Michele Probst: Episode Link
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On this episode, we interview a makeup expert named Michelle Probst, who talks about the growing recognition of the importance of targeting this demographic in the beauty industry. Michelle emphasizes the need for women over 50 to focus on skin longevity and looking good at their age. She discusses the importance of understanding ingredient decks in beauty products and recommends seeking professional advice from dermatologists. Michelle also shares tips on makeup application, including using taupe brown instead of red-toned browns for eyeliner, and the importance of a full brow. She advises using minimal foundation and opting for concealer, blush, and waterproof mascara. The conversation also touches on skincare concerns like melasma and the importance of collagen for the neck.
TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome back to Hot Flashes and Cool Topics. Today we’re going to be talking about the beauty industry for women over 50. Bridget is just so excited because you know her.
She’s the makeup lover of the two of us and we are thrilled to welcome our friend and expert Michelle probes to the show. Welcome Michelle. Hey, look. how are you?
– We’re doing great. We’re doing absolutely great. How are you doing? – Yeah, how are you doing? – I’m doing really well. You know, Bridget, I’m glad to have you on board. I’ll send you some more samples of stuff.
We’re excited to talk to you. You are an expert in the field, as we mentioned in the intro. And so many women of our demographic,
like our demographic is the perfect storm because everything says anti -aging, everything says make you look younger, but you know, what about our skin longevity? What about just looking good at the age you’re at?
And you talk a lot about that on your Instagram. Instagram page. So can you share a little bit about what’s going on for women over 50 in the makeup world? – Well, first of all, let me just say that we are over 50 % of the population and we spend $22 billion on beauty products.
And so the beauty industry is finally catching on that they need to target us. I mean, we have the disposable income. We care about beauty products. We care about beauty products. We care about beauty products. We care about beauty products. about our ingredient decks.
We actually know what that term means, where we’re not just following an influencer because it looks good at the moment. I think women we’re just taking over. I mean,
I just love it like I’m so excited about you girls and love us collabing and I find that at this age women are more open to work together and help each other out.
So for me, you know, as know, I’m a celebrity makeup artist forever. I created the first undetectable cosmetic line for men. So I have totally switched gears to where I’m the client.
And I have the group of friends that are all celebrity makeup artists. So I can help you girls know all the little tricks and trends that we do. I’m a big believer in the drugstore.
Absolutely. Absolutely promote drugstore brands. You don’t have to be wealthy to have healthy looking skin. I always say that. But I think for our age, I think we want to look like ourselves.
I mean, I’ve never gone under the knife. Yes, I get Botox and yes, I film it. I have no shame in my game. And I think that for some ladies that are might be afraid or don’t know the,
you know, simple solutions to everyday problems, come visit us. at Worth Beauty because we have the experts, whatever question you might have, I am not afraid to go there and do it myself,
you know? – Yeah, and you know, you mentioned, you know, we know, or you know, the experts at Worth Beauty Company know what we should be having,
what we shouldn’t be having, what are some ingredients to look for and then what are some ingredients to avoid? – Well, I’ve, always said throughout the years, if you can’t spell the first four ingredients on the ingredient deck,
then just throw it away, because the ingredient deck goes from the most used all the way down to the bottom. So you wanna look for natural ingredients, and also you wanna find out source of ingredients.
So fair trade is important. Women know this term now. You know, also I love to support women. women owned brands. And I think women owned brands like our friends at care,
they’re their own clients. So they know what they’re looking for and being in the industry, they know what works for the skin. And unfortunately, I think women at our age are just not used to knowing it’s maintenance.
Ladies, it’s maintenance. You know, just like taking care of your car or taking care of your house or taking care of your kids. kids. Your face is everything and your skin, if you take care of your skin,
then the less makeup you need. And I think anything over 50, you really don’t want to wear a lot of makeup. You want to enhance what you have going on. So the better you take care of your skin,
then the less makeup you need. That’s so true. And there are so many brands out there that it can be overwhelming for women. And you don’t want to wear a lot of makeup, you don’t want to wear a lot of makeup, you don’t want to wear a lot of makeup. Every one of them says 98 % less lines in three weeks.
