“What are you doing Shawnelle? You look amazing—seriously—ten years younger.”

At 57, I have never had Botox, dermal filler, facial surgery or any medical procedure to address facial aging.

That was how a friend I have known for thirty years greeted me recently. There was no lead-in and no prompting. She simply looked me over closely and wanted to know what I was doing.

The honest answer was less dramatic than she expected: I have become very consistent about a small group of things that work for me. I cleanse well. I use a three-minute LED mask. I apply my PRESTIDGE beauté essentials morning and night. I work my serum in with my hands or a Gua Sha tool. Then I use a handful of performance makeup products that make me look well rested without making me feel overdone.

There is no single product that can promise to make someone look ten years younger—and this was one friend’s very generous observation, not a clinical claim. But her reaction did remind me how visible the cumulative effect of a thoughtful ritual can become.

What she was seeing, I believe, was the cumulative effect of consistency: years of using PRESTIDGE beauté morning and night, alongside thoughtful cleansing, LED, Gua Sha and the select makeup products I return to again and again. None of this requires having started years ago. Skin benefits from optimal care whenever you begin; what matters is choosing the right ritual that you love returning to.

First, I cleanse according to what my skin needs

I currently alternate between Beauty of Joseon Radiance Cleansing Balm and Aveda Advanced Botanical Kinetics Micro-Purifying Cleansing Mousse.

The balm is especially satisfying when I want to melt away makeup and sunscreen. The Aveda mousse gives me a fresh, thoroughly cleansed feeling without stripping my moisture mantle or creating an elaborate production. I do not use both simply for the sake of adding another step; I choose whichever suits my skin and the day—or use both when it makes sense.

Here are two other lovely cleansing balms: Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm is a beautiful mid-range option, while ELEMIS Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm is the splurge—particularly lovely when drier or mature skin wants a more cocooning cleanse.

Three minutes of LED—while I am already doing something else

After I shower and towel off, I put on my Dr. Dennis Gross DRx SpectraLite FaceWare Pro. Its three-minute cycle is short enough that I can actually stay consistent. I appreciate that the red and blue light settings can be used separately or together, depending on what my skin needs that day. 

While the device runs, I moisturize my body with Gold Bond Age Renew Crepe Corrector or reach for the sensorial CYKLAR Bergamot Bond Nutrient-Rich Body Cream from my beloved Vault Set. I am not creating extra time in the morning; I am stacking rituals inside time I already have.

The four-touch PRESTIDGE beauté ritual I use morning and night

Once my skin is cleansed, I return to the simplicity of my coveted Pb ritual—also bundled as The Essentials Collection. Together they give me hydration, multi-corrective nourishment, targeted barrier comfort and concentrated lip care without burying my complexion beneath unnecessary layers.

1. Sacred Tonic

I mist Sacred Tonic directly over clean skin. This botanical humectant hydrosol replenishes weightless hydration and prepares slightly dewy skin for the serum that follows. It is the first touch point for every skin type; I simply adjust how generously I mist according to what my skin needs that day.

2. Ageless Skin Serum

While my skin is still glistening, I apply Ageless Skin Serum generously—typically five to twelve drops (or more if needed) across my eyelids and under-eye area, face, neck and décolleté. I want the skin fully nourished, not rationed.

I work it in with my hands or use the slip to Gua Sha for three to five minutes. That small practice gives me time to uplift and drain excess fluid from my face, jaw and neck while the serum leaves my skin looking smoother, more buoyant and beautifully prepared for makeup (or bed). I pay particular attention to the delicate eye area and enjoy the appearance of fine lines and crepey texture transformed. It’s something I look forward to every single time without fail. I also use two magnifying mirrors of different strengths to chart every detail that shifts.

3. Savior Salve

I use Savior Salve exactly where I need concentrated comfort: areas that feel compromised, hormonally unsettled, visibly irritated or in need of additional barrier support. It is a skin-support formula, not a medical treatment, but it has earned a permanent place as a trusted savior in my personal life and professional kit.

4. Lip Repair

I finish with Lip Repair, a concentrated moisturizing botanical balm that keeps lips feeling cushioned and comfortable and creates an ideal canvas for whatever lip color follows.

Discover The Essentials Collection

My actual lived makeup ritual

My everyday makeup is not a miniature version of a full editorial face. It is a strategic edit designed to bring back light, definition and color quickly—using products only where they earn their place.

Correct, brighten and even only where needed

I begin with Kosas Revealer Extra Bright Color Corrector in Illusion beneath my eyes and over the brown spots at my temples. I then sparingly apply a micro-dollop of Kosas Revealer Foundation to my uneven areas. Beneath and around my nostrils, and any prominent marks or blemishes, I strategically spot cover with the Westman Atelier Vital Skin Foundation Stick from my Westman Atelier Vital Essentials Edit. The result is even, polished and radiant—still very much skin.

Bring back light, warmth and shape

I place a touch of my Kosas DreamBeam high on the cheekbones, down the bridge of the nose, across my eyelids, above the Cupid’s bow and in the valley of the chin—small placements that quietly return dimension and light. I blend in Kosas The Sun Show for warmth and further dimension, followed by Westman Atelier Baby Cheeks from the Essentials Edit set.

Make the eyes look awake

I tap a touch of Kosas DreamBeam onto my eyelids, then make one strategic pass with my Billion Dollar Beauty Eyeshadow Stick, carrying it from the lid onto the orbital bone—blending thoroughly upward.

Along the waterline, I rotate among the Kosas Soulgazer gel liner, two shades of Sarah Creal Eyes Up kajal and an additional Eyes Up shade, or the NYX Vivid Rich pencil in Under the Moonstone, depending on the effect I want.

I curl my lashes with the Shu Uemura Icon eyelash curler and sometimes lacquer them with one of my top personal favorites—Billion Dollar Beauty Forever Lash Mascara, ILIA Limitless Lash Lengthening Mascara or Buxom Lash Volumizing Waterproof Mascara.

Blur, shape and keep the fringe fresh

I alternate the bevy of red hues in my Westman Atelier Lip Suede palette, buffing color just above and below my natural lip line to softly blur the edges and enhance the shape of my pout.

As a final practical trick, I dust Kosas Cloud Set generously across my forehead to refine the complexion and help keep oil away from my fringe. I also apply Klorane dry shampoo or Ceremonia to the tips of my fringe so it stays fresh throughout the day.

This is my actual lived edit—I’m not one to gatekeep. Each product already lives in my ShopMy curation because I use it, recommend it or rely on it professionally.

What I think my friend was really seeing

She was not seeing perfection. She was seeing skin that looked cared for, features that were softly defined and a woman who has become more consistent about tending to herself.

After more than thirty years preparing faces as a on-set celebrity and editorial makeup artist—and through my work as an esthetician, beauty editor and founder—I still believe the most effective ritual is the one you will return to over and again. Mine is concise enough to sustain, transformational enough to look forward to and adaptable enough to support my skin at every stage.

Ageless, to me, has never meant denying time. It means looking alive, buoyant, rested and recognizably yourself. My friend’s “ten-years-younger” remark made me smile because it returned me to the name and ethos of Ageless Skin Serum: not a promise to turn back time, but an invitation to care for skin so consistently that its vitality is visible.

Explore my full Elevated Expert Essentials edit here.

Some non-PRESTIDGE beauté links are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Recommendations remain independently selected from products I use, value or include in my professional edit.