I am 42, yet I still get breakouts. The only moisturizer that does not aggravate my skin is Cetaphil DermaControl Moisturizer with SPF 30. I also like MAC cremesheen glass lipgloss.
That is pretty much it. I am a make-up minimalist.

Eucerine mattifying sun fluid spf 50. The best sunblock I’ve ever used , hands down. And Avene tolerance Creme. Super rich face moisturizer, also for sensitive skin. It keeps the dryness at bay. (Note: i live in Germany, and have no clue if these are available in the states. )

I love hearing about people’s makeup routines too. I’m currently struggling to adapt mine. It seems like almost overnight, I’ve suddenly noticed that I’m not as young as I used to be – which is fine, but my face just looks… different, and I have to relearn what makeup is best.

My first thing is Supergoop spf 50. Then either bare minerals correcting concealer, or their complexion rescue (technically a tinted moisturizer, but feels more like a light foundation to me). Sometimes both. Then a little bit of loose powder – currently also a bare minerals one, but sometimes Laura Mercier.

Finally, Anastasia brow gel – the one that looks like a mascara. I’ve tried the pomade but I find it takes too long for me to get it right. Then if I’m feeling ambitious, I also add mascara (no loyalty a brand; I just use whatever I’ve gotten free lately from Sephora).

If I’m feeling really fancy – usually only for events – I also add a clinique lip product, either black honey almost lipstick, or the chubby stick in strawberry.

I don’t wear make-up often. My usual routine is Dr. Hauschka’s Revitalizing Day Cream. Bobbie Brown’s under eye concealer cream that comes in the duo compact with the cream and the powder. Anastasia eyebrow pencil (always because I have no eyebrows!!).

When I do wear make-up it’s BB Cream SPF 35 and I sometimes use my Bite lipstick way diluted with the Dr. H day cream as a blush for my cheeks.

And I occasionally wear some sort of lipstick––lately I’ve gone back to Clinique’s Chubby Stick in 07 Super Strawberry. (I do seem to have a wide variety of lipsticks in a wide variety of brands like lipstick is suddenly going to change my life––the things we cling to!)

Wow – you’ve got it down to a science! After my skincare routine (check out Angie at Hot and Flashy – she has a great routine that actually works – see her before and after pictures!). Elta MD sunscreen, Hourglass mineral primer, then for foundation either IT cosmetics CC cream or YSL All Hours Foundation, Bobbi Brown concealer, IT cosmetics powder, Sephora contour eye pencil to tightline my upper lids, Estee Lauder Sumptuous Knockout mascara (when I’m feeling fancy I’ll layer Lancome Monsieur Big over it, but use the Sumptuous Knockout brush cuz that Lancome brush is whack), Tarte Pro to Go Palette or if I’m in a rush Mally shadow stick in Champagne – I use it to line my lower waterline and then kinda smudge it all round my eyes for a “ring of light” effect, Hourglass brow pencil, Urban Decay lipgloss or creme lipsticks (I’m kinda obsessed and have tons of colors). I’m going to admit I was totally obsessed with wearing NO makeup for while last fall – inspired by Alicia Keys. Anyone tried that? You get weird reactions from your friends. I like this post and can’t wait to read tried and true products. The only product in my routine I’m not totally thrilled with is the brow pencil. Think I’ll head over to Ulta and try out some of the ones that work for you ladies.

here we go –
a splash of cold water then a splash of rose toner, then moisturizer – mizon snail cream or cerave day cream. i switch it.
then roche posay anthelios primer -i love this stuff, just around nose, chin. then urban decay eye primer, mac eye shadow, mac eye pencil (but i will look for the marc jacobs line since you mention it), maybelline eyebrow pencil. loreal telescopic mascara, loreal brow gel.
in winter months i mix a drop of l’heuile prodigeuse w/ roche posay tinted sunscreen – and kind of pat it on. it’s good for a dewy effect, i ‘m not good w/ matte.
last – burts bees lip stuff.

it takes about 15 mins & i have to say – one of my favorite parts of the day.

This is fun!

