Updating my make up look

[crochetmonkey74]

Hello S&B
Can you help? My make up routine is stuck in the 90s (I'm 48) and I would really like to update to a more modern look. Where can I go to get this done? I've had make up counter sessions before but the lighting I'm department stores is always odd etc and they have never been quite right. I sort of need someone young to show me all the new products that I haven't kept up with and all the new ways to apply it . Has anyone been in the same position? What did you do?

I don't really double cleanse unless I've got loads of makeup on. However I do use a flannel and then I can see that it's all off.

One thing I noticed is that you're using an SPF cream overnight? Stop doing that as it won't be doing your skin any favours. Just look for any hydrating cream - Aldi will do one without SPF that you could use instead.

If you're looking for something to do a double cleanse or similar you just need to look for something that says cream cleanser or balm cleanser, then use your usual face wash afterwards if it suits you. I'm not a huge fan of recommending loads of products, not least because I've done major over hauls in the past and been a proper sucker for the next best thing and completely ruined my skin in the process. Make small tweaks over time - don't attack your skin with a load of new products!

For skincare,have a look at the skincare rocks app. You put in your details and it gives you product suggestions.

Also tha Caroline Hirons book on skincare and the Hannah Martin book on makeup are both excellent.

What is your skin type/ concerns OP? Really need this info to make better product recommendations for you so you get the best results.

As a morning skin care routine single cleanse is enough with a gentle product I always recommend the ASAP gentle cleansing gel as it's a great all rounder for most skin types, don't using a cleansing brush far too harsh on the skin, muslin, flannel or face halo is much better. Follow up with a hydrating mist (toner) any will work really as it's mainly used to help your subsequent products absorb better especially if your serums contain hyaluronic acid as this product draws water from its surroundings into your skin. Follow with a vitamin c serum, holy grail is the skinceuticals CE Ferulic but be warned it's very pricey ( but so worth it). Vitamin C is great for improving hyperpigmentation, protecting skin against free radical damage (sun, pollutants). Next a moisturiser suited to skin type not too heavy as you will be wearing sunscreen over the top and then whatever base you are using after that. If oiler skin you can skip moisturiser and go straight to sunscreen I use the ultra Violette one called supreme screen or the Mecca Cosmetica to save face, great under makeup! I also use the tinted veil sunscreen from Ultra Violette instead of foundation as it's light and extra spf (I live in QLD, Australia so very sunny). Make sure to use spf 50 everyday and use the correct amount! ( two finger lengths of product for the face and neck)

At night I would recommend the Clinique take the day off cleansing balm used with a face halo to removed make up and then back in again with the ASAP cleansing gel for your second cleanse.

Night time is where your active skin care comes into play and where you can really address your specific concerns. Some general recs would be:

Fine lines/general ageing: Retinol, great brands are Paula's choice, Medik8, Cosmedix, Skinceuticals, No. 7

Hyperpigmentation/ texture: Acids for exfoliation (glycolic, lactic or mandelic) Alpha H liquid gold (magic stuff, but a bit stingy, only use 1/2 times per week, not recommended for sensitive or reactive skin types), Aspect Pigment punch, Alpha H Midnight reboot serum. These products are great for smoothing out texture and helping cell turnover, fading dark spots.

Pimples/ congestion: ASAP Radiance gel (salicylic acid, cleans out pores, regulates oil production), ASAP super B complex, contains niacinamide and Hyaluronic acid for hydration and evening skin tone, I mix both of these together. Pimple patches to spot treat blemishes.

Dry/dehydrated skin: Hado labo (any of their products are excellent for dry skin, make you really plump and juicy, La Roche Posey B5 gel or cicaplast cream if really dry or have eczema or flaky bits, Clinique moisture surge range is also great as is the Aspect probiotic overnight mask.

Just a note don't do all these steps every night, I generally cycle during the week, so say retinol one night, acid product the following night both followed up by hydration. Sorry for the essay but skincare is my passion and I love to help people have the best skin they can (means you can wear less make up too 😇)

Also give the podcast Beauty IQ Uncensored a listen, Jo and Hannah are very knowledgeable about cosmeceutical skincare and funny to boot!

I agree that skin is key. Stop using the foaming face wash - it does nothing but dries out your skin. Use a hot cloth cleanser instead, just with a normal flannel. I use the superdrug vitamin e one but any are fine!

