Older & Bolder: 8 Celebs Who Have Reimagined Aging – and How They Do It

Embracing their 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond, celebrities have redefined the concept of the older woman with confidence and panache — and a few beauty tips.

 

1. Carmen Dell’Orefice, 91
Dermabrasion, Discipline & DNA

 

“I hope I’ve helped women get out of the closet about aging and live their life. To not try to compete with themselves at a younger age,” says Dell’ Orefice who posed nude for a New You cover story in October 2022.

On her timeless beauty, the world’s oldest supermodel points to medical dermabrasion and obsessive sunscreen for her flawless skin (“I go to sleep with sunblock on in case I forget to put it on in the morning.”) and straight up self-control for her willowy frame.

“Watching your figure is not that complicated. You just have to have self-discipline and understand what you’ve been given genetically. But nothing on the outside is going to make a blind bit of difference unless you take care of the inside. I drink water with lemon juice in the morning and eat plenty of probiotic yoghurt.”

 

2. Jennifer Lopez, 53
Affirmations & Olive Oil

 

“Affirmations are so important,” JLo told Harper’s Bazaar of maintaining her age-defying radiance with a positive attitude. “I am youthful and timeless. I tell myself that every day, a few times a day. It sounds like clichéd bullshit, but it’s not: Age is all in your mind. Look at Jane Fonda.”

You can also look at the December 2022 Vogue cover girl’s diligently clean lifestyle — no drinking, no smoking, lots of water, sleep and exercise. Being madly in love doesn’t hurt either, but she also swears by her own JLo Glow Serum, highlighting oleuropein, an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant olive leaf extract, as the “magic ingredient, the secret sauce, the fountain of youth, the vitamins for your face.”

 

3. Jane Fonda, 85
Strength & Wellness

 

“I want people to stop being afraid about getting older. What matters isn’t age, isn’t that chronological number. What matters is your health,” Fonda told Vogue in August 2022 while launching her new workout collection with H&M.

Having been open about her face lift, Fonda has since sworn off “distorting” plastic surgery. While acknowledging that “good genes and a lot of money” help with maintaining a youthful appearance, she also credits eating less salt and meat, lots of walking and exercise, and hemp-based beauty products. Healthy living that’s paid off big time, the Oscar winner just beat non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer that has a 55 per cent rate of survival for those over 75.

As the L’Oréal Paris Age Perfect ambassador told Prevention in 2022, the main thing is to stay strong and look after your physical health. “You can be very old at 84, but you can also be very young.”

 

 

4. Paulina Porizkova, 57
Acceptance (& Lasers)

 

“I felt ashamed to be aging and then on the other hand you go, but I’m smarter, I’m better, I’m funnier, I’m more patient! Overall, as a person, I’m the best I’ve ever been,” says Porizkova, whose nudity-friendly Instagram feed is dedicated to helping women get over those fears. “You don’t get to dismiss me because I have some wrinkles and sags and gray hair now, when I’m the most fabulous I’ve ever been. I’m going to just put it out there and go, you know what, this is me at my best. Deal with it!”

Sharing her unvarnished perspective on aging has rendered Porizkova a social media star. She avoids filler and Botox, saying that “remaining tweak free is acceptance” — but cops to lasers (which, technically, is a tweak).

Her at home tips include not washing your face in the morning (“I am very fond of the good bacteria on my skin”) and just applying moisturizer. She also uses anti-blue light products to combat the effects of staring at screens all day. To address both issues, she likes Peter Thomas Roth Vital E Microbiome cream and tops that with a “delightfully light” sunscreen, Beauty Pie’s Ultralight Daily SPF 30.

 

 

 

5. Iman, 67
Turmeric & Tolerance

 

“This really is a mentality rooted in the West. For me, it’s never been a problem,” the Somalian supermodel said of aging in the interview that accompanied her January 2023 cover for British Vogue. “That’s a very Western mentality. I come from Africa. We celebrate getting older.”

Scattering her Insta with empowering #ImanDaily posts — Life is a Party, Invite Yourself, Don’t Let Your Mind Bully Your Body — the beauty mogul recommends turmeric. She drinks “turmeric ginger elixir immune boosters” and also adds the anti-inflammatory ingredient to her DIY face masks. Mixing two tablespoons of flour, two tablespoons milk and a teaspoon of turmeric powder, with a splash of honey for a blend she applies to her face for 20 minutes.

“A beauty secret I’ve used since I was 12 years old, it’s from Somalia,” she told Vogue. “Skin care is really an investment in yourself, and you will see the results as the years go by.”

