(Women's History Month)
The Generation Of Women-Led Beauty Brands Catering To The 40+ Crowd
With products to use from head to toe.
The beauty industry’s relationship with aging has historically been fraught, to say the least. Take, for instance, the ubiquitous term “anti-aging,” a claim regularly attached to moisturizers and serums designed to boost collagen and soften wrinkles. No matter how many beautiful, smiling, silver-haired models appear alongside it, the implication is that aging is something to run away from. But the fact of the matter is, getting older is something that we’ll all experience — if we’re lucky. Thankfully, a new generation of brands founded by and for women not only acknowledge this fact but also embrace it.
These brands don’t shy away from the reality that, as we move into new chapters in life, our bodies change; sometimes in unexpected ways. In the last decade or so, more wellness and skin care brands have emerged that specifically cater to the needs of perimenopausal and menopausal bodies, from the inside out. More makeup brands are not only considering mature skin (which would have been a feat in and of itself not so long ago), but are specifically formulating their products to enhance its beauty. And in the hair space, brands are starting to pop up that hone in on the thinning and dryness that can come along with those additional candles on your birthday cake.
Scroll on for six woman-led beauty and wellness brands designed with women over 40 in mind.
Joylux x Respin
Halle Berry’s Respin is a lifestyle brand that’s all about building and cultivating community amongst those experiencing menopause. It includes Respin Health (offerings include virtual medical appointments and Peloton workouts tailored to alleviate the symptoms of menopause and perimenopause) and the Inner Circle, a private, subscription-based digital platform. There’s also its partnership with Joylux, an intimate care brand founded by Colette Courtion. The star of the collab is the vFit PLUS Red Light Intimate Wellness Device, which utilizes red-light technology to help boost hydration and strengthen the pelvic floor.
Sarah Creal
Before launching her eponymous brand, Sarah Creal helped steer and develop some of the biggest players in the beauty industry; not only did she hold key development roles at L’Oréal and Estée Lauder, but she also co-founded Victoria Beckham Beauty. Creal harnessed that extensive industry know-how to develop a makeup brand that isn’t just inclusive of skin over 40, but caters specifically to it. Sarah Creal Beauty launched in 2024, and its luxury offerings quickly became staples in cool-girl makeup bags, beloved for their formulas that take the needs of mature skin into account without sacrificing fun or glamour. Among the standout products are the Eyes Up 24H Creamy Kajal Longwear Eyeliner — which was specifically tested on hooded lids and includes moisturizing allantoin and ceramides — and the Face Flex Concealer & Complexion Enhancer.
Laura Geller
If you’ve been at all clued into the cosmetics scene in the last 30 years, you’re undoubtedly familiar with Laura Geller Beauty. Founded in 1997 by artist Laura Geller — a native New Yorker with a background in theatrical makeup — the brand’s baked blushes and highlighters, in particular, are beloved by beauty fans of all ages for their ability to create soft, effortless flushes. Still, the products are formulated with mature skin top of mind — which is why, since 2021, its campaigns have exclusively featured models over 40. Indeed, for its latest launch, the Best of the Best Cream Full Face Basics Palette, LGB tapped over-40 talent including Tia Mowry, Bethenny Frankel, Melissa Gorga, and Teri Hatcher.
Womaness
Womaness founders Sally Mueller and Michelle Jacobs had been friends for two decades — during which time they built impressive and varied careers in media and business — before deciding to launch a brand together. Spurred by Mueller’s own experience with menopause symptoms (like dry skin and unexpected aches and pains), Womaness’ serums, supplements, and sets span the spectrum of just about everything one needs to address the changes that come along with getting older. Among the cheekily named bestsellers are the Let's Neck Neck + Décolleté Serum, which firms, tightens, and brightens in both the short-term and over time, and the Me.No.Pause Dietary Supplement.
Stripes by Naomi Watts
She might be most famous for her work on-screen, but rest assured: When it comes to brand building, Naomi Watts is true to this, not new to this. Years after co-founding the chic Tribeca boutique ONDA Beauty, Watts launched Stripes, the menopause-centric brand that wasn’t around when she started experiencing perimenopause at age 36. “I started with the idea of beauty products to address hydration issues, from scalp to vag,” she told TZR. “But it also comes from a truthful story of my own and wanting to share it, because menopause was a difficult time for me, and I didn't know how to navigate it.” The brand offers solutions for a wide range of hormone-related concerns; think a scalp serum for thinning hair, a plumping and hydrating hyaluronic acid serum, and probiotic supplements for vaginal pH balancing.
Commence by Brooke Shields
Hair changes with age, too, and not just by turning gray. Over the years, it can thin out, become more brittle, and start to dull, and the scalp — like the rest of the skin — can become drier. Actress and perennial hair icon Brooke Shields tackles those issues head-on (pun intended) with Commence, the hair care brand she launched in 2024, developed specifically for women over 40. Currently, the brand is keeping things streamlined and straightforward, with just one shampoo and one conditioner (the Detoxifying Shampoo and Probiotic Smoothing Conditioner, respectively) alongside a handful of treatments and styling products. The bestselling Root Serum targets thinning hair with ingredients including alfalfa extract to support hair growth and quinoa peptides to boost volume and thickness.
