5

The Best Clean Skincare for Ladies Over 40

Welcome to the #CleanOver40 Series! After MANY conversations about the unique challenges women over 40 experience in terms of beauty and wellness, my good friend Lisa from This Organic Girl and I are teaming up to bring you the most effective clean skincare, makeup, and lifestyle products for those of us fortysomethings. This series will publish the second Monday of every month so be sure to stop by for the latest. You can also search #CleanOver40 on our blogs to access the entire series. Be sure to tag #CleanOver40 on social with your favorite picks as well…we ladies of a certain age need to stick together!

As most of you know, I am heading into my mid-forties. Well, barrelling into my mid-forties might better describe it. (Yield, barrel. YIELD.) My forties have actually been my favorite decade yet, but I will say that the aging process definitely seems to accelerate around this particular age period. In fact, I remember being in my late thirties and having a conversation with my gorgeous friend who happened to be about my age now. She told me, “Sarah, shit gets REAL around 43,” and I remember internally rolling my eyes at the statement. I mean, like 43 is some mystical number in which I will turn into a pumpkin? Rubbish, I thought. Well, I’m here to tell you SHE WAS SO RIGHT. Ladies, I wake up these days, look into the mirror, and find new “occurrences” on a weekly basis.

So, yeah. There’s never been a better time to invest in some high-performing skincare. (And pssst, thirtysomethings? Not a bad idea to jump on the bandwagon to get a head start.)

I love that Lisa and I have joined forces on this series. Some of you have mentioned that I’m your go-to girl for green beauty…well, Lisa is my go-to girl. She’s gorgeous, hilarious, and wicked smaht (although currently in Atlanta, a Bostonian through and through), and I know I can trust her recommendations 100%. The girl should be dubbed the Research Queen as she’s always in communication with beauty brands, digging deep and holding them completely accountable. Also, she is completely growing out her gray and looks sexy as hell!

Okay okay, let’s dive in. This month’s topic du jour? Our top three clean beauty skincare items.

This was no easy task, friends! Skincare is a massive category, so I had to really ponder this one. Here are my top three and make sure you head over to This Organic Girl to check out Lisa’s top picks. We are also giving away Lisa’s top three and my top three to TWO winners on our Instagram accounts later today! Each winner is taking home all 5 picks! (We share one…)

First up? The one product both Lisa and I chose… the MUN Aknari Brightening Face Serum.

My love for this serum knows no end. I’ve written about it countless times (here and here and here) and I still feel as strongly about it as I did from day one. It only has three ingredients in it, but my goodness, they pack a punch. Organic Prickly Pear Seed Oil (this oil is my skin’s bestie), Organic Argan Oil, Organic Rose Essential Oil – that’s it, ladies. And probably why my skin just drinks it up. It’s not overwhelming like some others can be. My skin never feels congested, always hydrated, and the biggest benefit? How soft my skin feels the morning after I use it. Bright, plump, and soft. So so so good.

Next up? Well, duh, an exfoliator. Mama can’t live without an exfoliator and honestly, you shouldn’t either! If you want your skin to glow, you must get yesterday’s news off your face. You need to stimulate cell regeneration and get rid of those pesky dead skin cells to really get your skin looking vibrant. My holy grail exfoliator is the True Botanicals Resurfacing Moisture Mask. HELLO, GLOW. (True Botanicals was one of the first lines inducted into my Best of Best series.)

Dubbed a “facial in a jar,” this lactic acid-based mask does the nearly impossible task of moisturizing AND exfoliating at the same time. The hydrating aspect comes from the addition of avocado butter, and the illumination comes from the combo of lactic acid and Astaxanthin, which is such a winner ingredient in my book. Good to note that this product is a chemical exfoliant vs. a physical exfoliant, meaning you don’t need to work it into the skin. You just apply the gel-like product on your face, wait 3-5 minutes, and voilá, you’re done. Yes, you heard me, the mask only needs 3-5 minutes to work. How much of a bonus is that?!

(Get $20 off your first True Botanicals order of $40+ with code WHOORLTRUE20)

So now’s the time when I divulge my 1-2-punch in terms of creating the best glow. It involves the above-mentioned True Botanicals mask and my last pick, the Honua Malu Protecting Day Cream SPF 30. You guys, I am OBSESSED with this facial sunscreen. Before being introduced to this product via Beauty Heroes, I wore facial sunscreen about 30% of the time. (Hey, I’m being honest. It was just so hard to find a clean facial SPF that I wanted to use daily.) Then this beauty of a product entered my life and the search was over.

I’m not going to lecture you on the importance of wearing a facial sunscreen, but not wearing one is by far the quickest to looking weathered before your time. The sun is your face’s #1 enemy in terms of staying youthful-looking and radiant, but finding a good clean sunscreen is hard, trust me, I know. This particular product not only protects you from the sun, but from environmental pollutants as well.

But here’s the thing, this cream gives me the best glow, so much so that the SPF really is an afterthought. I would use this as my facial day cream regardless, but win-win on the SPF! It’s so hydrating and illuminating, yet never greasy or oily. So what I do (almost) every morning is apply the True Botanicals mask for a few minutes, remove and then apply the Malu Day Cream. Did I mention it smells like Jasmine?!

Bare-faced after rinsing off the True Botanicals Resurfacing Mask and applying the Honua Malu Day Cream SPF30.

This pair creates a lovely canvas for my makeup application, so basically, I’m not swaying from this combo. Praise be.

Be sure to head over to Instagram this afternoon to enter the #CleanOver40 giveaway! As always, happy to answer any questions in the comments!

Share:
Categories:
5 comments
  1. Carmen Valentin

    August 13, 2018 at 8:30 pm

    Thanks to both for this great theme love organic and plant based products Iam mature 50 years now know the importance why we need to take care of our skin..

  2. anne

    August 14, 2018 at 11:59 am

    love this new series!
    I’ve been wanting to try the Malu Protecting Day Cream but was shying away from it because of its many coconut oil-derived ingredients. It’s curious but great news that your skin tolerates it!

    • whoorl

      August 14, 2018 at 1:56 pm

      Yes! I was totally side-eyeing it for the longest time due to the coconut oil-derived ingredients. We were visiting Colorado earlier this summer at a high-altitude and started using it because I needed the moisture, and I just haven’t stopped since. It hasn’t given my skin any problems or congestion. Yay!

  3. Wendy Watson

    August 14, 2018 at 2:11 pm

    Where’s the maya chia oil?? ??
    Didn’t make the cut? 3 is way too few. ?