Act fast! These best-in-class beauty potions are currently on mega sale for Memorial Day. (Amazon)
I've been covering the best in beauty for over 20 years, and I’m not gonna lie — a lot of beauty sales are just... meh. But this year? The Memorial Day deals actually surprised me. After all this time, I've gotten a little jaded, but I’m seeing markdowns that genuinely have me excited. I keep spotting standout beauty finds from trusted names like Laura Geller, CoverGirl and Paula's Choice. Testing hundreds of skin care, makeup and hair products is literally my job — and right now, so many of my go-tos are up to 50% off.
Let me be clear: I don't believe any beauty product — on sale for Memorial Day or not — will turn back the clock on my 52-year-old face or hair. That's a (bankrupt) fool's errand. But over time, I've identified the worth-it hair tools, ultra-hydrating creams, wrinkle-minimizing serums and de-puffing eye masks that help soften my biggest middle-age beauty concerns.
To that end, the Memorial Day beauty deals below represent some of my all-time favorite lotions and potions. Most are clinically proven or, at the very least, wildly well-reviewed.
This multitasking beauty oil even helps with breakouts and acne scarring. The on-page coupon knocks $0.25 off the price.
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.
Sure, it looks a little weird, but this tiny tool can actually help stimulate hair growth. The waterproof brush gently massages your scalp with the silicone bristles attached to its ergonomically designed handle. It promises a deep clean while lightly exfoliating your scalp without scratching it, and works on nearly all hair textures and lengths. More than 115,000 five-star Amazon reviewers by it.
"Saved my scalp!" shared a relieved shopper. "I was really struggling with a dry/flaky/itchy scalp. My head always gets dry during the winter months and this has been my saving grace! I use it before I wash my hair and again in the shower, and it’s completely gotten rid of my dandruff. It definitely gets worse before it gets better though, so don’t be discouraged if it seems that way!"
Check out our full Heeta Scalp Massager review for more.
Covergirl is one of those brands I tend to think is meant for tweens or teens or, at the very least, not middle-aged moms like me. But while researching this story, I discovered that not only does the brand have dozens of innovative new products, it's also committed to keeping them clean, vegan and cruelty-free.
With that in mind, I fell in love with this tinted balm the moment I held it to my lips. It's made with hyaluronic acid, a natural moisturizer and skin plumper, and it left my mouth not only an ideal burnt berry shade, but smoother, more supple and younger-looking.
While this hue is not an exact 1:1 replacement for Clinique Black Honey, the addition of sun protection and natural emollients like castor oil make it a worthy foil.
I've tried literally dozens of products to reduce the appearance of my enlarged pores and eradicate my copious nose blackheads, and this is by far the most effective. Just a few drops of the watery formula shrank the dime-size pores on my upper cheeks within a week. It's easy to use, nonirritating and works unbelievably well to gently clear out skin grime.
It's not just me, some middle-aged lady, raving here: More than 77,000 five-star Amazon reviewers agree and have made it a No. 1 bestseller.
When it comes to finding the best mascara, it takes a lot to impress me. In my years as a women's lifestyle editor, I've tried literally hundreds — at this point in my life (I'm 51), I like what I like and I rarely consider changing brands. But after testing this bestseller from Maybelline earlier this month, I've changed my tune. The formula is just beyond-the-pale amazing, the kind of thickening, lengthening, no-smudge product that would be good at any price, but for less than $10? You cannot beat it.
More than 77,000 reviewers rave about it on Amazon, all stating something along the lines of, "10/10 would recommend, I've ordered this six times now ... it's the best mascara I've ever used." Truly, it's that good.
Eva Longoria demonstrated her hair routine in a video, spraying L'Oreal Paris Magic Root Cover Up onto her part to camouflage silver strands. "If you’ve been following me, you know I've been going gray," she said. "So I have my favorite solution, Magic Root Cover Up. This thing's awesome because it has a little nozzle that makes it really specific."
Available in nine shades, this spray conceals grays until your next shampoo. With nearly 53,000 five-star ratings, it's also super-popular, and we can see why.
This is the cream you want if you're, like, "I think tightening creams are BS but I also want to believe they are true because I currently hate my neck." The Gold Bond firming cream is no frills but gets the job done (the job being tighter jowls and a less reptilian neck). The formula is lightweight and on the thin side but the product absorbs well and is gentle enough not to irritate sensitive skin.
