I wish I had known more about skincare, how to layer products, and more about sunscreen when I was younger (like pre-21).
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Wish I knew about skincare ingredients and that alcohol denat should not be in skincare whatsoever. Also that oily skin does not need lotion based moisturizer and actually it can clog your pores. I could have saved myself such frustration if I knew what I should have been using rather than simply relying on marketing claims!
Contouring. I have high cheekbones, but I also have a wider face. I feel so much better with a little contouring to slim my face. For decades, I was afraid to use any blush bc I thought it made my face look bigger.
Christine, I agree 110% about the use of sunscreen use at a much younger age. I didn’t take it very seriously at all until around 8-9 years ago. Now I use it daily! Would strongly recommend ALL people do, I don’t burn easily at all, but I don’t want any collagen breakdown either!
Another few; I wish I had known, say, 43 years ago not to over pluck my brows into 2 skinny lines! Once thru the 70’s, didn’t learn, did so again in the 90’s.
And tightlining my upper lashline!!! Greatest thing for anyone lacking enough mobile lid real estate!
I wish I knew at an younger age more about the harmful effects of sun exposure and the benefit of wearing sunscreen everyday, including on the face. I would have liked to have known more about what skincare is advisable in one’s 20s, 30s, 40s, etc.
Tracey E., I so agree with you!!! I remember lying out in the sun as a teenager with suntan oil instead of sunscreen…ugh! I’m paying for it now.
Baking around my nose with a good loose powder bc I was always so so shiny.
Don’t overdo the brows! When I was in my late teens at one point I’d used to wax them. It gave a cleaner edge. But now fine hairs that used to grow on my lids and right under my brows don’t grow anymore. They’re just not as full as they could be anymore. Now I’m looking into microblading in the future… this is one terrible cycle. ?
Take better care of the skin on your NECK! Treat it as well as you treat your face — sunscreen, moisturizer, etc.
And your hands. Shows your age the most.
I wish I had known more about skincare, like doing masks and knowing the ingredients. I could’ve known to avoid certain moisturizers and try out others that could’ve worked. Also that I should’ve worn more sunscreen back in high school, especially when we had gym outside.
I second sunscreen so hard. It’s probably the most important thing I wear no matter what the season.
Foundation primer – my skin has gotten less oilier over the years but it would have saved me a lot of blotting and re-applying.
Really primer high end or other doesn’t do a darn thing for my oily skin!
What I meant to include but didn’t apparently is which one do you use? ?
1. Sunscreen — Christine, you read my mind. I wish more than anything that I had better protected my skin. The damage caused by the sun, especially those with fair skin, is not worth the vanity of a summer tan.
2. Medical Grade Skincare — Your GP or internist is an invaluable source of information. I’ve been using one particular prescription cream for a couple of decades now. I had developed a rash on my eyes from wearing pink eyeshadow, and he had just the cream to cure it. I’ve been using it ever since for a variety of skin issues (including age spots). The point I’m trying to make is that many of these prescription products can do the job better, faster and cheaper than any cosmetic ‘equivalents’, IF we had only known they existed. Knowledge is power.
Do you go to a dermatologist for that prescription sunscreen? Did you just ask for a prescription? Curious. Thankfully since I started washing my face and having a skincare routine I’ve included sunscreen. It helps having an older sister with a subscription to Seventeen etc. I don’t have much noticeable sun damage as I’m not a huge sun worshipper. I’ve never heard of prescription sunscreen but I’m curious as I’m not getting any younger ?
No, I wasn’t talking about medical grade sunscreen. I was just trying to point out that a GP or internist may know of medical grade options that are available for skin issues in lieu of cosmetic solutions, or even the need to see a dermatologist. I think they’re a great source of information, and we patients should take advantage of their knowledge when we can. It’s about options and solutions.
Could you elaborate on this? I have never heard of this.
Hi Zoe; I’m not sure what you want me to elaborate on. Could you be more specific?
