Beauty Tricks to Master by 40

If you tend to erupt the week before your period (or, if you’re perimenopausal, around the time you feel like you’re PMSing), exfoliate with an at-home scrub or peel twice a month to keep pores clear and slough off dead skin cells, clear-ing the way for (and boosting the potency of) your treatment products, says Los Angeles dermatologist Zein Obagi. At-home scrubs that promise results without lasting redness: Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Gentle ($65; katesomerville.com) and Olay Regenerist Detoxi¬fying Pore Scrub ($9, drugstores).

28.  Fight fine lines—in the shower. Before you step under the water, massage a drop of grapeseed oil into the skin around your eyes for 10 minutes, Obagi says: “It will improve skin texture.” The oil is moisturizing, yes, but it also contains antioxidants that fight wrinkle-causing free radicals, which are deposited on your skin by UV rays and pollution during the day.

29.  Sleep on two pillows. “Keeping your head elevated prevents fluid from collecting around your eyes during the night and causing puffiness in the morning,” says San Antonio¬–baseddermatologist Vivian Bucay, MD.

30.   Put your eye cream in the fridge. “The cold temperature shrinks blood vessels and helps to minimize under-eye bags,” Obagi says.

31.   Moisturize in layers. “For maximum plumping, follow your regular lotion with a heavy cream or facial oil. On really bad beauty days, I put on oil and wait an hour before looking in the mirror,” admits makeup artist Bobbi Brown, who swears by Bobbi Brown Extra Face Oil ($60; bobbibrowncosmetics.com). A 10-minute moisturizing mask also plumps you up fast. We like Sonya Dakar Hydrating Blue Mask ($67; sonyadakar.com).

32.  Baby your neck and chest.  Because the skin there is so thin, these areas generally don’t age as well as your face—especially if you’ve been lax on sunscreen. “Using a moisturizer with retinoids or peptides will help,” says Miami and New York City–based dermatologist Fredric Brandt, MD. “But your skin in these areas is sensitive, so don’t use it every night—that could leave you overly red and flaky.”

33.  If all else fails, go Italian. “Skin luminosity makes you look younger,” Rogers says. “Once a year, I go bike riding in Italy, where I can eat all I want and look at gorgeous Italian men all day. It makes my complexion glow.”


Maintaining a healthy, shiny smile
The issue:  Just when you’ve found your voice, your teeth start to yellow

The Tricks:

34.   Remove stains at home. Combine equal parts baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, and use it to brush your teeth once a week. “This combo removes surface stains—and it’s totally safe,” says New York City cosmetic dentist Gregg Lituchy, DDS.

35.   Follow the 20-minute rule. “Whitening toothpastes don’t stay on the teeth long enough to work,” Lituchy says. “A product should sit for at least 20 minutes to provide any kind of noticeable result.” To lighten at home, try Crest Whitestrips Advanced Seal ($45 for a two-week supply; drugstores), which should be worn for 30 minutes twice a day.

36.  Consider porcelain veneers. “Many women over 40 were given tetracycline as children, which permanently darkened their teeth,” Lituchy says. “Whiteners alone probably won’t bleach out the stains, but porcelain veneers instantly and permanently give you a white smile.” Veneers start at about $500 per tooth.

37.   Get a dental face-lift. Cheek sagging is often caused by receding gums as we age. “If you have your teeth subtly built up with thin veneers or bonding, it stretches the tissue of the upper lip and gives you a natural face-lift sans surgery,” says New York cosmetic dentist Jeff Golub-Evans, DDS.

Boosting your beauty mojo
The issue: To look good, it helps to feel good—in sometimes intangible ways

The tricks:

38.   Wear a scent that’s not too spicy. Fragrance can make you feel fresh, femme fatale–ish or even formidable. But don’t overdo it. “During menopause, when your body temperature can spike spontaneously, you should avoid intense scents. Heated up, they become cloying,” says Debbie Wild, fragrance and lifestyle director for Jo Malone. A safe but still sexy pick: Jo Malone Honeysuckle and Jasmine Cologne ($55; jomalone.com).

39.   Make your scent endure.  Another by-product of dry skin? “Fragrance doesn’t last as long,” Wild says. What helps: slathering on body lotion before you spritz to give your skin a slightly tacky surface—and something for your scent to latch on to.

40.    Raise your brows for photos. “This gives the appearance of an instant face-lift,” Kunin says. (If you aren’t Botoxing, this is your payoff.)