If we truly are a product of our environment, then I must be Barbie because I live in a Barbie world. Before you judge me or “hate me because I’m beautiful” consider your own lifestyle.
Maybe you’re a health nut who spends lots of time searching for the best industrial-grade juicer, going to yoga classes and shopping online for the best running shoe. What makes you different from me?
Don’t reply with something about how concerned you are about your health versus me being concerned about my appearance so therefore I must be shallow. We are both exercising a form of self-love, we’re just doing it in different ways.
What Are Your Red Lines?
Did you get braces as a kid because your permanent teeth came in crooked? Do you engage in a beauty routine, wear makeup or style your hair?
Most of us make an effort to enhance our appearance and fight the signs of aging. Who’s to say what’s acceptable or judge others? How do you personally feel about what you do or don’t do to yourself? Are there “red lines” you won’t cross?
Some people feel that the only acceptable aging is totally natural aging. Others feel like availing themselves to any and all that the science of beauty has to offer and I happen to be one of them.
The OC: Land of the Beautiful
For the past 10 years I have worked for a major luxury lifestyle publication. More specifically, I’m the Associate Publisher for said publication in Orange County, Calif….yes, Orange County – home to endless beautiful weather, beautiful cars, beautiful homes and, most of all, beautiful people. To succeed in this environment one must be young and beautiful. It’s a duty that I am happy to fulfill with a devil-be-damned attitude at 60.
I’m a modern-day warrior who must be ready for battle. I make no apologies for my regimen: regular Botox injections, occasional dermal fillers, expensive skincare line, hair salon appointments, visits to the nail salon, spray tan membership, designer clothing and accessories.
The aforementioned items are necessary to represent a luxury lifestyle brand that requires maintaining a certain image. This logic comes in handy whenever my husband notices I’m wearing a new pair of shoes or brandishing the latest designer handbag.
Not For the Weak
My father used to say, “Getting old isn’t for the weak.” He was referring to the mounting aches and pains of old age and had no idea how his words would ring true in my ear when I’m sitting in the doctor’s office, tensely squeezing a foam ball in my fist while the “magic man” inserts a cannula as big as a crochet needle into my chin to give me a liquid face-lift. Not for the weak indeed!
The trick to pursuing a youthful appearance – and by trick I mean very careful precision- is to avoid, at all costs, morphing into Suzanne Somers or Dolly Parton. I mean no disrespect to these accomplished women, but their plastic surgeons should be tarredand feathered and forced to hold up signs on a busy L.A. intersection that say “I turn aging women into claymation figures.” It’s not a cute look and the only one being fooled is the patient who has clearly lost sight of what they used to look like.
My tenure with the magazine I work for has afforded me the opportunity to see – and often experience – a vast array of anti-aging products and procedures. Many of them are good, some of them are great, yet quite a few don’t work. I’m privy to the inside scoop on the latest miracle treatments, and every week I encounter new ways to tap into the fountain of youth.
The Cost of Looking Young
We’re inundated with countless ads for ways to stay young, vital and sexy, and Baby Boomers are willing to spend a lot of money to accomplish this goal. When someone finds out I’m 60, most are in disbelief and show an expression of amazement. It’s not all that amazing, really. You want to know why most people don’t look like this at 60? Because it’s a lot of work and commitment and it’s EXPENSIVE!!!
Don’t get it twisted. My day job isn’t making me rich by any means, but it does get me the right hook ups. And for me, that’s evergreen income. Just a little word to the wise: turning back or stopping the clock is a delicate process that should begin conservatively. If a little is good, more just might leave you in a Barbie world.
Life in plastic, is it fantastic?
Diana McBride will be reporting regularly on cosmetic treatments.
