Ep 406: 10 + Secrets for Aging Skin From a Make up & Skin Care Expert to the Stars – Helen Marray-Finlay

Noticing skin changes as you get older and not feeling as confident and good in your skin as you once did?  Finding your pores seem to block faster, eye brows are thinning, chin hairs are popping up, dry skin and wrinkles are showing up more?  Helen Marray-Finlay is a Hollywood makeup artist and skincare expert with over 20 years of experience helping the famous look amazing in their roles at any age.  As she went through menopause Helen noticed anti-aging creams weren’t addressing needs specific to skin changes with peri-menopausal and menopausal skin.  When she couldn’t find a product that addressed the skincare needs of aging women, Helen set out to create her own skincare line Finlay + Green. In this episode of The Health Fix Podcast, Dr. Jannine Krause interviews Helen Marray-Finlay on the skin care needs of peri-menopausal and menopausal women as well as tips and tricks to have you looking your best while rolling with your symptoms from make up, skin care routines and lifestyle factors to address.

RESOURCES FROM THE SHOW:

• Helen’s skincare line – Finlay + Green
• The Yuka App to evaluate your skin care product ingredients
• Burt’s Bee’s Blush Stick
• Bobbi Brown’s Jones Road Beauty – Magic Balm
• Clinique Chubby Stick 
• Armani Foundation 
• Tom Ford Makeup Line
• Trish McAvoy Line and Trish’s mascara

Our Partners

Podcast Transcript

JANNINE: [Intro] Welcome to The Health Fix Podcast where health junkies get their weekly fix of tips, tools and techniques to have limitless energy, sharp minds and fit physics or life. Hey, HealthJunkies, Dr. Jeanine Krauss here. I am looking for some help from you all. And what I’m looking for is some inspiration, some inspirational stories that I can share of men and women, defying aging and defying it by crossing things off their bucket list that maybe they thought they could never do, maybe coming back from an injury, starting something new, like skiing at 40 years old. Whatever it may be, I want to know about these stories and I want to interview folks. Maybe it’s you, maybe it’s someone you know, doesn’t matter. I want to help inspire folks out there that you don’t have to follow social aging norms. You can defy stuff. You can get better as you get older. You can make so much progress at any age. You can build muscle at any age. You can have a stronger heart at any age and you can crush all those things you want to do on your bucket list. Just because you’re older doesn’t mean you have to give up on yourself and your dreams. And this is something that I want to share and inspire folks with. And so if you have a story or someone you know, email us at info@doctorspelledout. So d-o-c-t-o-r-j-k-r-a-u-s-e-n-d.com https://doctorjkrausend.com. Let’s spread the word about how amazing life can be as you get older and all the cool things that you can do. Alright, health junkies. I’m counting on you. Let’s get some emails in and let’s get some awesome stories on the podcast. 

Hey, health junkies on this episode of Health Fixed Podcast. I’m interviewing Helen Marray-Finlay and she’s the founder of Finlay and Green, a skincare company focused on menopausal. And I would also say perimenopausal skin. Now, Helen and I talk about some amazing stuff. I think this podcast is the go-to for women wondering, okay, how do I roll with the changes I’m starting to see in my skin with perimenopause and beyond? And what can I do? Helen’s expertise is amazing because she is a makeup artist to the stars. And in particular, she’s done some work on folks from Parks and Reck and Modern Family. And she’s seen folks age right before eyes and all the different changes and she’s been able to use different makeup tricks and tips. And also, I mean, lighting on the set is a game changer for a lot of these folks, but she’s got to know what to do to help people look amazing no matter what. And so in this podcast, we are going through all kinds of stuff. I mine her on a ton of things. And she shares her story, but also the story of what she’s seen in different folks in the industry of film and TV. And while she can’t say anybody’s names, you can kind of figure it out from what I mentioned. So let’s introduce you to Helen Marray Finlay. We’re going to talk all kinds of cool things. So get your pen out on this one because she gives a ton of tips. But if you can’t write things down, go over to my podcast notes at https:///doctorjkrausend.com and check it all out. Now one more thing I’ve been using her moisturizer since we did our interview a couple weeks ago. And I do have to say it is simple. It’s light. It’s super moisturizing and she talks all about moisture. So you’ll see what she’s going with here. I like it. I’m keeping it around. I’m going to be recommending it to my patients as well. So let’s introduce you to Helen Marray-Finlay. Hey, health junkies, I have Helen Marray-Finlay on and we are going to be talking about skincare. As we get older and in particular, looking at the different phases, as we get older and things we should be thinking about because on this podcast, I took a lot about hormones, but I don’t necessarily talk about skincare changes, what to be thinking about and what to be kind of doing in that realm. So of course, we have expert Helen on and she is going to give us some good stuff today. So Helen, welcome to the fixed podcast. 

HELEN: Thank you. Thanks for having me. 

JANNINE: So this whole menopause and perimenopause thing is a trip. Of course, I always have to ask folks, when was the first time you notice, like things are starting to slightly change a little bit? How old were you and what was the first thing you saw? 

HELEN: I think it for me was around about 42, 43. I started to see my skin wasn’t as elastic. It was probably the first thing. Probably then was the first time I contemplated doing Botox and filler. And looking back now is stupid way too young, but whatever. Yeah, you feel the pressure, don’t you? I certainly, as a woman, you feel the pressure to stay looking youthful. But no, definitely as far as my skin, around about 42, 43. I also noticed some dark spots, brown spots too. 

JANNINE: Gosh, you know, you’re right. And I even noticed on your website and folks will talk about finlayandgreen.com here a little bit later. But on the website, you even put the phases and 42 is one that is right out there in your face. And I’m like, wow, yeah, I really do think that at 40, 42 ish for sure. I started to be like, oh, yeah, these wrinkles are getting deeper. And like I can see my smile lines. And then the acne started coming. [laughter] I’m like, what in the world?

HELEN: Like a teenager all over again, right? And I think, God, yeah. 