And its been fun and sort of like a scavenger hunt to use the Environmental Working Group website these past few years to check stuff out relative to toxicity…so for anyone who cares about that stuff…

Elta MD UV Clear sunscreen

Bare Minerals Prime Time (only when my face is super dry)

Cle de Peau Concealer (can’t find a rating for this product but I don’t care because it is the best concealer on the planet)

W3LL People Bio-Tint…pretty heavy stuff…edible (available at some Target stores!!!)

La Roche Posay Anthelios Tinted 50 all summer and on my cheeks in the winter (gets a medium EWG rating)

W3LL People Bio Powder…when I’m feeling oily

Vapour Halo Illuminator when I’m feeling fancy–not sure how much I like this product

Jane Iredale chubby stick blush or ZuZu powder bronzer

Zuzu Lux mascara (which I swear is the BEST non-toxic mascara out there)

Zuzu lux and Vapour lipsticks and Hurraw balms

I do almost all of this everyday Monday-Friday, even though I hang out with eighth graders. In my profession, I have to hold my head high and show up dressed-up and “finished”…like I put some effort into the thing.

I love hearing people’s beauty routines.
True Botanicals Pure Radiance Oil
Kiehl’s Powerful Wrinkle Reducing Eye Cream
RMS Beauty “Un” Cover Up
Trish McEvoy Beauty Balm, applied with a Beauty Blender, often with a dab of Make Up Forever Smoothing Primer
Eyelash curler + Cover Girl Clump Crusher Mascara
Nars Orgasm Blush
Current lip is Bobbi Brown Crushed Lip Color in Cherry

Thank you Trish for the tip about Angie on Hot and Flashy for makeup tutorials. Very helpful.
I’m a big fan of Lune+Aster’s Cover and Correct tinted moisturizer SPF 50. Medium coverage and goes on so light and easily, like a moisturizing cream. For more coverage on the spotty parts, I like Jane Iredale Glow Time mineral B.B. cream. Both of these products are also from no-animal-testing companies, which I try to use whenever possible.
I still use the Hourglass Veil primer that I think Kim recommended a while back. For brows, Glossier boy brow is the best I’ve used, hands down.
For liner, Kat von B makes a great Tattoo Liner for super-thin color at the lash line (also no animal testing). For eye liner pencils, I must have a dozen brands I’ve tried in my makeup drawer, but I keep coming back to MAC Technakohl eye pencils. The colors are fabulous, they go on easily and they last.

Most days I’m very much a make-up minimalist — just moisturizer and lipstick. But I love love LOVE my standard lipstick. It’s the Lip & Cheek Velvet Stick Universal Shade from The Body Shop. It’s basically like one of those old “mood” lipsticks. It’s black in the tube, but ends up an awesome natural looking plum color on me.

Ok, I love the title of this post. I also love the concept of being able to put things on my face. But my skin is genuinely terrible – extremely acne prone (the big, painful, nasty bumps, not just the little guys), sensitive, and susceptible to eczema. I also have very mild rosacea that I don’t want to aggravate, as well as a contact allergy to fragrance, both chemical and natural. And so it is with this that I present to you all my Super Glam Beauty Regimen™️:

-Wash with CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser, am and pm
-Apply Paula’s Choice 2% BHA liquid, evening only, with her 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide Gel over the top every other night

THE END

Oh wait, I also use Paula’s 5% Benzoyl Peroxide stuff as a spot treatment.

Beyond that, I use whatever mascara doesn’t give me tears of a clown (right now it’s Great Lash) and my trusty Anastasia eyebrow pencil doodad, which is easy to apply and keeps me from looking like a 45-year-old fetus. I can’t wear anything other than plain Vaseline on my lips because I have actual lip eczema and have to use topical medication to control it (I know, gross, but trust me, I am way more yucked out by having this than any of you are by reading about it). Thankfully it’s not really visible anymore, but lippies are a thing of the past for me, and probably the thing I miss most.

BTW, if any of you other sensitive-skinned, acne-prone ladies have facial sunscreen suggestions, I am all eyes. I had a possible AK frozen off of my face last week and need need need sunscreen, but literally every one I’ve tried has broken me out like crazy. What all do you guys use?

