Derms know this. I found out at 40 😳

Hi beautiful, ☕️ 

I have a confession…

And it's been sitting heavy with me all week.

Lately I keep noticing all these little things changing in my skin…

Darker under eyes, cheeks hallowing and deeper smile lines. IYKYK. 😉 

Next thing I knew it was 2am and I was three pages deep in a rabbit hole.

So this week I'm spilling:

✨ a preventative lineup I'd guard with my life
🔬 what derms quietly start before you even need it
💛 the moment that made me feel my age

The lineup I should have started in my 30’s

For years I bought skincare like it was a mood, not a plan.

Then I turned 40 and realized prevention is the whole game.

These are the five pairings I reach for before I even think about anything fancy:

1. the boring one that beats everything ☀️ I fried my skin in my 20s with zero SPF and I think about it almost daily. Now this 15% vitamin C glow booster and this SPF sun water with zero white cast are the first things I reach for. This new innovation of sun water aka spf is so good (and tbh would be great for ppl with oily skin!) Tip: Vitamin C first, sun water on top, reapply at lunch.

2. the nighttime duo that earns its keep 🌙 The day my skin stopped bouncing back, I felt it in my stomach. A few nights a week this dual retinoid retinal resurfaces everything while this pro collagen peptide plumping cream keeps me from waking up tight and flaky. I don’t keep count but probably on my 3rd bottle. Tip: Retinal twice a week to start, peptide cream every night.

3. the resilience pair nobody mentions 🤍 At 40 my skin turned reactive out of nowhere, red and moody for no reason. This PDRN salmon DNA renewing serum floods it with repair and this first step activating essence helps it all sink in deeper. Tip: Essence on damp skin first, then the serum while dewy.

4. the makeup that takes years off 💄 Nothing ages me faster than heavy foundation creeping into every line by noon. So now it's this peptide tinted hydrator that melts in like real skin and this cream blush that never sinks into lines that genuinely makes me look younger. Tip: Blush high on the cheekbones for a faked facelift.

5. my fix for suddenly sensitive skin 💡 My skin's been weirdly sensitive lately, flaring up over nothing. This red light LED mask calms the redness every single time and this beta glucan calming serum drenches it in moisture after. Tip: Ten minutes under the LED, then top with the serum.

Things I should've thought about in my 20s

Here's where I got a little obsessed. 🫠 

I started seeing more hollowness under my eyes and softness along my jaw…

And instead of panicking…I got curious.

These are the three treatments I keep reading about:

• sculptra, the slow collagen builder 🧬 The idea of slowly rebuilding my own collagen instead of chasing some quick fix is exactly the kind of preventative I'm drawn to right now. It works gradually and takes time but I’ve had a lot of gf’s do this treatment and their skin looks like it got a lift + plump upgrade.
  

• sofwave, the no downtime tightener 🌊 I keep catching a little softness along my jaw, and the fact this uses ultrasound with basically zero downtime fits my actual life. I can't disappear for a week to recover, so something I could walk right out of has me genuinely curious.
  

• the salmon DNA facial, aka polynucleotides 🐟 I keep seeing Korean girls on Instagram swear by this one, and you know I already love PDRN in my skincare. I don't know all the science yet, but the regenerative glow has me wanting to learn more.

These have me genuinely curious about the kind of preventative things I want to do now that I'm in my 40s.

Talk to a board certified pro before any of it, and only if it feels right for you. 🫶 

The moment that made me feel my age.

My brother just had a baby.

A whole human. On purpose. 😆 

He's six years younger than me, and somehow he's the one out here being a grown up.

Meanwhile I still feel 25, which is hilarious, because my knees would like a word.

I held that tiny, brand new baby and felt two things at once.

The first was time moving forward, fast, whether I signed off on it or not.

The second was this big, almost embarrassing wave of gratitude. I have a niece!

There's a line I keep coming back to:

I'm an auntie now. I have my own kids, my own family, my own one wild life.

And I'm done handing my peace to things I can't control.

The number on my license? Out of my hands.

What I do with the years in front of me? That part is all mine.

So I'm holding my people a little tighter and chasing the stuff that actually counts.

And if I had to leave you with one thing, it's the thing I keep forgetting myself.

Make every day count.

And give yourself something to look forward to.

Every single day. 🥰 

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xo Jen

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