JANNINE: Even as we speak right now, I have two spots going on. And I thought, oh, this is appropriate for this podcast for me to talk about it. And I’m coming off of a weekend with some family and definitely celebrating for our cousins, wedding. And so I’m like, wow, I’m as my system that sensitive these days, or is this something brewing? So I think a lot of folks probably are like, okay, you’re the makeup expert. But you’re also menopause specialist in this department is it that common for acne to kind of pop up from eating terribly or or switching your diet? Or does it seem that as it starts a cycle, it’s more of a cycle based on hormones? What would you say? Both a little bit of both a little bit one or the other. 

HELEN: Definitely the food you eat is going to have a little bit of an impact. But what I’ve seen is definitely hormone related to be honest, you know, just because you know, you’re certainly around about 42, you’re in perimenopause. That’s the average age— not everyone. It’s different for everyone. But you know, your hormones as you know, are fluctuating up and down. And that’s definitely going to be a reason why you’ll break out for sure. You know, it’s a reason it’s also the reason why your skin may be looking a little bit more slack. You might be having more noticeable hyperpigmentation. So yeah, hormones almost have a lot to do with what happens to skin during menopause. Unfortunately. 

JANNINE: Oh my gosh. Yeah, I mean, you know, we think wrinkles and like you had mentioned with the Botox look eye, it might be time to do Botox. I haven’t. I’m not going to. I chose to like let my skin be and see kind of what unfolds, but also play with things naturally. And one of the first things folks always think about and I heard you mentioned this in a previous podcast about collagen. And I’ve always wondered, you know, I think great for the gut because it gets to the gut. But like, how does the body know to take it from the gut to the skin and move from there? So I think a lot of folks might be thinking like, Helen, if we’re starting to see our skin not be as plump, not be as— it’s starting to then it’s starting to to sag a little, if collagen isn’t quite the answer. And I’d love to hear your opinion on this. What can folks be thinking about to prep their skin or even get started in that department of preventing or working on what’s already happening with the slack? 

HELEN: With the slack, you know, I think you could probably have, you know, collagen supplements and things. I don’t think I think they work for certain things, probably work for your joints, heart and things like that. I don’t think they make terrible difference to the skin to be honest. From what I’ve seen, maybe they’re just the supplements, collagen supplements I’ve been trying. But, you know, an SPF is probably your biggest asset and always use an SPF. I was really bad in my youth. So I’m basically, yeah, suffering for those consequences. And certainly, you know, areas where you’re now going to have a lot more hyperpigmentation and brown spots are generally those areas you had a lot of sun damage on previously. So an SPF is your best friend, hydration. You know, everyone’s having to drink water. I’ve heard that before. But, you know, when we were younger, we were 60 to 70% water, right? But now, menopause, you dropped to 50, 55. So it’s a significant drop. And obviously, if you’re hydrated, your skin’s going to look more plumper. So there are those ways to do. And obviously, also using a skincare regimen that really supports that, that has the ingredients like hyaluronic acid, squalene. Those things are really going to boost the moisture content in your skin, which will then make it look plumper, firmer, more elastic too. So yeah, there are the kinds of things you can do to help your skin look a little less slack. But like you, you know, I tried the Botox, well, you didn’t try the Botox. I tried the Botox in the filler and it just wasn’t me either. So I’ve definitely gone down the natural route now, which is why I do everything clean. And I haven’t even airbrushed my photographs, because I just want to be authentic. There’s too much anti-aging and aging. It should just be aging. And so I’m trying to be authentic. So yeah, no, so good for you for doing it too. 

JANNINE: Yeah, you know, I mean, the whole aging thing and the anti-aging thing, it’s like, you know, I want to look my age. I don’t want to look artificial. Because when you’ve seen someone has had a lot of work done, I mean, you do kind of look at them go, whoa, okay, you know, whoever wants to do whatever, I’m all for it, but the idea, you know, we all have a choice, but the thought processes, you know, if you want to let yourself to look your age, okay, great. How can we look our age, but still look amazing? I think that’s the thing, you know, the difference between like letting yourself go or maintaining what you have and working with what you have and finding that common ground with your skin and body. And one of the fabulous things that I noticed just looking through your skin care line and things of that nature is that it’s tailored to us older folks. We’re not trying to weave through is this, you know, the, let’s put it this way. Is this the older ladies department of the cream? Is this going to help me with what my needs are? It takes the guess work away. And I think for a lot of people, you know, yes, we could see an aesthetician in here, all the different suggestions, but it’s nice to have a line that we know is tailored for us. 

HELEN: Yeah, and I think that’s what you see when I, so it was joined COVID, I ended up having a hysterectomy. So up until that time, I didn’t realize all the different things that can happen to due to, you know, going into Manopause. So I had no idea that your skin changed or your hair changed or, you know, I would get in some near anxiety or and all those things. But so when I had the hysterectomy, my skin changed overnight. My hair got frizzy, my nails got brittle and whatnot. So I realized, I quickly found that my favorites usual go-to’s just weren’t cutting the mustard anymore. And I went out, well, it’s hard to go out, I was doing everything online to try and find new products. And I never found one, you know, that really addressed my, what I felt were pretty unique symptoms. But I realized they weren’t unique to me in the end, you know, all women going through this with that. So then when I realized I wasn’t unique, that’s when I thought, you know, I’m going to create my own skincare line that is very much tailored to those issues, you know, brought on by Menopause. Because I don’t really believe in anti-aging skincare, it’s just skincare. And a lot of those anti-aging products, they’re not addressing menopause symptoms, you know. And so that’s the difference too, you know. 

JANNINE: I think that’s vitally important to mention that. They’re not addressing the menopause symptoms, because so many folks, you know, they’ve gone to an aesthetician for years. And they hear about— and my aesthetician love her to death to, but she’s also like, “hey, there’s this new anti-aging cream,” you know or, “hey, there’s this new miracle thing.” And we’re like— and I’m always my first question. And this would be my question to you too, is my first question is, okay, what is it going to do for me?  You know, and what— how does that tie back to my specific needs? So, you know, one of the big things you would mention, like, okay, you had a hysterectomy me your skin changed overnight. Tell us a little bit about what you exactly notice, because I think a lot of women you’re mentioning the nails. And this is a question I get often, is like, is it a mineral or vitamin deficiency, or is it estrogen change, things of that nature? So give us a little scoop about what you experienced, what you started to see, and how you tied it to certain hormone shifts. So folks know kind of where, where we’re working with here. 