As a lot of people have already mentioned, sunscreen! That’s the first thing that comes to mind.
For a makeup junkie, I spent decades doing things wrong. My biggest fails over the years have involved blending because I never bothered to learn to use brushes until I slowly started adding them into my routine over the past 10 years. I spent most of my adult life applying everything from foundation to eyeshadows with my fingers, and, consequently, never getting the kind of blend one gets by using the right tools. I was also a late bloomer when it comes to primers.
You probably were never doing anything wrong. There are no set rules. I’m sure, as long as you were having fun and experimenting, you were doing more things right but just doing them different as trends change over time?
Well, seeing painfully hard edges in old photos is a little embarrassing. Especially awful is the foundation line on my jaw. What a difference blending makes!!!! 🙂
I was fortunate to grow up with my mom and my aunties (who lived with us) who were sun worshippers and I saw at a very young age what their decades of sunbathing had done to their skin so I’ve used sunscreen since the year “dot” (they’ve improved exponentially since the 70’s!). I might just as well let Katherine T answer for more since our replies are so often similar but I too would say tightlining my upper lids (with the Marc Jacobs skinny pencil). Even with nothing else on my eyes, that one thing makes me look awake, bright-eyed, and so much better.
Ooops – NOT Katherine but NANCY T!
That’s so funny…I have referred to her as Kathy as well. There must be something so “Kathy” about Nancy!
Sunscreen, seeing a dermatologist or primary care physician for acne, and Japanese and Korean skincare routine information.
That, by a certain age (50 or so) subdued neutrals are truly the most flattering eyeshadow colors and that white highlight under the brow bone doesn’t add anything positive. Also, in general, less is more.
Sunscreen and, as corollary, any tanning effort is not worth it — a temporary glow is not worth the damage let alone cancer risk.
I wish I’d known more about skincare earlier, and gotten into it earlier. I wish I’d tried brushes for applying eyeshadow at an earlier age, instead of using sponge-tipped applicators.
Oh my I wish I knew everything that I know now way back when. Especially to stay out of the sun that is probably the biggest beauty thing that anyone can do for themselves but I always laid out with baby oil it was the thing and also we used sun reflectors. Even later on when people started to talk about the sun being bad for you it still wasn’t acknowledged by most. Now everyone knows about how bad it is for aging and how it can cause skin cancer. That would be my number one beauty advice that I wish I knew and took seriously. I finally stopped sunning at the age of 36 years old so better late then never.
I second skincare! I had such a terrible time with zits, blotchy skin and after years of consistent breakouts, scars and unevenness that are fading very slowly with a new skincare regimen. I am still bitter because the people around me just told me to wash my face as if that alone was going to do anything to my moderate teenage acne. I am so glad I found sunscreen, salicylic acid, niacinamide, vitamin c and retinol (just to name a few) when I did. I always try to share what I’ve learned with people if they ask for it because I don’t want anyone to suffer from unsuitable skincare products, bad parental advice and marketing hoo-ha like I did.
I also overplucked my brows well into the 2010s! I was fortunate that they grew back ?? Never again, no matter how fashion changes.
Tbh I think many don’t really know about skincare and good skin ingredients. Thankfully I discovered the wisdom of Paula Begoun and learned so much about what should and shouldn’t be in your skincare routine. I really wish I knew then what I know now and I wouldn’t have struggled with acne. But honestly if I knew I’m not sure how much would have been available unless you went to a dermatologist which I didn’t have the luxury. But I do pass on my knowledge to my daughter. She asks me all the time to read ingredient list to see if it’s good to buy. She thankfully has near perfect skin, not oily, with very few blemishes. But yeah Salicylic Acid, Niacimide and Retinol are my saviors now and acne is under control finally!
Unlike some of you I’ve always used sunscreen. If I didn’t I turned into a lobster, peeled and was right back white. I realized after multiple sunburns when I was a kid & teen that I was totally fighting a losing battle and gave up.
