By Carol (my mother)

Greetings Everyone!

In honor of Mother’s Day, as the mother of the Fabulous Amber, I’ve been invited by my daughter to write about anti-ageing [ed. note: my mother INSISTS on spelling aging the British way. I think it’s a byproduct of reading the FT.] products and/or other products aimed at the “mature woman.”

Since I’ve always thought of ageing as an inevitable decline in physical beauty (we’ll leave spiritual beauty out of this for the nonce), I was shocked (in a good way) recently when I encountered a woman at a party whom I hadn’t seen in at least ten years. Formerly, my strongest impression of her was her almost garish coloring, i.e., extremely black hair juxtaposed with bright green eye shadow and ripe red lipstick. For a “woman of a certain age” it was a bit much. Flash forward to the party. She is now 81 years old, bent, and walking with a cane. But she looked gorgeous! Her hair was now a soft, dark grey, her eyes delicately shadowed and lovely. Her make-up was perfectly applied, everything in balance. She looked beautiful and I told her so. Twice. Apparently, physical beauty can emerge at any age. That is truly inspiring.

…

I have been using Elizabeth Arden’s moisturizing products for years. I adore them. My current, everyday standby is Elizabeth Arden Millenium Day Renewal Emulsion Traitement de Jour, $62. It comes in a square, glass jar with an unusually narrow opening, totally unsuited for fingertips. Included, therefore, is a tiny, long-handled spatula or ladle. How cute, I thought, initially. Later it became a tad annoying – just another thing to lose. (Note to Elizabeth Arden – lose the ladle and widen the lid.) The cream itself is lovely. Ordinarily, I use a heavier cream in winter and a lighter lotion as the weather gets warmer. So far, I find I can wear this transseasonally. Another bonus is the scent. It is pleasant and subtle.

Happy Mother’s Day!