I Had To Totally Revamp My Everyday Makeup Now That I’m 43. Here Are My 9 Holy Grail Products That I’ll Wear Until I Die.
Let’s dump out my makeup case, shall we?
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by Carolyn Firestone
As slowly as aging occurs, I can remember the exact day I looked in the mirror and realized the powder I was applying to my face suddenly looked very different. It was settling into lines and drawing attention to the, no way else to say it but, looser skin on my face.
Everything I’d been doing to cover up blemishes, acne, and discoloration was now exacerbating texture, wrinkles, and sag. From that moment on, I would enter the age of anti-aging makeup.
It’s been an education to say the least. And pretty much everything I’ve learned about it has been right here on the job at The Candidly, where we, regular women over 40, try copious amounts of skincare and cosmetics, and therefore, sometimes have the good fortune of striking gold.
There are lots of little lessons that help explain why certain products add years to your face and others subtract. But the main lesson when it comes to makeup on mature skin is this: Wear less of it!
So with that in mind, here are the 9, yes only 9, products I will never, ever again be without (unless I somehow magically start aging backwards).
Some I was sent for free the first time I tried them, but every single one I keep on buying myself over and over, because they continue to be better than anything else. And just to drive home this point, here is a photo of what I used to use on my skin versus what I use now. Obviously, I’m neither a make up artist nor a model, I’m just a 43-year-old journalist who wants to spend no more than 5 minutes in the morning on her makeup without aging herself 15 years.
Before and After
1. The Balm
WHAT: Furtuna Replenishing Balm*
How your makeup will look after 40 begins and ends with skincare. If my face isn’t fully hydrated, smoothed, and sealed with replenishing ingredients, any makeup I put on looks cakier, more textured, and is much more likely to pill. This balm from Furtuna is one of those singular products that’s hard to describe, but it leaves your skin glassier without looking greasy. It’s naturally plumping and packed with rich botanicals that repair the skin’s surface while locking in moisture, making it a critical last step in my skincare but also a natural first step into applying makeup.
Use the code CANDIDLY to get 20% off.
Price: Starts at $105
* Gifted
2. The Foundation
WHAT: BareMinerals Complexion RescueTinted Moisturizer*
This product is not new. It’s not going viral on TikTok where baby-skinned 22-year-olds stare agape as they swipe it on their cheek. But as someone who has tried almost all of those new and viral foundations, I keep coming back to this. It’s one of the most gorgeous formulas for mature skin. It doesn’t sink into fine lines or pores, and even though its finish is very skin-like, it actually has coverage. It also has SPF (which is the single most important anti-aging ingredient). I swipe it on using THIS* sponge. Because I run very oily, I usually use THIS perfect finishing powder, but a lot of women with combo or dry skin will likely not even need it.
Price: $39.50
* Gifted
3. The Concealer
WHAT: Tower28 Swipe Serum Concealer®*
The blurriest, most magical concealer in the game. It hides my blemishes like nothing else without leaving behind dry or makeuppy patches. I keep 3 of them at all times, and when my skin behaves, I skip the foundation and just dab this onto spots of red, and it’s probably the most youthful my skin ever looks. (I said “most youthful,” not “youthful” so keep your cool in comments).
Price: $24
4. The Bronzer
WHAT: Winky Lux Cheeky Rose Liquid Sculpt*
I have more than one bronzer I love, all of which we wrote about HERE. But as someone who is never going to use 8 different “scultping, contouring, and bronzing” products each morning, which only makes me look like I have MORE layers of makeup on my face, I am deeply loyal to this liquid bronzer, which in addition to making me look like I just spent weeks developing the most natural tan of my life, also does the job of gently sculpting. The application is very seamless and velvety - no glitter, so no spotlight on enlarged pores. I stamp it from my upper cheekbones round my temples up the top of my forehead. Add a swipe on each side of my nose and one under my chin and blend it out with yet another Beautyblender sponge*. It’s actually hard to mess up.
