Not some 'starlet', but 61-year-old actress Helen Mirren, looking particularly stunning on the red carpet. What about the other grey (silver) haired awards nominees - Meryl Streep and Judi Dench - wisdom is proving more popular than youth, and crows feet are proving they're no hindrance to beauty. They appear happy in their own skin and don’t they just ooze confidence and style!
Who's the latest face of cosmetics giant MAC? No, not a 20 something beauty, but 66-year-old stunner Raquel Welch. Dove’s current campaign for their new product, Real Beauty, features a 96 year old grandmother, Irene Sinclaire. And who are the faces gracing the billboards in Germany right now? Not waif runway princesses, but mature beauties in all their unclothed glory.
What about the beautiful, talented and captivating Rene Russo appearing in Esquire Magazine at age 53 and the brilliant Diane Keaton 59 and those rumours of a love match with Keanu Reeves – truly though, don’t you think she looks as though glasses were invented for her? With current interest in the US surrounding the likes of New York Senator Hillary Clinton, that old adage, "beauty knows no barriers" seems to be proving true that wisdom and wrinkles are having their time in the spotlight.
At wisewomensworld.com, we believe that the pendulum is beginning to swing the other way. Away from a society increasingly obsessed with youth (and maintaining the appearance of youth at all cost), we are now seeing grey hair and wrinkles appearing on the red carpets, magazine covers and billboards of the world and we celebrate the experience, intelligence, wisdom and confidence that comes with them.
Successful, mature aged performers are also embracing the effects of ageing - Bette Midler now a young 61, says she and her husband are slowing down. But she doesn’t mind.“It’s very curious to be this old,” she says. “I’ve never been this old. I kind of don’t dislike it.”
Perhaps it's because I'm in my 50’s that I'm convincing myself that age is not important. But the more I look around me, the more I'm realising that age really is just a number and that beauty changes as the years progress. OK, so middle-aged women mightn't have the plump skin of youth, but they can be beautiful in a different way. And often that comes down to the confidence with which they carry themselves and the fact that over the years they've learned how to present themselves in their best light. I’ve watched friends grow and mature over the years and somehow they seem more beautiful to me now than ever before – is it their worldliness, knowledge, experience, maturity, wisdom or confidence? Or is it all of these things and more?
So bring it on Hillary, Helen, Raquel, Meryl and co. Show us that age is no barrier to beauty and that wisdom, confidence, serious talent and, yes even wrinkles, are attractive.
Let me know what you think makes women over 50 beautiful.
Wise Women © Wise Womens World