Things I wish I knew sooner.
1) I wish I had knew about 100 spf sooner since I still burn with sunscreen with less spf protection.
2) I wish I had used sunscreen on my hands, they show my age (44) way more than my face does.
3) I had started applying skincare to my neck and chest sooner.
4) Asking my dermatologist what skincare products to use vs. trying to figure it out myself. Turns out the age spot on my face was really just a cluster of blood vessels near the surface of the skin. OTC products have zero effect, total waste of money.
I have very similar issues. Didn’t try to tan, just burned and peeled. I apply sunscreen to my hands all the time, I don’t have any brown spots on them yet but I have bulging veins. My neck is showing my age more than any other thing and it drives me crazy. I have a brown spot on my face that will not respond to any OTC products and I have spent a lot of money on some high end products that were supposed to fade brown spots. Hindsight is 20/20. I took a class at Sephora for contouring, that opened my eyes and it was a well spent hour. I don’t shy away from highlighting or contouring now.
My dermatologist told me the only remedy is laser for the one that is a dark spot. My chest was showing mine until I used Ole Henriksen Invigorating Nighttime Treatment, immediate improvement. That is one product did what it claimed. Have you tried it.
Wish i would have started experimenting with brushes sooner vs trying use sponge applicators only. Also taken more time to learn about applying foundation. I never wore it (for decades) because i couldn’t stand the feel of it. Now i am getting older and really need it to even things out. Thankfully formulas are much nicer now….but i still have trouble feeling like i am getting it on evenly.
One thing I learned the hard way and wish I knew earlier: take your skincare down not just to your neck, but also your decollete area. That’s the very first spot where wrinkles will form if you sleep on your side like me!
When I was in my 20’s – there wasn’t the variety, technology and information about skincare and makeup as there is today.
Better skincare and quality makeup is so much more affordable nowadays too.
I wish I had known about daily moisturising with SPF before using foundation, and how even oily skin needs a hydrating moisturiser.
I wish I had started using serums earlier too.
As for applying makeup, I wish I had learnt how to apply my eye shadow better to suit my eyes and had used better quality eyeshadows as well.
skincare-all my mom used was Dove soap. Also wish they had sunscreen when I was young. I taught myself about makeup,, my mom only used brow pencil, “rouge” and lipstick. I knew enough not to do the blue eyeshadow thing that everyone used back then.
The most important one-don’t over tweeze my brows over and over again.
Ignore my girlfriends! Keep tweezers as far away from my brows as possible!!
I wish I had learned more about eyebrows a long time ago. In fact, I wish I could go back in time and smack those tweezers out of my younger self.
Sunscreen, yes. You really don’t think about how damaging the sun can be, and I wish I used sunscreen more in my youth. It’s not too late now, but man I should have got on that years ago!
Blending eyeshadow flawlessly is something I wish I knew sooner. I would use brushes and end up sweeping on bold blocks of color, and a few years back I learned how to swirl the brush in such a way that everything blends like a dream. I looked real funny in college until I learned that, I’m sure.
I guess how to assess quality products. I bought quite a few terrible formulations because they were cheap and regret not investing more in a good collection. Some mistakes: Glitter cream eyeshadow from Claire’s, Lush’s Color Supplements, Hot Topic eyeliner, sticky lipglosses.
Eyebrow shavers! For years I struggled with waxing, depilitories, and bleach for hair on my upper lip, between my brows, forehad, cheeks, etc… (Curse my Mediterranean features!) Turns out there is a cheap and painless option all along.
Part of me wishes I had gotten into makeup sooner. I didn’t really until college and could have done some fun stuff with colors and techniques in high school. At the same time, I wasn’t spending money on makeup and had more time in the morning to get ready for class. Pros and cons!
I was lucky to have a skincare obsessed parent to force me to wear moisturizer with SPF everyday, but I didn’t reapply so who knows how effective it was.