Are you not into putting your $$ into high end skin care brands?  I am sharing my tried and true drugstore brands that work for Over 40 skin. You CAN have great skin again.

Over 40 Skin Care

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A new, 2020 updated version of this post (and a new make-up free selfie) is here.

This is pretty much THE most important thing in my entire anti-aging battle. Right up there with exercise and nutrition. While I wish I had been paying attention about 10 years ago, alas, I was busy raising children and living through countless deployments which means I didn’t even know I HAD skin, unless I burnt myself on the oven or something.

Well, consider me wide awake now and paying attention. At about 45, it all starts to take a dive. Waking each morning and gazing into the mirror (after I find my glasses) to play another game of “What The Hell Happened To My Face?” is just not my idea of a good time. So I’m on it. I’m doing the work and you can consider me a slave to skin care these days.

You can read about my personal skin care regimen here in Part 1 of this series. And then be sure to check out Part 2  about how to see big improvements in your skin by what you put inside your body.

We all have different financial priorities so I thought that I would do a post on my favorite drugstore brands for skin care. These are the ones that I was using myself before sinking some $$ into my face.  I love these brands and consider them time tested. They aren’t going to deliver the same dramatic results in terms of anti aging, as the brands you’ll find here, mostly due to the fact that the concentration of anti aging ingredients isn’t going to be as high. But I consider these the very best, anti-aging, drug store brands you can get at this time. So lets get to it:

Drugstore Brands for Women Over 40

Cleanser

Avalon Organics, Intense Defense Gel Cleanser  

I adore this brand because of it’s ingredients and commitment to quality. This has a nice lather and it has Vitamin C to combat environmental stress and damage. It leaves your skin feeling fresh and clean and has quality, organic ingredients. The Intense Defense skincare line has Vitamin C, Lemon Bioflavonoids and White Tea in it. These are powerful antioxidants proven to neutralize free radicals before they can cause damage. They also naturally boost collagen and elastin production. It is cruelty free and sells currently for $8.67 on Amazon.

Anti-Aging Serum

Olay Regenerist Serum

I find this to be the best results-providing, anti-aging, drugstore brand serum that you can buy. With continued use, this DOES show improvement in your skin. It has amino-peptide + B3 complex that can penetrate deeper into your skins surface and it will fight the look of tired skin (hallelujah, am I right?) , as well as fine lines and wrinkles. It goes on light and absorbs quickly and Olay is a trusted name in skin care. It is about $24 on Amazon.

Avalon Organics Intense Defense Vitamin C Serum

This is the other anti aging serum that I can recommend. This is an antioxidant-packed serum that stimulates cellular renewal and provides defense against photo-aging. The antioxidants reactivate cellular renewal and help produce collagen and elastin, which will target fine lines and wrinkles.

A great deal on Amazon  at 2 for $21.89

Moisturizer

Aveeno Absolutely Ageless 

This brand was a welcomed surprise to me. I really like the quality ingredients in these products and felt that they did show improvement pretty quickly for a drugstore brand. This moisturizer has Aveeno’s own “blackberry complex”  that will help to reduce elastin and collagen loss, while nourishing and hydrating skin.

This goes on light and is highly moisturizing. This did very well for my dry skin. It has an SPF of 30 and you can apply make up over it almost immediately. It has a brightening effect and leaves a nice, dewy-but not sticky- finish. I really liked this and would not hesitate to try their Restorative Night Cream as well. 

Night Time Moisturizer

Egyptian Magic

While not necessarily a “Drugstore Brand” the price point is on target and the stuff is just so good, that this is what I have to recommend. You need a night cream. Think about it- your face just lying there in the air all night, like a piece of bread drying out. Let your skin be moisturized and repaired while you sleep and wake up to plumper, healthier looking skin. I have gone on about this product before here. I still use it daily. It goes on top of my other skin care products at night. I use it on my cuticles, my elbows, my heels and on the ends of my hair. It is all natural and can be used for all skin types. The amount you need to use is so small that I am STILL on my first tub of this.

Before I began using my current skin care products, I would apply this heavily at night over the Olay serum above- and what a difference in the morning! I do love this stuff. And at $26.70 for a big 4 oz tub it is going to be hard to beat.

Facial Spray

Mario Badescu Rose Water Facial Spray

Again, this is not really a “Drugstore Brand” but with this price point for the quality, I need to add it here. This brand, while new to me, has been around since 1967 and is highly respected. I just can’t say enough about this one product! I LOVE this! I use it every day, several times a day. You saw it on my vanity table HERE. 

My mom used to have rosewater on her vanity table and this reminds me so much of that. It has such a lovely scent- not at all fake- but like an actual rose. It is a refreshing, hydrating mist. Formulated with fragrant herbal extracts and rosewater for a pleasant, pick me up for dehydrated, tight skin. I also use it to on my dry hair, throughout the day for fly aways. It is safe for all skin types and completely non-irritating. It has a lovely, strong, fresh rosewater scent that dissipates quickly so it won’t interfere with your fragrance. The 8 oz. is $14 and the 4 oz is $7. 

**I still highly recommend going to Ayla and doing an online skin consultation. Its the best $35 I spent in regards to my skin and what ingredients I needed to be looking for to help my particular issues. They will hand-pick a kit of samples for you and send with the directions on how to use them. Game. Changer. You can do that HERE. You can read about it HERE **

So, these are my favorite drugstore brands for anti aging skin care.These are the ones that I’ve used and that have worked well for my skin. Obviously I can’t try everything out there, so if you have a brand that you love and is working for you, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

And don’t forget: Help me reach my dream of being able to wash my face and get paid to tell people about it, by sharing this post using the social media buttons below! 😀

Until next time, lovelies!

Melissa

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Linking up at Get Your Pretty On, Not Dressed as Lamb, Pumps and Push-ups and Northwest Mountain Living

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