Helpful Winter Beauty Tips For Women Over 40

Frigid temperatures, indoor heating, and low humidity can strip the skin and hair of their moisture. As the temperatures drop, some of us may need to modify our makeup and skincare routines. Today’s guest blogger Cindy Ingalls from PrimeBeauty has some tips for us to adjust to the weather.

Cindy: I know my face has been feeling like the Sahara desert already, and my hands are like sandpaper. Here’s what can help:

1.   Consider a tinted lip balm instead of lipstick. Lipstick can be drying; by using a tinted balm your lips will stay moisturized and still pretty with a bit of color.

2.   Switch to a lighter shade of foundation. With less sun, your skin will naturally lose some color and your foundation should too. There’s nothing worse than the foundation that doesn’t match your skin–it should always look natural with no line of demarcation.

3.   Use bronzer but sparingly. Apply on the forehead, across the bridge of the nose, cheeks, and chin where the sun would naturally kiss your face. It will warm up your face and give it a nice glow. Hint: bronzer is also available in cream and gel formulas, but the powder is pretty much fool-proof as long as you use a light hand and a big fluffy brush. IT Cosmetics makes a very natural, matte bronzer I like.

Other winter beauty tips for women over 40 include:

4.   Change your powder blush to cream. The powder can look cakey, cream blushes look fresh and youthful. Dab a bit on the apples of the cheeks and blend upward into temples with fingers or a cosmetic sponge. Choose a shade that matches your cheeks after a walk in brisk weather. BECCA Beach Tints are a gel stain with a wonderful texture, and the new shade Papaya is a warm red.

5.   Don’t over-powder. For those with drier skin, I suggest skipping the powder altogether. The powder can settle into fine lines, and highlight wrinkles making you look older. I never powder under my eyes.

6.   Exfoliate, exfoliate exfoliate. Slough off dull, dry, dead skin cells and reveal younger fresher looking skin by using a facial scrub or at-home microdermabrasion at least once a week.

7.   Switch to a heavier moisturizer. Cold temperatures can suck the moisture right out of your skin. Look for a moisturizer that has hyaluronic acid to help bind moisture to the skin. Layer under your moisturizer to give your skin a big drink of water!

8.   Get a good body moisturizer. The brand Champney’s (an extremely luxury spa in England frequented by royals) is a great line. The bath and body line comes in four luscious scents with body scrubs, lotions, body washes, and hand creams.  Hint:  Moisturizers work by trapping water in your skin’s outer layers, so use body creams after showering while your skin is still damp.

9.   Tame flyaways in dry weather by using a smoothing serum. Use only a pea-sized amount on damp hair and then blow-dry. I love Marc Anthony Oil of Morocco Argan Oil Treatment—it tames dry tresses and smells divine—all for only around $7!

10. If you are going out in the wind and extreme cold, you might want to wear waterproof mascara. My eyes always water in the cold and wind.

Keep cozy ladies!!! Cindy Ingalls writes the blog PrimeBeauty, a beauty resource for women 40 & Over in their prime.