Proper skin maintenance includes cleansing, moisturizing and protecting on a daily basis. Start off with a mild face wash that matches your skin type: dry, normal, oily, sensitive. Nivea Visage Refreshing Cleansing Gel ($5.69, www.drugstore.com) works well and is oil-free. If your skin is prone to breakouts, skyn ICELAND Glacial Face Wash ($30, www.skyniceland.com) combines the Icelandic water and minerals in a foaming cleanser to treat irritation.

Hydration is a must for dry skin, and is especially important as skin matures and begins to lose its natural moisture. DERMed Anti-Oxidant Rich Cream ($40, www.idermed.com) protects against aging skin brought on by the sun’s damaging free-radicals.

Don’t even think of leaving the house without slathering on the sunscreen, even on overcast days. La Prairie Cellular Anti-Wrinkle Sun Cream SPF 30 ($125, www.laprairie.com) provides luxury skin care and sun protection in one. It has five UVA/UVB absorbers which fend off sun-induced damage such as wrinkling, pigment problems and sagging.

Wrinkles tend to creep up on women in their 30’s and 40’s, and Lancôme Rénergie Microlift Active Redefining Treatment ($74, www.lancome.com) has designed a product to make skin smoother and firmer with a unique blend of silica and soya proteins, rice peptides and malt and corn extract.

Every woman has specific skin needs, so finding the right brands can often be time consuming and costly. Now, a system called Dermagenetics® ($379, www.dermageneticsusa.com) evaluates DNA from a mouth swab to determine an individual’s predisposition for conditions like wrinkling and photo aging, and designs a personalized regimen. Now that’s proactive skincare!

Wendy Lewis & Co Ltd offers private image enhancement consultations in New York, and in London, and via phone and email from all over the world, for both men and women. She is the author of 9 beauty books, including The Beauty Battle. www.wlbeauty.com, wlbeauty@aol.com.

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