I’ve Spent 42 Years On This Earth And Here Are The Only 6 Beauty Secrets That Have Been Worth Anything
Older, wiser, and finally understands what a toner is.
by Carolyn Firestone
Apart from a tiny war raged with adult acne, I did not spend one minute of my first 35 years of life thinking about skincare. I used products that had pretty packaging, lovely smells, or that one of my sisters was giving away in a cleaning frenzy.
In fact, if I’m really being honest, most of the “beauty” lessons I’ve learned have come to me in the past two of my 42 years. And most of them were taken right here from working at The Candidly.
And listen, I’m not complaining. The whole point of our endless hunt for skincare knowledge is really just to find things that actually work. In fact, I was quite happy to expedite the process and absorb it all in one fell swoop. The past two years have been an on-the-job crash course in what we all really need to do if we want our skin to look its smoothest, glassiest, glowiest, most youthful, hydrated, unblemished, and wrinkle-free.
And now, I figured I’d save you some time and pass along this wisdom. Here are the 6 things that have actually changed my life. And by “changed” I mean saved. And by “life,” I mean my skin.
Let’s get to it.
1. You have zero chance of looking glassy and glowy if you skip this step.
We can throw away a quarter of our paycheck on all kinds of expensive anti-aging things before realizing that if we’re not exfoliating, our skin is not going to look the slightest bit more youthful. Texture is a huge part of what ages us. So until you remove that uneven husk and all those dry, dead skin cells, you won’t be working with a smooth, surface to reflect all the luminescent skincare that follows.
THE EXFOLIANTS
iS Clinical Active Peel Treatment System
I’ve never written more words about a product that’s actually very hard to describe in words. But this one is special, my friends. Our entire team at The Candidly tried it and fell madly in love.
It’s called a “peel system,” but all it really entails is swiping one pad on your face, followed by another. The brand recommends doing this once every other day, but we’re down to once a week, and the powerful, penetrating, botanical, resurfacing magic transforms my skin. Each “treatment,” which takes all of 3 minutes before bed, makes me feel like I got a professional chemical peel. My skin is 5x smoother, clearer, my pores are tighter, and yet, I’m hydrated on a level that makes my face feel like I time traveled to my 20s.
Being someone who likes to keep things simple and use as few products as possible, I never thought something so extra-sounding could make it into my skincare routine. But these pads have become one of the most important things I use on my skin. The difference they make is monumental.
Price: $96
Trinny London Tiptoe In PHA Exfoliant
I recently was dealing with weeks of dry skin. No thick custard of a moisturizer was emollient enough. No serum could sink deep enough. No cleanser was gentle enough. No matter how dewy I felt after applying skincare, within hours, my face was back to seeming like it had regenerated a layer of rough, dehydrated skin. It was pretty miserable honestly. And then, purely coincidentally, I tried Trinny’s Tiptoe In, a gentle PHA exfoliant. Within 24 hours, that dead, depressing layer of skin was GONE. It was one of the quickest results I’ve gotten from any product I’ve tried. And now, I will not be without it. My skin gets glassier and more glowy (thanks to something called lactobionic acid) every day I use it.
Price: $46
Dr. Brandt Gentle Microdermabrasion Face Exfoliator
Inspired by the microdermabrasion treatments we all wish we could afford weekly, this formula from Dr. Brandt uses two very strong forms of exfoliation. The first is physical exfoliation, the actual granules that slough through dead skin. The second is a chemical exfoliation, which combines glycolic and lactic acids in order to target every ounce of unevenness, fine lines, wrinkles, discoloration, dullness, scarring, etc. Use it just two times a week and watch your skin grow more and more flawless, even, and luminous before your eyes.
P.S. They also have a body polish that’s out of this world.
Price: $79
2. Serums are where all the real witchy skincare magic comes from.
There are all kinds of magic ingredients that can improve our skin’s texture and tone while fighting all signs of aging. And for the most part, they cannot all be contained to your one trusted bottle of moisturizer whose job should mostly be to hydrate your skin into a subtropical stasis. Serums are one place where I’m willing to spend more for superior ingredients, quality, and results - in part because just a few drops do all the work, so a single bottle seemingly lasts forever. Here are two that are worthy of their mass acclaim.
THE SERUMS
iS Clinical Active Serum
Yes, it’s iS Clinical again. And yes, this brand, though not cheap, is so deeply worthy of all the hype in terms of results. This, their award-winning serum, reduces pores, steamrolls wrinkles and lines, all while keeping blemishes at bay. I admit, the buzz made me really want to try it. But unlike so many disappointing viral things, this one lived up to its reputation. The downside, of course, is I will need to keep buying it forever. Luckily, it just takes a few drops before bed, and the bottle will last and last and last.
Price: $148
Skinceuticals C E Ferulic
Vitamin C is one of 3 skincare things proven to be anti-aging. And if you’re interested in having the most effective vit c serum around, this one is our whole team’s desert island go-to. Nothing in your medicine cabinet will make you glow on this level. Nothing.
And you can get 15% using the code CANDIDLY.
