When Estée Lauder recently announced Paulina Porizkova, 59, as its global ambassador, I high-fived my 48-year-old, slightly wrinkled, slightly sagging complexion in the mirror. Finally! I felt seen. I also felt relieved.
'Aging out loud' is a term that perfectly sums up the much-needed new movement in beauty that women such as Paulina are spearheading. One that is about embracing real skin, laughter lines and lived-in beauty. Lauder's campaign #beacauseofmyage says it all. It's raw and it's powerful. Age finally feels celebrated.
Seeing Paulina - a nearly 60-year-old ex-supermodel, who embraces her age with beautiful honesty and openness - return as the face of a brand that she first worked with when she was 22, felt revolutionary.
Soon after, L'Oréal Paris appointed 56-year-old Gillian Anderson as the face of their Age Perfect line. This move echoed a growing industry shift toward authentic age representation in beauty. One that Gillian herself values: "It's important to me that how I look in real life is the way I present myself to the world," she recently explained to Vogue.
The power of embracing your age
Ambassadors such as Paulina and Gillian prove that true confidence and beauty at midlife don't come from smoothing out every imperfection; they come from celebrating them. The cult of Kardashian-esque perfection is fading - and in my opinion, this is not a moment too soon. The filter-heavy, hyper-curated aesthetic is losing its grip as more women are inspired to embrace their real, unfiltered selves.
And this shift is bigger than just makeup or turning away from injectables - it's about reclaiming the narrative around aging. It's saying, "I've lived, I've laughed, I've cried - and every line tells that story."
© FilmMagicFor years, the pro-aging movement has simmered quietly, with smaller indie brands such as Jones Road Beauty leading the charge by using 'real women' with 'real skin' in their campaigns. And while major players ditched 'anti-aging' for 'pro-aging' messaging on their product packaging, they would still use younger, or unattainably flawless models in their advertising campaigns.
But products that are targeted to midlife women like us need to be showcased by midlife women like us. "I would like to at least be a part of the world that changes our beauty standards to include aging," Paulina recently said on Estee Lauder's Instagram.
"I told the Estée Lauder team at my first meeting with the board: 'Number one, I will not do anti-aging anything',” she recalled to Vogue.
My journey with aging out loud
Aging out loud is particularly important to me, as during my 25-year career, I've sighed my way through every contouring craze and airbrushed ad, knowing that authenticity resonates far more deeply than perfection.
As a 48-year-old, I have been aging out loud through my work and on social media for a few years - proudly recounting stories of perimenopause, sharing vulnerabilities around alcohol in midlife, and embracing wrinkles without filters or Botox.
Embracing vulnerability and authenticity in midlife brings beauty to life. It is something that we can all relate to.
READ: This $75 hair mask transformed my menopausal hair
For much of my career, beauty to me hasn't meant perfection: when casting models for shoots I have always swapped flawless skin for characterful traits like freckles, dimples, a gappy-toothed smile… and dare I say it, wrinkles.
And when writing up reviews on the latest skincare treatments or products, defying age is not at the top of my priority list. Will this make my skin glow? Yes. Will this make me look 20 again? Never. Not least because it won't. And do you really want it to?
Midlife has taught me that true beauty comes from being unapologetically real. In those raw, unfiltered moments, you find the greatest sense of empowerment. There is freedom in letting go of unrealistic expectations and embracing the stories our wrinkles, scars, and stretch marks tell.
I no longer chase perfection; instead, I celebrate resilience and vulnerability. I appreciate my skin for its history, and my age for the experience and knowledge that it brings.
The most powerful beauty comes from being unapologetically yourself. No matter what your age.
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