What Does A 40-Year-old Man Know About Mature Meno Skin?

Aka help for dry skin that comes along with menopause.

The other day I was cruising youtube and Sephora’s Beauty Director vid pops up- the topic being “Mature Skin Tips”.

The vid is hosted by David, one of the three or four featured make up artists.  He often teams up with another make up artist Jeffrey, but rarely with Myesha for some reason.

Well, I think I know the reason, while Jeffrey is a much better make up artist, David is just plain pushy and boorish when paired up with him. Every time Jeffrey tries to make a point or talk about a new palette, David boorishly overpowers the conversation. It’s very off-putting to the point that if there’s a vid with both of them I skip it.

Anyway.

He starts talking about his own “mature skin” at age 40–

Seriously? Since when is 40 “mature”? Hasn’t he heard 70 is the new 35?

I get that at the end of the day Sephora and David are pushing products they want to promote, so whatever they recommend may be from personal experience of testing the product but are their recommendations honestly relevant when he’s talking about mature skin as a 40 year old MAN?

He could instead describe his video as for “maturing skin for men” and that would be more accurate.

I think Sephora tried with a video made last year of one of their older make up salespeople-an attractive white haired woman with nice skin who had her make up applied by Jeffrey.

But there’s no Beauty Director who is in his or her 50+, 60+s, who could offer real tips for the desert dry skin that comes along with menopause.

Ugh.

Or is it a celebration?

Whichever side you take here’s my formula after buying and trying pretty much every thick moisturizing for aging skin cream.

Cleanse-micellar water.  I’ve used Bioderma and Garnier and to save a couple of dollars, buy the Garnier regular formula.  The waterproof formula has something harsh in it and stings the eyes and it doesn’t clean water-resistant mascara very well anyway, so go for gentler with the regular formula.

Masks-skip anything for exfoliation or with clay.  This will only make your skin drier.  I like Farmacy Honey Night Mask but if you’re not planning on washing your hair, it will seep into your hairline never mind a mess on your pillow. Go for Fresh Rose or Lotus masks. Tried Laniege and Fresh Black Tea-meh.

Eye Cream-I was using Shiseido Benifiance, but I really found that Shisiedo Future Solutions for Eye and Lip Contour is pricey but lasts a long time and worth the $150.

USE IT WITH

Fresh Black Tea Eye Serum-I am in my second bottle and tried pairing it with the Black Tea Eye Cream but the Shiseido Future Solutions cream works much better.  I have seen the crepe-texture on my lids reduced and my lids appear less droopy.

Fresh Black Tea Kombucha Essence-leaps and bounds better than SKII. There’s something about the slightly tacky liquid that moisturizes and relieves dryness.

Oil-I don’t always use an oil. But I like it for heavy-duty nights. If I do, I might put on some Herbivore Hibiscus Oil or the Ordinary Rose Oil.

Day Cream-I’m liking the Fresh Vitamin C Nectar. Smells like tangerines, light formula. Though on a day after a day of being in the sun, I slather on Rosa Artica-heavy formula. Like vaseline.

Night Cream-I use pretty much the same approach. I’ve tried some sleeping masks and sometimes I use them, but my day procedure works pretty well.

Sunscreen-Clinique SPF40 Mineral Fluid. Light, doesn’t sting the eyes.

Tinted Moisturizer-Clinique SPF40(?) City Defense.

Heavy Duty-Drunk Elephant. White and thick but disappears with a lot of rubbing in.

Light Day Duty Sunscreen-I like Olay Day Moisturizer SPF15. I put it on my neck, decollette (sp) arms and legs.

Case Studies

Golf-Today I will be out in the sun with hat and sunglasses and hopefully mostly under cover of the golf cart since I am not golfing just taking photos.

My plan-my base skincare with Fresh eye serum, Black Tea Essence, Shiseido Future Solutions Eye, Kiehl’s Day Serum, Vitamin C Nectar Cream, maybe an extra layer of Rosa Artica on my face and neck.  Followed with Clinique Mineral SPF, Origin’s Eye Cream with SPF30. Another layer of Clinique City Defense Sunscreen, then makeup.

During-carry around Clinique City Defense for touch ups every two hours or so.

Night-take it all off with Garnier micellar water. Cleanse with Cerave Hydrating Cleanser in the shower to take off the rest of the make up.  Basic skincare Fresh eye serum, Kombucha essence, probably the Ordinary Rose Oil and Kiehl’s Rosa Artica over it all. Maybe a touch of Clinique Dramatically Different to seal it all in.

*****

Oh yeah-my last recommendation to David?  Stop using the beta-acid peels he’s always blabbing about.  I think it’s Dr Dennis Gross.  Stripping your skin of natural oils to get that clean feeling is just stripping your skin of it’s natural protection from the elements. It also lays bare a fresh layer of your skin to burn even more under the sun.

Duh.

 

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Too Much Goop-Super Goop Cream Eyeshadow Shimmers

They are very pretty in the package – when you smear it on your wrist the consistency is creamy and doesn’t feel like it has a lot of drag on your skin, so Super Goop’s eyeshadow shimmers with sunscreen seemed like a great product to try to protect the lids.