I’ve never really worn much make up and hardly ever even bother to cover my pimples anymore but when I do, I use Cle de Peau concealer. This stuff is incredible and actually stays put all day. I also really like the L’Oréal Colour Rich Balms. Their color is much nicer than most drugstore lipsticks, and they smell great. Unfortunately, I can never seem to make the color last more than ten minutes. But I suck at applying make up in general.

My daily routine: Clinique City Block SPF 40, Bobbi Brown concealer, Sonia Kashuk creme blush, Maybelline Great Lash mascara.

I remove it all with Bioderma Sensibio H20, which has dramatically reduced breakouts for me.

Now that I work at home, I find myself reading more beauty articles online, which has actually upped my product haul — even though I’m alone and unseen most of the day. Go figure.

I use the Drunk Elephant vitamin C stuff in the morning, followed by some Korean snail mucous/bee venom serum and moisturizer, and then a full coating of Elta MD physical sunscreen every day of my life.

Make Up Forever face & body foundation is super light and natural-looking and just evens everything out — I’m not big on concealer because I actually think a few “flaws” are what make you look like you’re not wearing makeup. But if I were actually going somewhere, the Laura Mercier Camouflage concealer is great on zits *and* under eyes, which isn’t supposed to be possible, yet somehow is.

A trick I learned is that if you put on a bunch of powder eyeshadow that’s the same color as your lid, it won’t look like you’re wearing anything and anything else you put on won’t crease or smear. So if I remember, I dust some Bobbi Brown “white” all over my eyes before putting on Laura Mercier caviar stick or Urban Decay liner — both are nice and smudgy on application but then don’t budge.

I actually have pretty nice eyelashes, so all I need is a little definition and a formula that won’t smudge — Clinique Naturally Glossy is good.

Then some Bobbi Brown pot rouge. And once the weather gets cold, the RMS Living Luminizer is truly amazing for keeping winter skin looking alive — I was once at ABC Carpet and Home when the RMS founder was there, and there was literally just a parade of women walking up to thank her for that product. I was sold — and they were right!

And finally, I don’t wear lipstick alone in the house, but I’ll slap on some Fresh lip treatment in Honey to walk the dog or NARS Dolce Vita for anything more destination-y.

All-in it takes about 10 minutes. But hair is another story…

Such fun to read! I, too love Wonder Glow…just got back from a long weekend in Las Vegas and it helped keep me looking like a corpse at breakfast…I also LOVE those cheap little red Maybelline eyebrow pencils. They come 2 to a pack and cost something like $2.99 and are perfect.

It turns out I’m quite a makeup maximalist, although the effect isn’t overpowering — in the office bathroom flourescent lights, I hardly look there at all.
Here goes:
After washing, toner, currently Body Deli with Vit C
Blissoma Amend serum
Alteya day cream (because it’s dry in my office)
Suntegrity SPF 30 sunscreen — and I use the gloppy white body sunscreen for my face, not the slicker primer/facial sunscreen. I like having a nice thick layer between my skin and the world. This is idiosyncratic, to put it mildly. I recommend the unscented version for sensitive skin.
Lily Lolo brow powder
Hynt beauty concealer on my lids and under eyes
Combination of Lily Lolo and W3LL People eye shadows (WP has discontinued their powder shadows)
W3LL people mascara
W3LL people highlighter stick
Hynt face powder
Any one of half a dozen lipsticks by Alima Pure, Hynt, Lili Lolo, Burts Bees, or Kari Grann

My beauty routine rn is minimal to non-existent most days because I never go anywhere: differin at night, Pixi Glow Tonic, rosehip oil and sunscreen in the morning. And Clinique Black Honey.

But if I have to for some reason: Loreal True Match Lumi Cushion in N3.5, BeneFit Boing Airbrush concealer, W3ll People Bio Brightener on eyelids, IT Superhero mascara, BeneFit Watts Up highlighter, Beauty Counter stick blusher, Marc Jacobs Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Le Marc lipstick.

Fun idea!

