Triona McCarthy’s mid-life make-up update: How to refresh your skincare and beauty regimes for your 40s and beyond

Sometimes it can seem, especially on social media, that make-up products are aimed at those in their 20s and 30s. But as we get older, make-up can be a great way to highlight your best features and give your confidence a boost.

In your 40s and above, you may have to adapt your products and methods of application a little to look and feel your best but there are plenty of products to help that.

As skin tends to get drier as we age, it’s important to moisturise well. I love the radiance-revealing Chanel Hydra Beauty Water Cream (€57, boots.ie), as it’s ultra-hydrating. Enriched with active ingredients like white camellia, it illuminates the complexion, giving the skin a natural glow.

Powder can settle in fine lines and emphasise them, so cream products work best on older skin. A brand that’s great for mature skin is Jones Road, which was set up by celebrity makeup artist Bobbi Brown.

All her products are made with clean, moisturising ingredients like jojoba oil, and the Jones Road What the Foundation (€50, jonesroadbeauty.com) is a very moisturising balm/foundation hybrid with buildable coverage. Its light-medium formula blends seamlessly, leaving an even, fresh complexion that looks like your skin on its best day.

If you prefer the no-make-up look, Bobbi also offers the Jones Road Miracle Balm (€42, jonesroadbeauty.com), which comes in 12 shades. It can be used as a tint, blush or highlighter, and as it is light-reflecting, it gives a wash of soft-focus moisture.

Did you know that as you get older, your eye shape changes and your eyelid veers downward at the edges? That can make eyeliner application tricky, so my advice is to go big on mascara. The new Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara (€35, arnotts.ie) delivers up to 17 times more volume. It contains a keratin-care complex, black baccara rose, jojoba oil and rose centifolia extract to penetrate the lash cuticle and rebuild weakened bonds.

Another tip is to cultivate thicker brows as they’re more youthful, which is bad news for those of us who overplucked in the 1980s and ’90s.

Clarins has a great summer primer, Clarins SOS Primer Gold Glow (€35, clarins.ie), which can be used as a primer all over the face or dotted on to give touches of subtle light. It has a formula that is 93pc skincare for 24-hour hydration, leaving skin soft and hydrated.

Choose lipsticks wisely as while a nude lip looks great on young ‘uns, lips need a little bit of colour and luminosity as you get older. The new Benefit Splashtint Moisturising Dewy Lip Tint (€26.50, brownthomas.com) comes in six shades and contains hyaluronic acid to help smooth the appearance of fine lip lines. It also has goji berry seed oil, raspberry leaf extract and glycerin to help moisturise lips and aid smooth application.

I also love Clarins Water Lip Stain (€25, clarins.ie), which comes in two great shades and has a really lightweight texture. It contains organic aloe vera extract and organic raspberry water to give you soft, supple lips. Best of all, it won’t rub off — Clarins claims it can resist up to 300 kisses — well, you’re never too old to pucker up!

Three of the best… Summer candles

1 Diptyque Citronnelle (Lemongrass) Classic Candle, €58, brownthomas.com

This is not only a luxurious addition to your home but also a practical way to keep pesky mosquitoes at bay. The combination of beautiful scents and insect-repelling properties makes this candle a must-have for any soiree.

​2 Paul Smith Sunseeker, €82.50, paulsmith.com

This summery scent with Italian bergamot, mandarin and basil will have you daydreaming of Italy. As well as smelling gorge, Its tinted glass vessel catches the light beautifully, and can then be repurposed as a makeup brush holder etc afterwards.

3 La Bougie Honeysuckle & Sea Salt, €30, labougie.com

My dad, Paddy Mac, couldn’t pass a honeysuckle without picking it for my mum and presenting it to her along with a big kiss — the old romantic! It’s all I can think of when I smell this candle, that encapsulates the scent of summer in West Cork, as which echoes the rich floral scent of wild honeysuckle and freshness of a sea breeze.