13 beauty products to avoid after 40 — and what you should be using instead

Everyone knows that you need to change your makeup and skin care routine after you turn 40, but now that I’ve reached this milestone, I’m quickly learning that there really isn’t enough guidance on this topic out there.

The truth is, life after 40 is like living in a movie where the main character goes to bed a kid and then wakes up an adult, except instead of being “13 Going on 30,” you feel like you’re 40 Going on 100. Nearly every day you look in the bathroom mirror and think, “Where the heck did that come from? That wasn’t there yesterday!”

Whether it’s wrinkles, drooping eyelids or graying eyebrows, it starts to feel like every day that goes by you lose another piece of your youth and femininity until you eventually don’t recognize yourself anymore. To make matters worse, it seems like the more you fight it by adding more makeup, the worse it gets. The makeup that once served me so well for so many years is now making me look like a White Walker. Why? I don’t even have that many wrinkles! What changed?

It turns out that as we get older, we need to do more than just slap on an anti-aging product and update our skin care routine. We need to actually give our makeup bag a complete makeover to compensate for all these little changes we might not even notice are happening. Sadly, there is little to no information out there on how to do this. So, I went to the beauty industry’s most trusted sources to find out what beauty products to ditch after you turn 40 — and what to use instead — so that you can start to look and feel like yourself again.

Revamp your signature lip color

Long before Taylor Swift had that “red lip classic thing” that everyone likes, I was rocking the retro red lip. But then one day, I woke up and noticed that my teeth looked yellow. I went from Hollywood siren to the Joker in an instant! The odd thing was, when I removed the lipstick, my teeth looked white again. What kind of witchcraft was this?

Turns out, as we get older, our enamel wears down and all that coffee, tea, soda and pasta sauce does stain our teeth. Wearing the wrong shade of lipstick can make the problem significantly worse.

According Gabriela Hernandez, CEO and founder of vintage makeup brand Bésame Cosmetics, “Most reds and pinks have a lot of warm yellow undertones in [them], which make your teeth look more yellow than they actually are. You can still wear red; you just have to find a shade that uses cooler blue tones to counteract the yellow. However, if you want your teeth to look as white as possible, look for softer neutral shades that don’t create such a harsh contrast.”

Avoid drying lip products

In addition to ditching the red-based lipsticks, it’s time to reconsider what type of formula you use on your lips. Liquid and matte products are harsh and dry out your lips, shriveling them up like raisins. As a result, any color bleeds into the lines around the mouth, making you look significantly older. Not to mention your lips will feel chapped and uncomfortable. It’s time to swap the liquid and matte formulas for hydrating tinted balms and satins. These products add a bit of shine and moisture without being overly glossy or sticky.

Start using a primer

You know you’ve hit middle age when your skin starts looking and feeling like the craters of the moon. Instead of that soft, smooth, even complexion, you now have dry patches, large dotted pores, wrinkles, fine lines, scars and dark sun spots, just to name a few.

Ditch the direct contact and before you start applying any makeup, add a powerful primer to your routine. This will help even your palette, fill in all the gaps and give you a flat base to start building your makeup upon.

Go for tinted moisturizer

All my life, I’ve used foundation to create that porcelain doll look. But in recent years, foundation would either slide off my face, turn white and gooey at the first sign of sweat or just sit in the fine lines and wrinkles, making me look like I’m 100 years old. Not to mention it was making me look as pale as a ghost!

When your foundation doesn’t work, then none of the makeup you put on top of it works either. So, how can you create a great base? According to celebrity makeup artist Lisa Houghton, who has worked with hundreds of celebrities from Scarlett Johansson to Angelina Jolie, the answer is tinted moisturizer.

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“As we mature, our skin loses its color and becomes gray and dull,” Houghton says. “When you apply heavy foundation, you wash out your natural color, and you literally have to paint all that color back onto your face to look human again. Traditional foundations also get stuck in every tiny crease, drawing unflattering lines on your face that make you look tired, old and lifeless. A tinted moisturizer gives you coverage you need while allowing your natural color to come through. It also hydrates the skin to provide a healthy natural glow that will make you look and feel younger.”

Swap powders for creams

Foundation is not the only makeup that sits in your fine lines and makes you look older. Powders do the same, especially blushes, bronzers, contours, etc. When powder sits in your pores, it ends up giving you a polka-dotted face. As your skin becomes dryer, powders also cake, making you look like a snake that is shedding its skin. None of these looks are flattering. That’s where creams come in.

According to Houghton, “Cream blushes go on smooth, last longer and can give your skin a more natural contour.” They are also easy to apply and can sometimes even double as a lipstick. If you’re feeling unsure about switching over to creams, just start with a small dot on your upper cheekbone. Rub it in and then layer on more as needed. Your skin will thank you.