My daily routine:
-Juice Beauty Oil-Free Moisturizer SPF 30 (winter) or DeVita Solar Protective Moisturizer SPF 30 (summer)
-Clé de Peau concealer
-LORAC Front of the Line PRO Liquid Eyeliner in brown for top eyelid
-Some sort of brown shimmery shadow as lower lid liner, currently Urban Decay in Roach
-Anastasia Brow Wiz pencil (I miss the days when I didn’t have to attend to my eyebrows)
-Benefit Coralista blush
-RMS Beauty Lip Shine in Honest or Sacred
-Benefit They’re Real! mascara in black

Oh, fun.

For me:

Kao Biore Aqua Rich Watery Essence (old version, will cry when I run out) winter, or Missha waterproof SPF 50 summer.

Olay eye cream

Stila Illuminating Powder Foundation

should probably (okay, definitely) cover the bags under my eyes but I’ve gotten lazy and need a product that works for aging eyes in lousy bathroom light

Off-black liner, whatever black mascara

Lip balm (currently EOS)

Tony Moly Get It Lip Tint in pink or plum. Color lasts through food, doesn’t run into those vertical lip wrinkles.

As soon as I hit 40 I became a little over-enthusiastic about skincare. Read a lot of Caroline Hirons. Some of this makes a difference, but tbh I’m not totally sure because I change things up a lot… I feel solid with the makeup though.

After washing:
– Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta peel pads 3-4x/week
– tone with either Indie Lee CoQ10 or Puretem Purevera Facial Skin Emulsion Lotion if I feel dry
– Olay serum with Paula’s Choice Boosters (vitamin C which is a definite helper and niacinaminde)
– January labs moisture balancing lotion

Makeup:
– Juice Beauty PHYTO-PIGMENTS Flawless Serum Foundation (I actually probably like clinique even better foundation more, but Juice is greener).
– VERTBeauty concealer pencil, under eye and on eyelids
– Laura Mercier loose powder under eyes only
– Stila convertible color on my cheeks
– Maybelline define a brow – but they have discontinued the light blonde shade. Please let me know if anyone has identified a similar color. I hate most “blondes” as they are too taupe. Plus, Glossier boy brow.
– Aveda eyeliner because it is not irritating
– Covergirl lash blast volume unless I have been tempted by something fancier/more expensive

Ack! This is more high maintenance than I thought. Thanks for the fun though.

Ha. Dior Show bleeds like an Italian widow all over my face. I must have weird eyes.

I’m trying that brow stuff tho.

I’ve been using the Bobbie Brown on your recommendation and I like it a lot. It’s light – I don’t feel like I have a bunch of makeup on skin but it makes a difference.

I’ve recently adopted BECCA Under Eye Brightening Corrector. It takes very, very little of this on my olive skin (I use it under the BB cream) but it wakes things up nicely. This is more than I usually spend on cosmetics but this will last forever. I think I got more than a month’s worth out of my teeny, tiny Sephora sampler.

Josie Maran protect and perfect tinted moisturizer

Bare minerals concealer if I have breakouts to cover

NYC eyeliner pencil in hazel (these things are like 3 bucks and last forever and I love them)

Sonya Kashuk tinted lip balm in berry (for fancy occasions)

That’s pretty much it! I’m too clumsy to apply eyeliner, and mascara leaves stripes on my eyeglasses.

I use the Maran argan oil at night, and again as a base in the morning if I’m really dry. But Trader Joe’s, of all places, has bottles of Argan oil for $8 a pop right now. Its not quite as nice as the Maran…but its certainly more than 1/6 as nice, which is what the price works out to…

Gosh Kim, I love these posts!

Getting older, I definitely have a more skin care steps!

Lord, help me…but am goes like this:

– Peter Thomas Roth Pumpkin Enzyme mask in the shower (LOVE)
– Perricone vitamin C serum
– Olay Regenerist Eye cream
– Latisse
– Dabs of Hydroquinone
– Perricone Plasma SPF 35 (LOVE this! has a really nice texture and glow.)
– MAC foundation
– Creamy Blush – two of them!- is Bobbie Brown Rose and Pink
– Bobbie Brown concealer (the compact version. but DAMN, that compact breaks EVERY time)
– light smokey eye using Urban Decay nude palette (it’s genius!)
– MAC mascara (really good, inky texture. unfortunately, smudges like a mf)
– finish off with either a nude lip butter (NYX makes really nice ones for $6!) or red lip (NARS Cruella)

Night time:
– wash it all off with Baking Soda soap – I kid you not! Got it from a health food store when my skin was all over the place last year – and I spoke with the 70-year old Yogi – I’m afraid to stop!
– Truth Serum from Ole Hendriksen
– Hydroquinone
– Retin A
– Olay Regenerist Eye
– Lip balm that I get from my ortho

Shit. That’s a lot.