HELEN: Well, you know, you’re right, you know, you can get, you know, there’s little divots in your nails and different things because of vitamin deficiency. That’s true. And that can happen in a certain period of your life. But we’re talking about that period when it’s— you’re in menopause, you’re in perimenopause, those years leading up when, as you know, a lot of your symptoms occur during perimenopause, because menopause itself is just one day, right? The anniversary of my period. Yeah. So really, when we talk about menopause, we talk about the whole phase, all four phases, really, right? The the pre, the peri, the menopause and the post. So most of the symptoms are peri and posts, but taking it back to the skin, it was really, I think it was really, I guess for me, I had the hysterectomy. So that was the clear warning, right? But other people may not have a hysterectomy. So it’s really looking out for the signs and knowing what the signs are. But that’s menopause as a whole, right? A lot of women don’t know that, you know, you may get anxiety and some near, you know, you may get achy joints and muscles, you dry eyes, dry mouth, that all these things can be menopause related. So I think, you know, it is important that women understand what the symptoms are. And so, you know, as another thing, I want to tell people what they are and why they’re saying menopause, but very skin-specific too. So, yeah, I guess it’s just the phase your in. The other thing is, you know, generally, if you’re around about 47, you’re probably most definitely in peri-menopause, so some of those symptoms are more likely to be, to be menopause. But always get it checked out, you know, I’ve never say start and of course, of action without checking with your doctor first. 

JANNINE: Absolutely, absolutely. And, you know, I think it’s more, and the reason I love bringing folks on like yourself to the podcast is because we can set that awareness and also honestly, in the long run, save women a lot of grief and money because some skincare regimen protocols can get, having owned spa myself, they get incredibly, you know, we had 10 steps and how much of it is really doing some thing, you know, and I think for a lot of women looking at, okay, what’s going to get me my most bang for my buck based on these symptoms I’m experiencing? But also a lot of folks are looking at, you know, my eyes, so let’s just go this way, like my eyes, right? Like, what’s going to be the best eye cream situation? Because it seems like everybody comes up with their magical eye cream, comes up with this, comes up with that. And yes, our eyes change because it’s a sign of something internally going on too. But let’s talk a little bit about your eye cream that you’ve got here and coming soon. And talk a little bit about that because that was one of like when I put the survey out to folks, hey, what do you want to learn about with this eye cream was one that came out big time? 

HELEN: Yeah, when we tested our products, the eye cream was, yeah, that was the really popular one. So for me, when I went through menopause, I had never had dark circles under my eyes before, but they came and never went away. So yeah, so for us, nice and wide is a fantastic product for brightening, lightening, you know, helping with redness and irritation. Your skin obviously is a lot thinner there. You need something soothing. So that is a great ingredient to, again, hyaluronic acid, ceramides, peptides. But it’s really, you know, again, because your skin is thinner, you want someone something that’s going to help with the, you know, your, the skin’s resilient. So that’s another reason why ceramides are great peptides too. But yeah, you really want to hydrate that area. So, yeah, good quality, highly active ingredients. Yeah, so definitely hyaluronic acid, I would look out for peptides, vitamin C is great in an eye cream too. So yeah, definitely. And that’s we have all of those, you know, so yeah, but if you’re looking for a cream, that’s what you should be looking for. Yeah. 

JANNINE: Got it. Got it. And there’s been a lot of debate about vitamin C and a lot of folks, you know, L-ascorbic versus, you know, a ascorbyl glucoside because I like what, what is your take? I know, I obviously seeing your ingredients that that’s one thing, but I want to hear your take on, on why the the sea that you’re using you use, just so folks can hear like the thought process behind this, because there’s so many different, like if you listen to certain companies out there, it is like L-ascorbic or die. You know, or there’s other processes there. And give me give me this scoop, because I do truly feel like vitamin C is something that I’ve seen make a huge difference in my skin. And, you know, as a whole, so give us a scoop on on your vitamin C thoughts. 

HELEN: You know, you want to vitamin C that can penetrate your skin. You want something that’s going to be going to be able to absorb, got to have a high quality. So I mean, that’s really my scoop on it. We used a great lab who sourced the top ingredients that we could find both, you know, here in the United States and in Europe. So for me, for me, it’s a lot about quality, but so that’s the route we went down. 

JANNINE: Okay, okay, fair enough, fair enough. So looking at the overall, let’s say, compendium, maybe I don’t know, trajectory of skin. You’ve seen a lot going on with being in the makeup industry. You’ve seen celebrities. You’ve worked with multiple folks. Of course, this was a big question that folks brought up to me. Like, I want to know what someone’s so is doing. And of course, we can’t go there, guys. But what we can do is talk about looking at skin over the course of time. And you’ve worked on different shows. We will mention the shows at least because that way folks can kind of get an idea like Parks and Reck and Modern Family in particular. There are certain folks folks asked me like, what’s up with their skin? So, you know, we think celebrities have the most amazing skin. Maybe they were born with amazing skin. HELEN: Right. 

JANNINE: Are they dealing with the same things we are? I need confirmation. 

HELEN: Absolutely. They have the acne, they have the same things. Yeah, when you, they walk in the trailer in the morning and it’s 4.30 AM. Yeah, they just look like we do, you know. So, yeah, you know, makeup, makeup transforms, everyone, you know. And so, yeah, they’re real people. Same, same anxieties as we do. And certainly for, you know, women as we age in front of the camera cameras get a lot more sophisticated, you know. And then you get blown up in big screens, not just in the movie theaters, but in people’s homes. So, yeah, it can be quite a scary time for women as they’re as they’re aging for sure in the business. 

