Rebecca Dayan

I think for me, you feel the most beautiful when you feel confident and at peace with yourself.

Obviously getting older, there are things that you do that you didn’t need to do when you were younger, but for me, it’s about doing things that are healthy,  that make you feel good, and having fun with it as well.

I get obsessive with certain things and I will do all the research because I like making informed decisions – that applies to beauty as well, so I do spend quite a bit of time researching products and treatments, and then I am able to not think about it too much once I’ve made up my mind, that’s how I go about it.

In the morning, I don’t necessarily wash my face with cleanser as I  don’t think it’s necessary, but I do spray it with rose water. I then use a gentle lemon toner from Irene Forte. I use AHA BHA toner by COSRX when I want something a little more – it’s pretty diluted so it doesn’t sting. Then I use Rhode Glazing milk, I’m obsessed with this product. It makes my skin glowy and plump. Then from this Korean brand called Jumiso – I use a snail mucin and peptide essence. Then I use some vitamin C serum. After this I’ll use Macreen’s extra-rich face cream, which has a lot of different actives in it, it’s a high-performance face cream. If I’m traveling and don’t want to carry a bunch of stuff with me, I’ll have only the toner and this face cream. 

On top of all that I put SPF. I’ve heard that putting it on top is good because it’s meant to act like a shield. I lightly press it all over my face. Right now I’m using the Elta MD UV Clear SPF 46 but sometimes I use Supergoop in summer. 

At night I usually double cleanse. I like an oil cleanser – currently I’m using the Emma Lewisham illuminating face cleanser, a few pumps of it in my hand.

At night, I use the Macreen Actives face cleanser. I love that cleanser! It has a minty smell and is really beautiful. Then I’ll use AHA BHA toner if I didn’t use it that morning, (I alternate it evening and morning). Sometimes, I will do retinol, but very sporadically. I use Marti Derm Retinol Renew, it has retinol and niacinamide – you’re meant to mix it with a serum or a moisturizer because it’s pretty potent. You ease into using it, so initially not even once a week. Sometimes, I will use a face oil. I’ll often use Amala illuminating pro-retinoic treatment oil if I don’t use the retinol. I also have recently started using a mixture of castor oil and argan oil on my lashes and eyebrows – apparently it helps them grow!

I don’t wear foundation. I use Macreen high-performance concealer to even the tone under my eyes and around my nose, or if I have small blemishes and blend it in with a concealer brush.

I have this blush from Merit – it’s a blush balm in the color persimmon. I also really like the Rhode blush sticks. I don’t wear mascara during the day but sometimes I get my lashes lifted and tinted, so I don’t have to wear mascara at all, which is really a plus. It’s great because you feel like you’re always groomed. I usually just brush my lashes. If I want a more dramatic look for going out, I have the Chanel noir allure mascara.

I use a brow pencil – that’s the one thing I do every day and every evening when I go out. I usually use the benefit precisely my brow pencil. Sometimes I will use the Make Brow gel.

I recently invested in a Mexican beauty brand called Aora – which is all natural and completely sustainable, even the packaging is completely recyclable. There’s no plastic whatsoever, the products are good enough to eat. They have a big palette of very colorful pigmented eyeshadows that I use when I want to do something fun, and I love the lip balms because they’re not lipsticks, or glossy, but they’re really like a balm in cool colours. There is a transparent black one I love which makes your lips just a little darker with a glow.

I like lip pencils, I have a lot of different lip pencils that I use over a lip balm. I will do the contour with the liner then blend it in.  The one I use most is the Charlotte Tilbury lip cheat in Pillow Talk. I also really like Nude Brun from Chanel.

My hair routine is pretty simple. I don’t color my hair but every so often and if I have been away in the sun and my hair is a little too warm I’ll go to David Mallett and he’ll do a little cooler toner. David cuts my hair too, I use all his products, his shampoo and conditioner, the mask, and I particularly like the hair serum. I always put it on wet hair after a shower, it gives a really nice shine. I love it. If I’ve run out I also like Olaplex.

I think there is something big about turning 40 – it’s a new decade. I think though we associate certain ages with certain things and that’s actually a societal thing, it’s not necessarily real. There’s all this anticipation and what it means, but not much has changed specifically in regards to my beauty regimen. I’ve been preparing myself in a way, so it’s not like suddenly I turned 40 and I’m like, ‘Oh my god now I need to do all these things.

It’s been little by little since my late 20s that I’ve been like, okay, now I can’t just put on moisturizer and eat whatever I want and just go about my day. Since I turned 30 – I’ve been taking more care, and being more diligent about stuff.

I have keratosis pilaris on the back of my arms and the back of my legs and I use this cream from Soft Services which is made specifically for that. It flares up more depending on my diet, I’m sure the usual culprits like alcohol, gluten, dairy don’t help. I try to be good with my diet but I’m very balanced. I don’t like cutting things out completely. Sometimes I do cleanses and stuff like that, but I eat everything. 

I do pilates – In NYC I go to Nofar and sometimes I take private with Amy at Flatiron Pilates. I like Julie Pujols’ classes online too. I take astaxanthin, Glutathione, magnesium, vitamin C & D, and a blend of mushrooms most of the time. I use a water filter in my kitchen but also in my shower and my bathroom sink. I get massages when I can and go to an infrared sauna.

I have Byredo Blanche which I love because it smells really clean, like clean linen. Most of the perfumes I like have some type of citrus, floral, or musk skin notes. There is no particular story as to why – I don’t like the idea that women need to have one scent. Women can do whatever they want. I like Prada Olfactories Nue au Soleil and Frederic Malle En Passant, and Regime des fleurs Nightsurf Neroli Orange Blossom.

I try to be diligent about doing research and who I trust with this, my dermatologist Dr.Alexiadis Macreen is someone that I like to listen to religiously, she’s fantastic – she’s truly an artist I would say!

I see her for everything. Once or twice a year, I’ll do a peel and I’ve done Morpheus8. She’s really good with the numbing so it wasn’t too painful. It’s not a walk in the park though and not something you should do often.

I’ve done some laser treatments also, which is good for sun damage. I trust her so much that I just let her do her amazing thing. She is based in New York and has her own beauty line Macreen that I use and love as well.

I get lymphatic massage at Rikari, who have studios across the world and in New York, and London.

In Paris, I go to this place called  French Touch, for treatments. 

Sinara Beguin for microneedling. 

Luca Bagnara is amazing for massage and  lymphatic massages – he works in Paris and at Claridges in London on Wednesdays.