 

 

6. Sharon Stone, 64
Sexy & the 60s

 

“I was going to go for being more like a European woman who got more beautiful with age, who could understand that women are more beautiful than girls because they know something,” Stone told Allure in 2019.

A perspective she more than nailed with her wow profile in Vogue Portugal the same year, which channelled Helmut Newton, Charlotte Rampling and Marlene Dietrich and, as the magazine phrased, confirmed “the sexy in sixty”. (For what not to do, see: Madonna.)

“People are afraid of changing; that they’re losing something. They don’t understand that they are also gaining something,” Stone remarked in the Vogue interview. “I think that in the art of aging well there’s this sexuality to having those imperfections. It’s sensual.”

 

 

7. Beverly Johnson, 70
Research + Necessary Repairs

 

Almost five decades after making history as the first African American to appear on the cover of Vogue in 1974, Johnson is still gracing magazine covers. Like the December 2022 issue of New You, side by side with fellow fashion legend Carmen Dell’Orefice.

“Black people have been blessed with melanin in our skin, which gives us a leg up when it comes to aging. But even with that genetic gift, [you must] take care of your skin and give it the attention it deserves,” Johnson said in a 2020 interview for stylist Rachel Zoe’s blog.

“I’m a researcher. My bathroom is like a CVS or Walgreens aisle. I’m always trying to find that special hand cream, that special moisturizer,” Johnson continued. “If you want to look a certain way, find out what’s out there that’s going to give you the results you’re looking for. That’s why, whenever I’m committed to trying a new product, I’ll try the entire line—and that brand only. I don’t mix.”

Naming avocado oil as her fountain of youth, “I use it everywhere — I mean everywhere!” she told People magazine in 2020, her favourite is Retrouvé’s Baume Ultime, an avocado oil combined with antioxidant vitamins.

At the same time, Johnson recalled once asking the eternally stunning Dell’Orefice what her beauty secret was. “I asked her about maintaining her appearance and she said, ‘If the ceiling is coming down in the living room, wouldn’t you fix it?’

“I totally agree.”

 

8. Christie Brinkley, 68
Exercise & Sculpting Wands

 

“The expression ‘aging gracefully’ should not be about one’s looks but about the attitude and energy one offers the world,” Brinkley wrote in a 2022 Instagram post. “Looking good is a byproduct of feeling great and showing up with a heart full of good intentions and good energy!”

Not that it’s just good vibes. “Don’t stop moving because you’ll rust. You have to grease the joints and keep moving,” Brinkley told The Cut of her schedule of weight training and spin classes. “As long as I do that, I feel great.”

More good advice? “Food is medicine” and “watch the sun: don’t bake — fake instead.” Like Dell’Office she revs her microbiome with probiotics and hot lemon water. And she is such a fan of SBLA’s Neck, Chin & Jawline Sculpting Wand, which diminishes wrinkles, hyperpigmentation and crepey skin, that she reached out to them and is now the company’s spokesperson.

“Women of every age … are a force to be reckoned with,” Brinkley added to her Insta post. “There are a million older and wiser women out there reshaping and rebranding the numbers. The 50s 60s 70s and beyond just ain’t what they used to be!!”

And we can all say Amen! to that.

 

 

 

 

Celeb-Inspired Beauty Tips

 

1. The microbiome. Feed it internally with probiotics and yogurt and avoid over stripping your face of its natural oils
2. Lots of water — and hot water with lemon. Stay hydrated and use citrus to boost your digestive system
3. Slather yourself in oil. Olive oil, Avocado oil. Rose or coconut oil. Apply liberally
4. Anti-inflammatory. Popping turmeric supplements, maintaining an alkaline diet, downing pH-balancing drinks, drinking alkalizing teas, combatting inflammation is key to skin, gut and joint health for overall wellness
5. Cut down on salt, meat and alcohol. Devour as many veggies, in as many colours, as possible
6. Keep moving. Walking or yoga classes, spinning or weights, find a regular regimen that works for you to keep lithe and limber
7. Add a cal(cium)-mag(mesium) supplement. It contributes to bone health but also improves sleep and nails
8. Lasers. Routine visits to a dermatologist’s office are expensive. If that’s beyond your budget, invest in a good device you can use at home like a Lyma (the gold standard) or more affordable options. For superior results, alternate lasers with home micro-needling
9. Brightening & tightening: vitamin C, lactic acid, retinol, peptides. Find the skin cream or serum that works for you and stick with it
10. Take a quality vitamin C supplement. Vitamin C promotes the production of collagen, a naturally occurring protein that depletes over time and leads to wrinkles and skin laxity. Enrich your diet with vitamin C rich foods like citrus, bell peppers, strawberries and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower.

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