New Year . . . New YOU! These 5 New Products Are Game-Changers for Mature Skin (And Research Proves It!)

Here’s what professional makeup artist Laura Geller says about wearing makeup after 50: “We’re never too old and it’s never too late.” In my years as a makeup artist who specifically works with women over 50, I’ve found that many women give up on makeup because the products that used to be their go-to formulas are not working as well on their mature skin.

Most of us know we need to do something differently, but where do we go to get that information? Quite honestly, there’s not that much help out there for us. And even if we know we need to do something differently, the process of finding new products, when there are literally thousands of products out there, can feel overwhelming.

These challenges are exactly why I launched my YouTube channel: to help those of us over 50 discover the makeup techniques and products that can help us feel supported, celebrated and gorgeous. So today I’m going to share with you five products I’ve recently discovered that I feel can be truly game-changing for those of us with mature skin. And there’s research to prove it.

Skin Products

Since most of us experience our skin getting drier as we get older, the key descriptive words we need to be on the lookout for are hydrating, dewy, moisturizing, radiant or glowy. Well, what if we could find a wonderfully moisturizing primer and a complementary product that in combination can help us create a gorgeous, lovely glow? That’s exactly what two products from Merit Beauty can do for our mature skin.

Merit’s Great Skin Instant Glow Serum is hydrating, lightweight, and creates a beautiful dewy finish. It contains four types of hyaluronic acid which target multiple layers of skin to lock in hydration. It also contains niacinamide which helps brighten the skin and smooth its texture, caffeine rich cacao seed extract which stimulates blood flow for a plumping effect, and Japanese goldthread root which helps soothe the skin. It’s best to use it after cleansing the skin and applying serums but before moisturizing.

When I first used this product, I wasn’t all that excited about the glow it created. But it turns out that I wasn’t using enough. It’s necessary to shake the bottle well and then apply one pump if you have oily skin, two pumps for combo skin, and 2-3 pumps for dry or sensitive skin. It does take a while for this product to absorb into the skin and dry, but it’s worth the wait! I usually just start working on my brows while I’m waiting for this product to sink in.

The next step is to apply Merit’s Great Skin Moisturizer over the serum once the latter has dried. The moisturizer has a very lightweight formula that absorbs quickly into the skin and performs as primer as well. The formula includes a complex with peptides, spermidine and barrier polysaccharides to help support the appearance of skin elasticity, firmness and tone.

Oat extract and glycerin help soothe and moisturize the skin, and hyaluronic acid adds deep hydration. Use a nickel-sized amount for your whole face since too much moisturizer can make your skin look shiny rather than glowy and can feel heavy, then massage into your skin in an upward motion.

The Most Important Makeup Product for Mature Skin

The next makeup product is one that evens out our skin tone by covering up redness, age spots, and hyperpigmentation and which can be a real game-changer. But we certainly don’t want a heavy, thick feeling product on our face. The product which checks off all these boxes and which I recommend highly is an updated formulation of a best-selling serum foundation from Doll 10 Beauty which has recently launched and it is really impressive.

Doll 10 is a clean beauty brand developed by Doris Dalton. Their TCE Serum Foundation has excellent coverage but doesn’t look or feel the least bit cakey. (You can use the code Elise15 to get 15% off!). Just one drop provides concentrated, clean coverage with a skin-like finish that’s exceptionally hydrating. It contains peptides, Vitamin C, Magnesium, Green Tea Extract and Aloe Vera Extract. It doesn’t crack, crease or settle into texture. The first time I tried this formula I was stunned by the amount of coverage it provided in such a weightless formula.

Two Other Important Products

The research study I mentioned earlier confirms the importance of the next two products. The purpose of this research study was to find out what makes us attractive to other people. It was a very large study that involved people from all different ethnicities around the world. The study concluded that what makes us most attractive to other people is the amount of facial contrast we have. And when do we have the most facial contrast? Yes, when we’re younger. Because as we get older, our skin gets paler, our lips get paler and what happens to our brows? They also start to become less visible as grey and white brow hairs start to pop up.

Yes to Blush

So if we truly want to look our best, we need to do two more things: fill in our brows, and add color to our face with blush and lipstick. So let’s focus first on blush. If our skin has gotten drier, cream and liquid blushes can be our best friend. And if we want our blush to last longer rather than disappear after a few hours, liquid blush is definitely our best option. The innovative brand Elf launched a lineup of 9 liquid blush colors in January 2024, and they’ve recently increased the shade range to include three beautiful new options.

Just why am I so crazy about this blush lineup from Elf? Well, the number one reason is because of how beautifully pigmented these blushes are which means they will “stay put” and not disappear after a short time. Number two is that the shade range is inclusive and provides beautiful options no matter what skin tone or skin undertone we have. And number three is the cost which is just $7.00.

Since liquid blushes are more highly pigmented than their cream or powder cousins, it’s important to use a light hand when applying this blush since it’s far harder to tone down blush than to build it up. The best application method is to put one dot on the back of your hand, then swirl a blush brush into the dot of blush so the brush is evenly coated. Then tap the blush onto the middle of your cheek bone and up toward the temple. It’s important to avoid buffing this blush on since a buffing motion can disturb our makeup underneath. Use your foundation brush to tap around the edges to ensure that there are no harsh lines. This application method creates a natural, beautiful flush of color.

Lips Are Key

Now let’s move onto our lips. A lipstick is a lipstick, right? Well, I might have said yes up until a couple of years ago when I first tried Merit’s lipstick. Their lipstick stands out because it’s the softest, most comfortable lipstick you’ll ever feel on your lips. And you’ll immediately notice how this lightweight formula differs from the heaviness of traditional lipsticks. It’s also beautifully buildable and has plant-derived squalane and sunflower seed oil which provide long-lasting moisture for a comfortable finish, Papain enzyme which helps soothe lips, and stabilized vitamin C which helps diffuse the appearance of fine lines. If you’d love a lipstick that feels ultra soft and comfortable on your lips – and is a clean beauty formula to boot – you’ll definitely want to check out this lipstick from Merit.

I think the start of a new year tends to make us feel like we have permission to initiate some changes – to launch some new habits or tweak a few of our old ones. So if you’d like to try wearing some makeup for the first time or tweak your makeup routine or simply experiment with a few new makeup products, the new year is a great time to do it.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you found any new makeup products recently? What can you share about them? Any keepers you’d like to recommend?