If there is one thing I’m hoping for, it’s that I’ve inherited some good skin genetics from my gran, Audrey. At 83, my family refer to her as glam-ma as opposed to grandma, as she always looks put together. Plus, people often say she looks far younger than her age would suggest, and I have to agree, I hope I look this lovely at her age.
When I recently visited her for a cup of tea, we got talking about her beauty routine, and naturally, I wanted to know what skincare secrets she might that she could pass on. Going into beauty editor mode, I quizzed her on all things beauty and investigated her dressing table for the best products for mature skin, as well as her all-time favourites that she swears by.
With 55 years in between us, one thing that became clear in our conversation is that there are now just so many beauty brands around to choose from nowadays. Growing up, my gran notes that there were only a handful brands of available to her in her local Boots store. “Outdoor Girl, Max Factor and No7 were three of my favourites.” she says, to which my grandad quips: “You’ve used No7 as long as we’ve been married!” As such, she has stayed loyal to some of her favourite products for 60 years—all of which are budget-friendly and can be found in most drugstores. “I have sensitive skin, so I like to stick to what I know, and I’ve never bought expensive skincare” she says. Her routine is very minimal when it comes to skincare and makeup—and very rarely veers away from her favourite brands.
She hasn’t followed a specific diet, bought expensive products (apart from the odd moisturiser I may have given her in my job as a beauty journalist) or followed a complicated 10-step skincare routine. In fact, I was amazed to hear that she hasn’t diligently avoided the sun over the years, explaining that when she was younger she would often bask in the sun with olive oil on—SPF certainly was not applied. We now know how much the sun’s UV rays contribute to wrinkles and pigmentation, so it’s remarkable that her skin still looks as great as it does.
The only two hard rules that she’s followed? “I don’t drink very much alcohol, and I’ve never used soap on my face,” she says. In the beauty climate we live in, it’s quite refreshing to hear that using less products is actually better for our skin, and my gran is a great case in point of that notion. After combing through her bathroom shelf and dressing table, I’ve listed her favourite products for mature skin below and—spoiler alert—they’re mostly all very affordable too.
Up Next: The Holy-Grail Product My 73-Year-Old Mum Uses to Make Her Look 20 Years Younger
This story was originally posted at an earlier date and has since been updated.