Morning:
Hydration is key so buy a hydrating toner/mist (sukin is lovely) and use this after cleansing and after any serums. Any hydrating serum is good - look for something with hyaluronic acid. You can use several serums, just layer them with a bit of hydrating spray in between and then lock in with your moisturizer. Maybe a few drops of The Ordinary Rosehip oil over your moisturizer.

Then as everyone else said, hydrating products - primer, bb cream/tinted moisturizer (I like Laura mercier tinted moisturiser or for more coverage IT cosmetics CC cream. If you like MAC, their mineralize foundation would be much more hydrating than the one you have - it is lovely. I also love Clinique Even Better Foundation), use a cream blush (Elf putty blush is nice), and for older skin, steer clear of dark eye makeup, go for soft shades.

Night:

Double cleanser
Tretinoin - beats anything else you may buy - get a subscription through Dermitica - use several times a week, after add a moisturiser
Once or twice a week - Corsyx BHA Blackhead Power Liquid , nothing else
Other day - hydrating face mask (No 7 is great)
Your skin will glow - trust me!

Also agree with Alpha H Liquid Gold (use on the nights I said to use the Cosyx BHA) - They are both actives and will transform your skin.

Watch some tutorials about what product you need to use, and how you need to use it. You can find a lot of them on youtube and tiktok.

my skin is very clear - completely by accident of genetics!

I do not get spots or blackheads. I love the 'scrubbed feeling' of the brush in the shower. My skin takes moisturiser well- I would say I am marginally oilier on my nose and chin. Definitely getting fine lines though and some menopause melasma (size of half a 5p) by one eye

I want to have a more modern feel and I like the idea of an evening skincare routine as a form of self care

You definitely need a higher level SPF for every day, SPF20 is nowhere near enough, switch to SPF50 with a high UVA rating (often shown as PA++++) . There are lots of non-greasy options now that don't leave a white tint on your skin and some work better than others under make up.

Is the SPF in the same aisle as the face moisturiser or will it be in the suncare bit?

Not sure where they put facial SPF but I haven't found a decent one in a supermarket to be honest. I tend to research suggestions on here then buy online. Places like Boots often don't carry these lines or run out of stock fast.

Yeah I've got Boots, Superdrug and a large House of Fraser and Loccitane and body shop near to me. I like to try them for texture and smell them before I buy if possible

Cerave do a moisturiser that has SPF50 -I also use their hyaluronic acid serum morning and evening. Boots do a decent lactic acid which I use twice a week at night. I have very sensitive skin which won't tolerate retinol or vitamin c sadly. Ambre Solaire have recently brought out an SPF which you can spray on over makeup. I've yet to try it but it sounds like a good idea for mid day SPF top ups.

• much higher spf, and not one that's combined with moisturiser, something like the Garnier face fluid.
• don't use a moisturiser with spf on at night.
• no foaming things, try Cerave SA facewash
• don't wash your face in the shower, the water you wash your body with is way too hot to put on your (vigorously scrubbed) face.
• hydration is your friend, make up will look crap if the base is a husk.

SPF 20 is plenty.

https://drmichaelprager.com/5-reasons-we-believe-high-spf-skincare-does-more-harm-than-good/

What a palaver.

The best thing would be to get good quality sleep, eat a good diet, take plenty of exercise and drink water. That will have far more effect on overall health and also skin than constantly slapping on different expensive chemicals. You can't out-moisturise an unhealthy lifestyle.

@Catspyjamas17 I agree totally!

In the last decade skin care and make-up brands have invented 'requirements' for an unending deluge of unnecessary, expensive rubbish IMO, and influencers and celebrities are paid to do completely unrealistic tutorials where they apply literally about ten products on their face before they even start their make-up routine!

My advice would be to just buy a decent cleanser and moisturiser (I swear by Simple Micellar Cleanser and No7 Protect and Perfect Serum) then pick a few YouTube tutorials, but skip the prepping stage and go straight to the make-up bit.

Sydney Sweeney did this one recently which I thought was good:

@Catspyjamas17 The OP asked for advice and recommendations she can pick and choose what suits her best she doesn't have to use all the products or steps I suggested. Also your link suggesting that spf 20 is sufficient sun protection is dangerous and misinformed, the author is hardly a neutral source on the topic given he is trying to sell his own products which are apparently 'superior' to others on the market. The man is selling a bloody magical water bottle that purports to be better for you than taking vitamin supplements and eating healthy food ffs!

