The Beauty Brands This Anti-Anti-Aging Expert Loves
Beauty journalist Christine Morrison shares her skincare edit
A note from
: I’m excited to present the first of i/Edit’s new seasonal features (that we’ll be publishing in addition to our bi-monthly interviews), in which I’ll pass the torch to creative experts I admire to dive deep into a topic they’re consumed with now. Up first: writer, editor, and brand builder Christine Morrison, who is changing the aging narrative by exploring the grey areas of fashion, beauty, and wellness. Just in time for the start of summer, she shares products that can help us stay protected, polished, and aging to perfection.
Spotlighting breakthrough beauty products never gets old — having dedicated several decades to working in branding and writing in beauty and fashion, they are more than industries to me. They are lifelong passions.
I’m also passionate about contributing to groundbreaking media that speaks to women over 40 and redefines narratives around beauty and self-expression. That’s why, today, I’m especially excited to share brands that are founded by women who are not simply creating phenomenal, effective, can’t-live-without products, but rather shaping the industry itself — and enriching how we see ourselves in the process.
Let’s herald these pioneers who show that, while innovation and discovery are an art form, some things just get better over time.
Good Weather Skin: Sun protection you’ll be excited to put on every day
While I steer clear of the term “anti-aging” — I see aging as a privilege bringing remarkable perks, including greater creativity, deeper compassion, richer wisdom, and boosted confidence — it’s essential to wear sunscreen, the “fountain of youth” beauty product, daily.
Designing an effective brand that complies with FDA guidelines and feels good upon application requires true innovation. Enter: Good Weather Skin. Launched in March by two fashion alums, their hero product, ‘The One’ daily sun cream, emulates the luxurious quality of skincare products, ensuring it integrates seamlessly into daily beauty routines. Besides featuring 15% (non-nano) zinc oxide protection, it’s packed with additional ingredients for nourishing moisture, antioxidants, collagen support, and skin brightening. Untinted, it works with all skin tones and applies like a moisturizer. This new entry even passes muster with my sunscreen whisperer, Dr. Ellen Gendler.
Finally, I’m excited to put on SPF year round!
Note: As a sun protection aficionado who loves the outdoors, I also lean into inventive UPF apparel. My go-to is Claudent, a resort wear brand by two fashion and beauty veterans. Along with premium UPF-rated fabrics that provide the most reliable sun protection you can wear, the brand is bringing much-needed (and always overlooked) style to the category.
Saltyface: Delivering safe sunshine year-round
As a sucker for sun-kissed skin (sans sun damage) I am slathered head to toe in Saltyface year round. Gone are the days of inconsistent and artificial hues, thanks to 100% vegan and cruelty-free formulas that meld DHA (the non-toxic ingredient used to tan skin) procured from organic sugar beets with antioxidant-rich and hydrating botanicals.
Co-founder and creative director Bethany Menzel worked alongside her husband to capture her (and my!) favorite feeling without damaging ingredients. “I’ve always felt the most like myself after a day at the beach,” she told me. “That feeling of bare, sun-kissed, salty skin — nothing beats it for me. We set out to create clean products that recreate the look of a day in the sun and are effortless to apply and use.” The results are evident in products like tanning water for the face, tanning foam for the body, and accompanying brushes for a hands-free application. (Also available in a set.)
As a less-is-more advocate, I thrive on the brand’s “because you don’t need more, you need better” ethos of both perfecting the gilded look and achieving healthy, effortless beauty.
Vintner’s Daughter: Celebrating simplicity and aging
When Vintner’s Daughter founder April Gargiulo told me that as she aims to please the brand’s community of “the most discerning women in the world,” and that she “leads with integrity and respect for the life in [their] beautiful skin,” it confirmed why I’m a devotee.
Reared by a family in the winery business, where craftsmanship and emphasis on painstaking quality take precedence, Gargiulo has embraced a quality over quantity philosophy since the brand’s debut in 2014 with one product, the now cult-classic active botanical serum. She then spent four years developing the second product, known as the “facial in a bottle,” and another three before launching one of the best cleansers I have ever used.
Today, the company remains at the forefront of beauty thanks to its unprecedented commitment to efficacy, nutrient-dense ingredients (which Gargiulo likens to superfoods), resistance to chasing trends, and (my personal favorite) shunning all anti-aging vernacular in favor of “age celebration.”
Don’t expect a portfolio expansion anytime soon — but you don’t need one with products this good. If you have yet to grace your vanity with the brand’s signature black bottles, consider this your invitation to streamline your skincare with these intentional, highest-quality goods.
Gucci Westman: Bolstering understated beauty
While Gucci Westman received acclaim for her decades of work crafting stunning looks for celebs and models, it’s her eponymous brand, Westman Atelier, that cemented her legendary status. With every product she releases, the beauty maven reinforces that makeup is about enhancing, rather than camouflaging, our natural features as we age.
Westman’s notorious light-handed technique, active ingredients, and biomimicry-patented technology — which allows for vibrant color and texture payoff without compromising skin health — guides her brand as much as her disdain toward anti-aging. Thoughtful products like the stunningly saturated matte lipstick and bold mascara are among my makeup bag must-haves.
Her latest breakthrough, the reintroduction of powder blush, defies a dominant preference for cream blushes — including her own best-selling blush sticks. Enriched with plant-derived squalane, volcanic rock, and special-effects pigments, the unique formula effortlessly deposits color onto the cheeks for a “whisper-like,” natural-skin finish. It’s exactly what I’d expect from the storied artist whose mastery continues to evolve, shaping the beauty world one thoughtful innovation at a time.
Editrix: Innovating skincare’s new frontier
As much as I hate chasing trends, I’m always curious about what’s next in skincare — and I think Editrix is at the forefront. Never one to settle for the status quo, former beauty editor Dahlia Devkota created this clinical-grade skincare line powered by advanced microbiome biotech.
Thanks to conversations with her sister, renowned scientist Dr. Suzanne Devkota —Director of the Human Microbiome Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center — and a year spent conducting research in a dedicated microbiome lab, she developed a four-step regimen that goes beyond typical “microbiome” skincare products. Unlike many others, her approach preserves the skin’s acid mantle (the fine film on its surface) as it harnesses postbiotics to restore healthy bacteria and maintain microbial balance. Collectively, the regimen rehabilitates skin from harsh exfoliation, poor diet, stress, excess products, preservatives, and more.
Editrix’s latest pièce de résistance is ‘The Microneedle.’ I’m an avid fan as it stimulates the skin to produce collagen while depositing vitamin-packed serum rich with peptides, stable vitamin C, niacinamide, and hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid, mimicking in-clinic treatments at home.
I was also excited to learn that Devkota will next address hair-related issues with the launch of a new product, rolling out later this year, designed to combat thinning hair by rebalancing the microbiome of the hair follicle.
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Oooh, this is so good. Some of these recs are actually new to me and I cannot wait to discover them. Also, I'm feeling you on the SPF + Sunless Tanner combo. This is my new no-makeup-makeup aesthetic as well. Thank you Christine for your insights and top-notch recs.
Love this, Christine! So great to read about the why’s behind your go-to’s, making notes here (and you know I love a Westman Atelier pretty-much -anything!).