About six years ago I bumped into a former colleague who had run off to New York for a man and ended up running one of the coolest beauty brands of the past decade. As a cosmetics founder in a crowded landscape, she let me in on an insight that’s playing out now: the notion of mothers passing beauty lessons down to their daughters is turning on its head.

Gen-Zers are passing up their knowledge to the generation above.

It goes like this: a mother takes her daughter shopping for make-up and leaves with a bag full of products for herself, from brands she’d never otherwise tried.

Moreover, the decade Gen-Z is obsessed with emulating is the one we Gen-Xers cut our style teeth on. When I leaf through photo albums from the early to mid-Nineties, I’m invariably wearing a cropped T-shirt with a slinky bias-cut skirt or low-slung jeans and lip liner too dark for my complexion. My hair was straightish, a smidge greasy from the night before.

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Inevitably, a cigarette was nestled between fingernails painted in Chanel’s Rouge Noir.

The cigarettes have been superseded by vapes and the grease tamed with dry shampoo, but for the most part our daughters are reimagining the clothes and make-up of our best years, when our skin and behind were tight and our mistakes weren’t recorded for likes.

Sure, I could recreate a basic version of the make-up looks I wore on repeat back then without my daughter’s input, but we didn’t have anywhere near the number of products to choose from. Nor were the formulations or techniques so sophisticated.

Gen-Zers like my daughter Lily and her friends know how to layer, blend and contour like professional make-up artists. They are clued up on which ingredients to steer clear of, and which ones their skin barrier needs to stay young. They read Google reviews and comments on social media before parting with their money. They’ve watched endless hours of YouTube tutorials, and their TikTok feeds are attuned to every beauty whim.

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The six lessons I’ve taken from my Gen Z daughter

More Gen Z tips and tricks

This is a savvy cohort of consumers – the first to have such access to the inner workings of the beauty industry – and trust me, there is more we can learn from them than the other way around, even if you are a beauty editor with a front-row seat to the latest product innovations, as I am.

In fact, but for a difference in concealer shade, we are so in sync we could share the same make-up bag – and we often do. Not because I’m trying to relive my youth in my daughter’s vision, but because the products she uses – the finishes, the utility and playfulness of them – are exactly what mature skin needs. Dewy, fresh, interchangeable lip, eye and cheek colours that convey health and vitality. What young women have, and what’s often lost in midlife, is an openness to embrace a new finish, colour or technique.

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While it’s often assumed that mature women need brands with an ageing bias, I now believe the opposite is true. We don’t need to fix things; we need to experiment more and care less.

There is a caveat: you and your offspring need to be aligned in taste. Lily and I lean towards a natural aesthetic. She wears more blush, deepens her lips more than I do. She likes gloss; I prefer balms. But by and large, we’re working from the same style playbook.

Even if my skin benefits from active ingredients designed to reverse the signs of ageing that haven’t yet wreaked havoc on a young adult’s complexion, there isn’t a mature complexion out there that wouldn’t benefit from Rhode’s Barrier Butter or Byoma’s Rich Cream, two Gen-Z labels committed to the ‘do no harm’ thesis in skincare. Particularly since skin barrier function is as pertinent for perimenopausal complexions as it is for adolescent skin.

Mostly, though, by watching my daughter’s interest in beauty evolve, I broke free of the same old routine – otherwise known as a rut – and rekindled the fun I once had with make-up. She’s introduced me to products I would have previously discounted and taught me new ways to apply my old favourites. It turns out it takes someone experiencing things for the first time to make you realise you might have been taking it all too seriously all along.

The six lessons I’ve taken from my Gen Z daughter

Powder is your friend

Andrew Crowley

There’s a theory I once bought into: that powder makes a mature face look old-fashioned. True, if you take a loaded powder puff and smother every flicker of light that bounces from your face. But if you use a small amount of finely milled loose powder and limit it to the sides of your nose, chin and under your eyes – leaving the high points (tops of cheeks, brow, tip and bridge of the nose) to shine – you’ll strike the right balance of matte and glow.