And how do we get through all that jargon to see what we really need? – Well, I think also you need to, if you haven’t been to a dermatologist,
well, you don’t have somebody that you trust about your skin, seek professional advice. Whether that’s somebody you know that’s been, like for example, Let’s just say somebody is considering a facelift or a lower lift or a neck Something or an eye lift You need to talk to someone that’s been through it You need to go and talk to the other side of someone at that same doctor Um,
I had the honor of traveling with Dixie Carter years ago from designing women and she was 10 years older that all the other other cast members. So she interviewed 20 plastic surgeons before she made her decision.
So do your homework, you know, find out what works. Now retinol is not for everybody. And so there are slider less aggressive formulas that you might approach,
look for natural, but retinol can eat your skin off your face. So you really, when it gets to clinical brands, like the Abajis and the ZO’s, make sure you are being advised because you might burn your skin.
Number one for us girls, out of the sun, stay out of the sun. And I love the sun, hats. Always have an SPF. Now there are BB creams that are so easy to use.
And again, I’ll go back to drugstore cover girl, Maybelline. They all have, and a BB cream is a carpet. with the SPF in the product. So it’s not a two or three time application.
Again, I know it’s maintenance, but they’re finding ways where they’re putting everything into one product. So I’m just taking a walk. Like I walked five miles yesterday and it was cloudy,
but I had to make sure it was covered because the sun is our worst enemy. The sun and gravity are our worst enemies. – Yeah,
you were talking about the BB creams and the ingredients, and I don’t know where I ever heard this. So now I’m really glad I’m talking to an expert that if it was mixed in with something that wasn’t as good as putting it directly on,
can you tell me about that? – Well, I look at the BB cream as for like a daytime, like let’s just say you’re going to the grocery store. You know,
I mean, even if it was mixed in with something, being out in the sun, if you have a sunroof, I know a lot of my friends in California, they have to protect their hands if they have a convertible, because they spend hours in the car with their hands.
And that’s the other thing, protect your hands, your decollete, you know, we know, remember Nora Efron, I hate my neck. We have to watch all of these areas,
your scalp even. I I had a potential melanoma spot on my scalp that my hairdresser found. Like, who would have even thumped that?
But you really have to be careful because melanoma is real. – Oh yeah, and it’s very scary that my husband had, he’s wasn’t melanoma, thank goodness, but he did have something on his face.
He had to have removed and– – Was it basil? Was it basil? – It was, he got it. – But– you know, and I talked to him, thanks to this podcast and thanks to our guests, John London had said,
you know, had a list of do these, all these, go see the colonoscopy, get the things done. I started going to a dermatologist, and then I convinced him,
you’ve got to go. And she found that first, his very first visit, she found it. And you tend to not wear that as much as women, but we still do wear it.
And then you’re taught, oh, every place that you just mentioned is every place that I can see my signs of aging. My neck, my hands, I have age spots all over my hands.
Is there anything that we can do once they’re there? Well, I mean, you can have laser done, but I mean, honestly, if you really just start painting, it’s to it and treating it,
at least it won’t get worse because, you know, I mean, I’ve always had veiny hands, but now I’m starting to see like my back. Like I don’t know about you girls, but I mean, I was an Ole Miss sorority girl.
We were laying on the top of the sorority house with album covers with tinfoil, just like radiating ourselves like we didn’t know any better. Now we know.
it’s not good for us, even though it feels good. But there are ways to get around it. – Yeah, yeah. – So if you had to recommend a few of the BB creams, like drugstore brands,
which ones would you say were in your top? – Oh, I love CoverGirl. I love CoverGirl. I think Neutrogena has a lovely one. You know, I’m just impressed with the drugstore. I mean,
like London brought number seven over, they had it in boots, which is like the Walgreens. Walgreens in London and you know they’re actually beauty assistants at the Walgreens. So if you really want to try something go for it just ask.
You know it can’t hurt to ask because you know it’s hard to see in a packaging what if it’s your right shade you really need to be in sunlight and I also recommend for ladies in your bathroom if you can get real sunlight whether it’s a window put your mirror near the window versus you know,
the bluey kind of, I call it fast food lighting, sometimes that you have in your bathrooms or house, because then you get outside and your everything looks different. You know what I mean? You need to have your palette to see through whatever the natural look is.