JANNINE: And so, looking into that, you know, with makeup, I always tend to go, okay, so obviously we have the skin care side of things. Then we have the makeup side of things. And in terms of women and aging skin and makeup, where, where are the areas that you’re finding to be the most— let’s say, worked with on your end? Is it the eyes, like you said? Is it the hyperpigmentation? Is it like trying to fill in wrinkles? Like, what, what happens on to make someone look younger or, you know, what, what happens in this case? I’m curious as how it works. Well, you know, makeup plays a big part, but lighting plays a big part too, right? They’re usually lit for the most part, but as we, we are mortals, we don’t walk around with the camera, you know, with the camera, you know, lighting around us and stuff like that. So, yeah, so lighting helps big time. But makeup, yeah, you, you, again— hydration is huge to get you through the day of filming and so skin looks alive and bright. You’ve got to have great skin care. So, we’ll hydrate after lunchtime. They’ll come back in the trailer. We have after lunch touch-ups. And again, we’ll probably hydrate the skin too. Certainly, when a woman is in her late 40s, 50s and beyond, concealer, you know, is your friend? Certainly under eyes. That is a product that— again, I never use concealer prior to having my history right to me and my skin change. But now, yeah, that’s probably the number one product I use. Eyes get a little bit more hooded, you know, certainly for me. So eyes tend to be trickier to do as you get older, certainly with the eyeliner and everything. It’s maybe not as easy to get that nice cat eye that we did when we were younger and that. So, they tend to be the more challenging areas, but, you know, everyone’s beautiful, right? You know, and there’s a beauty in anyone. So, sometimes you don’t need makeup. Sometimes, you know, the prettiest person is the one that doesn’t have any makeup on. So, yeah. 

JANNINE: I have never worn much in terms of makeup. I’ve taken, like, different, you know, at the beauty counter, the classes where they teach you how to do the things and I usually am just like, I can’t. So, I was just like pardon me for my makeup, non-specific knowledge. But, you know, I agree with you. You know, we do tend to gravitate towards the makeup. Sometimes when we’re getting older, and I think for a lot of women, I’ve heard women say, like, oh, I need to wear makeup now, because before I didn’t have to now, I do because it, and a lot is, of course, like you had mentioned, the eyes and concealer. And for a lot of us, it’s going, like, me, I’m going, okay, how can I help to not have to use those types of things? Like, the eye creams and things of that nature. Like, of course, preventative-wise, but not, what am I trying to say? I don’t even know where I’m going with this. I guess basically what I’m saying is like, help, what can we do? Makeup wise or even preventative-wise? Is it using the eye creams daily? Is that the idea? Or like you were saying, where do you help the, the actors they’ve got like the touchups? Like, is that a thing for women? Should we be thinking about that as we get older? Little touchups? Like, give us the scoop on like, day in the life of a menopausal woman who might be hot flashing and like, you know, sweating, right? What do we do about that? A foundation out the window? What? Give us the scoop. 

HELEN: Yeah, well, for me, as I’ve got an older, less has been more, to be honest. I actually wear less makeup now than I did when I was younger, because I find that, you know, eye liners and things like that, I don’t know, they just don’t look as good on me anymore. So I’ve kind of gone with the more fresh-based look. I wear a tinted sunscreen on top of my moisturizer, a little bit of concealer, mascara, and blush. That’s my thing. And even when I go out, I don’t actually put, I might put a little bit of bronzer on, but that’s it. But I’m pretty fresh-based, to be honest. Again, I think it’s all about feeling good in your skin, you know. So what you have to do to make you feel good, but skincare is just the key for everything. I believe, you know, just having a really good moisturizer. If you don’t do anything else, have a great moisturizer, use an SPF and drink plenty of water. But, you know, if you are, you know, someone who likes to wear makeup, again, like I just said, water SPF, a good moisturizer and an eye cream. But I would go for products that have a little bit of a dewy complexion. I wouldn’t go for anything that’s matte, because matte’s just going to highlight things. So I would try it. I like cream blushes. If you’re going to use a blusher, I like those kinds of things. I like cream eye shadows too. You know, Bobby Brown has one and a, like, a little, like, pen, like a tubby stick. You can put those on your eyelids and use your finger to blend. So yeah, I always go with simple, you know, I prefer simple. So [inaudible] and healthy. If you can go for those brands that are cleaner healthier, I think that’s always a good thing to do too. 

JANNINE: Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, like, you know, how you’re mentioning certain things and less is more, I think that’s huge. And obviously, if you take care of your skin more, you’re going to need less to, you know, to cover up things as well. And obviously, I can see where you’re going here with having the company Finlay and Green, because it helps. You know, it really, it really does help to have the foundation going here of what your skin kind of like skin food. If you will. So tell us a little bit about your processing of the products and the packaging, because what I noticed, and this is something that is a big kind of, let’s put it this way, pet peeve of mine. Well, have these companies they’ll create green products, but then the packaging and the transportation, you know, everything. It seems like you’ve thought of every single step along the way, because obviously, you’ve probably also seen the side effects of hormone disruptors and how that also impacts the skin as well. 

HELEN: Yeah, I mean, definitely. Well, as we know, there’s green washing, but there’s also clean washing. Those brands say they’re clean. And really, to me, they’re, it’s basic, you know, legally you’re not allowed to have parabins and fallets and sulfates and things like that. So to say you’re clean when you’re just basically meeting the basic, you know, parameters. So for us to be— it was really important to be clean, you know, I didn’t want any hormones, hormone disrupted in there. So there’s no soy, there’s no phyto estrogens or anything like that. You know, though for those women who are maybe going through chemotherapy or cancers or anything, you don’t want any of those ingredients in your product. So being clean, we tried at the beginning to go completely to not use any synthetic ingredients. But unfortunately, we couldn’t do that. We needed to have a preservative, legally, you have to have a preservative. And unfortunately, that’s a synthetic. But again, in my research, I thought synthetics were all bad, not all synthetics are bad, you know. So, but yeah, we are, we are particularly clean. There’s a store here in LA on the west coast, I’m not quite sure if they are on the east coast, called Credo. And me, right. And to me, they’re the whole foods of skincare. So you have to meet a very high standard to get there. So although we’re not in Credo, we follow the Credo standards, you know, to, and we exceeded those standards too. But there’s also an app, a website called Yuka, I think it’s about white, yeah. And that’s a great thing. And if you were to scan our ingredients, we come up, we’ve got excellent score on that. So it was, it was those, but going back to sustainability too, packaging is so much waste. I mean, there’s, I think there’s like 13 billion, I think for, you know, for, I think skincare, I think, yeah, 13 billion tons, I think globally or something, we kind of put out there into, into the, into the, onto the planet. So we definitely wanted to do our part to cut back on all that wastage. So we have used recycled plastic. So post-consumer recycled material for our jars. And eventually, it’s— we’re going to have, well, right now our jar has a pod. The pod can’t come out right now, but in a few months time, as we, as we get bigger, that pod will come out and you can buy refills. So we’re looking at ways as we continue to grow to, to be sustainable and to be greener and cleaner, but as a startup, it’s really hard to be all of those things and get a product out there that’s affordable. So. 

