Cyber Monday 2024: I tested 300+ anti-aging skin care products this year — here are my top deals

Martha Stewart is a lady who loves facials. In fact, according to her website, she's been getting the same one, at the same place — the Mario Badescu Spa in New York City — for 40 years. So it should come as little surprise that most all of her favorite skin care products are from the high-quality Mario Badescu line. Martha's top picks include this mega-popular collagen mask, which is specially formulated to work for both mature and sensitive skin. The award-winning product is made from collagen and kaolin clay and is meant to tighten, firm and bring moisture to parched faces, necks and even decolleté. 

While it's not exactly meant as a face cream, this ultra-rich moisturizer is used for that purpose by most every seasoned beauty expert I know. It's extremely hydrating, packed with nourishing plant-derived ingredients and is especially good as a nighttime treatment for faces, hands, feet, necks and even the décolleté.

Aniston herself recommended it on the Fat Mascara podcast for providing lasting hydration year-round.

If your under-eyes are looking puffy, dark and tired, we're happy to report that there's an easy — and tres affordable — fix. Dermora's 24K Gold Eye Masks are formulated to reduce the appearance of dark circles and puffiness while making you feel like you're getting a spa treatment in your own home. And who can resist a shimmery skin-care find? Plus, you can grab a 20-pack for just $10. At 50 cents per treatment — that's enough to wake us right up!

Made with real gold and ingredients like tea tree oil, glycerin, castor oil and collagen, these patches promise to revitalize your skin and reduce puffiness in 20 minutes.

This beloved snail mucin from CosRx is excellent for evening skin tone and making your face look softer and brighter overall. It's also won multiple awards, has over 54,000 five-star reviews on Amazon and has impressed most every beauty editor I know.

After using it the first time (here's my full review), my face was noticeably dewier. Other reviewers have boasted about its ability to soothe, hydrate, repair and improve dull skin — all of which helps wrinkles look less deep and crepey. 

If you'd like to complement your serum stick with another TRULY AMAZING Tatcha product, this rice polish is a beloved favorite of celebrities and skin-care experts alike. Meghan Markle once told Allure that she loves it because "it just sort of foams on your face and gives you a really subtle exfoliation.”

Every beauty editor I know uses this to cleanse their skin at night — it's especially good for those of us who are post-50. 

If your lashes have become fine and thin due to aging or hormonal changes, it's worth checking out the wildly popular Grandelash, which has been a favorite of aestheticians and makeup artists since it appeared on the scene in 2008.

Since, both Grandelash (and Grandebrow) have become the go-to for those looking for reliable, efficient, affordable hair-growth solutions. The "lash enhancing serum," which is 30% off for Black Friday, has racked up more than 35,000 5-star reviews, all along the lines of "This product works GREAT for me — and FAST!!!" and simply "Wow!!!!"

There are loads of pricey treatments and potions meant to decrease facial puffiness, promote collagen growth and improve the texture of aging skin, but the ancient art of face rolling is the easiest, least expensive and arguably the most relaxing. 

This high-quality, bestselling jade roller and face massager tool set has over 27,000 five-star reviews and, right now, it's half off.

I understand why this incredible wrinkle-softening eye stick is a Jennifer Aniston staple: It's the ideal delivery system for softening fine lines, prepping skin for makeup and targeting dry patches. 

Made of 80% squalane — a known skin fortifier — it's also fragrance-free, cruelty-free and dermatologist-tested. We've tried this ultra-silky balm and it leaves behind a dewy finish plus it's beyond-amazing for smoothing the undereye area before applying concealer, to avoid makeup settling into fine lines.

Brighten and depuff your tired eyes fast with these gold eye patches, now on sale for $14 for a pack of 24 (under $2 per set). They're reportedly a favorite of Jessica Alba! That said, they won't be this discounted (60% off!) for long as they're one of Amazon's daily Lightning Deals, meaning there's a limited number of these available at this price today.

