Ever noticed when you have the notion of a new car, new coat, new shoes, jeans, you suddenly become attuned to these items as you go about your every day life? This is known as the red car theory - once something has been brought to our attention, we start noticing it more often, not because it has become more prevalent, but because we’ve become more attuned to noticing it. I am guilty of doing this regularly.
A couple of years ago when I was obsessed with the idea of embracing grey hair, but wasn’t quite there yet, I would casually walk up to strangers, compliment their hair and find myself in a lengthy conversation about their decision to go grey, how they did it, the pitfalls and ultimately how they felt about the outcome.
I remember talking to one woman at a camogie awards ceremony. When I asked her how long it had taken her to grow out her natural hair, “Three long hard, painful years” was her response. She looked fabulous, and when her teenage daughter looked at her, she was full of pride for her mummy.
I have often thought of that conversation as I have battled through the long hard, painful 18 months since my last root tint. Finally, I have accepted that this is a process, I need to be patient and I will reach destination grey hair shortly.
Letting the root tint sail off into the sunset has been one of the best things I have done for myself. Exercising a bit more is another. I have returned to running recently and hope to take part in the Great Dundrum Run next weekend. I will not be aiming for a great time though, if I cross the finish line in one piece, I will be happy.
Getting older is some craic, isn’t it? While exercise and consuming more vitamins on a daily basis than I have so far in my lifetime are helping with the perimenopausal symptoms, looking in the mirror and seeing an older version of oneself looking back is a head melt.
In a world of lunchtime tweakments, how are we supposed to know what the older version of ourselves should look like? How many lines are we supposed to have at 46? What is the average wrinkle count for a woman’s forehead in her late 40s? Should I get the botox or just get a fringe? Am I too far gone to do anything about my neck? I am scared of fillers after seeing the effects of over-use on some celebrities recently.
Kate Winslet talks about changing the narrative on the importance of a woman’s looks. She has chosen not to have any aesthetic treatments as she gets older. She wants to be able to use her face for expression in her acting
Interviews with Kate Winslet have been all over social media recently, as she promoted her most recent film, Lee, the story of photographer Elizabeth `Lee’ Miller, who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during the Second World War. The film has been 10 years in the making because Kate Winslet has prioritised her family over work in recent years.
Winslet herself, not Elizabeth ‘Lee’ Miller, has become the biggest subject of this promotional tour. In all the interviews I have seen and read with her, she talks about changing the narrative on the importance of a woman’s looks. She has chosen not to have any aesthetic treatments as she gets older. She wants to be able to use her face for expression in her acting. She also made interesting points about there being more ways to empower our daughters than telling them that they are beautiful.
Winslet also talked about her figure and how she has gone up and down sizes all her life, and how she has been judged for that. Sadly, whether a Hollywood star or a local celeb, the minute you put yourself in the public domain, inevitably, what you look like matters a lot to some people.
On the subject of beauty, I was really struck by a video posted on Instagram by Edith Bowman who interviewed cast and crew of Lee at the film’s premiere. Most of the women walking the red carpet looked ‘natural’. In a world where we have forgotten what growing old naturally looks like, I found myself re-watching the video many times. It was refreshing to see lines on faces. They all looked amazing. To some, this is growing old gracefully (whatever that means...); to others, it is letting yourself go.
How about we just celebrate getting older and remove the labels? Comparison is the thief of joy. Inside Out 2 has taught all age groups that it should be all about the joy.