JANNINE: That makes sense. That makes sense. And I’m, I’m incredibly, you know, I get it, like I’m incredibly fascinated that one, you’re, you’re exceeding CREDO Beauty. So you guys, I talk about a lot credobeauty.com great website. That’s where I kind of refer to when folks are like, where do I go to find things that I think there you go. And Yuka app Y-U-K-A, that one, if you’re, if you’re exceeding their standards, then by, by all means, you know, this is, this is solid. You’ve done your homework and, you know, we can’t be perfect. And, and that’s another thing that I think that a lot of people need to understand. And, and also the synthetics that sometimes that is— you know, the better option. And that’s just where we have to be in, in this realm. And, and really at the, at the bottom line here is product, right? And, and getting results, right? And, and that’s where, you know, you’ve got a ton of reviews I saw there on the website about how things are, are going. And I mean, just looking at your skin, it looks amazing. And, and love it there. Now, so I guess my next question that a lot of folks are probably going to be wondering about like, okay, so how long does it take to get into your regimen? And, and let’s, let’s talk about the regimen here with the eyes, the cleanser, you know, and the moisture is there. How does it work? How do you, you know, what is your, what’s your insider tips? And how long does it take to see results? Like, when, what’s up before and after like a reasonable time between that? 

HELEN: For me, I believe in less is more. So I don’t want to have a kind of a 10 step skin regimen. So again, with Finlay and Green, the, the big thought process behind that is to make every ingredient multipurpose. So an each ingredient pretty much all the or not ingredient, each product you can use together. So right now we have a, our moisturizer, but our moisturizer is a day cream, night cream and can be a five minute mask too. So that one product can be three different things. Now, and then we’ll be coming out next year with these drops, these drops are like serums, but you can add them to your moisturizer. There’ll be a hydrating booster drop that you could put to your moisturizer to, if you want, a little bit more hydration. There’s a clarity drop. So you can either put them on your face or you can add them to your, your moisturizer. So we just, you know, because you don’t have that much time during your day, I like a five minute routine, anything longer than that. I’m never going to stick with. So I wash my face in the shower with a nice gel cream gel cleanser, which is mine again, that’ll come out in December. So I use a cleanser, then I moisturize my face, but it’s really key to moisturize your face within 60 seconds of getting out of that shower, because that you’ve still got a slightly damp skin, not really wet skin, but slightly damp skin, and if you have a product with hyaluronic acid, that hyaluronic acid is going to draw that moisture on the surface of skin into your skin too. So that’s another kind of tip. And yeah, putting your moisturiser skin care in your steamy bathroom is a great environment too, is helping lock in extra moisture. So I do my cleanser, my moisturizer, and I’m an eye cream. Any more than that, I’m never going to sustain that regimen, you know, it’s just nice. Too many steps. So yeah, that’s me. 

JANNINE: Me either. That’s what I found about it. You know, I am somewhat, folks wouldn’t imagine this because I don’t wear makeup very much, but I am a skincare junkie and have been for a long time. And I will try different products, go through different things, and you know, my aesthetician always, you know, has me intrigued about certain things, but one thing we always talk about is, and as I mentioned before, the 10 step, 12 step process. I’m not doing it. I’m just not. And so having the quick, you know, boom, boom, three things and multi-purpose, very, very nice to be able to think about that. So I’m thinking the mask. How would we use the moisturizer correct with like, as a mask? Did I remember that correctly? Okay. Yeah. HELEN: So I like to do that in the evening. So I’ll wash my face, cleanse my face, then I’ll put the cream on and I literally lay on a little bit heavier. So you still see the— the cream hasn’t absorbed. You still see it’s the white cream. So you still see the whiteness of the cream on your face. And I, I put it pretty much in even area, certainly in those driest spots on my, and I’m always drier here on the cheekbone kind of thing. And I leave it on for five minutes. And then after five minutes, I will take most of it off and I’ll do it. And then to leave enough that will just absorb into your skin. So I take most of it off, but leaving a slight film on my skin. And then I go to bed and yeah. And in the morning, when I wash my face, you know, you, you feel that, that the residue of the mask still on. But it doesn’t block the pores. So that was the other thing because women have hormonal acne. We didn’t want any ingredients in there that was going to block pores. So yeah. 

JANNINE: That’s huge. What about using like neck chest also for the moisturizers same same thing. Can you use it anywhere? Could you put it all over the body? 

HELEN: You can lather all over your body if you wanted to. But yeah, definitely take it down your neck. And this is one thing I learned too. But, you know, if you, if you miss your neck, if you, if you just do your, your face and miss your neck, then your neck’s going to basically the skin of your neck is going to absorb that moisture from your face. So really, you know, so then you end up with two-parched areas. So definitely always massage your face, moisturize your face and your neck. For sure. 

JANNINE: That’s interesting because I mean, I think about the lymphatics quite a bit in the neck and how they’re kind of bogged down. But if the moisture goes here, gravity goes down. Okay, so if we moisture everywhere, we can keep things. 

HELEN: I mean, our moisture actually will absorb, it absorbs really quickly. So we won’t go down. It’s just that your skin here is just going to kind of try to absorb all that moisture from your face, you know, just internally. So we got definitely, definitely. I know I’ve seen you down your chest to your dectloletage. Really important. Yeah. 

JANNINE: That’s huge. I think a lot of women will forget about that area. And, you know, looking at the three-step process, not like that’s not so bad to just add in a little bit down below, call it good. What about, you know, what about the eyes? Again, I want to go back to those and some tips in terms of eye cream and things of that nature because it is no doubt the number one thing women all say thanks to me like, man, I just in every morning, I just look so tired or I just look so worn down. What can I do to prevent this from happening? And so not only do I want to hear what the eye cream, but I want to hear about what tips do you give to clients and folks who are doing makeup on when they come in in the morning. Like, how can we keep your eyes looking most amazing in the morning and not all puffed up and or not all dark? What kind of other lifestyle things can we do? 

