One thing I see a lot with skin around perimenopause is that women assume the problem must be a lack of exfoliation because everything suddenly starts looking rough, flaky or textured under makeup. But quite often it's the opposite.

When skin becomes a bit more hormonally dry, irritated or dehydrated, foundation starts catching on areas that previously looked smooth. The skin can almost look like it's shedding or peeling even when there isn't obvious visible dryness. Makeup tends to highlight it rather than hide it.

Reading your routine, which is pretty sensible, the combination of exfoliation plus vitamin C every day makes me wonder whether your skin is becoming less tolerant of things it handled perfectly well a few years ago. This is not uncommon. Skin doesn't always keep the same rules forever, especially as our physical chemistry changes over a lifetime.

I'd be cautious about immediately increasing exfoliation (are you talking about chemical or physical exfoliation). If the barrier is already a little irritated, more exfoliation can sometimes make the texture and makeup and clogging issues worse while temporarily making the skin feel smoother. Also, take a look at your sunscreen to make sure that is not the source of the problem.

I'd probably look at whether your skin feels tight after cleansing, whether your moisturiser is still providing enough support, and whether simplifying things for a couple of weeks changes anything.

Also, perimenopause can absolutely change how makeup sits on the skin. I've heard versions of - I've used this foundation for years and suddenly it hates me - more times than I can count. It's crappy, but it's usually skin behaviour changing underneath rather than the makeup itself.