Note: You'll need to use it consistently for about a month to see results, and it won't, of course, magically make you appear 25, but being able to snag this ample size for less than 10 bucks makes this product worth a go.
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 nearly half off, it's certainly worth a try.
This is one of those "if you know, you know" situations. Dermatologists swear by La Roche-Posay because the products are allergy-tested, non-pore-clogging, and backed by real clinical research — plus, they tend to play very nicely with sensitive skin.
This daily sunblock was recommended to Yahoo Commerce Editor Janelle Randazza by her dermatologist over a decade ago, and she says she's never found anything better. "It's a sneaky sort of BB cream: It moisturizes my acne-prone, yet aging skin while the tinted formula blurs out any imperfections and smooths out my pores. And it's a stellar protectant, with antioxidants to protect against free radicals and broad-spectrum mineral SPF."
Incredible deal alert! These gilded, Hollywood starlet-approved, No. 1 bestselling eye masks incorporate hyaluronic acid, amino acids and sea moss to hydrate the delicate under-eye area, reducing dark circles and puffy bags and blurring fine lines as they go — and right now, they're over 45% off.
They're also paraben- and sulfate-free, vegan and gentle enough for most skin types. The luxe packaging makes them an excellent gift.
These dual-textured facial toner pads are among the best products we've found for clearing out clogged pores, evening skin tone and giving your face that healthy, clean glow. Now they're available in this mild version, which is no less potent, but gentle enough for sensitive skin.
Yahoo Shopping Deputy Editor Izabella Zaydenberg is a fan. "This is my fourth repurchase of these toner pads, which I think is the most I've ever repurchased any skin care product," she says. "Unfortunately, I don't think I can live without them: I ran out a few days ago and my blackheads (which these pads nearly entirely eradicated) decided to come back with a vengeance. It's no wonder they're an Amazon bestseller: Each pad gently exfoliates your skin with AHA lactic acid and BHA salicylic acid, leaving your skin truly glass-like."
Would Drew Barrymore steer you wrong? The actress and talk show host is just one of thousands of fans of Olay's tried-and-true products, which include this coveted sculpting cream. The key here is hydration: So much of face and neck aging — including crepey skin — is caused by a loss of moisture, and this thick, almost viscous cream begins to add it back upon first use. It's infused with concentrated, moisturizing ingredients like hyaluronic acid, amino-peptides and vitamin B3, all of which help plump skin and reduce the signs of wrinkling and sagging.
Women over 60 especially love this drugstore staple, proclaiming: "Great help for moisturizing. I will be 73 this month and, believe me, it really helps keep the wrinkles controlled by plumping up my skin."
Despite what those '80s face wash ads told us, washing one's visage over the sink is not an ecstatic pleasure but more a splashy mess of water violence. As a lazy lady who hates outside-sink puddles, there are few things I love more than a facial towelette to gently remove the day's grime. However, as a person who cares about our burning planet, I always feel guilty about creating more waste.
But lo! These No. 1 bestselling Neutrogena Makeup Remover Wipes have solved my inner conflict. They are, as advertised, indeed ultra-soft and gentle while remaining highly effective at cleansing with zero water dripping down your arm. They are also plant-based, completely compostable and ophthalmologist-, dermatologist- and allergy-tested.
With this two-pack deal, you get 100 washes for less than $8 — more than three months of avoiding the tyranny of your sink.
This luxurious scrub is packed with soothing ingredients like lychee oil and sweet almond oil to moisturize skin while sloughing away dead cells. It comes in an ample size and — bonus — smells amazing.
Skin care obsessives rave over this completely transparent SPF product from E.l.f., which they say works as well as Supergoop's beloved-but-pricey Unseen Sunscreen for a fraction of the cost.
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.
Fine or thin hair tends to tangle more than thicker 'dos, but many brushes can add to thinning or shedding by tearing and damaging the strands you have left. Enter this wildly smooth and effective brush, which is a breeze to use on wet or dry hair and gentle enough for even those of us who are balding a bit. At this Memorial Day price — 50% off! — it's also a major value.
"I have very thin hair that tangles easily. Other brushes hurt and pulled out my hair," wrote this reviewer. "This was certainly a pleasure to be able to brush my hair painlessly. I convinced my 6-year-old granddaughter to let me use it on her tangled baby-fine hair. Guess what? No tears! She hugged me and said that I was the only one she wanted to fix her hair."
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The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.