Price: $20
* Gifted
5. The Blush
WHAT: Soshe Blurring Pillow Blush*
Switching to a cream blush is maybe the most critical makeup swap I’ve made since turning 35 . And again, I have quite a few I love, including THIS, THIS, and THIS*. But cream blushes can also eventually look patchy and require more upkeep and reapplication than I like. And that is where this blurring, cream-to-powder blush from Soshe has been a godsend. Soshe comes across as this sweet, sustainable brand, but their formulas have some sort of genius behind them that makes them unlike anything in their category. The silky, glass finish of this blush is a dream for oily women, but will leave just as much of a hydrated glow if you run dry. I wear it in the dusty pink shade Rosy Rest.
Price: $20
* Gifted
6. The Eyeliner
WHAT: Soshe Waterproof Precision Eyeliner*
This one is hard to admit, but here it is: I wear too much eyeliner. I have my whole life. I’ve always envied the dramatically lined eyelids of women like Audrey Hepburn, but as I’ve gotten older, all that black eyeliner has started to look raccoonish and emphasize all my lovely new lines and creases. The notion of doing less has meant tossing aside my eyeshadows (unless I’m getting really fancy in which case I use THIS creamy formula). And it’s meant finding the most precise, thinnest, most immovable liner in existence. And that liner comes from Soshe. It’s so singular, we wrote a whole unsponsored article about it HERE. I keep about 4 refill heads on hand at all times for fear it will sell out, which is does from time to time.
Price: $24
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* Gifted
7. The Mascara
WHAT: Soshe Peptide Lengthening Mascara*
If it feels like I’m sponsored by Soshe, I am not. It’s a sheer coincidence that the brand that makes my favorite liner also makes my favorite mascara. It adds so much depth to my lashes, but it’s also very gentle on my increasingly irritated, old eyes. And it doesn’t smudge, which is kind of everything, is it not? It has ingredients that support strength and growth so I feel like I’m doing my lashes some good instead of damaging them by wearing product.
Price: $32
8. The Brows
WHAT: Charlotte Tilbury Brow Cheat and Merit Brow 1980 Volumizing Pomade*
It took me much longer than it should have in life to realize how much caring for your brows can do for your whole face. Who knew that rich, natural, non-patchy brows could be the key to youth? I use Charlotte Til’s brow liner, because it’s the most natural and hairlike, then add a few swipes of Merit’s pomade, which again, feels hard to mess up. The results are very real and NOT the slightest bit painted-on looking.
Price: $28 for the liner, $24 for the gel
9. The Lips
WHAT: Merit Signature Lip Liner in Bespoke* and Shade Slick*
I finish with lips because it’s the last thing I apply, but if I’d been ordering this by my favorite products in the world, I may have led with it. Liners have always felt scary. I worried I’d look like the Joker, or worse yet, someone who lost all touch with the spacial relations of her own face. My Editor-in-Chief, Audie, introduced me to Merit’s liner in the brown-pink color Bespoke, and it has changed the whole landscape of my face. It’s so natural and plumping and easy to apply, and it’s given my lips a definition and fullness I never had, even in my younger days. I apply it with Merit’s shade slick gloss in pretty much any color I’m loving at the moment (I believe I have them all), and it’s pretty much all I wear on my lips, because nothing else brings me more joy.
Price: $24 for the liner, $24 for the gloss
Bonus: The Skincare
Like I said, it starts (and ends) with skincare, so here’s what I do before bed and first thing in the morning without fail to make my skin its healthiest, smoothest, and glowiest canvas.
The Eye Gel: This roller brightens and reduces puffiness with the easiest swipe so I never forget to apply.
The Vitamin C Serum: Vit C is one of 3 proven anti-aging ingredients and this one brightens my skin in ways no other serum has.
The Face Oil: When people ask me what my holy grail skincare product is, I say this. If you want to diminish wrinkles and lines but are also prone to blemishes, this plum oil is pure magic.
Carolyn is the Managing Editor of The Candidly. Her favorite thing to do is to write about her favorite things, especially when they have even the slightest chance of making someone else’s something (mood, relationship, travel plans, or toiletry kit) a little better. You can find more of her articles here.
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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