Prime your eyes too

Everyone hates that dreaded line of makeup that forms on your eyelid crease. To be fair, it happens at every age, but it gets worse as we get older and your eyelids start to hood. If you want to eliminate the eyelid crease forever, you need to stop using concealer on your eyelids or applying your shadow directly to your lid, and you need to start using an eye shadow base. It helps create a smooth base for your eye makeup while also providing grip so it won’t slip off.

Stick to matte eye shadow

When I was younger, I loved a bit of glitter to make my eyes sparkle. However, as we get older, glitter can be very unforgiving. It draws attention to our flaws instead of detracting from them.

According to Hernandez, “Shimmery shades look good when your lids are flat and you have a nice canvas. However, as soon as you get a droopy lid, then the light bounces off the eye and the lids start looking like craters. If you love shimmer, use it as an accent in the middle of your lid after you’re done doing the entire eye, but don’t put it all over the eye. If you really want to look more youthful, stick with matte or satin type cream formulas.” They are easy to apply and perfect when you’re in a rush to get out the door. Simply pat the product onto your eyelid, blend with your finger or brush and away you go!

Go softer on the eyeliner

Another 1940s look that I’ve always loved is the cat eye. Unfortunately, my beloved brown liquid eyeliner is no longer loving me. It now looks very harsh, and the product often smudges and imprints itself on my eyelid. The problem is, I hate eye pencils as they pull on my eyelid, and I find it very difficult to draw a smooth line. Soft pencils are just as bad, as they tend to get messy and create extra thick, uneven lines that you can’t control. So, what is a girl to do?

“As we get older, you want to soften the eye. Using dark eye shadows as a liner is a wonderful way to get precision and warmth,” Houghton says. “Simply apply the shadow with a flat angled eyeliner brush. For a stronger color, add a dab of water and mix it with the shadow.” If shadow isn’t your thing, then Houghton recommends that you try Bobbi Brown’s Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner.

Avoid smudging with waterproof mascara

After I turned 40, my eyes started to change. I had to start wearing glasses, and my eyes began to tear up every time I applied makeup. In fact, they would tear up so much that a single tear was constantly running down my face and taking my makeup with it, especially my mascara. I would start off looking spectacular, and within the hour, I looked like a raccoon! It became clear that standard mascara no longer stood a chance on these peepers. Luckily, this problem is easily fixed with a bit of waterproof mascara.

According to Hernandez, “a lot of people find mascara becomes itchy and cumbersome as they get older, but it does make a difference on how young you look. Your lashes are indicative of a youthful eye, so you want to get it right.”

Keep your lashes full and strong

Speaking of losing eyelashes … Remember those days when you used to flutter your eyelashes at that cute person across the room? Well, according to Houghton, “As you get older, your eyelashes thin out and lose their pigment.” So, if you want to draw attention to your eyes after 40, you are going to need some help. Luckily, Talika is one of the rare brands that has a lash serum specifically designed to help make your lashes visibly fuller, darker and curlier. No need to go for expensive lash tinting.

Define your brows

No one ever told me that as you get older your eyebrows and eyelashes start to turn gray and thin out. According to Houghton, “If you spent your younger years overplucking or waxing your eyebrows regularly, you may find that the hairs are no longer growing back like they used to. You may also find that they start turning white as we age. Eyebrows frame your face and add color and contour, so if you want to bring them back, you’re going to need to use a brow pencil.” If you’ve never used a brow pencil before, fear not. Benefit Cosmetics has a terrific product called the Goof Proof Brow Pencil, which includes a waterproof and smudge-proof pencil on one side and a wand to brush it all out on the other.

Add a lip liner

In addition to removing yellowing reds and drying mattes from your lip routine, you may want to consider removing the lip injections as well. I’m not judging anyone who opts for this procedure, but why put yourself through the pain, expense and potential dangers when a good lip liner is all you really need to plump that pucker?

According to Houghton, “Lips get thinner as you age. If you add lip pencil just above the Cupid’s bow line, and then soften the edges to the corner of your mouth so that it’s barely visible by the sides, you can give the illusion of bigger, fuller, plumper lips in a much more natural way.”

Invest in high-quality hair products

When we think of hair loss, we think of balding men. But the truth is, women suffer from hair loss too. The truth is, as you pass 40, not only does your hair start to thin out but it becomes extremely dry. Shampoos with harsh chemicals that strip your hair of its natural oils only make matters worse. I went from having silky-smooth, thick hair my entire life to having thin, frizzy strands that made me look like I stuck my finger in an electrical socket. I tried every brand of shampoo and conditioner to try to fix the problem, but nothing worked. In fact, some popular brands had such harsh chemicals that I nearly vomited from the smell. Then I found Philip Kingsley. This world-renowned trichologist’s brand has designed the perfect products to help with hair loss and dryness. Celebrities such as Audrey Hepburn have sworn by his formulas. I genuinely felt and saw immediate improvement from the very first wash. My hair was finally back to being silky, soft, and smooth again.