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Ageless Beauty?
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This article from salon.com about one woman's fear of aging caught my attention this week. Since we are the BEAUTY Brains I thought I would post it to see if it struck a chord with any of you.
http://www.salon.com/mwt/col/tenn/2007/11/15/older_beauty/index.html?source=rss&aim=/mwt/col/tenn
Aging is such an obsession amongst Americans...especially those of us who are Baby Boomers and STILL have never grown up. And the beauty business is all too aware of this...hence the profusion of anti-aging products which presents us with the illusion that the physical signs of aging can be arrested or even eliminated.
Are you more concerned with loosing your YOUTH or your YOUTHFUL LOOKS? What fears does aging bring up for you as a woman? Wrinkles or dementia? For me it is the latter. I can live with wrinkles but the thought of losing myself is far more frightening. OK...OK...this is getting a bit deep for a beauty blog!
Please discuss! And if we have any guys out there PLEASE weigh in! -
When I think about myself, it's all about the wrinkles and grey hair. But when I think about my parents, it's all about their declining health and mobility (and the fact that my father now drives like a LUNATIC!) Part of that is because I haven't yet reached an age where most of those things are a concern for me personally. I don't worry about age discrimation at work and my health is fine. I do wear bifocals now and I admit I was horrified when I found out that I needed them; I thought I was "too young." My eye doctor told me that some people (mostly women) won't wear them because of that. But refusing to acknowledge that you're aging doesn't make it not happen so I got the bifocals and guess what! I look exactly the same.
To answer the question, I'm concerned about losing both but I try to keep it all in perspective. I'm willing to invest some time and money in maintaining youthful looks but I recognize that ultimately it's a losing battle. If I think I'm losing that perspective, I'll just google Jocelyn Wildenstein and remind myself what happens when you try to stay eternally young. I also do my best to avoid being in a car that my father is driving because that alone will put 5 years on. -
I'm concerned that my skin damage from running a waterpark for four years is going to age my skin.
I worry about wrinkles and sagging, vericose veins, cellulite, and my body changing.
I worry that I will no longer find MYSELF attractive more than I worry about other people's perception. -
I have oily, acne-prone skin.
I am 20 and I have had this problem for years and years. I'm afraid that when I actually do get nice, smooth, clear skin, that I will be much, much older and have wrinkles and age spots.
I am young now, and I just want to be able to enjoy nice skin while I can :( -
^sweetie..
think about it this way..
you are sooo less likely to get wrinkles than those girls with dry skin!
that's how i get through my days.... =D
I'm pretty aware of preventive care, but I'm not TOTALLY obsessed with it.. I look at my mom and the soft lines around her lines that's finally appeared after all these years and think, wow... she's beautiful..
and i look at my grandma's beautiful face, and all the soft creases and folds around.. and then she smiles.. and it brightens up my face.. she's just so beautiful and natural!
if you go on everyday worrying and stressing about getting old, then you WILL get old because you worry and stress too much!! go ahead, use a straw! skip a day of under eye cream! let a gray streak show through your hair! just live life, laugh, and you'll be young forever!
OR, keep having children.. that's what my mommy always tell other women that ask her how she stays looking so young, and I think it's really true!! I swear, my mom did not age until I was 21.. my co-worker is in her late 30s, and everyone thought she was in her mid-to-late 20s at most.. why? she has 2 toddlers at home!!! it's all the laughing and smiling and happiness that keeps you young! -
Gloria--I just think you are so sweet!
I worry most about acne right now. I get it and then Iget obsessed with getting rid of it and of course it makes it worst. I never had problems with my skin...but as you age your body changes!
BTW, I am SO getting SALONPAS today! -
Is there really a relationship between wrinkles and dry skin? I've always assumed that was a myth. All of the women in both my parent's families have beautiful skin but most of them have dry skin.
If you want to hear some truly whack-a-doo ideas on how to keep your skin looking youthful, spend a few hours with the women in my dad's family. I don't think it ever occurs to them that they won the genetic lottery when it comes to skin; they're all convinced it's whatever product that they're putting on their face every night. There's some obscure brand of cold cream that's dirt cheap but really hard to find (I can't remember what it's called) that they hunt down and buy in bulk whenever they find it. When I was about 21, one of these precious jars was presented to me with MUCH ceremony by my aunt. It was like some initiation into womanhood. I think they've got a contest going to see who can come up with the cheapest and most off-beat thing to put on their face. -
OK...OK...thanks to all of you for your thoughtful comments. Yesterday I was cured of my silly obsession by seeing a discussion with JOAN RIVERS and others about plastic surgery. I thought to myself...how silly to be worrying and spending money on preserving youth instead of living life.
We all just do the best we can with what we've got!
Thanks, Gloria for your wonderful remarks about your mom and grandmother. I no longer have older family members so I sometimes forget that I NEVER thought them unbeautiful.
