Beauty Addicts: A Natural Look for Over 40 Skin

Two things I know about aging skin and getting it to look presentable: 1) I no longer care about "healthy" ingredients--over 40 skin care is loaded with them everywhere you turn, so I don't need them in my makeup, too; and 2) I don't want to look "younger"--I just want to look presentable, not "made up", not tired.

Enter Beauty Addicts. If you check out their website, their "Celebrity Addicts" page includes a few over 40 celebs--usually a good sign. Celebs like Sharon Stone, Sharon Lawrence, Ally Sheedy (yes, she's not 18 anymore), Kathy Griffin, Cheryl Hines...

Beauty Addicts Express Shades for Lips

But what got me to try Beauty Addicts was the shade palette. It was reminiscent of a cross between Bobbi Brown and early Physician's Formula (before PF became a gimmick at every turn). The hues are more natural looking--muted tones of earth, petals, smoke.

I got Beauty Addicts blush, eyeshadow, lip gloss (RelationLips) in a range of neutral earthy tones--which usually works with my fairer skin and hair, and blue eyes.

Beauty Addicts Eyeshadow comes in a quad with the usual lid-crease-highlighter shades--which, of course, you can wear however the heck you like (ie, lighter shades for day/looking more awake; deeper shades for night...). The shadows go on smoothly with minimal "settling" in lines and wrinkles--though there isn't a powder-based formula out there that won't do that after a couple of hours. The good thing, too, is that the Beauty Addicts shadows stay in place--unlike the way some eyeshadows have a tendency to leave a sprinkly dust under your eyes.

The same goes for Beauty Addicts blush. Great natural-looking shades that go on smoothly and last longer than I'm used to. They also work pretty well with bronzers--the shades complement each other so you don't have to switch out your shades with the seasons.

To make it quick, easy and uncomplicated, Beauty Addicts has four color families--kind of like a bed-in-a-bag for your face--everything's coordinated--that include shades for lips, eyes and cheeks. My Beauty Addicts color family is called Express--which makes sense as it's truly the express lane option to applying makeup. The other families include Glow (think shimmer & ice), Motivate (think transitioning from work to after-work drinks), and Seduce (think smoky eyes and vino).

If you're thinking of trying Beauty Addicts, opt for the Express shades first as you can keep them lighter for day, or apply more intensely for evening--and still keep a natural look vs coming across as a 40+ year old who's trying to look 20.

One final note--Beauty Addicts does claim (though not in an OTT way) to have some "benefits"--via including things like antioxidants and vitamins A and E and the like. But who cares? At this point, if it wears well, goes on easily and stays on without making me look like a fool...I'm in.

Beauty Addicts prices range from $28 for blush and lips to $35 for eyeshadows. Get them at beautyaddicts.com.