HELEN: Trying to reduce your caffeine. Which is easier to have than done. I love my coffee and I’m definitely going to have a coffee first thing in the morning. But, yeah, trying to reduce your caffeine, hydrate, hydration is the key. What we do in the morning, you know, as I said, we’re getting into the trailer 4 AM in the morning, 4.30 and no one looks good at that time of day. And I’m, I’m asked, you know, those little silicone, you know— 

JANNINE: Yeah

HELEN: —doesn’t have to be silicon. Putting two teaspoons in the refrigerator is a really cheap easy way to do. So you get the cold teaspoons in the morning and you just put it on your eyes. I mean, that’s probably the cheapest quickest thing to do and it’s highly effective. And then moisturize. Yeah. Moisturize. And throughout the day, if you want to, put a little bit more moisture there. You can get Evian in a can, you know, and you can spritch your face, but it doesn’t have to be Evian. You can get a little spritz bottle with some, you know, filtered water, leave it in the fridge and spritch your face. And again, if you have products with hyaluronic acid, you know, it’s only going to love that moisture you’re spray on and your face will plump up a little bit more. 

HELEN: So one of the things I wonder, so there’s hyaluronic acid that you can buy in bulk in bottles. 

HELEN: Yeah. 

JANNINE: Does that work the same if someone was to add like a little bit during the day and then the spritz with that? Does that do the same or do you need more of the agents that you have in cream stick on to help get it across? 

HELEN: I think so. I think so. But you know, it’s probably like to try, but it was cheap enough, but no, I think you need, I think you need the whole package, unfortunately. 

JANNINE: Fair enough. Fair enough. There’s something that I figure someone might ask me, and it just popped in my head. Now here’s another thing. You know, obviously you are getting in with with a bunch of folks at 430 in the morning to get ready. And like you said, no one looks amazing in 4:30 in the morning. Do you have like a like list for folks like this is what you want to do to come in and be ready to like have your best skin and your best makeup? Or is it individual? You kind of know who has what going on? Like do you do intakes before with with the celebrities to know like what’s their stuff? 

HELEN: Yeah, I did. I was going to say that. Yeah. Before I start a show, and certainly when I’m department heading a show, I will, you know, when the casting’s been done, you know, who the actors are, generally they’re going to come in for a wardrobe fitting before we start shooting. So that’s my time. I’ll have called them beforehand and say, hey, would you want to meet at the wardrobe fitting? Have a conversation. And I can get a feel of the products they like, the routine that they like to follow. Most actors like us, we have our favorite go-to’s, you know, and the hard sway one way or the other. But yeah, so does that routine? Certainly what will happen is obviously we have hair and makeup which are a trailer. So hair is on one end. Sometimes the actresses will go to hair first so we can put the eye pads on underneath to help kind of liven them up a little bit while they’re getting their hair done. You know, the average person won’t won’t have that. Sometimes it takes two hours to get a woman ready in the morning. So, you know, I prefer five minutes for me. So, you know, it’s not realistic for people. So they have a lot of attention. But yeah, there’s a routine, generally, eye pads. But, you know, the guys like special treatment too, you know, there’s Kiehl’s facial fuel eye balm stick. And I always keep that in the refrigerator. And so the guys when they come in, they’ll get that on. But by the way, that’s a great trick for women too. You know, you can keep your eye creams in the refrigerator. So the nice and cool too, which is another trick to put on that helps you in the morning as well. So. 

JANNINE: Nice. Oh my gosh. I can imagine we can mine you for tips for like hours. I think, you know, for folks, there’s always that curiosity. You know, what are the celebrities doing? Because, you know, we see it in the tabloids. We see the different things in the grocery store, you know, so-and-so is doing this for their makeup, regimen, so-and-so is doing this. But I think ultimately it’s like how do we apply this in real life? And how can we take what you’ve learned in the the the TV and film industry and apply it to ladies who are going through menopause? And so one of the big things I was thinking about is like, okay, we’ve got a three-step regimen that you have here. We have tried to limit the caffeine, working on things in the morning. What kind of things could someone be looking at as a whole, perimenopausal, menopausal, and beyond? What are the things that we like need to be thinking about we’re keeping our hormones in check, kind of giving like a lifestyle breakdown? What do you advise folks is-and I know that’s a huge can of worms I just opened up, but think of like your top things. Like, what do you advise for hormone balance and having your skin looking fresh and amazing every day? What are your top go-to’s? 

HELEN: So, well if we talk about menopause, you know, as a whole, not just skin, I think it’s really important to learn about menopause. I think it’s really, you know, there’s some great resources. There’s that website nonprofit called Let’s Talk Menopause. That’s a great resource. The North American Association for Menopause is great, Nams, I think it’s called. It’s great. So definitely do your research. Find out what the symptoms could be, so because being forearmed is forewarned, that’s a big thing. Eating a healthy diet is something like the Mediterranean diet, something like that. Real balanced diet is great for your skin, your hair and your nails as well as for your overall well-being. Staying hydrated, as I said, is key. Getting enough exercise, which is not only good for your mental health, but your overall well-being, and I think when you exercise, it actually helps your skin too. You know, you’ve got that nice flush to your skin. You sweat out a lot of those toxins too. So it’s really good for your skin as well. Getting sleep. Sleep is so important, but easier said than done. If you’ve got insomnia or those night sweats or whatever, but sleep again, great for your overall health, but good for your skin. You really need, also great for your, you know, managing brain fog too. What else is good? Gosh, there’s so many different things you can do. I said exercise. Talking to your friends, you know, really trying to create your own support network too. And if you’re talking to your friends, your friends, you’ll realize your friends are going through it as well. They might be a little bit further ahead than you, so they might have a doctor that they like, they can recommend. That’s usually important too as well. And they might give you some tips of what, you know, what they’ve experienced with their skin as well and what makeup they like to use, you know, now, because, like I said, I can’t use matte things anymore. I prefer the more like cream based stuff because my skin is drier. But things like that, you know. 

