Your Top Five for Middle-Aged Woman?

Hey everyone, I'm a somewhat older woman trying to rebuild my cosmetics collection. So much seems to have changed since I stopped wearing makeup, I don't even know where to begin.  I'm trying to take charge of my appearance again, and my oldest son is getting married early next year, so I obviously want to look good for the family pictures. The main thing is I'm trying to look younger and more vibrant.

Don't want to ask for too much in my first post, but if you don't mind, could you recommend your top 3-5 brands for the following products?

Toner

Facial cleansing lotion

Moisturizer

Eye cream (for dark rings)

Essential oils

Facial masks

Lip balm

Makeup remover

Lesser known brands are OK (even preferred in some ways). And if you recommend other products that I don't have listed above, PLEASE let me know.

Thanks so much everyone! -Mary

I'm in my mid-30s and have recently started wearing makeup. The biggest thing that I've discovered is the better my skin is, the easier makeup is (this is probably obvious to everyone else, but it was a bit of a revelation to me). One thing I'm fanatical about is removing every last bit of makeup before going to bed for the night. For makeup remover, I'm a huge fan of double cleansing - washing your face with a cleansing oil followed by a foaming or creamy cleanser. I started with DHC Cleansing Oil and now I'm using Boscia's Makeup Break-up Oil - both are good.

One other tip - it's easy to get overwhelmed when you're first starting out and it seems like there's so much you don't know. People here are really friendly. Don't be afraid of the big, fast-moving threads. Even some threads that you might not think you're interested in (like the Korean/Asian Beauty and Skincare Thread) can wind up being really informative and interesting. Good luck!

Skin is the most important part of the equation. 

I can honestly recommend the Paula's Choice line (RESIST) for aging skin/anit-aging benefits. It's one of the few moisturizers I've tried that didn't make my eyes sting, and you can actually use the facial moisturizer in the eye area. They also have good serums and other treatments. Also, you can go to their site and access Beautypedia, which gives really frank and helpful reviews of many of the cosmetics on the market, 

Eye cream doesn't do much for dark circles. None of the ones I tried eliminated them. Keeping the skin there hydrated, and getting enough sleep, all help. Concealer, or primer/correctors, are the most reliable solution. 

Tinted lip balms are a nice way to add a little color. I've tried Clinique's and Bobbi Brown's and liked both. 

Face oils are something I don't use much, so I can't offer much there. 

Makeup remover is easy. MAC wipes. Done and done. They even smell good. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

Thank you so much!!  

I'm in my 40s and if you are like me, then skin discoloration and wrinkles are my biggest worries. My forehead wrinkle problem I solved with botox. Not everyone approves and people tend to condemn it very quickly (mostly people who have never tried it themselves), because they don't know that when done properly, the face doesn't look frozen. I don't know know about the skills and qualities of western cosmetic surgeons, but at least in Asia botox application freezes the wrinkles and yet your face still looks natural. SO it leads me to believe that in the west they tend to overapply it.

The huge canyons that were running from my nose to the side of my lips (smile lines?) I got filled with wrinkle filler (hyaluronic acid). The results are temporary, but it's been a year and the wrinkles are barely visible. My previous application lasted me about 5 years. Again, this varies from person to person, but if you add up how much you'd spend on face creams during that time and get minimal results (creams tend to be hit of miss), then for me going for the filler was totally worth it.

Cleansing:

- oil to remove make up - someone already mentioned DHC, and I second that - it's a great all purpose oil.

I also like Shu Uemura Ultime8.

- facial foam to wash off the residuals and for all puropse cleansing - I like DiorSnow Cleansing Foam - it's super gentle if you have dry skin. Shiseido Perfect Whip is fine (and a lot cheaper) if you have normal to oily skin.

- toner - if you have unever skin tone or discolorations, try a brightening toner. Again DiorSnow is great, and I really like it. Shiseido White Lucent (or White Lucency in some overseas markets) is good if you have normal to oily skin.

I know many people recommend Hada Labo toners (a japanese brand), however I don't find them suitable for mature skin at all.

Creams:

- anti-wrinkle - I have tried a lot. Really, a lot. Both Asian and western brands. And hands down Estee Lauder Time Zone was the best choice when it came to results.

- anti-aging / moisturizing - SK-II Stempower.

- brightening - Lancome Absolue series, or again Dior Snow.

- moisturizing - Astalift Aquarysta gel. Astalift is a Japanese brand (made by Fujifilm) that features astaxathin and ceramides

Absolue cream and serum transformed my skin last year. No drugstore brand (Asian or western) could do in years what Absolue delivered in the span of a couple of months.

For overall brightening and to even the skin tone, if you don't want to spend a gazillion of dollars, I can recommend Laneige White Plus series. Laneige is a Korean brand, but hugely popular and you can get it in the US.

eye cream - here I'd suggest a Korean brand su:m37, my favorite cream is Flawless Regenerating Eye Cream and all I can say is that it transformed my under eye area. I use it at night. In the morning I put DiorSnow under eye brightening serum. Such combo works for me, though there are people who are against mixing skincare brands.

These two creams changed the color of my under eye area. Don't listen to the people who tell you that it's not possible. Evidently they haven't found their proper under eye skin care yet.

I use under eye concealer (DiorSnow BB eye cream) only occasionally. On most days I simply don't need to anymore.

For exfoliating I would recommend gentle AHA/BHA Japanese gel peelers, there are many brands on the market, I like Det Clear.

wash-off facial masks - Aveda! Sorry, none of the Asian drugstore brands even come close.

Sheet masks - here you need to go Asian.

Regarding Paula's Choice, I found those products to be extremely harsh. maybe OK if you have tough, oily skin, but for my dry, mature, sensitive skin they did not work at all.

I asked my mom about this!

She says that for moisturizer and night cream, she adores Vichy but no one will ever beat Estee Lauder in the night-cream and eye-cream market.

I'm in love with Paula's Choice, the products are fantastic and the price point is on the lower end for skin care. They also offer returns or exchanges if something doesn't work out.

Fresh lip balms are the balm /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> they are $22! Yikes!! They really are worth the splurge.

I also double cleanse, I start with a cleansing balm (Clinique or the Body Shop make nice ones) to get all the makeup off and then a mild cleanser to complete the cleanse.

Good luck with your new routine! As said earlier, this site is great for sharing information and the people are really nice.

I'm well into my mid-late thirties and rely mostly on two products to keep me young. I've recommended this combination to countless friends and they all appreciate its amazing results which are observed often after a few days of usage:

-Moisterizer, even something as simple as vaseline. You need to keep your skin hydrated and as moist as possible, especially if you have seasonal allergies such as myself. 

-Tru Visage anti aging cream. I use this twice a day with my moisterizer, once in the morning and another before I go to bed. I am so happy with the results I've had over the last year or so of usage that I've recommended it to at least 20 friends so far. Wrinkles are gone. My skin feels as good as new and I've had dozens of people comment on how young I look for my age. I would highly recommend it (you can read a review for tru visage here and order a sample to try it out).

So those are my two recommendations that I personally use daily and am really happy with the results.