It has taken me a long time to win the war against makeup. I grew up with a mother who never left her bedroom until she had her "face on". I came to believe that I only looked my best when I had foundation on. For decades I wore it like a mask.
The ironic thing is that so few women in my real life wear makeup. Almost none of the women I work with now or ever have worn makeup. I have been in the minority and yet my concept of myself continued to be attached to wearing makeup.
I have this year, for the first time begun to separate myself from that concept. For the first time I recognize that I look perfectly fine without makeup. I'm almost 54 years old. No matter how much or little makeup I wear is going to make me look 20 or 30.
So, this year I have only worn tinted sunscreen; no foundation. And as my supply of that runs out I'm not going to repurchase anymore. It's scary and it's empowering at the same time. I find value in other women because of the kind of people they are, not what they look like or their makeup. I'm hoping, as I continue to look more and more natural that those around me, who I work with and live with will do the same for me.
So, as I use less and less makeup, I've become more interested in my skincare. I've been working on being consistent with that for more than ten year now; since I was diagnosed with recurring skin cancer. We should all wear sunscreen all day long, but those, like me who battle skin cancer should all the more pay attention to protection their skin.
Here's what I'm using right now:
I concentrate on several areas that I think are important for women my age:
Sunscreen, Moisturizer, Fighting wrinkles and Teeth.
Neutrogena Age Shield Face Sunscreen spf 70 and spf 50 sunscreen for my body. I've been wearing Neutrogena face sunscreen for years. It's a formula that's not greasy and it doesn't break me out. It's a little more expensive than the others but it's the best I've found so I keep buying it. I also use at least a 50 spf on my arms and neck. For that I use a store brand that's the cheapest. I only recently started wearing sunscreen on my arms during the work week. I realized that I sit right next to a huge window where I get natural light all day long. That means I'm getting extended periods of sun every day so I need to wear sunscreen on all parts of my body that are exposed.
CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion, plain and with 30 spf. I switch brands of moisturizer depending on what's on sale. I've heard good things about CeraVe so I'm decided to try the brand. I use the one with sunscreen in the mornings. I put a layer on my face and neck and once that dries I put my 50spf sunscreen over that. I don't know if I get extra protection by layering sunscreen but I figure if it doesn't help it won't hurt.
Differin Gel. This is my second tube of Differin. I'm using this to fight fine lines and wrinkles. I love this stuff. I really do see a difference in the texture and overall look of my skin. I will definitely continue to use this product. It is a fraction of the cost of Retin-A and dues the same thing. This product was previously a prescription product only. For about $12 there's no reason to try this. I get several month's use out of each tube so it's very cost effective.
Plus White 5 Minute Speed Whitening Gel. This is another product that I've been using for years. Dingy looking teeth can instantly age us. I don't want to look any older than I am. This product is inexpensive and really works. I put a big dollop onto my toothbrush and lightly apply it to my teeth in the mornings. After five minutes I rinse it off. It's easy and quick and I feel like it keeps my teeth from getting yellow from the coffee I drink daily.
So this is what I'm focusing on now instead of foundation, blush and eyeshadow. I think it's a better use of my limited income and I feel that in the long run what I'm doing now will help me look my best.
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