JANNINE: let’s talk about makeup for a second. Thanks for sharing those. I love to hear from everybody, you know, what they’re thinking when it comes to managing menopause and I don’t even know if I like the word managing. I mean, it’s just like insider tips to thrive, you know, in this realm. So makeup, you mentioned Bobby Brown, some of the cream cream stuff. I love using different cream ones to when I do actually put on makeup and actually I do have Bobby Brown products because of the cream ability. What you would mention, Credo Beauty, but what other, you know, brands do you tend to like to use what kind of ones are most functional for needs as as our skin dries out or it changes with hormone ships? 

HELEN: Yeah. So yeah, as I said, I kind of gravitate to the more creams. You don’t have to go for expensive brands, Burt’s Bees is fantastic. I love that line and if you go to CVS or whatever, you can gently buy one get the other one for you or something, but they have this great stick and it’s got I think it’s got argon oil in it, but it’s a blusher stick and you can put it on and they have like a bronzer one. It’s nice sheer, but the tint of color, quick easy to put on, you put it on. If you’ve got it, if you like using brushes, you can just like swirl your brush in your face or you can use your fingers. What else? Yeah, again, a lot of drugstore makeups great these days. So if you don’t want to spend the money or don’t have the money, that’s great, but if you if you do, well Bobby Brown obviously should know, long with Bobby Brown, she now has Jim’s road and she has those great, they call them magic something, they’re it’s those bombs, is the miracle bomb magic bomb or something? 

JANNINE: I don’t know. 

HELEN: I just see it on Instagram all the time and I, you know, I’m a sucker for these things, I always buy them and try them, but there’s a couple of colors of hers that I like, you know, again, the nice and sheer, what else? And then on the higher end, Tom Ford has some great cream eye shadows, but yeah, I do a mix, you know, I have a clinic, mascara, I have a drugstore eyeliner, I have Burt’s Bees, Cheeks, I think I use a Clinique chubby stick, I think it’s in fig for my lips, because again, I don’t, I don’t light lipstick, I’ve never liked the feel of lipstick on my skin, so if I’m going to put color on, which is rare, it’ll be like the Clinique little chubby stick, which is kind of a sheer tint, but again, Burt’s Bees is a great one too, so yeah, yeah, less is more for me, unfortunately, so yeah, I could tell you what I did on the actors, which is, you know, so, um, um, um, they love the Armani Foundation, they love that, um, what else do we use on them? Oh, gosh, is everything can anything to be perfectly on? Trish Mcevoy is a great hit when it comes to my scars, um, whatever, Santa for eyebrows, um, what else? Tom Ford again when it comes to contour, yeah, yeah, unfortunately, you know, if you have to pay for that stuff yourself, you’re going to be pretty broke by the end of the month, because yeah, it’ll, it’ll adds up. 

JANNINE: Oh my gosh, yeah, I mean, and I think just, you know, inquiring minds want to know curiosity, you know, about the brands that, that’s the stars use, but also, you know, I mean, Burt’s Bees definitely cost effective, definitely something that we can all get behind and, and, and try out, I think the most important thing is just really understanding and, and getting like you said, the education understanding more about your skin, and knowing, you know, what your needs are, what things can be most important to focus on, and kind of like you’re saying, the concealer, the eyes, you know, not as much the matte, matte foundations anymore, kind of shifting out of that and, and really rolling with it. Poor clogging, I think is something that a lot of folks debate on, they’re going, you know, what, what do we find that’s non-poor clogging, and you had mentioned that your products are really great in that department. What about in terms of if someone did want to use a little bit of foundation, wanted to use something of that nature, what would you advise for non-poor clogging regimens? 

HELEN: Um, first, see that, that, that ends up being kind of personal because, you know, some people can’t use certain products or whatever, but yeah, unfortunately that’s a bit of a hit and miss. Again, less is more, to be honest, if you can get away with just wearing, you know, a moisturizer, maybe a tinted sunscreen is great, that will be, again, a lot of people are frightened of sunscreens because they think they clogged the pores, but modern day sunscreens generally don’t, and there’s a great one called Eltamd, and she has one, she has a clear one, well she has a bunch of them, but the ones I like is, is it clear and tinted and the tinted is great. So yeah, yes, it’s hard and unfortunate when it comes to foundations, it’s pretty hidden, you know, you’re going to try a few out, yeah, unfortunately, but you know, going back to the other big tip is, you know, I lost, my eyebrows are got a lot thinner during manopause. Yeah, and stuff. So one thing to do is I think I probably spend more time doing my eyebrows now than I ever do, you know, I never used to kind of put a pencil through them. Now I will occasionally, you know, if I’m going out, so that’s the other tip I would say. Yeah. 

JANNINE: Okay. Gosh, I, I can imagine there’s so many things that I’ve mentioned it before, there’s just, there’s a lot that happens and the eyebrow thinning definitely the kind of thyroid decreasing effect that a lot of folks will see on the edge of the eyebrows. You know, another big one is the chin hair and hair growth kind of change. What’s one thing that you can, can say about that? Is there anything that you’ve done, you know, either makeup or skin care wise, that is a game changer there that can help offset that. I, 

HELEN: I haven’t, I do have a lot of that peach buzz, but I’ve just gone with it to be perfectly honest because I, I don’t want to get into that whole thing of having to, you know, do that shaving. I didn’t want, I don’t want my face to feel a bit stubbly or anything like that either. I know you can, you know, do electrolysis and stuff, but I’ve just stayed away from that. I do get the odd little whisker and that. I finally see it in the mirror and I think, oh my god, how did I not miss that? Because, you know, it’s like two inches long by the time I see it or whatever. But whatever, yeah. And unfortunately, I don’t do much for that. And yeah. 

JANNINE: Sure. And I’m guessing, you know, when you’re working with celebrities and, and their skin, and if they do have overgrowth, the hair, maybe they’re— their aestheticians are doing a little derma-planing or something in that case, you know, to kind of—

HELEN: Yeah, they’ll all be doing that. And too, because for them, you know, again, it’s lighting and lighting is going to pick up that facial hair. So they’re going to want to do that. But for the everyday person, you know, unless it’s particularly bad, I don’t think you should worry about it. JANNINE: Fair enough. One last thing that I wanted to talk about, that’s kind of common as we get older is dry eyes. And eye kind of irritation that’ll happen. And so a lot of women eye care, they’ll be like, I don’t want to put anything around my eyes. I don’t, you know, my mascara now always burns. What are some things that you found to be helpful or just a little bit of a highlight there in terms of what women can do to help in that department? 

