The Best Moisturizers for Mature Skin, According to Celebs Over 40

Whether you’re watching Legally Blonde or The Morning Show, Reese Witherspoon, 48, looks impressively…the same. That can be partially attributed to the Biossance Squalane + Omega Repair Cream. She told Forbes in 2021, “It's what I use the most. It's what I have to have every morning and every night. It's very moisturizing, but it's not greasy or slick. It creates a perfect base for makeup but it's also enough that it can be a great night cream.” The moisturizer contains ceramides, fatty acids, hyaluronic acid and squalane that helps support the skin barrier while calming redness. It’s also approved by the National Eczema Association, making it a great pick for sensitive skin.

You were probably expecting Queen Beyoncé to swear up and down on something top-of-the-line like Crème de la Mer, but (good) news flash: Her pick comes in at under $20. The Aquaphor Healing Ointment is a drugstore mainstay that promises to soothe everything from dry skin to cracked lips, cuts and burns. The hero ingredients? Panthenol and glycerin, two common workhorse moisturizers. In a 2010 interview with  Elle, the 43-year-old shared that she doesn’t hesitate to slather it on. She told the mag, "I go to bed looking totally greasy. It's not all glamour all the time.”

Jennifer Garner has been the face of Neutrogena for what feels like forever, so it’s no surprise that there are two of the brand’s moisturizers on the 52-year-old actress’s vanity. Her most recent commercial was for Neutrogena’s Rapid Wrinkle Repair Cream, whose combination of retinol and hyaluronic acid promise to address fine lines, dullness and wrinkles within a week. She also told Shape that she loves the brand’s mainstay, the Hydro Boost Water Gel Cream ($23), too.

Talk show host Kelly Ripa knows a thing or two about a good beauty tip, from getting fuller lips to her Oscars “nose trick.” (And she’s not afraid to go makeup-free, either.) In one Instagram reel, a bare-faced Ripa gives viewers a glimpse into her skincare routine, in which she uses L’Oréal’s Revitalift Triple Power Anti-Aging Moisturizer. “It is so good,” the 54-year-old raves. “So luxurious. It’s creamy; it’s smooth; it’s hydrating. It has hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, pro retinol cream all in one little jar. I feel like my skin is silky smooth.” And to prove how much she loved it, Ripa showed a before and after of her medicine cabinet, in which she completely overhauled the shelves so that the Revitalift Triple Power is now the only occupant. Sounds like a glowing review to me.

Skincare acolytes know that Biologique Recherche doesn’t mess around. PureWow Senior Director of Special Projects & Royals, Rachel Bowie, raved about the P50 lotion when she visited the spa near the Jardin du Luxembourg. And it turns out that Bowie is in great company, since the actress of the moment, Demi Moore, also loves the cult French brand. In an episode of Harper’s Bazaar’s “Go to Bed With Me” series, The Substance actress, 62, extolls the benefits of the Crème Dermopurifiante, calling it one of her favorite moisturizers for mature skin. “I always put it on my hands first…because it allows you to be much more gentle with your face and your skin. I always put any extra down on your chest.”

Actor, writer, producer and genius behind hit shows like The Mindy Project and The Sex Lives of College Girls, Mindy Kaling, told Vogue back in 2023 that she identifies as an “adult with oily skin.” The 43-year old spilled her beauty routine, which included Sunder Skincare Face Butter, an essential before she applies her makeup. Lightweight and fluffy, the moisturizer features powerhouse ingredients hyaluronic acid, ceramides and squalane for a moisture boost compatible even with oily skin.

Jennifer Aniston, 55, star of The Morning Show and best known as Rachel Green from Friends, has the most surprising pick of the bunch after Beyoncé. Her go-to moisturizer? Aveno. "I've been using Aveeno since I was a teenager,” she told InStyle in a 2019 interview. The Daily Moisturizing Body Lotion features prebiotic oat as its key ingredient in a quick-absorbing formula that provides long-lasting hydration. (It’s also non-comedogenic, making it safe to use on your face.)