In this season it is good to be thankful for health rather than beauty!! -
This is great discussion, Judy. I wanted to weigh in on it when I had some time, being one of the more "senior members of the BB community.
First off, I have to say that I'd never heard of Jocelyn Wildenstein until PurpleRules mentioned this name in her post so I decided to do a Google image search......and when I saw this womans face, it scared the CRAP out of me! She may be the most horrific example of plastic surgery done for all the wrong reasons that I have ever seen. *me shudders*
Thanks, for the link to the interesting article, Judy. The author is an unsympathetic character, IMHO. As she describes things, it sounds like shes been the center of attention due to her good looks for her entire life and as a result, her whole identity is wrapped up in this aspect of herself. How sad.
The thing I find most frightening about aging is the possibility of acquiring dementia, probably due to the fact that my mother died of Alzheimers. What a horrible disease. Bring on the wrinkles and gray hair; just don't let me lose ME. I think the best part of aging is the wisdom you acquire from all of your experiences. Lose the life memories and youve lost everything.
In the mean time, I'll try to look my best and be smart in my choices to do so but not obsess over the tell-tale signs of aging.
Would somebody please remind me, though, if I forget? -
Karen--you've put everything into perspective. Thank you. I watched my grandmother suffer from Alzheimer's. I was so young when it started...around 11 and it continued, her being in such great physical health, but not knowing us until I was 19 or 20 when she finally passed. My grandmother knew I believe 5 Romance Languages (How awesome would it have been to talk to her about Languages?) She was so classic and classy. I have her bottle of Chanel No. 5 and a few of her handbags.
So being 31 and finding myself being VERY forgetful...yeah I'll take the acne, I just want to remember my family and friends.
I'll remind you, if you remind me Karen! -
OH! That's the crazy cat lady. I didn't recognize her name. I actually don't think that's cosmetic surgery gone wrong. I'm pretty sure she looks exactly what she wants to look like. Of course, in my eyes, that's all kinds of wrong, but I don't think that she considers it a mistake.
But for real cosmetic surgery gone wrong, I'd have to look up Donatella Versace. EEEK. Her face is so scary looking and so, so orange and leathery (if anything would make me give up tanning, I think it would be pictures of her posted around my house). Her cheeks and lips are frightening to me. -
Eeewwww! Dontella Versace is awful, too! (And in a google image search, her daughter looks dangerously anorexic. That family sure has issues in spite of their money!)
I actually agree with you pas71. I was trying to say that Jocelyn Wildenstein did the surgeries for the wrong reasons rather than lamenting that it didn't turn out right. When I read about her at Wikipedia, it said she actually wanted those results. According to Wiki, it was her intention to look like her wild cats that were on her & her ex-husband's game reserve in Kenya.
Her ex had this to say: "I couldn't even recognize my own wife up close. She seems to think that you fix a face the same way you fix a house." That would almost be funny if it wasn't so sad (although the phrase "fix a face" bothers me).
Okay, Cate: It's a deal! -
I think Donatella's daughter is being treated for anorexia. I feel very sorry for her. She was pretty much doomed from the day she was born. Can you imagine growing up in a home where so much emphasis is placed on your appearance?
It's kind of scary to think that these women are looking at themselves in the mirror and thinking "I look great!" Does Donatella not see what we see? Or does she see it but think it really looks good? Why would anyone want to look like a cat? That is so far beyond worrying about looking old. -
In looking at a picture of Jocelyn's from her younger years she was absolutely beautiful. It's awful.
I found these pictures of Amanda Lepore while looking for photo's of Jocelyn. She is transsexual. Check her out on Wikipedia. Under the Background info it tells all about what she has had done plastic surgery wise....I can't believe she was a man!
http://website.lineone.net/~a1/jocelyne/lepore/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Lepore -
"Whoa!" on the Amanda Lepore photos, too!
Does anyone else watch the TV show "Dirty Sexy Money"? Candis Cayne, who plays Billy Baldwin's transsexual mistress Carmelita on the show, is so intriguing to watch! She had sex reassignment surgery, too. My husband and I watched a number of episodes of the show, trying to decide if she was a he or she before I decided to look her up on imdb.com to find out her name and learn more. -
Amanda Lepore - holy crap!!!
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I can't even imagine what these people are spending on all this. Many of the treatments are done every 3 months or every 6 months. You could ruin yourself financially.
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I love Candis Cayne! I think she's so pretty. And she's great on that show; I love it.
Thanks interesting info on JW, Karen. Can you imagine wanting to look like a cat that badly? and for those reasons! yikes. I wonder how that consultation went. She must have had to try really hard to convince the docs that she was actually sane.