Price: $182
3. Cream formulas are the key to aging backwards.
There is a moment in our 30s (or 40s for some) where we suddenly notice looking 10 years older when we apply makeup. What I didn’t know when it happened to me was that my powder was about 97% of the problem. Powders can make us lose vibrance, and they cake into fine lines, pores, and wrinkles instead of blurring them. Cream formulas have come a long way, so you no longer have to live in fear of looking shiny. Lighter coverage is always, always going to make your skin look more natural, radiant, healthy, and yes, younger.
THE MAKEUP
Jones Road Just Enough Tinted Moisturizer
This new product from Jones Road sits smack between a foundation and a tint, which makes it the most your-skin-but-better coverage. It’s a product you’ll love if all makeup feels thick or like it’s making you look older. If your pores are on the larger side, start with THIS magic primer which creates a glassy, even surface on which to apply your coverage.
Price: $44
Tower 28 Beach Please Cream Blush
It’s a draining process to try to find a blush that doesn’t sink into lines, exacerbate pores, or just look outright glittery, shiny, or splotchy. This one has an unparalleled, smooth application that is unbelievable on over-40 skin. It’s so blurring and natural, and the pigment means we need only the tiniest bit each time we apply. Every color I’ve tried is so pretty but Magic Hour is the universal, lit-from-within color that makes you look like all you ever do is exercise and eat fresh fruit on a beach. Hence, how grotesque and overused mine looks in the photo. It lassssts.
Price: $20
makeup by Mario Softsculpt transforming skin enhancer
This is the most blurring, natural bronzer of all time for over-40 skin. It’s whispery and sheer and almost floats above any texture, lines, and pores. No streaking, no strange orangey tones. Just a lovely, sun-kissed effect.
Price: $32
Merit Solo Shadow
Merit’s cream to powder shadows are one of very few I actually love on my post-40 eyes. The cream-to-powder texture feels like it’s made for softer, more mature lids. It doesn’t sink into lines. It doesn’t smudge - at all. The colors are warm and natural and deep and can be swiped on with a brush or finger. They’re pretty much impossible to mess up, and consequently, the only eyeshadow I’ll wear 95% of the time I wear eyeshadow.
Price: $24
4. There's a correct way to wash your face.
This isn’t the most fascinating of topics so I won’t bore you with details, but apparently, as we age, we are 1) supposed to wash our faces pretty frequently: morning, night, and after anytime we sweat. And 2) we’re supposed to be so effing gentle about it, it’s practically impossible to strike that balance of finding formulas that purify pores WITHOUT stripping the skin of its much-needed moisture. The solution is basically just to find that one gold-standard cleanser. And we have. (Spoiler: it’s iS Clinical again.) After that, the only thing is to always, always dry your face with a clean wash cloth rather than a damp, bacteria-riddled towel you think is clean. The way to hack it is to buy a set of 7 towels such as THESE, use 1 daily, and wash them all once a week. Done!
THE CLEANSER
iS Clinical Cleansing Complex
Not gonna use a lot of words. This is simply the very best tried and true cleanser of all time.
Price: $49
5. Brows and lashes are the most critical part of no-makeup makeup.
I’m probably late to the party on this one, but I cannot tell you how many times I lined my eyes with a thick black pencil and used some chunky mascara with zero brow product and wondered why I look simultaneously like I’m wearing too much makeup and still like none of my features have been emphasized. The biggest hack for natural or no-makeup makeup is making sure your lashes and brows hold their own WITHOUT relying too heavily (or at all) on liners and shadows. And the way to do that is with these 3 products.
THE BROW AND LASH STUFF
Rare Beauty Brow Harmony Flexible Lifting and Laminating Eyebrow Gel
Ugh, just a small sweeping motion gets you that perfect, natural, full brow shape, with everything setting exactly right. This is, as far as I can tell, the finest brow gel out there. And our team has collectively tried 748,221 brow gels.
Price: $19
Charlotte Tilbury Brow Cheat
If you’re scared of going too Groucho Marx every time you bring a pencil to your brows, same. But this from Charlotte Til is the easiest and most natural one around. Plus, it’s waterproof so you don’t have to worry about it slipping.
Price: $26
Beauty Pie Über Volume Boost Velvet Formula Mascara
So many formulas promise thickness or length or no clumping, but it’s rare to get all 3 from one mascara. Ever since I tried this one, I never thought twice about buying another. It makes you look like you just happened to be born with all-around unbelievable lashes.
Price: $20
6. SPF is the only way to stop time and it doesn't have to be insufferable.
We all know we’re supposed to wear sunscreen. But I did not know until this year that 90% of aging is from the sun. And that, my friends, is alarmingly motivating. Luckily, SPF has come a long way, and here are two I actually look forward to putting on my skin.
THE SPF
Supergoop! Protec(tint) SPF 50
If you’re oily and don’t want to be an oil slick this summer but also hate how most matte products look and feel, this is truly the dream SPF tint.
Price: $44
CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen Face Lotion with Sheer Tint SPF 30
If you cannot stand the chalky look and feel you get from sunscreen, this might just become a permanent fixture in your purse. We use it in place of concealer most days of spring/ summer and also fall/ winter because, like your mom never said because we were born before anyone seemed to even know sunscreen existed, sun damage can happen in any season.
Price: $17
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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