Recently, my skin became SUPER sensitive, dry, flaky — the whole nine yards (helloooo, 50!). I read online the many raves for Eucerin’s Sensitive Skin Hydrating Cleanser: I bought it, love it. Can’t imagine switching ever again. I love Bobbi’s BB Cream as well, and also Laura Mercier’s little pot of concealer (great consistency).
For eye makeup, I’m all over the map. And for lipstick, now that I’ve reached the aforementioned age, I need to brighten up/ lighten up my standard darker shades. Would love to hear advice about what folks are wearing that LASTS but does not feel like spackle on the lips.

I feel like I need to print out all these responses as there is sooooo much good information here. Thank you, Ladies!

Fun!

AM – Wash with Loreal Brightening scrub. It is gentle and has some glycolic acid. Olay Regenerist around my eyes and Hyralonic Acid everywhere else. Lumene CC Cream with SPF (so much better than all the expensive foundations I’ve used over the years). Great lash mascara. Something from a too expansive collection of lipsticks and blushes. Becca concealer if needed. Becca or Clinique highlighter if feeling fancy.

PM – Cerave or Simple Micellar wipes. Nip Fab Glycolic acid wipes. Or cheap Retin A lotion.

Ooo, fun! My secret obsession even though I work from home a lot of the time and really don’t need to stick to any routine, but feel like my husband who also works from home quite a bit deserves an effort.

I discovered Ole Hendriksen skin care a couple of years ago which, along with Differin has made all the difference in eliminating the breakouts I was still getting in my 50’s. I use the Truth Serum & Sheer Transformation in the morning for my face and neck. Eye moisture is whatever I have from my Sephora samples, but want to try the new Banana Bright Eye Crème from Ole, so may actually buy that soon.

Once that has settled I smooosh on some Smashbox Pore Minimizing primer, Milk Lip+Cheek Stain (on cheeks), and dust some Mac Mineralize Skin Finish all over. When I start to look translucent, I use the Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Bronzer to goose things up a bit.

Eyes are Kat Von D Tattoo liner followed by a smudge of Maybelline Skinny Gel Liner over the top and finished with a Bobbie Brown shadow applied with a stiff brush over all that to set and smudge just a bit more. If I’m feeling really fancy, I’ll use the Urban Decay original eye shadow primer and use my finger to pat the same eye shadow I used on my eye line up my eyelids. Mascara lately is whatever I have free from Sephora after I realized I was hoarding for no reason whatsoever, but is usually a drugstore pick so I don’t feel so terrible about switching it out all the time.

Lips are an ever rotating cast of chubby sticks, lipsticks, or lip glosses – always seem to be trying something different – currently loving the Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Purple Rain which looks dark purple in the tube but goes on me as a nice natural plummy shade. Plus it’s only six dollars so I currently have multiples stashed so I am never without lip color.

This seems like a lot, but whatever it takes:

First:
• I wash my face with Sunday Riley Ceramic Slip
• apply RMS Beauty oil
• apply Cerave moisturizer and whatever eye cream sample I have (currently Caudalie)

I do my hair while that all settles in, then apply Biore Uv Perfect Face Milk Spf 50 sunscreen (the Japanese stuff is so good)

Makeup:

• Smashbox Studio Skin foundation or Bare Minerals BB cream, depending on how much coverage I want.
• sometimes I mix in a little Burberry ‘Fresh Glow’ Luminous Fluid Base (a glow-y primer)
• It Cosmetics Bye Bye undereye concealer (so dependable!)
• Honest Beauty stick blush if I need a little color
• Benefit Watts Up around my eyes if I need brightening
• Urban Decay 25/7 eyeliner (In mushroom or underground)
• One of those skinny eyebrow pencils – either Anastasia, L’Oreal or NYX. (I have commitment issues)
• Lancôme Hypnôse Drama Mascara