HELEN: So I keep eye-wetting drops, you know, that’s one thing I use because I get dry eye quite a lot. So I do that. I, at one, for the longest time when I did my eyeliner, I always used to do it, you know, on the inside rim. I don’t do any of that now because that will definitely irritate my eyes. I try to keep as much stuff away from my eyes as possible. And even when I’m putting my, you know, my eye cream on, I don’t take it right up to the edge anymore like I, I used to. And the other thing, that was another reason why I go with, with the cream eye shadows because I was finding with the powder ones, sometimes the little powder flex were getting into my eye. And that was, that was the thing too. So I guess I’ve changed my products that I use. So cream is one of them, cream eye shadows. I don’t take my eye cream right up to the rim, close to the rim as I used to. And the mascara too. Again, if you get particularly dry eyes, that Trish Mcevoy mascara is great because it comes off in little tubes. So you just wash your face with water and it’ll come off in tubes. And what’s great is like some moisturiser kind of start to break up and flex during the day. And sometimes those little black bits will get in your eyes. So maybe try the Trish Mcevoy if you’re particularly sensitive to dry eye. Yeah. And you want to wear a mascara. 

JANNINE: That makes sense. That makes sense. Thank you for sharing that because it is something that I was like, wow, I got, I better talk about that. And then the last, and okay, maybe there’s one more. It is talking about the hot flashes. And how do we keep our ourselves looking fresh despite having hot flashes, getting some sweats on the face? What is your kind of go-to thing for folks during the day? What should they have on hand to kind of help in that department? Well for me, like you’ve seen. I’m firmly confident. So again, you don’t want to want to moisturize or scream. There has a lot of water soluble ingredients in it because once you start to perspire, it’s all going to start running down your face. And if you do have makeup on, it’s not going to be pretty. So that was one thing I was really conscious of when I was developing my line was to make sure that it does have somewhat of a primer quality to it. So that when you do perspire, it’s you’re not going to feel you moisturizer kind of basically coming out your face or your makeup. So maybe if you’re not going to use our product, I would maybe consider a primer if you were going to wear makeup. But for me honest, it’s hard getting around those hot flashes. I do hormone replacement therapy, which I know is not for everybody. It’s a bit contentious in some circles. But for me, it’s been a game changer and it has helped manage my my hot flashes. But as far as as far as makeup, maybe try a primer, maybe try our moisturiser has a primer quality to it. And you know, drink plenty of fluids, keep saying that I guess I’m a broken record with that clothing. That’s the other thing is I try to wear layers, which helps me as well. So when I get hot, I can take a couple of layers off, which helps. Yeah. 

JANNINE: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes, there’s nothing worse than feeling like your face is melting. And as you’re going through the day, it’s a hard thing to deal with. And I think for a lot of women, that is one of the tougher things to to manage and try to figure out like, how do I find this right balance? So it’s a great to hear using your moisturizer will help to prevent that like face melting phenomenon that will happen over time. Gosh, we’ve talked about so many different things and like I said, I probably we could talk hours and hours about all the different little tips and tricks. But I think this is great for folks to get started and really understand more about, you know, your your line and really getting an insider look into, okay, what can we do to help, you know, roll with the changes that are happening and then also adjust our makeup and our our skincare regimen as a whole. So this is incredibly helpful. I do love what bioidentical hormones can do for folks. I do think that it does give a change with the skin. Have you seen since using them that your skin does seem to have either at least halted the process of of more wrinkles? Give us, give us a scoop. What have you seen? 

HELEN: I do. I do think it’s helped. It’s helped with my overall energy to be honest, you know, and it’s helped with my sleep and I think because I wasn’t sleeping before, that was really having a, you know, playing a cost on my face, looks a little bit more haggard. So definitely that’s helped with the sleep. And yeah, for me it’s been all positive, you know, a lot of people, whatever against it, but for me it’s been positive. My hair’s changed. Thankfully, you know, at one point, I didn’t think I was going to have a single hair on my head, you know, because it just fell out so bad. And it’s halted that too. So for me, it’s been a positive. And I feel better about myself, you know, which is a big thing. So now I feel, I feel, I feel me again, I feel confident again, and I feel good in my skin, which is what I think is what I hope for everyone is just to feel good in your skin, to feel good about yourself, whether you wear makeup or not. It’s a natural process we’re going through. And what does it really matter if we’re sweating or at the office and whatever, you know, everyone goes through it. And so maybe we shouldn’t be self-conscious about menopause, you know, it’s just roll with it, you know, and if people don’t like it, that’s their fault, you know. [laughter] 

JANNINE: Oh my god, I love it. I love it. Yeah, I mean, it’s life, you know, let’s try not to hide it. Let’s, you know, be more open about it. And yeah, roll with the punches and do what we can to help counter things, you know, as as needed. Gosh, thank you so much for sharing your story, but also giving us all of these tips. Let’s talk about Finlay and Green and how folks can find you and all the things. Tell us Instagram, give us a scoop. 

HELEN: Yeah, well, we’ve been, we’ve launched a month ago, so we’re still like a little baby right now. So yeah, you can find us on our website finlayandgreen.com. We’re also on Instagram and Facebook again, finlayandgreen is the tag. But yeah, no go and check us out. And feel free to reach out to me too, you know, if you go to the website, you want to contact me, just fill out the page there. You get to me and I’ll answer any of your questions too. Again, on social media, if you want to message me, ask me anything. Yeah, feel free. 

JANNINE: Love it. Love it. I think that’s, you know, that’s huge. A lot of us are looking for some personalized, you know, attention versus just some random person answering a phone. So great to know that we can reach you and get some really good insider tips and help there. So thank you so much, Helen, for coming on. Great conversation. Looking forward to seeing good things coming out of Finlay and Green going forward. 

HELEN: Thank you. Thank you. It’s been fun. I’ve had a lot of fun. Thanks for having me on. 

JANNINE: My pleasure. 

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