– Right? Yeah, that is, that happens to me all the time. But I’ll think that it looks great. And then, and I have my makeup mirrors and I have all the things. with the lights, but you’re right.
It just looks different. And then, so you were talking about skin care and drugstore and that’s so important for women for all women for younger women and but women in our demographic because there’s so many different situations than their lives they’re retiring they may have gone through a divorce and income can be really limited.
What are some. different makeup products that you would recommend from like the drugstore prices? – Well, I actually have been doing some stuff with Maybelline and I absolutely love this brand.
You know, you guys and I both have contributed to Gilda’s Club and I’ve done other groups before and they always contribute. And I think that people don’t understand that these brands are made in the same manufacturers.
– I think that’s a good point. – I think that’s a good point. – I think that’s a good point. – I think that’s a good point. – Thank you. paying for packaging most of the time. Now, I will say they’re brands like Arcana and Clay -to -Po that are expensive. So what you do is you buy one you must have at an expensive collection for your arsenal.
So you have a combination. There’s not one brand that you wear every single thing in the collection. You know, pick and choose. Have your own arsenal that works. for you. And some of it is a hit and miss.
You might try and it doesn’t work for you. But I do love Maybelline. I love Neutrogena. And I love this number seven from London. They’ve got some retinol alternatives that I think are important.
But you know, unfortunately, organic, and I hate to say this, does not work for aging skin. And aging is not a bad word. I understand what Colleen was saying about anti.
anti -aging, but aging, you age the day you’re born. So aging is just natural, but aging skin, organic, no offense, it’s not gonna do shit for y ‘all, sorry.
Oh, I said not gonna cause for that. – It’s not gonna do anything for your skin. – I knew when you said that, ’cause I normally wouldn’t do that, but I knew I was gonna subconsciously cut. – It’s all good.
– It really, no offense, but you know, so here’s the other thing. thing. Organic is not healthy on the shelf. So 5 % of any product has to have a 5 % preservative in any product just to make sure it has shelf life.
Because, and that’s the other thing, throw away your stuff. I mean, if it’s been sitting there in your drawer and you’re looking at that mascara, “Well, I might wanna try it one more time.” Throw it away,
throw it away. – I’m so bad at that. I’m so bad at that. with that. It’s not healthy. It’s not healthy It’s not healthy. It’s not healthy. It’s bacteria growing in that stuff Around your eyes.
You don’t want that around your eyes. And that yes, so important to remember that too Bridget, do you do you wear contacts to you that both y ‘all wear contact? I do wear them. I don’t wear them all the time, but I do wear them.
Yes, and that adds a whole nother layer of You know, you just put your makeup on and you forgot to put your contacts in and then it just I forgot the contacts before the makeup it’s not happening that day well let’s talk about you know growing up in the 80s um black eyeliner was the thing and we colored inside our eyelids and around and a lot of women are having problems now with their eyesight because we put all
that junk inside our eyes. So when I see the younger generation just lining the inside to their lids, what do you say to them? Is that a no -go? Is that good for aging?
I mean, does it look good for us? – Oh, no, no. In fact, I’m glad you said that because my next thing that I was gonna mention is it’s about smudging and blending at our age. You know.
know harsh lines don’t really work like under. I don’t do it unless you’re like going for a very dramatic weird look I think at our age We do the top line and you can even do from the half out because the goal is to elongate this way,
right? So just do what I love to do. I wish I had a we’ll have to do a demonstration another time But I love to use a a brush and wet it onto an eye shadow.
And that creates a softer line and it doesn’t have to be black. It can be a chocolate brown. Now Colleen, you have blue eyes. I have green, but they sometimes blue.
They can’t decide. Yeah, I have green, blue, they just depend on the day. So you want to make sure you are using a taupe brown versus a red. red toned brown because that’s going to like fight the green.
I remember I taught Al Gore the word taupe when he was running for president. But you know, stay away, stay away from orange and red toned browns and go towards the cooler taupe and shadowy charcoal browns.
And that’s beautiful on that eye and also on the brow. I think that’s another thing. Be consistent with your look. So that same brush that you use to line your eye,
line your brow and then take that mascara on and brush your hairs up looks so natural. And I think a full brow is very important at our age because it really frames the eyes without looking like you’re wearing a lot of makeup because you know we don’t want to be wet.
