This is one of the best concealers I’ve ever used – it was made for women over 40
The concealer I’m about to tell you about was made for me. And when I say made for me, I mean women over the age of 40. How often does a brand create skin products specifically for over-40s? Not that often. And how often does a brand create products specifically for over-40 skin, only clinically test those products on women over 40, and only use images of faces over 40 in all its marketing material? The answer, until two years ago, was never, until Sarah Creal created her own brand. You might not know her name, but if you like make-up, you definitely know her work. Creal is one of the best beauty formulators in the industry and the woman behind many fabulous products, from the original Tom Ford Beauty line to Prada’s lip balms from the 90s, and more recently, the Estée Lauder and Victoria Beckham collaboration. She went on to co-found Victoria Beckham Beauty with Beckham herself, sitting at the helm as chief executive until 2022. Now in her late 50s and frustrated by the lack of luxury beauty products made for women her age, she decided to solve the problem and create her own line, which is now available in Ireland for the first time via Space NK. Face Flex Concealer and Complexion Enhancer (€52 from Space NK) is one of the best concealers I’ve ever used - luxuriously packaged and well formulated with hyaluronic acid, green tea and caffeine, all key ingredients for mature (and maturing) under-eyes. It has a fluid, lightweight formula with excellent coverage that “flexes” on the skin. As your skin moves and folds and creases - as it is designed to do - the concealer moves with it. Then, when you relax your face, it flexes back into place. No sinking into fine lines, no pooling, no drying up in clusters. It’s designed to also be used as foundation when needed, so thin and lightweight is the formula. Simply dot it across areas of the face and buff in with a brush. It brightens and evens, and covers blemishes, redness and pigmentation spots. The finish is velvety and dewy and smooth, but never sticky or heavy. Creal’s Eyes Up Creamy Kajal Longwear Eyeliners (€32) are also worth a mention - I rank them among the longest-wearing eyeliners I’ve ever used, without a single smudge in sight. Other products on my “excellent for mature skin” list include Westman Atelier Baby Cheeks Blush Stick and Face Trace Contour Stick (€52 each from westmanatelier.com ), which are creamy and pigmented but never sticky, with excellent longevity. Dior Forever Nude Bronze Glow Powder (€59 from Brown Thomas), Merit Day Glow Highlighting Balm (€35 from meritbeauty.com ) and Lisa Eldridge Seamless Skin Tint (€47 from Space NK) are all excellent too. What all of them have in common are hydrating formulations that never veer into greasy or overly shiny territory. On the whole, they contain ingredients that are good for your skin and, most importantly, they last and last. This week I’m loving… Voya Awakening Sugar Scrub I fear Voya have missed a trick by not also including the word “invigorating” in the name of its new Awakening Sugar Scrub (€55 from voya.ie ). Because this product is invigorating with a capital I. Infused with peppermint, botanical oils and organic seaweed, it wakes up the skin and the senses in seconds.