Just the title of this article “7 Biggest Natural Beauty Trends in 2019 Women Over 40 Need to Know” is a dead giveaway for many of my predictions for how you can expect to see the conversation in beauty shifting.

1. Natural Beauty Gets Stronger

Overall “natural beauty” as a theme is becoming stronger, not just in terms of product choices, but also in how people are represented, inserting more realism into the industry as a whole. So let’s dive in…

Whatever label you want to give it, “green beauty” or “clean beauty” choosing cosmetic products more consciously is continuing to to dominate the largest growth sector in the beauty industry globally. The natural beauty segment has been gaining significant speed from when I first started publicly writing in 2010, and it ain’t slowing down.

Choosing products that do better for you and the world we live in is still highly important. Yet, with so many new players on the market trying to grab their share of the profit pie, making sure you are a smart consumer who’s not getting fooled by greenwashing tricksters, is going to become even more important.

Here are two important resources for you to check out:

Toss the Toxins Toolkit and The Ultimate Natural Beauty Shopping Guide

 

2. Inclusivity and Diversity

Gender Inclusivity

Currently a very small segment of beauty brands are making a point to be gender inclusive, but the movement is definitely gaining speed and I’m proud to be part of it.

Every woman, cisgender, female, femme, trans, non-binary, agender, queer, or otherwise identified person is welcome and embraced here on my site.

Are you thinking, “Woah, that’s a whole lotta terminology at once!”?

Yes, these are fairly new terms to most of us. It feels less overwhelming when you understand them and why using them is powerful. There’s a wonderful glossary on the Trans Student Educational Resources site that explains gender identification beautifully.

You may also start to see the word “womyn” pop up more often on various sites and assume it’s a typo. Actually “womyn” is a word that aims to be more inclusive of the various identifications I mentioned above.

Please note, I am choosing to use the standard spelling of “women” on my site for brevity in titles and to ensure my content will appear for commonly searched beauty topics, without getting buried 50 pages deep on the results pages.

Beauty Diversity

There’s a huge uptick in cosmetic brands marketing their products towards various skin tones, genders, body shapes, and ages. Hallelujah!

The progress being made here is fantastic. Many brands are still learning how to be as diverse and inclusive as possible, including me.

So I hope we can work together to support and encourage the continued representation of people in a diverse, non-homogenized, inclusive way so this trend isn’t just a passing thing, but becomes the norm.

 

3. Uplifting Aging

This also falls into inclusivity and diversity “trend”, but it gets special placement because in the title I specifically mention women over 40. Here’s why:

99% of the presentation of beauty trends and products are focused on teenagers and 20-somethings.

When the magazines say, “bold, pink eyeshadow and graphic eyeliner are all the rage for 2019,” they’re not lying, but the vast majority of my over 40 clients tell me those kinds of trends don’t work for them.

The over 40, over 50, over 60 beauty seekers keep saying they’re looking for makeup and skincare to restore their glow, wellness tips for maintaining health and more representation for what it means to be aging beautifully.

Several bloggers, Instagram-ers, YouTube-ers and a sprinkling of beauty brands are really starting to get how starving this segment of the population has been for a more uplifted conversation around aging that’s not just about battling wrinkles all the time.

I started a free Facebook group this year just so women over 40 could gather and have these exact conversations in a positive, supportive environment.

If you’d like to join us, please click here and answer all 3 questions to be granted access.

4. Growing Grey

Perhaps the pinnacle of the anti-anti-aging movement, this going grey beauty trend is about ditching the dye all-together and letting nature have its way — allowing silver and white hair to appear unfettered.

Even Pinterest cited in their 2019 beauty trend report that women are looking for ways to embrace the natural process of going grey. That said, one of the most popular sections on my site is dedicated to talking about how to safely cover grey hair. So clearly not everyone is on board with growing in grey hair yet, and that’s perfectly OK.

5. More Realism

Finally! I’m seeing a movement away from the mask-like makeup tutorials pervasive on Youtube and Instagram, towards a more natural look.

I can feel women everywhere breath a collective sigh of relief on this one. 

The pendulum is also swinging away from the heavily airbrushed and filtered images, which depict heavily-altered faces with extremely smooth skin and no visible pores as “normal.”

CVS, Allure, Marie Claire and others have started showcasing “un-retouched” women in their imagery, though the vast majority of the women still shown are quite young. But hey, it’s progress.

 

6. New Age Skincare

Jade rollers, Gua Sha tools, crystal face masks, gem-infused, CBD-infused, high-vibrational skincare products are gaining massive popularity.

