The Beauty Regime to Follow in Your 40s

Media Platforms Design Team

"Less is more in this decade," says Barose, "but that doesn't mean do nothing." The trick is to keep your makeup soft and enhance your look with the right products. Here's how you can make 40 the new 30.

MAKEUP The key is to brighten, brighten, brighten. "Your skin may require more coverage, but you still want to appear radiant," Barose says. Start each morning with an illuminating concealer. Apply StriVectin's under your eyes to diffuse lines and erase shadows, and follow it with a thin layer of foundation and blush. Replace your traditional lipsticks with Sephora Collection's Lip Ink, which combines the staying power of a stain with the plumping abilities of a gloss and the look of a sheer lipstick. "You need color at this age, but you don't want anything too heavy," he says. Don't forget a brow pencil and a thin mascara wand; they'll give you an instant eye lift. A small comb allows you to thoroughly coat lashes from root to tip, and "filling in your brows wipes 10 years off your face," says Anastasia Soare, Jennifer Lopez's brow guru and founder of Anastasia Beverly Hills. Must-have manicure: Plum flatters all skin tones.

HAIR Bangs will "without a doubt" camouflage forehead wrinkles and give the illusion of "fuller hair in front," says Gibson. If gray regrowth at your roots is a monthly nuisance, beware of going too dark; it can lead to what the pros call "shoe polish–y" color. "When a single process gets too deep at the roots, every wrinkle, blemish, and spot on your skin will stand out," Dorram notes. Instead, ask your colorist for "sandy highlights strategically placed around your face" to cut the inkiness of a brown base.

SKIN CARE You've been losing collagen since your 20s, but this is when you're going to notice it. "The biggest concerns for women in their 40s are frown lines, crow's-feet, and blotchy pigmentation," says Brandt. Introducing an antioxidant into your nighttime routine can address many of these issues. We like SkinCeuticals Resveratrol B E serum ($145). In the doctor's office, you could opt for a fast-acting combo of Botox and fillers, or try LaViv, a six-month treatment in which your own fibroblasts are injected into your skin to amp up collagen and elastin production.