Multi-purpose products make it easy to simplify your skin-care routine.

If you’re older, it’s easy to feel left behind by the beauty industry.
Trends like heavy Instagram makeup and Korean skin care require multiple products and lengthy routines. Who, beyond a cheerfully self-absorbed teen or 20-something, has the time or inclination for complicated
facial contouring or 10-step skin-care regimens?

Even some peel-off masks are now social media bait, loaded with glitter and tiny stars for sparkly Instagram selfies. (Am I churlish for wondering if wiping foil stars across your skin could tear it?)

Glittery self-portraits not withstanding, there is an upside for more, ahem, mature customers. The popularity of Korean skin care “continues to influence the Canadian market as hydration products aimed at creating dewy, luminous skin continue to grow in popularity,” observes consumer research company The NPD Group. As a result, there is a blurring of lines between categories as brands are adding beneficial skin-care ingredients to items like foundation while skin care now offers makeup-like results.

This dovetails nicely with the urge to declutter homes that are full to bursting. (I don’t collect potato peelers as a hobby, so why do I own three?) Bathroom cabinets can be dire, but it’s easier than ever to find beauty products that earn their keep by performing more than one function.

Better products, glowing skin and tidier homes. Who could argue with that?

Makeup That’s Also Skin Care

“As we get older, our skin sees less oil production,” says Toronto-based dermatologist Dr. Lisa Kellett. “And because you don’t repair as quickly, there’s more trans-epidermal water loss, making skin drier.” Look for foundations or tinted moisturizers containing fruit oils and hyalur-onic acid that boost skin’s water content to help slow moisture loss. Try: Nude by Nature Sheer Glow BB Cream, $30; Charlotte Tilbury Unisex Healthy Glow hydrating tinted moisturizer, $50

A photo of unisex healthy glow skin cream and Physicians Formula anti brightening and tightening cream.

Skin Care That’s Also Makeup

The decrease in blood vessels close to the surface of older skin may make us look washed out, no matter our skin colour. Moisturizers with rosy pigments bring luminosity and a hint of colour to complexions. Try: L’Oréal Age Perfect Cell Renewal Rosy Tone Moisturizer, $36; Physicians Formula Rosé All Day Serum, $20; Sisley Instant Correct-Color Correcting Primer in Just Rosy, $90

Beauty Sleep

Do more than just moisturize while you sleep. Hydrate and speed skin turnover with products containing hyaluronic acid for plumping and alpha hydroxy acids that tackle dullness. Try: Omorovicza Acid Fix, $140; Reversa Resurfacing Smoothing Cream, $40

Chanel’s new Rouge Coco Lip Blush, $37, in Burned Berry looks dark in the tube but gives a sheer flush to lips and cheeks.

Gentle Cleansing and Exfoliation

With time, “cells take longer to turn over, but skin is more sensitive,” explains Kellett. “With decreased sebaceous gland activity, don’t use anything too stripping.” A gentle cleanser that speeds skin cell turnover solves both issues. Dermalogica Age Smart Skin Resurfacing Cleanser, $62, exfoliates with gentle lactic acid. For sensitive skin, Kellett recommends exfoliating beads over chemical exfoliants for anyone who “developed rosacea as they aged.” Try: Olay’s Micropolishing Cleansing Infusion Hydrating Glow Facial Cleanser, $13

Out, Damned Spot

Fight dark spots while moisturizing. Aveeno Positively Radiant Targeted Dark Spot Corrector Body Cream, $9-$14, is for all-over use, but with soy to tackle dark spots and SPF 15 for protection, it’s worth carrying around as your hand cream. Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Eye Crème, $48, hydrates delicate skin, brightens with vitamin C and minimizes discoloration with added pigments.

A version of this article appeared in the June 2018 issue with the headline, “Downsizing,” p. 20.