At PureWow, we may love Gabrielle Union for her fashion sense, but she also loves a good luxury beauty product. In a 2017 interview with Racked, the 52-year-old actress and producer said, “I’m kind of obsessed with the Luzern line; I use a lot of their products.” The Force de Vie cream features a host of ingredients to help hydrate, smooth and firm the skin. Key players include co-Q10 (super antioxidant), vitamin C, alpha-lipoic acid (antioxidant that activates other antioxidants) and bio-Suisse edelweiss (supports skin barrier).

When 56-year-old Canadian songstress Céline Dion’s documentary, I Am: Céline Dion, dropped in 2024, beauty fanatics immediately zoomed in on the star’s bathroom counter for an unfiltered and unsponsored look at the products she loves. To fans' delight, there were a mix of high-end and drugstore picks, including Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream alongside La Roche Posay’s Toleraline Double Repair Face Moisturizer ($24). What’s so magic about the Magic Cream? The formula uses Tilbury’s signature Cushion + Lift Mesh Technology, which includes antioxidant-rich rosehip oil, vitamin F and oat extract that soften, smooth and lift the face. The renowned makeup artist also packs in vitamins C and E, a peptide complex, hyaluronic acid, aloe vera, camellia oil, frangipani flower extract and shea butter for extra moisture, calming, hydration and plumping.

Quantico star Priyanka Chopra, 42, is one of the legions of celebrity fans of Augustinus Bader’s The Cream. (It’s a PureWow reader favorite, too.) In an episode of “Inside My Beauty Bag” with Harper’s Bazaar UK, she says, “It works really well under makeup. If you’re going to have a day where you’re wearing makeup, this is a really good product to have.” The popular German brand’s claim to fame is Dr. Bader’s proprietary TFC8 complex, which contains amino acids, vitamins and peptides engineered to support cellular renewal.

The queen of homemaking (and, well, everything) might be in her 80s, but Martha Stewart proves time and again she’s mastered the art of graceful aging. One of the secrets in her arsenal? Mario Badescu products. (The brand has also been doing her facials for over 40 years.) Her esthetician revealed all to InStyle, sharing that the mogul uses the Peptide Renewal Cream. One of the key ingredients is sorghum bicolor stalk juice, which hydrates the skin and decreases the appearance of wrinkles. Clarifying willow bark extracts keep the pores clean and reduce pigmentation of age spots, and nori extract packs in amino acids and plumps the skin.

Scream queen and Friends alum Courteney Cox, 60, talked about her love of Dermalogica’s Dynamic Skin Recovery SPF in a 2023 interview with Glamour, saying, “I never leave the house without the Skin Recovery SPF 50 ever. That’s in my car, it’s in my purse. I travel with it. It’s everywhere.” The moisturizer is billed as best for normal, dry and combination skin, particularly addressing dryness and dehydration. The formula contains a polypeptide blend, plus white tea antioxidants.

In an episode of Vogue’s “Beauty Secrets,” tennis legend Serena Williams, 43, revealed that BeautyStat’s Peptide Wrinkle Relaxing Moisturizer was an essential in her everyday beauty routine. As the name suggests, the star ingredients are peptides, specifically C22 Conotoxin Peptide (improves skin elasticity) and hexapeptide (relaxes appearance of fine lines and wrinkles), in addition to glucosamine, which helps to firm sagging skin.

J.Lo, 55, spilled her beauty secrets to Vogue and said she’s all about simplicity when it comes to skincare. Her moisturizer comes from her eponymous skincare line and has SPF 30. “It was so important for me to create a day cream that had sunscreen. This was one of the things that was a game changer for me in staying youthful over the years—wearing sunscreen every day,” she says. That Big Screen blocks both UVA and UVB rays and is noncomedogenic, with the key ingredient being the soothing and brightening licorice root.