Beauty Report: How to be your best self at 50+

The beauty industry can be a labyrinth of jargon and nonsense, but one common phrase is irritating above all others. The sight or mention of it will set my eyes rolling and jaw clenching: anti-aging. What a load of tripe.

The phrase is irritating for several reasons. It implies that an unguent you put on your skin will change your biology. It won’t. It suggests that aging can be reversed. It can’t.

It whisperingly insinuates that getting older is some horrific affliction that can be avoided if you toss enough money at your face. It isn’t.

The aim with any skincare should always be to keep skin healthy and to look your best self.

Your best self at 20 will look different from your best self at 50, and both selves can have beautiful, radiant skin.

There is a difference between skin aging and skin damage. Over time, skin will naturally lose collagen and elasticity, become thinner and less taut.

However, issues such as pigmentation and sun damage are preventable if you protect and care for your skin.

This will ensure that your skin is always the best it can be.

Mature skin (technically classed by the industry as 50+) benefits from enjoying the richest ingredients and lots of moisture.

Kinvara Absolute Cleansing Face Oil (€19.95) is a lovely Irish product that's perfect for all skin types, and works splendidly on mature skin.

It contains a blend of plant oils, including sunflower, sesame, orange and rosemary oils. It melts away make-up leaving behind clean, comforted and calm skin.

It’s a lovely product and proves that you don’t need to spend vast amounts on skincare.

A good serum and moisturiser will hugely benefit mature skin, which tends to be on the dry and dehydrated side. If you can stretch the budget to luxury products, Origins Three Part Harmony Nourishing Cream (€76) and Oil-Infused Serum (€76) are targeted at women of 50 and over.

With this range, Origins is casting off the odious “anti-aging” tagline and targeting the products at women over 50 who want to have balanced, happy skin without the nonsense.

Aerin Rose Oil (€62) is rose at its very best. No synthetic, Granny's handbag fragrance here – it's a luscious blend with a subtly soft rose fragrance that absorbs beautifully and massages into skin dreamily.

The texture isn’t heavy or greasy. This is a beautiful product to use on very dry or needy skin day or night. It plumps and moisturises immediately.

Darphin 8-Flower Nectar Oil Cream (€70 from October) is an overnight wonder product. This small pot contains opulence itself, featuring Darphin's signature blend of rich oils in a cream base of shea butter and tapioca. Shea butter is so rich that it can congest younger and more temperamental skins.

For a mature skin, it’s just thick and rich enough to rejuvenate skin visibly overnight.

Apply a layer of this rich balm like a mask after you have applied your usual bedtime skincare. You’ll awake to a soft, refreshed face.

[ lkennedy@irishtimes.com ]