Amanda Lepore scares me. She looks like she could melt if it gets too hot. -
pas71: That show is such a hoot! By chance, were you also a Six Feet Under fan? I just love Peter Krause but the rest of the cast is great, too.
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My dermatologist was recommending the laser thing for my "age spots" and he said treatments were $500/pop with several probably needed. I would LOVE to have something for the spider veins that I also have near my nose and the general redness that comes with rosacea. These are the kind of treatments I would LOVE to have if I had the $$. Let me know how it goes.
I have stopped drinking and grrrrrrr....VERY little difference in the redness on my nose. Not FAIR...not FAIR...not FAIR. I am trying some Eucerin product now and this morning my face looked worse, so I gave up and ordered some Paula Begoun products which I KNOW are safe.
Oh that "OC Housewives" series is so awful...I had to turn it off when I heard one of the "girls" say that she would never tell her partner that she was doing Botox because he liked to have her looking so good. Ughhhhh. Usually "Project Runway" or "Top Chef" is on at that time slot but this week it has been this all time low in reality tv.
In a fit of lethargy last night I happened upon "The REAL (yeah right) Housewives of O.C." Never mind that it was mindless of me to even STOP to watch this awful show...however, I had to turn it off when after watching one of the "girls" get her regular Botox treatment she said that she would NEVER tell her partner that she was having these treatments because HE wanted/expected her to look good! This smacked of pure desperation to me...she then went on to try to justify it for professional reasons...she is a realtor whose client ALSO expect her to look good. I thought to myself why does she let other people set her expectations?? -
Hi judy
I do watch the OC housewifes religiously
just because it's hilarious!!
I saw the episode you are talking about,the new housewife is by far the stupidest they had on the show
I think she is freaking out with turning 40, because the only thing she has is her looks!! Not a trace of grey matter!!
I guess that says something about the people who obsess about not looking older, it's often because their youth and beauty is the only thing they have
nothing wrong with trying to look your best, but other qualities, unlike youth, like red wines, get better with time.
Mindless entertaining aside, I do prefer project runway, but the OC wifes cracks me up!!
If it wasn't a reality show, you'll think the plot is actually too stupid to be real!! -
I agree with you, Judy and Fitness Brain!
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My guilty pleasure televison show is definitely America's Next Top Model. Although we only have basic cable so I can't watch any of the others, but I imagine I could get caught up in them. I do want to watch Dirty Sexy Money sometime. I just have to remember when it's on!
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Peter Krause! :tongue:
Actually, the longer you watch Dirty Sexy Money, the funnier it becomes. The characters and situations are so over-the-top!
I confess to watching a fair amount of reality TV: American Idol, The Bachelor, Survivor, The Apprentice; the list goes on! I decided I was getting a little too rapped up in it when I joined a betting pool for Survivor one season, though! -
I love Project Runway. The high point of the entire series may have been this week when Tiki Barber said he worried about his clothes making his butt look big. I am totally going to throw that in the face of every man that makes fun of women who worry about their butt looking big.
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PurpleRules: That is hilarious! I wish I had heard that myself....so I could do exactly the same thing!
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purplerules, did you see Heidi's face
when Tiki said that?
it was hilarious, she was about to burst out laughing -
I did. She something about only "Us girls" worrying about that and I thought "Yeah, right. Heidi Klum worries about her butt looking big." So basically, I found it more believeable that Tiki Barber worries about it than Heidi Klum.
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Well, of course, Heidi looks great, but everyone worries about their butt looking a certain way
(actually I used to worry it wasn't big enough)
didn't think men did, specially athletes, that's muscle!! -
Uh...sorry guys...about the rant about O.C. Housewives...I thought I had whispered that to Karen but I have now exposed my awful TV watching habits to everyone. I have been having SUCH trouble even getting on the Forum that by the time I DO get on I am a raving lunatic with very little to offer except brilliant remarks about trashy TV shows.
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Judy, you just make me laugh and laugh. If you ever decide to leave your present career, I do believe you would land on your feet in the world of stand-up comedians. (Pun intended! :bigsmile: )
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Karen, no I've never seen Six Feet Under. I haven't had a tv in ages (we just got one last week, but no cable yet), so I watch tv shows online. I love how the networks have started putting all their shows online. I think Dirty Sexy Money might actually be my favorite show right now.
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pas71: Mine, too!
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Like Karen, I agree that my aging concerns are more centered on my health and well-being. I worry about retaining memories and that's one reason I have kept a diary since middle school (as painful as it is to read my OMG OMG OMG bubblehead teenage thoughts). I think wrinkles are a natural part of the aging process. It is totally unnatural to see Hollywood stars such as Nicole Kidman or Joan Rivers with stretched taut faces and zombie expressions. Besides, as my mom put it, the more you worry about aging/wrinkles/stress the more likely you'll start developing wrinkles.
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Priscilla Presley is becoming very VERY scary looking, too!
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