I mean if you wear false lashes for an event, yay great. But day to day day you don’t want to have you know Tammy Faye going on so just that’s a way to look natural consistent even with your lip and your cheek color um you know Bobby Brown’s got that Jones road product what do you think of it well it’s very similar to Cindy Joseph’s boom not to say somebody was happy and I’m just saying what it is saying is use
one thing and I’ve always done that. What you use on your lip, you can use on your cheek, you can use on your eyelid. If you need a little hint of color, I always feel like I look better with a little tan.
So I’m always using Neutrogena spray tan and it just gives me a little color. And that’s another trick. If you have a little color, you don’t have to wear so much anything else.
It just gives you a little hint of youth. That’s the way I feel. feel. Right. That’s interesting with the eyebrows because that is something I’ve noticed with the aging is the graying in the eyebrows and the thinning and the eyebrows.
Yeah. Interesting about not going so dark, you know, that it needs to be a little softer because it can look really harsh. Especially in the day, especially in the daytime.
Right. Right. And lipstick is and sunglasses, ladies, that’s all you need, sunblock. – Thank goodness for sunglasses. Oh my gosh. – The thing about the mob wife look,
I’m like, that’s been my look. (laughing) I mean, it’s coming back in style. I’ve always loved the mob wife look, that’s my thing. – So, if a woman is walking into a Walgreens or CVS,
and you see, you see, concealer, you see foundation, you see powders. What do you want to start with on your skin? Like what are kind of the over 50?
Make sure you have to start before you put your makeup on. Well, first of all, you’ve got to take care of that skin. As I said, think of things in terms of AM and PM.
So what you do before you go to bed is going to affect the way you wake up in the morning. And also think about things in terms of while you’re sleeping,
it can work for you. So, you know, the old motto is retinol at night, see in the day, vitamin C for the skin because you’re going to wake up in the AM and remove the retinol.
So you don’t have to worry about having your skin peel off with the sun. sun. So the skin is everything. Take care of your skin first. I like to use the serum, any kind of,
and if you don’t have any money, it’s so good as go get vitamin E oil, you know? And you can get the tablets at the drug store and just break them open. But the more natural you can get on your serum,
the better. So treat your skin at night, then when you wanna wash your face in the morning, put some sort of day, day lovely cream like, you know,
again, I’m going to say Neutrogena and Olay and all of these wonderful drug store brands, and then think about putting your makeup on. And your makeup should just be like, look at your face.
Okay, I have dark circles. I have some issues here and there. Consider it a canvas. So just lightly, I don’t like to wear a lot of foundation. So I literally just do concealer here.
here, wherever I have a little booboo. And then I just go out my day and again, has to have SPF in it. And then, you know, you want to do your blush, I like to do a little blush on my eyelids,
again, consistency, you know, trying to stay in one tone. And then a little waterproof mascara, you’re good to go. What I’ve noticed with me as a beige and like,
I love this. I loved the Sun as a kid Here I am in Florida. I do wear my hat I do put on sunscreen, but especially in the summer and I can’t remember their word for it But the little like darkening of skin splotches pretty much Well,
there’s some spots too Melasma is that how you pronounce it or how do you pronounce that? I think that’s right and there’s different versions of it it and again everybody’s skin is a little different based on you know the damage you’ve done and some people are you know live in the sun and they don’t have a problem a lot of it is genetic but these days the ozone layers are gone so you really have to triple down on
it and go see your dermatologist you know I mean basil stem cell is happening everywhere I tell you what so I’m sure sure you have a friend that has been through Moe’s,
have you heard of this? – Yes. – MOHS. – My mom knows. – Well, Tim just had it right on his eye. And what they do is after they remove what they think is almost all the cancer,
they lab it, and then they have the plastic surgeon on piggyback right then and there, so that they can close it up professionally. And so, if you have a friend that has been through Moe’s, you do have to have any work on your face you know really make sure you have a classic surgeon there because you can avoid scarring.
