Generation Ageless

Everywhere you turn middle-aged women are looking decidedly less like, well, middle-aged women. Sharon Hunt examines why timeless beauty is on for young and old.

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A radiant and barely-there complexion topped off with luscious, lightly-tousled locks – celebrities such as Julieanne Moore, Michelle Pfeiffer, Diane Lane, Sharon Stone, Susan Sarandon, Sally Field and Salma Hayek have this effortless, modern beauty look down pat. Oh, and did we mention that all these ladies are 50-plus? Meet generation ageless.

There was a time when we women hit a certain age and suddenly found ourselves relegated to a style wasteland populated by sensible haircuts, caked-on face powder and non-event vermillion lipsticks.

Not helping matters was the down-and-out message from many beauty brands. Wrinkles. Grey hair. Quick, cover them, hide them, or make them disappear! (And it seems that connection with beauty advertising is still a struggle. A recent survey noted that 91 per cent of women aged 50-70 wished marketers would treat them as people, and not stereotypes.) Despite the noise, the so-called new generation ageless are bucking the trend and have overhauled their beauty approach. It’s not uncommon nowadays to observe a glamorous woman and struggle to predict her age simply by observing her style.