18th October is World menopause awareness day. I regularly post on my instagram https:/www.instagram.com/@victoriachaineymakeup/ techniques to mid life women but thought I do a post on here.
It's fact now that peri menopause can start as early as mid 30s (I started symptoms at 37) and just like puberty & pregnancy, with those hormonal changes, you will find skin will start to behave in an alien way or a way it did when you went through puberty and/or pregnancy. You might experience the following:
You will be getting pigmentation/age spots due to taking HRT
You will be getting acne either for the first time in your life, or like you did in puberty
Rosacea (or just being "flushed" from hot flushes
Your skin will be very dry
Your skin will become very dry.
Fun eh? Not to mention fine lines and wrinkles due to decrease in collagen production. All of this can really have a detrimental effect on our mental health and confidence. Thank goodness there are some great products you can have in your armour.
Lets break this down:
Pigmentation/age spots
I got a lot of pigmentation:malasma during pregnancy, and if this was the case with you, chances are you will get this during peri and menopause. This can be further aggrevated by HRT as you get a boost of oestrogen again. However, products you used to cover these dark marks will be too heavy on a mature skin.
Foundations to help with this:
Nars Light Reflecting Foundation
A medium but buildable foundation that tricks the light and works with the skin, never sitting on top of it. It's water based so for women that may be experiencing hot flushes, your makeup will not break up against a mask - water works with water. This is perfect for age spots as you can apply more in these areas.
Giorgio Armani Luminous silk
A firm favourite amongst celebrities and the beauty industry. This is a staple in most wedding make-up artist kits. The reason… it's satin formula suits all ages and most skin types. For skins going through all the menopausal stages, this base is full proof to skins that can't decide what they are doing; the only time I would not use this foundation is if a skin was exceptionally dry or had eczema. As with the Narslight reflecting foundation, it diffuses light in the right places, giving great coverage without sitting in lines.
2. Rosacea and/or high colour due to hot flushes.
Rosacea is something that can come out of nowhere during mid life. If hot flashes are extreme, you may want a base that has your back if you go red all of a sudden. A base I find amazing for this, is Rosalique anti redness formula with an inbuilt SPF 50. It not only calms down the appearance of redness instantly, but works overtime to address the issue. This is amazing as a primer or used on it own as an every day tinted moisturiser. It goes on green that works with your skin to develop into a tinted moisturiser.
For some very fair skins, it may develop too dark for you. If this is the case, I would recommend Dr Jarts Cicapair cream.
Another base which is brilliant for redness, is the CC cream by Finish brand Lumene. This is the no 1 makeup base sold in Sweden. Very easy to use with an inbuilt SPF20.
3. Oily skins/acne
Another issue during the menopause can be that your skin will go very oily and may develop acne. You may find this is how your skin behaved during puberty so as your hormones were rising, you may be getting this due to the increase of oestrogen from taking HRT and/or the decrease of hormones. You will want to find bases that will not sit in fine lines or wrinkles and will not aggravate the issue further by blocking pores.
Rosalique, as I mentioned for rosacea has anti-bacterial properties and his anti-redness so can be a miracle formula in dying down the redness and treating blemishes. Another base I have been using for over 15 years is a pressed mineral powder by Jane Iredale. Lightweight, multitasking, foundation, concealer and sunscreen SPF20 it never sits in lines and hydrates where needed but absorbs oils where needed.
4. Dry skin
It goes without saying that as our oestrogen falls so do our collagen levels, making skin a lot dryer. I have three bases I love for dry skin.
Day base
I love a BB cream for continual moisture and some protection throughout the day. In my opinion, the best BB cream out there is one by Kiko cosmetics. Unlike some BB creams ( that have hardly any coverage) , it has opaqueness to it so evens out skintone well without it being too heavy. I find this a very very good protector against pigmentation too.
Evening base/or a more "finished" look
One of my favourite foundations and one that I trained with.
Mac face and body paint is completely water-based and sits like a film over the skin. I explained to clients it's like putting a sheer stocking on your legs but for your face! I don't think I need to explain more than that... it always looks beautiful ( can be built from light to full coverage ) and suits mature skin.
I hope this is helpful!
Victoria x
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