They say with age comes confidence but if your skin’s playing up its hard to feel your best. As we all know, hormonal changes can have a big impact on skin BUT that doesn’t mean that, past the 50-year mark, or whenever you reach menopause, good skin days are a thing of the past. Far from it. It simply means that you need to be willing to adapt your skincare routine to manage these changes.

It would be a lot easier if there was just one thing that happened during menopause but there are at least seven different changes that can influence skin and sometimes it can feel like they can happen overnight! The production of collagen - the structural support net in the skin – slows down and it loses firmness and elasticity and plumpness and bounce. The skin barrier becomes weaker, and you may notice skin texture becomes thin and fragile and fewer natural oils are being produced causing dehydration and dryness. And in a cruel twist of fate as oestrogen decreases, melanin production increases invading the complexion with dark spots and uneven skin tone – it really is ‘hormone havoc’!

As with most things Gatineau do, no stone was left unturned when it came to creating a range to embrace the multitude of changes that take place through the menopause journey and with 8 years of research behind it the Age Benefit range, with its exquisite combination of high performing ingredients promises (and delivers) to transform complicated complexions while making you feel utterly pampered.

Take our Age Benefit Regenerating Moisturiser, a rich and restorative day and night formula designed to tackle wrinkles, skin slackening and age spots which become more much prevalent thanks to menopause. Containing the range’s signature complex of Artichoke and Hibiscus Extract which encourages the skin to behave as it does pre-oestrogen levels dropping, ‘talking’ to the key skin cell receptors to manufacture collagen and elastin and make it more resilient. With the addition of barrier-building Ceramides to help improve hydration and reduce skin sensitivity and Red Algae Extract to even skin tone it covers all important age-proofing bases making it a serious investment you can have confidence in!

The 'cashmere of your complexion', the delicate eye area needs specialist treatment if you want to look wide awake and bushy tailed. Age Benefit Advanced Eye Serum is a 360-degree ultra-lightweight serum carefully crafted to tackle the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, dark circles, and puffiness. The high-performance formula harnesses a youth-prolonging peptide that promises to stop wrinkles in their tracks.  Otherwise known as Argireline or Hexapeptide-8, it is dubbed #botoxinabottle for its ability to work similarly to Botox (but without the needles) inhibiting your nerves’ ability to release a signal to your muscles therefore limiting the movements that lead to wrinkles, which is sure to become one of your greatest allies in the battle against those pesky permeant creases.  And if you are worried about drooping eyelids the smart addition of Honey Locust Extract creates a luxurious mini lift by forming a weightless elastic net over the skin prompting a long-lasting tightened look. This clinical formula is all about dialling up the dew to promote a pillow-y-finish with a magic matrix of ingredients including wrinkle-inflating Hyaluronic Acid molecules, dew-boosting Hibiscus Extract and complexion-clarifying Artichoke which cater to every possible whim. And then to ‘claim your bags’ is the expertly moulded skin-cooling metal tip which hugs into the eye contour giving a delicious cooling sensation on the skin allowing you to massage for a seriously de-puffed look meaning you can start your mornings right and end your days with ease!

To perfectly compliment these science-led formulations is Age Benefit’s Youth Revitalising Oil-Serum a bi-phase formula like no other.  Pledging to nourish, hydrate, soothe, brighten, and defy time there isn’t much this silky textured wonder can’t do! Think of it as two power-packed serums in one injected with both water soluble and oil soluble ingredients that when combined make it very worthy of your attention.

Packed to the rafters with a proprietary blend of high-tech botanicals it’s a real super-charger for your skin and contains ingredients considered the backbone of any serious rejuvenating programme including Persian Silk Tree Extract, Vitamin C and Niacinamide which work beautifully together to slow down the ageing process and unlock insanely dewy glowing skin. Loaded with Meadowfoam, Rosehip and Camelia Oil this is a deep-treatment serum – soothing, smoothing and softening – and if you keep one thing in your beauty arsenal at all times, it should be this.  To me this is THE ‘Genie in a Bottle’ and the ultimate skincare saviour.

And there you have it – the Rolls-Royce of skincare; Age Benefit not only shines a spotlight on the hush-hush subject of the menopause but celebrates skincare in its own terms, affirming that beauty only gets better with age.

Lucy x