This is a fantastic post and chain. I am struggling with what to use. Currently I am using in the morning and evening emergenC pomegranate cleanser with a shammy cloth (the shammy cloth is amazing). In the morning, I use Dr, Dennis Gross Ferulic + Retinol Anti-Aging Moisturizer, with Laura Mercier’s fantastic Flawless Skin Repair Eye Cream (it has a touch of luminesence that covers up under eye bags). Then the Marc Jacobs eye liner and either Mac Ruby Woo red matte lipstick (if I am feeling the need for a kick) or a rather bland skin colored lipstick. At night, following cleansing, I am using Origins Nitamins.

However, at 55, I am feeling that I am losing my face. None of this stuff seems to be really working, or perhaps age just has the upper hand. I have ordered the Drunk Elephant skin care line and will try it; I just ordered some of the May Lindstrom products that get high reviews. I’ll look up some of the suggestions here and I went ahead and ordered the Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow Kim recommended.

My main problem is the elasticity of my skin (my cheeks are having wrinkles — it has gone beyond smile lines at my eyes) and I have these awful grooves above my upper lip even though I was never a smoker. I’m going to see if I can find someone to do a tiny amount of filler for my upper lip. I think drinking a lot of water is key now as well.

I am so bummed I didn’t get into this thread earlier, but I love love love reading everyone’s routines!

I’m actually building an online community called Arsenal that is dedicated to sharing the beauty products we all swear by with each other. We’re soft launching in the next few weeks and I would love to see the GOACA on there!
https://www.producthunt.com/upcoming/arsenal

yup – i love all these comments. the makeup routine is usually so private – not often a topic of conversation – but so much thought goes into it. hair next?

At 54, it’s all about the skin. Double cleanse at night with Hylamide High Efficiency Face Cleanser, and then a water based cleanser like the Neutrogena Hydro-boost, then the Missha essence, followed by Hylamide SubQ anti-age & Hylamide SubQ eyes, then The Ordinary Vitamin C 23%, then The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Formula with HA.I am so happy to have found Deciem and their brands,you can go high or low, they’re all good. And of course Retin A. For morning it’s Bioderma micellar, and then the whole host of Hylamide again, followed by Eucerin day cream with SPF, or The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing followed by Glossier suncreen.

Makeup is getting simpler and sparer as a) I’m much more comfortable just being me and looking like how I look; b)too much makeup looks not so good. The Nars matte concealer; a black tightline, Boy Brow, mascara & Nars Powermatte lip pigment in Save the Queen. Or Burt’s Bees lip balm. Crazy good item? Flashback time: Maybelline Expert Wear Twin Brow & Eye Pencils, the red ones that come in the two pack, $2.97. I use Blond to line a bit under my eyes just to define, and sometimes before Boy Brow. They’re waxy & don’t move, and the color is soft and perfect. Couldn’t live without.

Skin threads are my fave!

Oil based cleanser
Drunk Elephant Vitamin C
Innisfree Tea Serum
MD Solar Sciences Matte sunscreen (the BEST)
Laura Mercier foundation (not oil free)
MAC eyeshadows/pencils
Covergirl Lash Blast
Anastasia Brow products
Laura Mercier blush
Burt’s Bees lip tint
Many brands of lipstick. But I love MAC and Sephora brands

Loving a new company called The Ordinary…trying their stuff this weekend. Korean sheet mask every weekend. I love Squalene oil as a nighttime moisturizer.

MOST important–30+ year retinol user. No wrinkles and cystic acne has not troubled me since I starting using it.

Neutrogena foaming cleanser, then the 2.5% benzoyl peroxide cream and Oil of Olay with SPF 30 (the one for sensitive skin). Nighttime is the same, but with Kiehl’s ultra moisturizing lotion, no SPF, instead of the Olay. Concealer is either a Bare Minerals one because the powder doesn’t slide off, a Nars wand one, or both for anything truly appalling. Laura Mercier eye pencil in Black Gold, mascara (Cover Girl or I get a stye, ugh), blush (either a Josie Maran gel thing that may be discontinued or Benefit Galifornia), sometimes a Becca highlighter if I look a little undead, and lipstick (sheer and bright, but highly variable in color) or not. 5 minutes, soup to nuts.

