Expert beauty advice every woman in their 40s should know

telegraph.co.uk:

Anthelios SPF 50 Fluid by La Roche Posay, £17.50, is a good bet. If your skin is on the drier side, use water based hyaluronic serum for deeper hydration.

A brilliant Vitamin C for beginners is the Vitamin C Repair Serum by Balance Me, £30. If you have already been using vitamin C and want to try something stronger, try the 35% Vitamin C+ Perfecting Serum by Allies of Skin, £140.

As for retinol, Berri suggests “start with a low percentage and slowly build up to higher strength.” The Retinol 0.3 by SkinCueticals, £65, is a good product for retinol beginners.  “In our forties we often start noticing a few more areas of concern, especially as we approach menopause,” says the aesthetic doctor, Dr Sophie Shotter. “One thing that many people don’t realise is that without oestrogen our fibroblast cells cannot make collagen.

This is why after a certain point, no matter how much retinol you use you won’t get the same results.” Dr Shotter recommends the serum and night cream by Emepelle, a brand that is especially formulated for women over 40. “It is an oestrogen receptor activator, which switches back on our fibroblast cells and allows us to produce collagen again,” she adds.