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I’d become so fixated on using cream finishes to emulate the natural radiance that had begun to falter that I wasn’t squaring the benefits with the downsides. Creams don’t last – and applied too liberally over wide pores and sheeny zones, the effect is not flattering. Lily showed me how she applies powder: mid-face and chin first, then, with whatever is left over (a light touch is key to avoid pigment settling in fine lines), underneath the eyes to set concealer. It’s not necessary for every day, but for those moments when you want endurance from your make-up, powder pays dividends.

Annabel recommends: Makeup by Mario Surrealskin Soft Blur Setting Powder, £38, Sephora

Use a setting spray

Andrew Crowley

Setting sprays sit in the same realm as powder. They can be used on top of, or instead of, powder to keep make-up in place. Lily is never without one, and her make-up looks almost as fresh at the end of the night as it does at the beginning. I only started using a spray after she pointed out how quickly my make-up was dropping – something I had assumed was inevitable unless you layered it on thick. Now I’m a convert. I mist after each step, let it dry, then move on to the next product. It’s a game-changer for the office or an evening out.

Annabel recommends: Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray, £32, Sephora 

Lip liner makes all the difference

Andrew Crowley

I had written off lip liner as a trend I’d done to death in the Nineties, not as the framework for lipstick or a way to make it stay put. I don’t overline, as the cool kids have been taught, but I do trace and fill the shape of my mouth with a neutral shade that mimics my own. Sometimes I pair it with a sheer tinted balm, other times I go for a fully filled-in look. Either way, I’ve rediscovered the quiet power a sharp lip liner brings.

Annabel recommends: Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk, £22, Charlotte Tilbury

Matchy matchy works at every age

I top Tilbury’s Lip Cheat in the original Pillow Talk (it also comes in light, medium and dark variations) with the matching lipstick. Once, this kind of pairing felt too prescriptive for a woman my age – too formal. Now, though, I find there’s real polish in following the rules as they were intended.

Annabel recommends: Charlotte Tilbury Lipstick in Pillow Talk, £29, Charlotte Tilbury

Curl your eyelashes

Andrew Crowley

It’s so obvious I almost didn’t mention it, but curling your lashes instantly makes you look less tired. Lily insists I curl before mascara and again once it’s dried – and she’s not wrong.

Annabel recommends: Tweezerman Deluxe Classic Eyelash Curlers, £16, Cult Beauty with Tower 28 MakeWaves Lengthening & Volumizing Mascara, £28, Sephora

Blush is everything

Andrew Crowley

Five minutes on TikTok and you’ll get the memo: over-blushing is everything for this age group. I don’t go too intense – I already have enough natural redness – but I do subscribe to a liberal sweep of cream blusher in a pretty pink hue across the high points of my cheeks and the bridge of my nose. The idea is to mimic the flush you’d get from a brisk walk outside. If you overdo it, you can always blend it out.

My bone structure isn’t as elevated as it once was, so I’m mindful to keep the blush high, blending in circular motions towards the upper planes of my face. Powder blushers have come a long way, but if you’re powdering elsewhere then creams and liquids are key. Lily introduced me to a baby-pink cream I would once have dismissed as too Mattel for my taste. Now it’s my go-to. Pink is invigorating and youth-giving, particularly in a creamy formulation.

Annabel recommends: Rhode Pocket Blush in Piggy, £25, Rhode Skin

Some other Gen Z tips and tricks

Underpainting

Applying blush and contour first, then patting a thin layer of base over the top with a beauty blender, makes the colours appear to come from within.

Annabel recommends: Charlotte Tilbury Contour Wand £30, Charlotte Tilbury

SPF is the perfect glowy primer for make-up

As a beauty editor I’ve always been mindful of sun protection, but Gen Z is scrupulous. A face cream such as Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream, with SPF built in, adds not only protection but a reflective, lit-from-within luminosity that makes make-up look even better.

Annabel recommends: Le-Rub All Day Sunscreen, £38, Space NK

Gloss and balm make for youthful lips

Gloss today is more of a sheen than the sticky formulas I first encountered in the 90s. Even with a fully pigmented lipstick, a dab of gloss in the centre adds just enough reflection to flatter. Whatever your lip product of choice, always start with a conditioning balm. Lily introduced me to Eucerin’s Intensive Lip Balm, which creates a smooth base. I apply it at the beginning of my make-up routine so it’s fully absorbed by the time I reach for lipstick.

Annabel recommends: Eucerin Dry Skin Intensive Lip Balm, £6.37, Boots