They come in three shimmer shades-when I tried them on in Sephora the darker shades are very pretty but I rarely wear colors that dark at this point.

Unless you’re going to go full guns with a dark smoky eye, wearing a bunch of color on your lids is very aging and looks too heavy in the summertime.

Unless you’re just one of those flamboyant types who wears it well,

or not.

Anyway.

The point is, I use a light hand when it comes to color.  When I bought it I didn’t really think about how much product I would put on that delivered color payoff AND SUN PROTECTION.

That’s the question-how much of the product do you have to apply to get the promised sun protection?

The guideline for face sunscreen is a dime.

The guideline for the body is as much as you can possibly tolerate starting with a quarter cup per body part.

So how much of Super Goop’s eye shimmer to get the benefit?

Turns out for me, there’s no way that I would get the benefit unless I put enough product on AND all over my eye.

That’s the other thing-if the product were a more neutral skin tone shade, then it could be used on the entire eye area from the lid to the brow bone. I tried that one day and well, it was just too much.

Would be great if I was doing a gold disco retro eye.

But not for everyday.

The conclusion? Pretty but not practical until they come out with neutral shades without readable shimmer and sparkle.

K

PS

The only products with SPF that I have found that don’t sting or irritate are Clinique’s City Block, Clinique Mineral Fluid and Origin’s A Perfect World.  Most sunscreens have too much fragrance or otherwise sting.

He Called Me “Aunty”-How Others See Me

Of course in Hawaii, calling someone “Auntie” refers to any female that is older than the child you are talking to.

Example when speaking to small child, “Go ask Auntie….”

But the other day when my yard guys were here, and the driver called out-“No worries Aunty…”, I was thinking “Is it my outfit?” I was dressed down that day, but it wasn’t like I was wearing culottes.

In any case, I had been feeling that way anyway and have been giving it some thought about when I transitioned from being called”Hot babe” to being called “Auntie”, when people are referring to moi.

When and how did I get here?

A few years ago, instead of having a healthy dinner with a glass of wine, I would, many evenings be eating a bag of potato chips with a couple of glasses of wine.  In college the same bad habit was a few Michelobs and a bag of Lays potato chips purchased from the 7-11 since I didn’t have a car to go anywhere else.

I digress.

Nowadays I follow my mood.  My trainer had me on a pretty strict diet of low carbs–he suggested 50 grams.

If you’ve ever followed a low carb diet you probably just gasped in horror.

When you start tracking your carbs, you realize that 50 grams is just the trace amounts you get in foods that are considered low carb anyway like vegs.

But as I put it “I wanted to look cute in dresses” which was my workout goal.

I was getting tired of looking only at the baggy blouse rack instead of the form fitting choices.

Really I know it’s about comfort-but wearing baggy clothes wasn’t helping in the Auntie department.

Fast forward-I lost 10 pounds in 18 months following a lower carb but not 50 gram diet.

People still call me Auntie but I think I’m starting to feel good about the fact I’m approaching 60 and my skincare and obsession with staying out of the sun has delayed people from making the transition to calling me elderly and offering me the senior citizen discount.

I don’t wear clothes that are inappropriate for my age but I still hang onto my halter tops because nowadays I use my arms as my physical barometer.

Inside I follow my heart and if I want a cupcake-cheers to that.

My spirit is mature but I’m not inflexible.  I can change for a good rationale, but mostly I reject things and people who are just going to be bad for me which in the end keeps me the most youthful.

Maybe I deserve that Auntie tag after all-there’s a wisdom attached to the title after all.

K

 

Purple Haze-Kiehls Company Store

I really enjoy Kiehls’ products-Rosa Artica is my long time fave go-to moisturizer when skin is parched.  Bar-none it is the thickest face product I know.  Like whipped vaseline.

But in a good way.

Got the friends and family card in the mail and left it in my car so I’d remember to take advantage of the 20% off.

So, I thought the sale started Monday and already knew what I wanted when I walked in the store.  I overheard the purple haired salesperson say “see you tomorrow when the sale starts”.

Then I realized that the sale started on TUESDAY.

I rarely venture over the hill on Tuesdays since I live 12 miles away on the Windward side.

I know, “too far to go”.  At least for people who live in Hawaii.

I figured that Kiehls might be nice and give me the discount a day early if I asked nicely.

I’ve been going to Marsha Nadalin in Kahala for over 10 years and their sidewalk sales happen on Fridays, and my brow person only works on Thursdays. When I nicely ask, they nicely reciprocate and give me whatever discount a day early.

Not so with the purple haired one.

I rarely shop in the store since I can buy Kiehls from Nords, Blooms, NM and sephora.

All you can do is vote with your credit card since

good

help

is

hard

to find.

Nuff said. I don’t need to start a lecture on competition.

Note:  I started this a few months ago but never published. I went in the store the other day when I walked by and didn’t see the purple haired person. (I have nothing against hair dye).