The 10 Wildly Underrated Beauty Products For Women Over 40
by The Candidly Team
Behind the scenes, we are all women over 40. All of us. We tell you that so that you can trust us about this list. It’s not like we’re some gaggle of Gen Zers just guessing what might work.
Once we hit 40, we need very specific products. Products that don’t sink into lines, that gloss over texture, that stay all day without looking heavy, and that are mostly made with sheer formulas. And yet, we don’t see a lot of products being specifically marketed to our age demo. Which is weird since we’re scientifically the group with the highest spending power.
Here are the 10 secret, youthy products that post-40 gals need to know about. ASAP.
1. Trinny London Miracle Blur
This “fills” in lines. Like actually. The 11s between your brows and the vertical lines in your lips. It’s astonishing. We’re scared of Botox, so we use this instead.
Price: $36
2. Danessa Myricks Beauty Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder
We don’t know what’s in this and we don’t want to know. But we do know that nothing on this planet makes our skin look better than when we use this as a foundation/tint/powder hybrid. The tiniest bit goes a very long way—we just smear a bit all over, redness and texture is gone, and subtle glow emerges about an hour later. It lasts all day and never looks like makeup. Possibly a miracle.
Price: $39
3. Makeup By Mario SoftSculpt Transforming Skin Enhancer®
THE only bronzing product we use. It’s so sheer so it doesn’t add any layers. It just gives you a subtle, non-orangey warmth that feels very aprés-vacation. All year round.
Price: $34
4. Rhode Pocket Blush
We just recently discovered this very NOT gen X product and it’s truly the most gorgeous, long lasting, natural-looking cream blush we’ve ever used.
See more pics of it in action HERE.
Price: $24
5. The Outset Lip Oasis™ Glossy Treatment
We have been utterly blown away by this gloss. Look at this before after!
It may also have a lot to do with that very sheer liner found HERE*.
Price: $28
* Gifted product
6. Soshe Waterproof Precision Eyeliner
When we age, our lids droop. It’s just a fact. This eyeliner is soooo tiny and precise, you can wriggle it UNDER the upper lash line which makes your eyes look huge—most liners are too thick so they end up all over our actual eyelid, which closes the eye. Also this one lasts all day without transfer. Obsession is an understatement.
Price: $24
* Gifted product
7. iS Clinical Active Serum
We feel confident saying that if we could only use one product on our skin at night for the rest of our lives, it would be this. It keeps our skin clear, tight, blemish-free, untextured, bright, and we would be lost without it. Most “mature” nighttime products are just too thick even though we have dry skin because they clog our pores or break us out. This, miraculously, does everything we want in one. No other product required.
Price: $92
* Gifted product
8. tarte The Buffer™ Airbrush Finish Foundation Brush
Using an enormous brush to apply foundation literally changes how it looks on your skin. It’s more buffing than rubbing, and therefore, it fills in pores and wrinks and crinks, and everything looks smoother. It’s one of our weird secret weapons now that we’re over 40. And no one really talks about it.
Price: $28
9. Furtuna Skin Due Alberi Biphase Moisturizing Oil
In the summer, we just press this on our face as our only layer before makeup. It’s this unique blend of oil and water so it hydrates deeply but isn’t ever oily. It makes our skin look so gorgeous we often don’t ever wear makeup with it.
This is one of us after wearing it all day:
See more photos of how it wears throughout the day HERE.
Use CANDIDLY25 to get 25% off!
Price: Starting at $100
* Gifted product
10. Medik8 Crystal Retinal 1 Serum
Can we call it underrated when it’s won 30 awards and is apparently “the UK’s No.1 dermatological face serum?” Perhaps not. But this very, very potent and powerful vitamin A night serum is all about banishing wrinkles, smoothing, and firming the skin, and it all starts working very fast. (The before and after photos are extremely fun to look at.) The brand also makes an equally powerful collagen cream* and a peptide serum* that apparently reduces expression lines in 10 minutes. It all sounds sort of magical but feels very medical in its impressive results. Remember the Crystal Retinal is after all a retinol so be very careful about the sun when using it.
Price: $59.50
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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