Is it just a bunch of woo-woo, hippie crap? Well, we can discuss that nuanced answer later. For now I’ll tell you it feels like everyone in the skincare world has jumped on board this train in the last year.

Crystals and Gems

I reached out to an incredibly knowledgable colleague, Angela Peck, who’s expertise in holistic skin treatments is staggering. When it comes to crystals and gemstones in skincare treatments she shared:

“I definitely see this trend continuing because it really works. Gua Sha and jade rollers help facilitate flow under the skin when massaged across our skin (no flow, no glow). Gemstones like amethyst, blue calcite, rose quartz can have remarkable results on the skin.”

Angela also warns us that many gemstones are unethically mined. As with any trend, a larger demand will cause greedy brands to source cheaper versions at a large human cost. So please do your homework before running out to buy something.

I’ll also follow up soon with a more in-depth article on this because Angela and others have some really incredible insight to share on this method of treating the skin.

Intuitive, Spiritual, “High-Vibrational” Beauty

Natural beauty purists coming out of the woo-woo closet and saying, it’s time to go deeper and tap into your innate wisdom and harness the true potential of natural power. It’s more than just ingredients, it’s about energy.

The first time I heard someone in the skincare world tell me to use intuition to decide which mix of products to use on my skin each day, was Elisha Reverby the founder of Elique Organics.

Using intuition to choose skincare was a weird concept to me at first, and then it made SO much sense! Of course, listening to my inner truth, and not just blindly following a pre-set protocol is more effective.

I made sure Elisha touched on what it means to use one’s intuition in the new Healing Dry Skin Inside and Out Workshop we created (Coming soon! Get on the waitlist here).

One of my other favorite skincare brands that’s always got a lot of shelf space in my bathroom, Max and Me, just released a healing, soothing, aromatherapeutic spray called The Intuitive. I’m quite energetically sensitive, and their entire skin care approach has to do with “high-vibing” properties that they say (and I feel) super-charges the botanicals they’ve hand selected by growers who also are in alignment with their overall values of nourishing the entire skin and spirit.

It’s other-level skincare that’s really an experience worth having. P.S. I love that they feature the co-founder Tanja – a woman over 40 – instead of only showing young models.

CAP Beauty one of my favorite natural beauty boutiques in the world, launched their book “High Vibrational Beauty“, filled with mantras, meditations, natural skin care regimens, and more than 100 plant-based recipes for inner and outer deliciousness to help you achieve radical radiance.

The book itself is stunning and artful, so it’s out on my coffee table all the time as inspiration.

CBD Oil

Talk about an ingredient that’s taking the skincare market by storm! CBD (short for cannabidiol) is the new buzz word in cosmetics, but it won’t get you buzzed. Praised for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, experts say it will calm dry skin, psoriasis, and eczema, and signs of aging.

Alexandra Wagner spa owner, skin formulator and esthetician in Venice Beach, California offers CBD facials. I asked Alexandra why she began using medical grade CBD oil in facials recently, and she said:

“I sometimes struggle with autoimmune symptoms and over the past year I have been using CBD topically for pain and inflammation and have been amazed by the immediate relief. I was so inspired by the results I started researching it more and it was a natural progression to introduce my CBD oil to my clients who were so excited to try it.”

I’ll definitely be doing more in-depth articles about these unique ingredients and tools in the next year so you can better understand if they’d be something worth trying on yourself. 

7. Sparkle Factor

Sparkle is my theme word for 2019 because it feels like tingles — a light, joyful energy that can be infused in any moment.

If you don’t know who Marie Kondo is and her “Spark Joy” philosophy, get to know her Tidying Up manifesto right now!
She’s a ball of the most wonderful, joyous energy who helps people rid their lives of clutter, and create a life where what surrounds them brings them a sense of specialness.

Sparkly glitter just also happens to be a huge makeup trend for 2019. You’re gonna see sparkle everywhere, all over the face in huge obvious, colorful chunks.

So does that mean you need to follow suit on your face? Does your age matter?

It’s your life. If want to indulge in sparkle, and paint on some cool looking graphic liner, and sweep on the trendiest pink eyeshadows, by all means go for it!

I for one, danced-in my 41st birthday with friends covered in sweat and glitter…it was the best because I felt alive, vibrant and surrounded by great energy (P.S. not pictured are my fully sequined, sexy pants!).

To summarize, in 2019 do what feels great to you. Try something that expands your old thinking of what beauty looks like. Choose products more consciously. Don’t “buy into” hype. Go for what increases your personal “sparkle factor” — and you’ll be hitting the marks for beauty that are just right for you.