On a roll with Helen Mirren

                   

(it doesn't matter whom you are, a wee bit of effort always matters)

I'm on a roll with Helen Mirren

So, my new routine has been Helen-ised. Sort of. I have been so busy, not getting enough sleep, & of course this has
been aided by the mosquito plague that seems to be happening. Who can sleep hearing that awful zooming sound that they make going in for the kill? I am a pacifist by nature. However, I must confess that I absolutely do not include kamikaze mozzies in my “no kill” credo. And I do not approve of flyspray & chemicals. Alas, as I write I am doing the toxic flyspray routine in my bedroom.

                        

Le exercise routine

And with not enough sleep, & being busy, busy, busy, my own exercise routine has lapsed. Mine is:

• yoga sun salutes & a few poses
• some arm waving in the evening with a weird dumbbell that rattles
• an exercycle that my wee legs have a hard time with (can’t reach the pedals properly!), & a plastic tubing thing for waving my legs around with

The exercycle is a loan, the tubing & dumbbell are op shop finds. The idea is to be relaxed & do them whilst I watch telly. Of course, this means that I am now watching some tv. Plus of course, I do the odd walk each day (in theory).

But, as Helen does do exercise, & also does not, I am thinking that perhaps this wee lapse is okay. She recommends starting, & it sounds as though she has simplified her xbx exercises, by doing, say, 3 sit-ups to start, the next week, do 4, increasing by 1 each week. A highly intelligent way to unstress exercise. I am thinking that this creates such tremendous guilt at only having a few exercises to do, that you actually end up doing it.

So, I shall go back to less sun salutes & build them up again, slowly. And recommence the arm waving & stuff in front of telly, just a few times a week.

Helen says that as you get older, you need to wear less make-up, especially around the eyes. I know what she means. It can look really weird seeing someone past the first flush of youth, flouncing around with tons of make-up & eyeshadow. 

We need to look like ourselves, only better, which means: 

• maintenance
• & staying current

Le make-up

I recently went to the Body Shop (I do not like nor approve of testing on animals nor of using products that might have animal bits in them, like collagen) and told a gorgeous young woman that I wanted some youthful make-up. I said that I just wanted to look great (for me!), not “great for my age” (one of my pet dislikes). I was adamant that I did not want old-lady makeup. 

She sold me:

• creamy foundation to look “dewy”
• told me to keep away from powder as it looks “old”
• told me I didn’t need blusher as I had cheek colour & definitive cheek bones
• she said to use bronzer rather than blusher, if I wanted to go that route
• and my new lipstick is a creamy, lighter, slightly softer, version of the fuchsia shade which looks so flattering on me

The new me looks younger & better. I still have wrinkles & sun spots, but I still look better. And I still wear a thin line of black eyeliner above & below my eyes. My eyes would disappear if I didn’t.

In comparison, last year I bought a full set of make-up, with blusher & powder, eyeshadows etc. All colour co-ordinated. Whenever I put it on, I felt a bit depressed. And it was because it made me look “old”, just by virtue of being old fashioned. I felt “old” too, wearing it. I bet I then acted “old”. I simply could not keep wearing it.

Hair hints

For our hair, Helen recommends “being bold with your cut. Really look at what young people are doing, & copy them. Don’t copy what old people are doing”. I agree. As we know, I am a hair clutz, but I sneak around hairdressers looking for younger people to do the deed with my hair. With an older person, I have had amazing cuts that just look tragic a few days after. And it always gets cut too short!! With a younger person, I have learnt that I get a better, slightly longer, & more manageable, more current, cut.

Les garments

The last time that I bought clothes, a lovely young woman ran around the shop getting trendy flattering clothes for me. I bought them, because they made me look nice, And current.

Last year, a stylist tried to glamorise me with floaty clothes and chunky necklaces. Both are two of my pet clothing dislikes, and I got quite upset. To me, they are the sort of things that “old” people wear. And floaty is just not my thing.

I so agree with Helen to be bold, look carefully at what younger people are wearing, their make-up, their hair, & step into a more youthful way of life. 

Helen says that she is not gorgeous, she never was, that she is just okay looking, and keen to stay that way. I like that philosophy.