"I have always had issues with dark circles under my eyes and my eyes getting puffy overnight. I slap these babies on for 15 minutes in the morning while diapering and dressing kids, rub in the extra moisture when I take them off, and there is a visible difference," said one Amazon reviewer. "I go from under the bridge troll to troll who isn't quite embarrassed to leave the house without make up on. Super easy to use, they're cool and feel nice first thing in the morning, and really reduce the morning trollish look that comes with being a mom of two littles. Definitely recommend."

If I could, I'd buy every person I know a bottle of CosRx snail serum — it's truly a favorite product, one of the most effective skin-care items for complexion smoothing, skin softening and dark-spot lightening I've ever tried. But, because handing over a bottle of snail mucus on a major holiday might seem a wee but strange, these sheet masks are a quality alternative. 

They contain the award-winning snail slime, are highly hydrating and work for most any skin type. Users report they help with skin inflammation and even rosacea, and this pack of 10 is a solid entry point into the famous K-beauty line — and you can't beat the price.

Albolene's inconspicuous, no-frills moisturizing face cleanser is one of those in-the-know beauty secrets, a product you'd never think to buy for yourself until a friend said, "YOU MUST GET THIS. IT'S CHANGED MY LIFE." Well, I am that friend, telling you this lush, velvety, mild, no-fragrance cream is about to transform your entire nighttime skin-care routine and make your face a whole lot softer and happier in the process. 

The gentle, century-old cleansing product removes makeup effortlessly, without water (though you can choose to take it off by using a damp washcloth or cotton pad). It's particularly effective for older women concerned with damaging delicate under-eye areas and causing fine lines by scrubbing away mascara and eyeliner. It's also safe for all skin types. Trust me, if you buy it now (for just $10!) it will become a can't-live-without beauty staple on your bathroom shelves and — if you're a good friend — those of every woman you know.    

Want to take your skin care to the next level? This Solawave wand is a more affordable way to try red light therapy. Red light therapy uses noninvasive LEDs to reduce signs of aging, redness and inflammation. For best results, massage your face for at least three minutes a day using this wand.

"I have never used anything like this before and I must admit, I was skeptical," said one shopper, before adding, "I have been using it for a few weeks now and will admit that I am seeing a difference. It's a subtle difference that I have noticed where my crow's feet around my eyes and my neck seem tighter. I like the feel of the warm wand on my face and under my chin and it does not take long to do."

Want to learn more about red light therapy? See what dermatologists say. 

Looking for a good anti-aging cream? This one includes vitamin E to help prevent moisture loss, botanicals to protect skin from outside stressors and omega fatty acids to lock in hydration, making skin appear plumper. The lotion is hypoallergenic and fragrance-free, making it a great option for those with sensitive skin. Plus, over 9,000 Amazon shoppers say it does what it advertises: firms up loose skin, diminishes crepiness and fine lines and hydrates the heck out of hands, arms, stomach, thighs — any part of your body that needs a little TLC.

"This product delivers," reported a happy customer. "I had wrinkles on my neck before using this lotion. But now my 54-year-old neck looks smooth and hydrated."

Meet one of the most effective beauty products I've ever tried. Honestly, I like this skin rejuvenating serum so much, if I had to pick one desert-island beauty product (outside of sunscreen), it would be this. The lactic acid treatment gently yet effectively exfoliates dull surface skin, promoting cell turnover and giving even the dullest, dreariest complexion a healthy, vibrant glow.

It also smooths and plumps rough texture and clarifies an uneven tone. My skin never looks better than when I use this every night and, while this sale price still isn't cheap, a little bit goes a long way.

Since we lose moisture and elasticity as we age, the humectant hyaluronic acid, an ingredient which binds to water — and can hold a whopping 1,000 times its weight in water — is key to any quality anti-aging skin care regimen.

You'd be hard pressed to find a better hyaluronic acid serum than this award-winning version from Grace & Stella, especially at this discounted Black Friday price. 

