Please suggest things for my 40’s skin - look tired, pasty and want to look better

[Littlemiss74]

I’m 47 & my skin has always been quite good despite me not having much of a regime. However I saw a photo of me the other day & when I zoomed in I was shocked at the creases by my eyes & forehead.

I’ve had a lot of stress recently and haven’t had as much time to look after myself properly. I look tired, pasty, dark circles, lines & my face looks like its starting to drop😩

I want to improve this & am trying to get more sleep, watch what I eat, limit wine & drink water.
My skin feels & looks dry, maybe that’s why the lines are more obvious..

I have dark bits under my eyes. I’ve always had these but now its looking worse when I use (clarins) concealer as it emphasises the lines! But going without is not an option! My eyes also seem smaller, they are hooded and I want to try and define them a bit more but without heavy make up. I don’t know what make up to use to achieve any of this.

I don’t have lots of money to spend but am prepared to buy some more expensive items if they will help. I just don’t know what to buy and have been into Boots and out again as just too much choice.

Please could anyone of a similar age suggest some skincare & makeup products that might help? I’ve bought things before & not liked them after a couple of uses and so waste money.

I’d love suggestions for:

• skincare products -make up base so what’s best; foundation, tinted moisturiser, bb/cc creams?

• concealer (for dark bits & wrinkles)
• eye make up for small, hooded eyes

Also any suggestions for nice coloured blushers and lipsticks. I have brown eyes & hair with some highlights, olivey sallow skin.

I’d be really grateful for any help as I feel a bit down about it all. Thank you

Watching with interest for good advice!
Do you get enough sleep OP? I know I don't and it definitely affects eyes and bags.
I also glug tea and diet Coke - neither very good.
Hopefully someone expert will be along soon!

Perfectil vitamins for skin?
Set 'good' fats.
I rate the Aldi skincare - it's good if you are on a budget because it's comparable to more expensive brands (it just doesn't look as luxurious). I'm currently using clarins (a Christmas gift) but it's not better on my skin than the Aldi lacura.
In terms of make up, I swapped out grey and black eye liners for dark brown and it's softer looking.
Hope someone comes along with some good tips for you soon.

Rodial Banana Lowlighter for under eyes is transformative

Asda hair, skin and nails vitamins. I couldn't believe the difference in my nails when I started taking them. The top half of the nail, which was the part before I started them, was wonky and ridged, whereas the bottom half that had had the benefit of the vitamins, were smooth and flat. Visual evidence of how well they work.

No expert here! - but there is a wealth of advice online, and some excellent bloggers.
I’d recommend the Beauty Bible website - Jo Fairley and Sarah Stacey have years of knowledge and experience, and the annual Beauty Bible awards are based on the feedback from their teams of independent testers. Beauty Bible offers reliable, sensible advice - I’ve followed their recommendations for years.
www.beautybible.com/the-beauty-bible
This blog is excellent - Jane Cunningham is another reliable source of advice, britishbeautyblogger.com/
and I read this article today..
thatsnotmyage.com/expert-beauty-advice/the-ultimate-diy-facial-for-glowing-skin-when-youre-over-50/
If you can get to a large department store, I’d recommend asking for beauty advice and as many samples as they can give you! Companies seem to be getting them back in stock. I’d suggest Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier, and Trish McEvoy as excellent for makeup advice, and Clarins, Neal’s Yard, Liz Earle and L’Occitane for skincare. There are also lots of makeup videos on YouTube - Lisa Eldridge is excellent.
There are some great skincare and beauty bargains in Aldi - the Lacura dupes of higher priced products are excellent. The website is worth a look.
My top two recommendations for tired skin would be the Neal’s Yard Frankincense range (cream and serums) and Clarins Beauty Flash Balm. Sleep and more water do really help, and I’m now seeing a positive effect from doing Dry January. Oh, and Eva Fraser’s facial exercises also help if you actually take time to do them…definitely make a difference!

Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Advanced Retinol + Ferulic Overnight Wrinkle Treatment
tinyurl.com/47e4dnzb

Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Advanced Retinol + Ferulic Overnight Texture Renewal Peel (they come as individual pads).
tinyurl.com/28ck3ufh

Boom and boom! Done! Two miracles. I'm about to turn 50 and these two treatments (I use them 3 times nights a week- first the pad, then the wrinkle treatment overnight) have been worth every pretty penny.

I cleanse daily with tri-balm... again, an absolute miracle. I love this stuff. www.francesprescott.com/products/tri-balm

Oh! And get a jade roller massage set. Honestly, using this with a good facial oil will really make a difference as well, but you've got to commit to it. I do it 3-4 times a week for a few minutes... a nice face massage. I prefer the massage tool that comes with the roller, to be honest. Use both.

Hi - I'm a similar age and recognise what you're saying and feeling. I overhauled my skincare and make up in lockdown.

I recently started using The Ordinary squalane cleanser, azelaic acid and their moisturiser. My dry skin with rosacea has been so much better.

Boots No 7 Hydraluminous foundation is light with good coverage and often recommended on here. I use a medium bronzer as blusher as it suits my skin tone and picked up tips on YouTube about blusher placement as you age. Andreea Ali has some good tips. Matte eye shadows give colour without emphasising fine lines. The Clarins concealer in a little tube is excellent and there's a Maybelline one - Instant Eraser that's great on under eye dark circles without being drying. I've noticed a lot of younger woman tend to wear more subtle lip colour, but I often go without.

You can buy The Ordinary in Boots and if you spend over £15 click and collect is free, making it cheaper than buying from them direct and paying for p&p.

Sorry - you can buy it online only from Boots.

I can't find a cheaper version of this but honestly Estee Lauder advanced night repair is amazing. To plump and smooth the skin. Buy as big bottle as possible, it'll be about £120 but will last 6 months. I use CC cream as a base rather than foundation as much more luminous and less cakey on older skin.

Sukin Rosehip Oil has totally transformed my skin, I cleanse with Clinique Take the Day Off and remove with warm facecloth then massage in 3 drops of the oil at night. I use 2 drops in the morning, under my make up. My skin has never looked better.

Try Skin & Me

I swear by Kiehl's midnight recovery oil overnight and medik8 vitamin C in the day.

Those would be my priority, and then liquid gold aha and a good retinol.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions.

@MaitreKarlsson i’m terrible at going to bed! I’ve been trying harder to go earlier but I guess it will take time to see the benefits. I also drink alot of tea & coffee although some decaff.

@Aderyn21 i just bought a new black clinique mascara & its so thick. I’ve tried wiping it on the edge but it just goes everywhere & then ends up smudging so even darker under eyes! I have thought about switching to brown mascara but wondered whether this would even show up at all on my brown lashes so would it be worth it..?

@madisonbridges the vits sound good - how long would you say it took of taking them before you noticed a difference? I have bought some similar but don’t always remember to take them!

@mrssmiling thank you, I will look at these. I have been online and looked for various things before but I get a bit overwhelmed with the amount of different options available & the number of products. I went into Boots the other day to get a serum but there were so many to choose from I couldn’t decide & left with nothing. I’m like that with all the products. I treated myself to some Bobbi Brown make up last year based on their recs but after a couple of uses I wasn’t sure it was right for me & then i felt awful that i’d wasted so much money. I do have the clarins beauty flash balm from a gift set but I wasn’t sure how to use - is it quite moisturising?

@WeAreTheHeroes I’ve heard alot of people mention The Ordinary and it looks reasonably priced so I think I’ll give it a go. I’ve heard people talk about the acid products & retinol - what are these for? I think the word acid worries me slightly although I’m assuming it must be fine for use on the face…?

