Returning from a recent cruise, I encountered many menopausal women and came away with fresh insights about their quest to recapture a sense of youth.
One woman in particular, utterly charming and in her late sixties, confided far more than I expected during a brief bus tour. She eagerly shared that once home, she planned to get a facelift and hopefully meet the man of her dreams. With animated gestures, she pulled her forehead taut and swept her cheeks and neck back to demonstrate, her excitement unmistakable at the thought of turning back the visible signs of time. Some may say her expectations are set too high but I get it. She just wants some confidence back. She was in great shape, truly fit. Why not have your face match your body?
Her face showed clear signs of sun damage—too many hours spent under its rays had left her with the brown spots that so often linger after years of exposure. She wanted them gone, and why not? Restoring her confidence might be exactly what draws the right man into her life. With that renewed self-assurance, her energy could shift, opening her up to new possibilities. I felt genuinely honored that she trusted me enough to share such a personal hope.
The larger point is this: why not embrace the advances available today to soften the marks of aging and lift some of the heavier, often discouraging, reminders of menopause?
The journey of reversal can start with something as simple as a peel or microneedling session performed by a licensed professional. When a woman begins to see her skin regain its smoother texture—free from those dreaded spots—her spirit lifts, and she’s often excited to share the transformation with others.
In my lifetime, I’ve watched cosmetic procedures move from something whispered about in secrecy to something women now openly share—even in passing conversations. When I first began working in the beauty industry, many would have taken their plastic surgery secrets to the grave! Today, I’m grateful for the confident, self-assured women who no longer feel the need to pretend that time has stood still just for them.
We’ve seen this kind of denial recently with celebrities and weight-loss drugs. Thankfully, many have since chosen to be open about their remarkable transformations. Once the secrecy lifted, the mystique disappeared—and the public realized that they, too, could pursue these results if they wished.
Aesthetic progress can be taken as far as you choose—but push it too far, and the results often lose their appeal. We’ve all seen the unfortunate outcomes, even among Hollywood’s elite. I often wonder, when a celebrity ends up with obvious “bad work,” why didn’t they seek out the surgeons responsible for the truly impressive results? Surely, it can’t be that difficult to go through the right channels. Why not track down the doctors behind those whose work looks great, and steer clear of the ones delivering less-than-stellar outcomes?
Back on the cruise, many women struck up conversations by offering a compliment—since I was close to their age, it felt like an easy connection. Almost instantly, those chats would turn to aesthetics. They asked about my makeup, my hair, or my skin, and I was always happy to share my tips.
Women light up when discovering a new hair product or a fresh makeup trick—and my friends and I were no different. From the moment the ship set sail, we were swapping beauty secrets, still ordering each other’s favorite finds by the time we reached our final port. One afternoon, we slipped away from the men, popped open some champagne in our cabin, and before long I had scissors in hand—giving everyone brand-new haircuts!
I’ve noticed that most women my age who approach me are curious about my skin and eager to ask skincare questions—never suspecting I’m actually a professional. On one excursion to Èze, a woman confided that she was terrified about her upcoming laser treatment and facelift. She had no idea I’d spent more than 30 years working alongside plastic surgeons, or that I’m a licensed makeup artist, aesthetician, and certified permanent makeup specialist and instructor. I didn’t mention any of it until after I’d calmed her nerves. She seemed pleasantly surprised—after all, how else could I have known so many details? It struck me as both funny and sweet.
I have always seen myself as a Beauty Messenger. After all, that was my business for, uh, all my life. Let’s keep sharing, girls! Let’s all help one another to look and feel our absolute best. It will come back to you tenfold, I promise. When we look better, we feel better.
Top photo: Bigstock