This is THE moment to pick up Kiehl's long-standing cult-fave eye cream, which utilizes a unique oil-in-water formula to bring extra, ultra hydration to dry, crepe-y lips and crinkly under-eyes. This 50% discount is the best price I've seen all year. 

This classic, good-for-all-skin-types face moisturizer is the ultimate mom gift — a beloved cream that's luxurious and she may have already been using for years.

If you're looking for an all-over tightening, brightening, hydrating, complexion-smoothing night cream for the face, neck and decolleté, you can't do much better than this clinically proven version by trusted brand RoC — especially at this price. 

The popular cream is nongreasy and noncomedogenic and beloved by both dermatologists and celebrities alike (Sarah Jessica Parker is a fan). And, according to the more than 4,000 five-star reviews, ordinary folks are all over it too: "I'm in my 70s and this cream has been my go-to for years. It works on my skin!"

We know retinol works reliably to reduce wrinkles but this Swedish brand's Dark Spot Fix does double duty: It's a skin-lightening treatment containing retinol 8, a stabilized vitamin A complex meant to be eight times more effective than conventional retinol but half as harsh. There's no data to support the company's claim here, but I can tell you this from experience: The formula is creamy, gentle and lightened a stubborn brown spot on my cheek I'd been annoyed by for years in just three weeks. 

Though no results will be as effective as a visit to the dermatologist, if you're dealing with mild hyperpigmentation, this is an at-home skin-care win — especially at this price.

While we're talking retinol, this Sarah Jessica Parker-favorite brand is a drugstore skin care legend for a reason: It's proven. In a clinical study, 97% of those who tried RoC's Retinol Correxion night serum reported smoother skin after just a single night. Users said their skin was 63% more hydrated after a week and visibly firmer after a month. 

RoC's retinol serum is also recommended and tested by dermatologists. And, it's among Amazon’s highest-rated skin care products with more than 13,000 five-star reviews. 

"My nose is so clear after ONE USE. Recommend this 100%," said one happy shopper. 

If your skin is dry and dull, look no further than this near-perfect, Tik-Tok famous overnight face mask which works to deeply penetrate and hydrate skin as you sleep so you wake up with a dewy glow. At this super-low Black Friday price, you can pick up a few to give as gifts. 

I am not an empress, a socialite, a CEO or the "real housewife" of a wealthy man. Therefore, I despise buying products I'm not sure I'll like unless they cost less than a sandwich. However, I was willing to make an exception for this rich, hydrating, dark-circle-eradicating eye cream because I've only heard amazing things about it and because I have the shadowed under-eyes of a mourning Italian widow. I also know enough about the best eye creams and how vitamin C works to ascertain that this one — formulated with 5% encapsulated L-ascorbic acid and moisture-infusing hyaluronic acid — could actually soothe my orbital woes.

But lo! My conflict has been resolved by the bargain gods! BeautyStat's brightening potion is on sale for more than half off, which means it's in my cart as I type.

"Feels like velvet," raved one five-star reviewer. "This eye cream is such a game-changer. The bottles last me about six months so it's great for the money. And I can see a definite change in my crow's feet since using it for nine months."

This skin-soothing, color-correcting cream is made specifically for disguising angry, red post-blemish skin (essentially the period between when you pop a pimple and it heals), but I find it works well for any redness or dark spots on my face — especially broken capillaries around my nose, my weird red chin and brown-ish sun damage too. 

It has the texture of a lightweight, silky serum, absorbs fast and leaves areas where you want a "color correction" primed for your normal foundation or concealer. I can't guarantee it will work for your skin as well as it does mine, but at $6 (half off!) it's certainly worth a try.

It's not just industry experts recommending you shop beauty appliances this month — I myself invested in this gold-standard at-home microcurrent device during Black Friday last year. It's a noninvasive way to tone and firm sagging skin on the face and neck — and, if used consistently (which, ahem, I’m guilty of not always doing!), it’s clinically proven to work. Plus, it's nearly $40 off on Amazon.