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Best Face Forward ; Beauty Products Get the Anti-Aging Treatment

Posted on: Friday, 30 December 2005, 15:00 CST

By LUCY PROBERT, SPECIAL TO THE RECORD

With 2006 just a few dozen hours away, now is as good a time as any for women over the age of 40 - or even 50 - to be reminded of something Mae West once said: "You're never too old to become younger."

The popularity of anti-aging skin care has prompted beauty companies to begin formulating and marketing products for older women. (Cover Girl has even recruited 51-year-old Christie Brinkley, who epitomized the beauty ideals of the 1980s yuppie culture, to tout a new age-defying makeup line.)

But can you really turn back the hands of time with foundation?

Anti-aging ingredients such as retinol, peptides, hydroxy acids and vitamin C are being used in makeup foundations, but some dermatologists wonder whether the concentration levels can be effective in the defense of aging.

"While many of these ingredients on their own have been shown to result in noticeable improvements in wrinkles and skin texture, they often need to be formulated in high concentrations and in specific delivery systems so that they are maximally effective," says Michele Grodberg, founder and president of Contemporary & Cosmetic Dermatology in Englewood and on staff at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center.

She advises checking labels: "The more ingredients in a product, the higher the chance for irritation or allergy." And although many foundations contain an SPF, the amount of sunscreen probably isn't enough to ward off the sun's rays for the whole day.

Finally, says Grodberg, "Foundation is an important tool in the quest for younger-looking skin, but its principle benefit is camouflaging and light diffusing effects, not therapeutic."

While there are many products backed by strong research and proven ingredients, it would be a mistake to rely on makeup as the sole source of anti-aging skin therapy or sun protection - so don't skip the moisturizer and sunscreen.

* *

The formulas

Here are a few anti-aging makeup products available on shelves and online, along with their ingredients and claims:

* Cover Girl's Advanced Radiance Compact Foundation ($10, drugstores): CG has added Olay's de-wrinkle ingredients - like vitamin E, Pro vitamin B5 and Pro vitamin B3 - to this compact foundation to minimize lines and add glow.

* Revlon Age Defying Light Makeup SPF 30 ($12.99 at drugstores): Contains Botafirm, Revlon's patented blend of hexapeptide and botanicals. Claims to reduce lines up to 50 percent in two weeks and won't settle into fine lines and wrinkles.

* Clinique Repairwear Anti-Aging Makeup ($28.50 at department stores and clinique.com): With antioxidants and an SPF 15 to protect skin from sun damage, it also contains ingredients for all-day hydration.

* Clarins Extra-Firming Foundation ($37.50 at department stores and clarins.com): Promises to visibly soften facial features and provide luminous, long-lasting results, as well as moisture- boosting actions to aid in minimizing visible lines, wrinkles and skin imperfections.

* Avon's Becoming Redefine Airbrush Foundation SPF 10 (19.50 at avon.com): For that "air-brushed look," this lightweight foundation provides light to medium coverage. Eighty-six percent of women tested agreed that it blurred and softened the appearance of lines and wrinkles.

* Revlon's Vital Radiance Makeup (from $7.99 to $13.99 at drugstores): Formulated for women over 50, this is designed as a three-step system: Prepare (primer and under-eye concealer), color (foundation and compact makeup) and finish (lip shine and powder blush). Available in late January.

* Lauren Hutton's Good Stuff Makeup (lauren hutton.com): Hutton developed this makeup more than a decade ago for women, like herself, over 40. She offers lipsticks, eye shadows, blush and skin care, as well as tips she has gleaned from more than four decades of modeling.

- Lucy Probert

Source: Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.

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