I, too, love these posts. I am a skincare junkie; makeup (aside from lipstick), not so much.

After quite a few serums, moisturizer, maybe an oil (Sunday Riley Juno during the day), and sunscreen:
– sometimes NARS matte concealer on my always ruddy nose
– occasionally Glossier skin tint
– sometimes Clinique Creamliner (chocolate lustre; a lovely brown) or a purple Chanel pencil
– usually a mascara (whatever I have a free sample of)
– and lipstick: almost always a NARS Velvet Matte lip pencil or matte lipstick in the narrow tube. I am hoarding the now discontinued Terre de Feu, which is perfect; I’m also partial to the ridiculously named Do Me Baby. I’ve also been using Lipstick Queen frog prince as a more subtle shade.

My skincare routine, on the other hand, is insane…

I feel like this is half confessional, half gleeful post – I LOVE trying new skincare and makeup stuff. My skin has always been pretty chill, but it got a bit red for a while. Who knew all the fancy stuff was stripping it (damn you, beautiful Sunday Riley packaging!). Now, I do this:

AM skin:
Cerave gentle foaming, swipe of bioderma with pink cap. Follow with Chanel hydra eye gel, dr jart ceramidin serum (or super pure from glossier), little bit of Chanel hydra crème riche.

AM makeup;
Dr jart tiger cream (kinda skincare kinda makeup). Boy brow on eyebrows (Nothing else tames these caterpillars), and my ride or die – wanderer mascara. Only mascara I’ve bought repeatedly and I LOVE it. Makes my (lifted) lashes look even longer, holds a curl and no raccoon eyes. If I’m feeling feisty, I throw on some of the fenty beauty lip gloss (bomb something?) or MAC boybait lip gloss and a tiny bit of NARS orgasm from the multiple stick.

Evening makeup might include a red lipsrick from my stupidly large collection (extra silly since I always reach for MAC Russian Red), thé Tom Ford liquid eyeliner and Chanel inimitable intense mascara.

I love this thread – trying to absorb it all. You all give such fantastic advice. Thank you!

I LOVE posts like this!

One makeup-related item I will add that has been somewhat of a game changer for me, is getting my eyelashes tinted! I loathe mascara and can’t wait to get home and wash my face. I have light hair, pale skin, and light eyelashes, and I recently had them tinted. It is some type of vegetable dye so completely non-irritating. But wow! I get super excited when I can simplify my routine lol

I’m a skincare and makeup junkie despite always trying to look like I’m not wearing any makeup! At 43, I’ve locked down a routine that seems to work for this aging skin of mine.

At night, I cleanse with La Roche Posay Toleraine cleanser. Follow with Retin-A and May Lindstrom The Blue Cocoon. This stuff is $$ but like blue gold, my skin feels so good in the mornings!

In the morning, I use the No 7 Total Renewal Scrub to keep the tiny flakes from Retin-A usage at bay. I get this at Target and it’s the best scrub ever – it’s more gritty than most and very effective! After that I use Evan Healy products – the Rosehip Facial Treatment Serum, followed by the Rose Vetiver Day Moisturizer and a few sprays of the Rose Geranium Hydrotonic. I don’t wear sunscreen – I live in the Pacific NW, and use hats and stay out of the sun instead.

As for makeup, I find that the more I wear the older I look, so I mostly stick to my eyebrows and mascara. I use the Anastasia pencil (though recently found two great dupes at Target, one by Loreal and another by NYX that work just as well!), and whatever mascara I’m using at the time. Putting a little on my lower lashes too seems to make me look brighter and more awake.

If I need color I’ll use a little Nars Orgasm on my cheeks, and for lips I wear Saint Rust by Lipstick Queen. It’s a sheer color that looks like my natural lips, but better.

I’m pretty minimalist, but my routine works for me.

