On ‘Coming in Hot’: Is It Time to Ditch ‘Anti-Aging’ in Beauty Marketing?

Walk into any beauty aisle and the message is clear: Aging is something to fight, reverse, erase. But what about women who want to embrace their age? On Coming in Hot, hosted by Caroline Baudino, Alisa Metzger and Jen Shane—the cofounders of INNBEAUTY Project and the masterminds behind the fan-favorite Extreme Cream—tackle how they choose to reframe the conversation about getting older.

At 53, Baudino is proud to be asked about her skin. And she is not alone—Metzger and Shane share that perspective, and they’re building a brand around it. Rather than chasing a fantasy of turning back the clock, they’re focusing on skincare for women who actually want to look like themselves. “We say we’re multi-generational. It’s really not about your age, it’s about your skin concern,” Metzger explains. “We want to make sure that we’re featuring ages everyone from 18 to 80.”

The Cult-Favorite Skincare Brand Rejecting an Anti-Aging Messaging

Why the anti-aging message is outdated

For decades, beauty marketing has relied on a familiar script: youth equals beauty. From retouched ads to models barely out of their 20s, women over 40 were left out of the picture or relegated to separate sections of the store—an experience Metzger calls “borderline offensive.”

“There are these brands now that are like, ‘this is the menopause section,’ so it’s in the corner over there—shoved to the side,” she says. The subtext is clear: Aging women are a problem to solve, not customers to celebrate.

Shane, 43, admits she internalized that message for years. As a beauty founder, she says, “I always felt like I should not tell people my age because that’s too old. I forever want to be 32, because that’s what a beauty founder should be.”

It’s that kind of stigma that INNBEAUTY wants to break. “Beauty companies have spent millions and billions of dollars on marketing to women of all ages,” Metzger says, “but the only women they feature and show are beautiful models that are barely 30.”

Skincare should be about confidence, not youth

INNBEAUTY’s best-selling product, Extreme Cream, resonates so deeply with its cult following because it delivers an honest promise: skin that feels good in the mirror today, not someday when you’ve erased every line. “Refreshed is the look I’m looking for. Not younger—healthy, refreshed, and confident,” Shane explains. Instead of promising miracle overnight fixes, she and Metzger focus on consistency, hydration, and products designed to keep skin firm and balanced.

Baudino echoes that message, saying, “It’s not about perfection. It’s about saying, ‘You know what, I’m having a good skin day. I like the way my skin looks.’”

Changing the conversation for every generation

The shift away from “anti-aging” is about inclusion. INNBEAUTY intentionally collaborates with models, creators, and customers across all age ranges to ensure that women can see themselves reflected in the brand. Their product development focuses on skin concerns (dryness, sensitivity, texture) rather than age brackets. That might sound simple, but in an industry that has spent billions convincing women their age is their primary problem, it’s a complete reframe.

For Metzger, Shane, and Baudino, the future of skincare isn’t about fighting aging anymore. It’s about building routines that give women confidence and products that deliver real results, no matter how many candles are on the birthday cake.

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