Turning 40! No one is young over forty!
Indeed, no one is young over forty, as once famously said by Coco Chanel. A bit drastic you might think? Especially if you’re on the precipice of turning 40, or you’ve already reached this lofty milestone. But, is it true?
Chanel went on to say… but one can be irresistible at any age.
When I was turning 40, I could barely allow the words to pass my lips. Most of my friends have always been a little younger than me. So, when you’re surrounded by ‘early thirty-somethings’, being the first to reach this milestone was all the more, well, difficult. Who wants to be one of the first in your circle of friends to reach the lofty age of 40?
After all, for most of us, the day is never going to happen. But alas, it does.
I now look back on turning 40 with mild amusement. Now, at 55 I wonder why it bothered me so, after all, I was so young. Wasn’t I? Of course, I was, and for anyone turning 40 this year, well for me, it seems positively youthful. It’s a funny thing age. It’s a bit like happiness, something to be remembered, rarely appreciated at the time and as time goes by I’ve learnt remaining beautiful, vibrant and somewhat ageless, goes beyond skincare.
No one is young over forty, but one can be irresistible at any age.
Coco Chanel.
A very French thing to say, but the pragmatic Coco Chanel certainly knew a thing or two about being irresistible, and when she turned 40 years of age back in 1926, it would’ve seemed positively ancient, although she declared for most of her life to feel much younger than her years. Age certainly never stopped her, in fact turning 40 was a huge turning point in her career. So putting all that to one side. I’ve got 6 beauty tips guaranteed to change the way you age.
Turning 40? How to remain irresistible well past 40?
#1. Age with some attitude.
Do you really believe you can change the way you age? Nothing will age you faster than an ‘old’ attitude. How you age is less about wrinkles and more about attitude. Of course, no one wants to see lines etched into their face, I certainly don’t, but as it is inevitable, then perhaps adapting our attitude to how we age may just be the best thing we can ever do. But how? Well, we could start with a positive attitude, but as important as that is, it’s all been said and done before. There is a little more to it.
As well as a good dose of positivity, how about we push back hard on a few limiting stereotypes?
Dressing for your age? Now, I’m not suggesting you should dress like your teenage daughter unless you want to. However, get it wrong and dressing inappropriately or too young for your age can age you at a lightning pace, but how about just shopping where your stylish and slightly younger friends shop?
And who says you can’t wear your hair long after turning forty or even fifty? Ridiculous! Of course, you can. But, if you’re going to change your hair, then go for it! Not because you are a ‘woman-of-a-certain-age’ but rather, because a modern style can take years off your look.
Just don’t let your hairdresser judge you by your age and pop you in their own stereotype of how you should look. If they do? Time for a new hairdresser. Qui?
Think about your posture and stand tall. Poor posture will age your look. Why not adopt a routine of Yoga or Pilates or combine both with a bit of Ballet and try the latest fitness trend, aptly named, Barre. As a frustrated ballet dancer from the age of 6, Barre appeals to me. To find out more about this body balancing fitness trend, you may like to go here if you live in Australia or here if you reside in the UK.
#2. Wash your face every night.
Don’t just wash your face, gently clean away every trace of makeup. Nothing will make a bigger impact on your skin than how you cleanse. Leaving the remnants of the day done-and-dusted on your skin is incredibly ageing to your skin. Wash away the day, cleanse away any makeup. Do it well. Choose your cleanser wisely. No matter whether your skin is oily or dry. Choose water-soluble milk or cream-based cleanser or cleansing oil. Anything else is going to strip the natural lipids and oils from your skin, leaving it gasping for moisture. More on the subject of cleansing can be found here.
#3. Take your skincare seriously.
Beauty tips for women turning 40 and beyond has to include investing in your skincare regimen. It doesn’t have to be the most expensive to be the best for you. Even if the best you can afford is found in the supermarket aisle. Make it count for you. Get the basics right. Just do it! Cleanse gently and religiously. Find a good sunscreen. Choose the one you like to wear, then do so. Every day. Broad-spectrum is the gold standard and will block out UVB and UVA radiation. Include Vitamins A, C, E and B3 in your daily routine and find a moisturiser that leaves your skin feeling comfortable. Exfoliate with an alpha hydroxy acid serum.
You may also like my article 6 Essentials for great skin.
#4. Good things take time.
With so many promises, hope and allure being churned out by the beauty industry it’s little wonder we struggle to be patient. What’s the next best thing? What’s the buzz word in skincare this year? Sure, there are many new and exciting things being developed by the beauty industry, but, none of it’s going to make much of a difference unless you commit. Yep, I’ll just repeat that. Good skin means you need to invest and commit. Allow your skincare time to work for you. I’m not talking a few weeks or even a month. It’s a lifetime proposition. Once you’ve found the products that suit your skin, stick with it. An occasional skincare routine, isn’t a routine, is it?
#5. Alcohol in moderation.
I love a glass of red wine. For me, it is one of life’s lovely pleasures, and thankfully most in the medical profession will agree, red wine is full of antioxidants, in particular, red wine is abundant in resveratrol, which has been found to be beneficial for slowing down skin ageing. Good news!!
But, of course, we all know, this is one pleasure that requires our moderation. If it’s true we are what we eat, then it could be said, we’re also what we drink. When it comes to alcohol, too much will, without a doubt, age you. Not only does alcohol take its toll on your internal organs, especially your liver, but every cell in your body will feel the dehydrating effects of too much alcohol and none more than the cells of your skin. Like every other cell in the body, the specialised cells found in your dermis need moisture and good nutrition to function at their peak. Too much alcohol will ruin your skin. You don’t want that.
#6. Eat well. Choose a balanced diet.
I’ve left this one last, not because it’s the least important, eating a balanced diet is one of the most significant contributors to how well we age, but, somewhere deep down, I don’t think we believe it shows up in our skin. There’s that saying… you are what you eat. We all know it, and yet, we indulge in foods that hinder our health. Maybe we acknowledge our eating habits may hurt our waistline, or eventually show itself in years of ill-health later in life. But our skin? We’re always looking for what we put-on-top of our skin to fix our skin woes. But indeed, what we eat really does show up on our face. Maybe not immediately, but eventually. Thankfully we can choose. Eat plenty of vegetables, look for lean protein, cut back on sugar, eat fruits loaded with anthocyanins and get a healthy dose of essential fatty acids from whole foods like flax seeds, walnuts and salmon. Every. Single. Day.
A bonus beauty tip.
So as well as my 6 beauty tips for women turning 40, there’s something else I must address, that Coco certainly never did.
For Coco, this was an attitude. You can change the way you age and how you feel about it.
But Coco was a notoriously heavy smoker and sure, she lived to the ripe old age of 88 but on closer inspection, her skin didn’t look as good as it could have. Smoking is one of the worst things you can do to your skin as well as your overall health.
As a non-smoker, I am removed from the idea; people still smoke? So much so I leave it out of my lists for beautiful, amazing skin. So, If you smoke it’s going to show in your face. Please don’t do it. For your skin, your lungs, the environment, for your financial freedom, for your children. That’s all. Rant over.
And now you?
What’s the one thing you’ve decided to do to change the way you age? Or, do you have a question? I’d love to hear from you. You can get in touch here.
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See you next time,