Sunscreen/moisturizer with SPF higher than 30 (either Olay, Lancome, or something from my dermatologist)
Clinique concealer, if I feel I need it (skin cancer scar)
Lancome Dual Finish Pressed Powder
Avon (yes, Avon) Glimmerstick Eyebrow Pencil
Chapstick
Whatever mascara I last got as a free bonus

If lipstick is required, it’s usually Clinique’s Black Honey or Nars in Roman Holiday.

I love reading all of these!

I love makeup. I love brands, and products, and seeing every new launch. I don’t wear a lot of it, but I uhhh, have more than your average Muggle.

Skincare situation is Dermalogica. Forever and ever. Using most of the AGE line, these days.

I have more of a formula I like, for my face, rather than holy grail products, because I change things often. And that is a preference for colors that are clear and bright, not muddy, and nothing with too much white in it. Smudgy liner, lots of mascara, and bright cheeks. That’s my standard.

Right now I’m into:
Bare Minerals BarePRO powder or Complexion Rescue
Bare Minerals Stroke of Light concealer for under eyes

Anastasia Brow Definer and Brow Gel (a little of each is my go-to)

Chanel Ombre Premiere in Undertone
Chanel Le Volume mascara(the mascara primer from Chanel is also fantastic under this for even more OOMPH)

Bobbi Brown Pretty Pink Blush (every single time I wear this, someone says “you look nice!”)

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine lipstick in Romance (I am on my 4th tube, which says a LOT, actually. I don’t repurchase many things).

Honorable mentions for things I’m currently loving:
Kat Von D liquid liner
Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Skin Bronzer
Bobbi Brown gel liner in Espresso ink
Bobbi Brown luxe lipstick in Bahama Brown (nice 90s throwback without looking like I’m wearing Revlon Toast of New York)

Can someone recommend the best eye cream for “girls of a certain age”? Kim? Anybody??

They’re so expensive (and often miniscule to start with) that I’d like to get the right one.

One more essential that lives in every handbag and suitcase I own: https://www.cleanandclear.com/blotting-papers/clean-clear-oil-absorbing-sheets

My moisturizers are all Clarins – the multi-active day cream, multi-active night cream, and the Double Serum in the winter. Also Clarins foundation and powder. Then blush – necessary now that I no longer have naturally-occurring colour on my face (I’m 47) which happens to be Dior but will be Mac for my next one. Always lipstick – another Black Honey from Clinique lover over here! And never any eye products.

After washing my face I apply Kiehl’s Line Reducing concentrate, which has added a brightness to my complexion, then Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream and finally their SPF. I’m 46 and live in Minnesota, where winters are dry, so I don’t mess around. My foundation is either Bobbi Brown’s BB cream or, when I want more coverage, Becca’s Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation, which gives me an age-appropriate glow.

I love this thread! Just had time to read through the entire thing. I am 51, and here’s my routine:

AM: wash with Cerave cleanser (the one with salicylic acid), then follow with No. 7 Lift & Luminate serum. After that La Roche Posay sun screen (the one for faces) or Laura Mercier oil-free tinted moisture. Every other day or so, I use beauty throwback St. Ives Apricot scrub.

PM: Garnier Miscellar water (pink cap) followed by more serum and the Neutrogena pm moisture with Retinol. AM and PM, I use the Soap and Glory eye cream.

For makeup, I often use a translucent powder by Cover FX as my foundation. Then Boing Boing concealer from Benefit, along with YSL concealer (the one you brush on). I use drugstore mascara, which I replace every month. Right now, I am loving Maybelline Collosal Big Shot. I use blush (usually Nars the multiple in Portofino) and a L’Oréal brow pencil. Lip gloss/stick. Sometimes eyeshadow, often a stick by Bobbi Brown or Laura Mercier.

Late to game but playing anyway.
I had a hysterectomy 2 years ago and hormones wrecked my skin and hair. Turned non-toxic and now skincare is my focus. But daily makeup:
-coola spf 30dawn patrol primer
-Glossier Boy Brow Is my desert island pick
-Vapour Beauty atmosphere luminous foundation stick
-Well people Bio correct concealer
-Kosas Royal lipstick or Kari Gran lip whip in Jolene