age.
The Princess was photographed yesterday on her way to a service at Crathie Kirk Church, near the Balmoral estate where she and her family are holidaying. We could almost have been convinced the photo was taken 20 years ago, thanks to an eyeliner-led makeup look that feels distinctly reminiscent of her pre-royal days. And with turbulent times potentially ahead for the Royal Family as Harry and Meghan return to the UK, who can blame Kate for returning to a favourite ‘comfort’ look?
‘Kate has always had a signature beauty language,’ says celebrity makeup artist Victoria Bond. ‘There’s something very recognisable about that smoky eye, softly defined lash line, rosy cheeks and natural lip.’
She adds, ‘Those key elements are still very much there, which is why the look feels nostalgic, but the execution has evolved, making the look feel fresher and more considered.’
But how exactly has Catherine managed to make the same look work almost two decades apart? According to Victoria, it’s all about subtle tweaks. ‘You don’t need to abandon the makeup you loved when you were younger,’ she says. ‘Your face hasn't become a different face because you've turned 40 — you just need to understand how your features and skin have changed and adapt your technique accordingly.’
Victoria says the biggest difference between the Princess’ noughties look and its modern iteration is balance. ‘There isn't the same heaviness of product that we often saw with this style in the 2000s.’
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‘The key to making a nostalgic makeup look feel modern is choosing where to be precise and where to be soft,’ she adds. ‘As we get older, I tend to think more about placement and texture.’
Victoria points to Catherine’s eyeliner as the perfect example. ‘The cat-eye was such a defining beauty look of the 2000s and 2010s, but it doesn't have to look dated,’ she says.
Modernising it means working with your features — and as we age, a lifting approach can be particularly flattering. ‘You can keep that definition but try softening the edges and avoid taking too much darkness too far down or too far out,’ says Victoria. ‘You want to lift and enhance the eye rather than weigh it down,’ she explains. Compare Kate’s liner now to her pre-wedding look – the lifted flick at the outer corners adds a flattering new polish.
Your base can make all the difference, too. While fuller coverage may have been a hallmark of the noughties, Catherine now opts for a much lighter base. ‘A more natural, dimensional skin finish will immediately make that classic smokey eye feel contemporary rather than retro,’ she adds.
As Victoria puts it simply: ‘The trick isn't to throw away the makeup you loved in your 20s and 30s — it's to edit it for the face you have now.’