All bar one of those 'reasons' is down to human error and/or idiocy. The other can be addressed by using a mineral spf, of which there are many.

Highest SPF as poss, all day every day on my face, I won't look like a leather sofa at 50 thanks, you can crack on.

constantly slapping on different expensive chemicals

Oh i missed you'd said this. You're a general idiot anyway, carry on.

Boots do a fabulous Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser. It’s a cleansing balm and it’s not too drying. You could use that instead of a liquid oil. (Oils and balms are interchangeable here… They are made with emulsifiers so that after you massage them in, you mix in a bit of warm water and they rinse away cleanly.) There are so many oils and balms out there, you’re bound to find one you love. I also love Muji cleansing oil. It’s mega cheap and comes in an enormous bottle. Absolutely does a marvellous job.

To just freshen up your look, I'd try watching the videos by Caroline Barnes on YouTube, under her channel name Speed Beauty. She's a makeup artist but does new but very everyday-friendly looks, and is especially good for taking trends and making them more accessible for those of us who aren't 20. Plus, as the name says, the videos are relatively short (for YT makeup videos at least).

@StarchySturgess1

If you look up the actual research and advice on SPF there are some interesting conclusions that can be made.

Firstly, reading between the lines, it would seem, advice to put sunscreen on regardless of activity is to address population behaviours (namely forgetting to apply sunscreen) rather than the efficacy of doing this over applying sunscreen based on UV levels and planned activity.

Secondly sunscreen (both mineral and chemical) breaks down within 1 and a half to two hours and actually causes more free radical damage to the skin than not wearing it.

Thirdly, some darker skin types do have more natural sun protection in the form of melanin in their skin.

Fourthly, vitamin D deficiency is actually a serious concern and risks the type of health problems namely metabolic and circulatory diseases which cause more deaths in the UK than skin cancer.

Fourthly, when applied correctly, Factor 15 increases the time someone can be out in the sun without burning pretty significantly.

https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=time+to+sunburn&assumption=%7B%22FS%22%7D+-%3E+%7B%7B%22TimeToSunburn%22%2C+%22tb%22%7D%7D&assumption=%7B%22FP%22%2C+%22TimeToSunburn%22%2C+%22SST%22%7D+-%3E+%22ST2%22&assumption=%7B%22F%22%2C+%22TimeToSunburn%22%2C+%22UVI%22%7D+-%3E%223%22

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020023001516?via%3Dihub

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6345802/

https://www.nhstaysidecdn.scot.nhs.uk/NHSTaysideWeb/idcplg?IdcService=GET_SECURE_FILE&dDocName=PROD_350532&Rendition=web&RevisionSelectionMethod=LatestReleased&noSaveAs=1#:~:text=You%20can%20try%20to%20build,or%20develop%20a%20sunburn%20reaction

My takeaway? Use sunscreen when the UV is high enough to warrant it taking into consideration skin type and time spent outdoors. I personally prefer king lasting sunscreens as they are designed to be more robust and not break down as quickly as regular sunscreens.

Long lasting (not king lasting)

Some more sunscreen articles I forgot to post.

www.breastcancer.org/risk/risk-factors/exposure-to-chemicals-in-sunscreen

www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/the-trouble-with-sunscreen-chemicals/

So whilst I do wear sunscreen (everyday at the moment), I don't treat it as some miraculous 'anti-aging panacea'. It's like everything else, there are benefits and risks in its use which must be considered along with skin type, existing health vulnerabilities and lifestyles in order to decide best how to use it for each individual.

Sorry, op for the slight derail.

Regarding makeup I think it is useful to consider how you skin responds to it.

I'm in my 50s but liquid/crème based foundations on top of sunscreen without powder sinks into creases over the day, looks oily on applying and highlights pores. I find my skin is best with a translucent loose mica based powder on top of sunscreen and then a dusting of coloured powder compact over that. If needed I apply a mineral powder colour corrector concealer. Then powder blush. This looks less heavy and caked on me than foundation. I used mineral powder eyeshadow as liner over my top lashes and to shade the eye socket. This goes against most of the fashionable advice but I have compared different products over the years and this just suits me the best.

For lips the main change as I have got older is to use a lip balm under lipstick.