Right yeah that’s one thing you know I asked I was at my dermatologist either last week or two weeks ago just looking over and she’s like I really try not to do if I don’t have to do anything on your face because of the scarring right so yeah this is just like it I usually just,
I have different sunscreens that I really like that have a little bit of tint to them that I put on. And it usually can even out the patchiness. That’s what it is.
And it gets worse summer. It definitely does. There’s a product called Tan Luxe, L -U -X -E, that a lot of the celebrity makeup artists use on their clients that it is a,
like an oil serum, drop and you take your favorite moisturizer put a couple of drops in it and put it on your face and your arms whatever and the next day you’re tan and it’s good for your skin I mean like some of my best friends are doing this I can’t say who but all of the talk show hosts and everybody that you know again you want to look a little little color but it’s a great product and it’s another easy
little super secret that you can share but it’s about $50 but it lasts six months so that’s the other thing you have to break it down like is it worth it is it is it necessary for my arsenal because you can go to the drugstore and get the new Regina for $12 and spray it on yourself so all good stuff what about makeup removal so a lot of women will use a makeup Talk about what to do to remove makeup when we’re
over 50. It’s so hard, isn’t it? Like you just want to go to bed Nice my suggestion is keep a little again drugstore Neutrogena has them.
There’s a hundred different ones the little Hacks of the removals for the face keep it by your bedside table because you know if you forget and and it’s like,
oh gosh, I don’t want to get up, you can do it then. But, you know, mascara is the biggest one. But, yeah, your skin needs to breathe and you need to do that PM treatment. Again, maintenance,
you got to take the time and you’ve got to put something on your face before you hit the pillow, for sure. And now I always love, I guess I found it about five years ago in different companies make it.
It’s like, it’s the harder it a makeup melt or a balm. I have found that to be my favorite thing. Do you have any, or have you heard of this or any recommendations? – I have heard of it,
I haven’t tried it yet, but there’s just so many different things. I think, again, stay as clean and clinical and not as much, just whatever works for you. Everybody’s got their own routine,
but do it. That’s the difference is you really have to do it. – Right. I know there were when I was younger and my kids were young and I had to get up and teach the next day. I could be really bad about that.
And now I am so good about that. Like I do. We have more time now. We have more time. Y ‘all are so cute. We’ve talked about Neutrogena.
We’ve talked about Maybelline. Are there any other kind of drugstore products that just are your favorites? If I walked into your bathroom right now,
I would find it in a drawer that you use daily. – Well, no, it looks like a pharmacy right now because I have so many brands coming to me to promote them. I think, again,
I think I’ve mentioned all the brands that I love, but again, ask the person there. Like, have you ever been to a Walgreens in Chicago or New York? York? I mean it’s like a hotel.
I mean they have sushi, they have floors of makeup and perfume and everything. It’s becoming that way. I eventually think it’s going to be a one -stop shop you know. The malls are going to go away and there’s just going to be individual booths and there’s going to be Walgreens and Dwayne Reed and she’ll keep asking me this.
One of the brands I really want to promote is Arcana, which is out of Los Angeles. It was made for women our age, and it’s a little bit pricier than the drug store.
Here’s the other thing, Amazon. I love Amazon. I never thought I’d say this, but you can get anything you need on Amazon, and you can return it if it’s not the right thing.
I love vitamin C. C spray. I think that’s something important to use. It’s a good feel good spritz in the morning. A lot of different brands have that.
And you know, I just am so excited about having women our age really looking into and getting down to what is going to work for you because everybody is different.
One thing that we hear that I see a lot is women complaining that their lips are getting smaller. as they get older. Do you have recommendation for that? Is lip line are necessary at our age or?
– No, no, no, no, no, don’t line. Unless you fill the whole pencil it, like fill the whole thing in and then put a lipstick on top of it, that’s only gonna accentuate your lines.
I think, again, treat your lips, their skin. You know, we have to pay a little. little like I use Vaseline. Let’s go back to the old school, like, you know, Anita Roddick who started the body shop when I started my first cosmetic line,
I researched her. And she found that the most beautiful women in the world use the earth for products. And she was the first one to do organic.
She was the first one to do recyclable. And, you know, it’s just getting back down to the old school. roots, I think it’s important, Vaseline all day long. You can get that at the drugstore.
