I'm 51 and test skin care for a living: Here are the week's best Amazon deals

It you suffer from dark brown age spots, there's some research to suggest you may be able to treat and lighten them at home without shelling hundreds for a pricey service at a doctor's office. In fact one study showed that, with consistent use, kojic acid helped reduce skin discoloration and increased skin brightness in 75% of the patients tested. 

There are multiple viral kojic acid soaps on the market — including this No. 1 bestseller — but I'm partial to this iteration because the rounded corners make it more pleasant to use on your face than boxy, squared-off versions. I also love that it includes turmeric, a natural anti-inflammatory, which may help reduce facial puffiness overall. 

There are myriad uses for this wildly well-reviewed, internet-famous skin-care oil, but I like it best for treating dry summer skin on the body, not the face. It's amazing on calves and thighs as an after-shave oil and as an emollient for cracked heels and dry elbows. It's too oily (for me) for my face or as a scalp treatment, but a little goes a long way to tame flyaways. Also, if it's good enough for future queen Kate Middleton, surely it's good enough for peasants like me?

I've yet to meet a beauty editor who's not completely smitten with Weleda Skin Food moisturizer. It's an extra-effective, all-natural, ultra-emollient, thick but not greasy all-purpose moisturizer that smells and feels expensive, especially given its actual cost. This kit includes a 2.5 ounce tube of the star product along with a set of organic-cotton gloves. You're meant to apply an ample layer of the cream, slip into the gloves and let the moisturizer really sink on. After 5-10 minutes, your hands emerge soft, smooth and intensely hydrated — a spa-like experience that's deeply relaxing too. 

Incredible deal alert! These gilded, Jessica Alba-approved eye masks incorporate hyaluronic acid, amino acids and sea moss to hydrate the delicate under-eye area, reducing dark circles and puffy bags and blurring fine lines as they go — and right now they're nearly 40% off!

They're also paraben- and sulfate-free, vegan and gentle enough for most skin types. The luxe packaging makes them an excellent gift. 

While not a wrinkle cream per se, this beloved snail mucin from CosRx is excellent for evening skin tone and making your face look softer and brighter. It's also won multiple awards, has more than 50,000 five-star reviews and has impressed most every beauty editor I know.

After using it the first time (here's my full review), my face was noticeably dewier, and other users have boasted about its ability to soothe, hydrate, repair and improve dull skin — all of which helps wrinkles look less deep and crepey. 

Exfoliants are essential for turning over dead skin cells and promoting skin health and collagen production no matter your age. However, they're particularly important in your 40s, 50s and beyond to keep your face from looking dull and tired. 

This Bliss serum is an excellent entry point — it's gentle yet effective and good for all but the most sensitive skin types. It smells good too. 

If you're new to the retinol game or have dry skin, CeraVe's formula is an excellent place to start. It contains just a .3% concentration, which means it will be gentler and less drying than higher-potency products.

It's also filled with skin-calming agents like niacinamide and moisturizing hyaluronic acid. Best of all, it's inexpensive enough to try without the guilt of making a major skin-care investment.

Trust me when I say that outside of ice cream, there are few things better in summer than an ice roller. You may think you don't need another gadget for your face, but I'm telling you: You want this one. These simple devices wake up your skin in a way almost nothing else does. They're good for de-puffing eyes, reducing redness and improving circulation in the face and neck. But more than anything, an ice roller just feels good, like a refreshing popsicle for your visage.

Of all the skin-care categories, night creams always seem the most dated to me, like the kind of product you'd see on a sitcom from 1955 where the parents slept in separate twin beds. Every time I see one — especially in the summer — I think: Move along, old-timey cream, I have fancy modern serums to try.

However, CeraVe's Skin Renewing Night Cream is not your grandma's night cream. For starters, it's lightweight and absorbs easily, with zero pore-clogging gloppiness. It's nonirritating to even the most sensitive skin and it doesn't pill (the thing I despise most in any product, but especially a moisturizer). 

What it does instead: heals dry areas while lending skin a pleasant softness and suppleness. As if that wasn't enough, it manages to achieve all of this for under $20.  

I love Garnier's micellar water in general, but I especially love this iteration, which is perfect for aging faces in summer. The no-rinse face cleanser works like a magnet to lift dirt and grime off your face while still conditioning and being extra gentle. 

This version also removes waterproof makeup — like no-smear mascara, a warm-weather staple — without dragging or damaging your delicate under-eye skin (and, potentially, causing more wrinkles). Stock up now with this truly good deal on two ample 13.5-ounce bottles.  

CosRx has helped popularize snail mucin as a skin-care ingredient, but you shouldn't sleep on its other products. Case in point: this moisturizer. A favorite among the K-beauty crowd, this face cream packs and seals moisture into dry, dehydrated skin to prevent further hydration loss. I love it for its lightweight, fast-absorbing formula and antioxidant ingredients, all reasons why we named it one of the best anti-aging products of the year. 

Bonus points: In addition to hyaluronic acid, this cream contains vitamin tree water (also known as sea buckthorn), which is filled with vitamins, amino acids and fatty acids that help strengthen the skin barrier and increase hydration even more. The midrange price point is the cherry on top.

If you're looking for a low-cost retinol eye cream to help with crow's feet and dark circles, this is for you. The wrinkle-smoothing lotion also reduces puffiness but is gentle enough for sensitive skin.

It's among the most highly rated eye creams, with more than 19,000 five-star Amazon reviews. It's dermatologist-recommended too. Give this effective cream a try while it's nearly 30% off.

Ask any dermatologist for the most important step in an anti-aging skin-care routine and they'll undoubtedly say high-quality sun protection. And this sunscreen by EltaMD is truly among the best.  

Of all the sunscreens I've tested, this is the most consistently top-rated. The tinted mineral formula provides broad-spectrum physical coverage and hydration, and gives your skin an even tone in the process. It's made of natural ingredients including zinc oxide and titanium dioxide and leaves a smooth finish, even on dry or sensitive skin. 

There's a reason I named this Peter Thomas Roth formula the best retinol serum of the year: At 1.5% retinal concentration, it's just potent enough to really work on reducing wrinkles and fine lines, while not so strong that your face will start molting within the first week. Plus, it contains eight-hour slow-release micro-encapsulated retinol, which tends to be less irritating and is packed with brighteners like vitamin C and soothing emollients such as vitamin E and squalane to keep your face hydrated and reduce redness.

The texture particularly stands out: It's silky and smooth, not tacky and viscous. When I used this product last year for three months, I saw an almost immediate skin-tightening effect. Over the weeks, there was more clarity in my skin tone, and the lines in my forehead appeared less deep. 

It's difficult to choose a retinol serum that will work best for all skin types, but with its high-quality ingredients and thoughtful formulation, this one comes closest to being a one-size-fits-most skin-care star.

Elemis is one of only a handful of high-end skin care brands that make the kinds of quality, results-oriented products that are worth the money and live up to the hype. This collagen-growth-stimulating serum is among my favorites for smoothing and plumping skin without any of the harsh effects of retinol. It's made from an array of highly-concentrated skin nourishing ingredients including red algae and it feels amazing and decadent on your face. Right now it's 23% off and maybe just worth treating yourself to a splurge?