@Twattergy one of the best products I have ever bought & have repurchased several times is the EL tinted moisturiser that kind of adapts to your skin tone. It feels very moisturising and gives a slightly tanned look. But even that I’m now unsure of & just wonder if I need a bit more coverage but then more coverage shows the wrinkles..aaggh so confused😩

If you follow the directions for The Ordinary you'll be fine. When I first read about it I didn't really get it, but when I looked for a couple of things for my skin issues it was easier and I didn't go for lots of things.

Watch some Nadine Baggott videos. She has an excellent one about "needing" only 5 products for great skin:

Morning
Cleanser
Vitamin C
Sunscreen

Evening
Cleanser
Retinol
Moisturizer.

None of which need to cost a fortune, especially the cleanser (which goes down the plughole) and the moisturizer which only needs to hydrate. (Though if you want added oomph look for one with peptides and/or ceramides)

A hyaluronic acid serum adds extra moisture (it's not an acid as such)

If you want to get into retinol then again, watch Nab's videos. There are lots of brands churning out retinols and some are a little extravagant with the % on their packaging. (for example some companies bill their serum as having 1% but if it's a granactive retinoid- like most of The Ordinary's are, that translates to 0.1% of active ingredient- nothing wrong with that- I'm using their 5%/0.5% one myself, but the naughtiness and lack of transparency is dodgy)

Botox

Eyelashes tinted and lifted - then either clear mascara or brown
Eyebrows done and tinted too
Decent 50+ SPF- I like Jan Marini tinted one
I have similar eyes to you and recently saw a Chanel desk where she recommended a palette of neutrals which is been great!
Also I think clean shiny swishy hair helps.
Also check out Dr Sam’s skincare and advice! Good luck!!

From personal experience…the biggest difference was seen when I was disciplined about going to bed early and cut down on caffeine and refined carbs, made an effort to drink more water and eat more green veg. Boring I know!

At this time of year I also use a light fake tan on my face and neck. Maybe try getting your eyelashes dyed?

How's your diet?

Does eyelash lift make much of a difference?

It's boring, but I cAn defo tell a difference when my diet is better and I'm drinking more water.
Also rate the ordinary products. And maybe worth going for a trial at a make up counter just to get some new ideas.

OP, lots of good advice already! Re your question, you apply a thin layer of Clarins Flash Balm before putting on makeup, and can also apply it and leave on as an energising mask a couple of times a week. It moisturises, and tightens - overall a brightening effect. It is a brilliant product and a must-have for many people. I do sympathise about being overwhelmed - there are so many products to choose from. It sounds as though you need a bit of a confidence boost - it does come as a horrible shock when suddenly everything seems to be drooping, and you see the first signs of age…been there! Stress certainly does have a damaging effect - do hope things get easier for you. FWIW I gradually realised that there is no point hankering after the smooth, unlined skin of youth - there is no wonder product to bring that back! Better to just aim to look as good as you can ‘for your age’.
I’m linking to a couple of excellent Lisa Eldridge videos - makeup for more mature models who look fabulous. Lisa uses products and techniques that really work for lined skin, and the results are beautiful. I use the Bobbi Brown creamy base she recommends in the second video - very good.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=f-SZA1tkViU Oh, and btw eyelash curlers and decent brushes, including one for foundation are a must if you don’t have them already!

I took them every day to be fair and I started them for my hair. I never realised my nails were as bad as they were. I thought that was just how my nails rolled! I just happened to be out with my sister, a long poo-pooer of supplements and I said I'd been taking them for my hair. And I sort of looked at my nails instinctively and that's when I saw the difference. My sister was so amazed she went and got some herself.
It was probably 4-6 weeks. It would take a few weeks for your skin to do a complete turnover. At your age maybe 4-5 weeks, so that would be minimum time of seeing results. I'm 61 and my hair and skin are generally good so I'm not making claims for them, but when you see the stark difference of before and after on your nails, you can't help thinking it must be doing something good for everything else!