If you happen to followed award season this yr, you’d be forgiven for believing that Hollywood has finally decided to embrace its older actresses. In 2023, 4 of the five performers Oscar-nominated for best actress were over age 40. Women comparable to Michelle Yeoh, 60, Viola Davis, 57, and Jennifer Coolidge, 61, are getting recognition for leading movies and series. And yet, in line with a report published last yr by Martha M. Lauzen, founder and executive director of the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, there was a steep decline from the variety of female characters of their 30s to characters of their 40s. For broadcast television in 2021-2022, 42% of female characters were of their 30s, compared with 15% of their 40s; for streaming, the odds dropped from 33% of their 30s to 14% of their 40s. Women of their 60s are nearly nonexistent, accounting for just 3% of major roles.

Similarly, in the sweetness space, the “mature” woman — with lines, wrinkles, less collagen, gray hair (or hair loss) — is more visible than ever in promoting and social media content, but on the subject of what’s actually on the shelves, there’s still an extended option to go. Yes, there have all the time been products and types marketed to women seeking to “turn back time,” but few (if any) were declared to be made specifically for ladies over 40. To avoid alienating younger shoppers, the marketing was very much “this cream helps combat [insert thing that happens to aging skin here]but our brand is for everyone” — even in case you really don’t need it.

It’s true that menopausal beauty is predicted to be big in 2023. Brands like Womaness, Stripes, No. 7, Korres, HUM Nutritionand Meaningful Beauty have all launched products that concentrate on addressing the sweetness and wellness needs of those experiencing menopause. (Stripes’ Instagram bio sums it up bluntly: “Perimenopause and menopause solutions from scalp to vag.”) It’s undoubtedly refreshing to see a historically taboo topic tackled, much more when brands include older women in all their visuals.

While these products address the very real needs of older female consumers, few would argue that they add much to the “having fun” or “ being creative” elements of experimenting with beauty.  Where are the products, particularly in makeup, that cater to the needs of girls older than 39 that don’t make aging their point of differentiation? Where are the products which have the identical flair as exciting latest Gen Z brands?