Fortunately, I've got the genes that I've never had to be too concerned about this. My mom and I both like to get some color from the sun, I pretty much abuse my skin (don't always take my makeup off at night - horrors, I know) and we both have good skin. My grandmother also has great skin at 89 and my greatgrandmother was looking pretty darn good at 100. There is one cream I use that was recommended by my son's dermatologist - Kinerase- it has collagen in it and plumps up the skin a bit with regular use. Do I need it? Probably not, but what the heck - it's a small price per use.
I have read so many articles on the "scam" cosmetics.
o2k posted a link to a pretty good article a while back, and in Omni
birdstrike did a great breakdown of what's really in Strivectin (boiled down to basically nothing). There's another good website that will decipher names of ingredients for you - something like smartskincare.com. I'll look it up and post back.
Bascially, it seems a lot of companies that claim to be out to help women instead prey on our desires to stay looking young and beautiful. Fear is such a great motivator.
I know a lot of people have mentioned moisturizers, but another key is moisturizing from the inside out - drink lots of water.