It's a Wednesday morning. I'm 30 minutes early for an interview (as my colleague Leigh Campbell would say, it's a disease), so I hover awkwardly at a coffee shop across the road from the Ace Hotel, in Sydney.

I order an almond latte, and it takes ages, and I actually end up receiving a full cream latte because we don't know why.

I drink it anyway, pray for my stomach and make sure I spill some of it down the front of my shirt.

But there's no time to fix it because I'm now nearly late? And HOW, but okay?

I do the half run/jog across the road because I have about two and a half minutes to get there and omg my stomach and the dairy. Ha ha ha, but seriously. I feel funny.

But I'm excited about this interview! Which is maybe a little unusual.

Because I interviewa lotof people — cosmetic and skin experts, celebrity hair and makeup artists, beauty brand founders, the Obamas, Oprah, etc, etc.

But this one is with Zoe Foster Blake. And everyone who knows of Zoe Foster Blake knows that's a very good time, indeed.

I've spoken with her before (during COVID) (on a Zoom) (remember lockdown?) and can tell you that itisa very good time. It really is!

Watch: How Zoe Foster- Blake's makeup routine has changed since becoming a mum. Post continues below.

As I walk into the hotel, I spot the ex-beauty editor and founder of Go-To Skincare waiting in the cafe, surrounded by books, croissants and fresh fruit. She looks like she's in a Wes Anderson film.

She's wearing a cute orange ensemble, a pillow-y black headband and that trademark personality that makes you almost *certain* you could be best friends.

But she's here to chat about the newest member of her Go-To family, Very Luxe Face Cream. It's the brand's latest launch, and while the products are for all ages, it's one of the first that's truly marketed for 'mature' skin.

We talk about the ins and outs of this newbie but also, Other Things.

Like, what the 42-year-old does to keep her skin looking so good. And what advice she'd give to other women over 40. Also, the mistakes! What should younotdo? And do you have butter with peanut butter?

We need answers.

So, after ordering me analmondlatte, offering some pastries and telling me (politely pretending) she couldn't even see the stain, we talk.

Here's everything Zoe Foster Blake shared about looking after your skin in your 40s.

Zoe Foster Blake's skincare advice for women over 40.

A thing that is true: As we get older, our skin changes and our collagen starts to decrease pretty rapidly. We're talking, like, a 25 per cent decline in your mid-40s.

Coolcoolcool.

That's why it's so important to focus on protecting, repairing and regenerating your skin in your 40s and 50s — and it's never too late to start.

Zoe said, "I'm turning 43 soon and I've always been super dry-skinned. But I noticed a difference in my skin during lockdown — and this is when I realised I really have to change things."

"Obviously, when you start heading into your 40s, hormonal changes take place, and thanks to a decrease in your collagen elastin, you can definitely feel the difference."

"Everything is puffier, thinner, saggier — like, the droop is a real thing. And things that used to work suddenly... don't."

"We also carry a lot of water weight as well, hormonally, but the collagen and elastin loss is a real thing premenopausal, right through. It's just going to destroy your skin in terms of suppleness."

"I get smile lines and fine lines, and I've got pigmentation — we've all got that s**t..."

If you fall into this category and you've been dabbling in the skincare world, you might be still trying to work out what you're actually supposed to be putting on your face. Yes?

Because it's crowded! Confusing! And there's just so much out there.

But Zoe tells us to forget the jazzy packaging, the fluffy marketing and all that BS — it's what's actually inside the product that you need to pay the most attention to.

"I've come from the beauty editor side where I know it's the ingredients that actually work," she assures.

"Back then, antioxidants, exfoliation, AHAs, and SPF were all pillars of good skincare. And that sticks and stands in your 40s."

"However, what you notice is the stuff you could have probably got away with in your 30s and definitely 20s — like those days when hangovers didn't have any effect on your skin — now, one night of bad sleep, and it's all over your face."

The good news? You don't need one of those hectic 1