– Oh yeah, I mean, it really does, and then they start – – And your feet, and feet, ladies, feet, feet. Do Vaseline and socks at night. I don’t know,
I can’t sleep in socks all night long. I have to throw them off, but I do like to do a little treatment to the feet, because they are – age have paid the price of high heels and all of that stuff,
right? And they crack and they are nasty looking unless you get it, unless you get a cure sale. I was going to ask about, you know, the little things like you said Colleen and I,
this wonderful roller that we keep in the fridge or keep in the freezer, you roll it, what are some products there that you think are really great? Well, I tell you one thing guys. been using.
It’s a radiating little machine that I’ve got it on the site and I’ll get you all the info before this rolls. I can really see a difference in my neckline and you just plug it in.
It’s about 40 bucks, I think. Now you would pay hundreds of dollars for this treatment at, you know, any kind of medispa. And I do it at home.
Like if I’m… watching the news I get up really early and so like I had that quiet Zen time and see what’s going on in the world and that’s when I do it and It really tightens up your jawline because again with your collagen in the gravity pulling your lip is getting smaller because the top part between your nose and your lip is being pulled down and Anything with collagen is is good,
but typically topically, let’s face it, you have to look for more scarier options than just anything topical for the neck. I mean, you can smooth that skin out all day long,
but this thing really works. So I will send y ‘all a link to it, and I got it on Amazon. And somebody will suggest something to me, we get a lot of questions that were worth,
and I’m just happy to answer and find out. out what works and what’s the simple solution because as long as you’re doing something and that you’re aware of it,
I mean, have you run into a friend before that you haven’t seen him forever and they’re the same age as you and you see them from a distance and you think, oh my God, they’re the same age as me.
And I think, you know what, I look okay because I work at it and I’m not saying everybody has to work at it, but it’s a little simple thing. things just to feel good about yourself. Yeah absolutely and that’s another thing I want to just touch on is that you really you really mentor people are you really kind of made that your mission like you yeah the Colleen and I which was fabulous and and can you talk a
little bit about how why that is important to you and really why you know worth beauty company and what you do on Instagram why you like to share that? It is so important and,
you know, I wanted to touch on, too, about being an entrepreneur. Over the years, I’ve received a lot of accolades for being an entrepreneur. I don’t think you grow up thinking you’re going to be an entrepreneur.
Do you know what I mean? Like, at least I didn’t know that was a word, really. And then, um, going through different things, you know, like, you know, like, you know, phases of celebrity than to the brand,
getting the first cosmetic line for men into Nordstrom, all of these things, somebody helped me before. And I always knew the women that brought me up that I would bring the others up.
And so, you know, there was a three year miss in my career from a health scare. And now I’m just so excited. to bring my knowledge,
my group of friends knowledge, to help women feel good about themselves because that’s what it’s about. I mean, I’m like everybody else. I look in the mirror and go, oh man, what is this?
What happened here? You know, we all do it. But if we could look in the mirror and go, why am I lying? And I feel so good about it. And I want to present the best part of me you know,
women like Renee Brown and all these other women that help you find the right words to say what you’re feeling. For me, it’s teaching what I know, which is makeup and skincare, and just the maintenance of it all.
And just that women over 50, we’re everything. And we are ruling the world. I mean, look at the music industry, for example, it’s all women. I love it. I just, it’s just a really good time.
to be a woman over 50 because we are living longer and we need to go, “Oh, God, look at our ancestors. Our grandmothers did not look like this. I’m 61.
My grandmother did not look like this at 61, but I’ve worked at it.” Now, I haven’t done too much. I still have lifelines, and we need to respect lifelines.
What’s wrong with that? Why do we have to go? oh my God, 60? What? Let’s go, I’m alive. And I’m gonna help everybody else along the way.
– That’s the way it feels. – And worth it. – You’re worth it. – Yes, ooh, wait, that’s a slogan. (laughing) That was a brilliant slogan.
Well, thank you so much. We appreciate it. – Thank you, ladies. – Oh, and you’re just– you know, all this information is really gonna help our listeners. So thank you. – You’re welcome,
thank you. And you guys inspire me. So anything I can do for y ‘all in back and forth, let’s do some more stuff. – That would be great. – Thank you so much, babe. (upbeat music)