Pricey face creams are hope in a pot. So hats off to those who don’ t buy it
JOANNA LUMLEY looks fabulous and always has done.
This week the 71-year-old actress revealed her beauty secrets and it’s clear that she’s very much a low-maintenance lady.
Despite having an estimated £12m fortune Joanna doesn’t splash the cash at expensive salons and prefers to buy a product off the supermarket shelves to colour her hair.
When it comes to moisturising, she rejects the pots of pricey creams and lotions from the beauty counters in favour of a £4 pot of Astral cream.
The blue tub has had a permanent place on Joanna’s shelf for four decades.
Who can deny that she looks great for her age?
From the day when she got the Purdey cut in 1970 to her Ab Fab beehive in the ’90s one thing has remained consistent – she chooses to colour her hair herself.
I have a lot of admiration for Joanna’s common sense and determination not to be extravagant.
The truth is the beauty industry thrives on the insecurity of women.
We all want to look our best but can any product actually make a huge difference?
I remember as a cub reporter interviewing couples celebrating their Golden or Diamond
wedding anniversary and some of these women in their 70s and 80s had beautiful skin.
“What’s your secret?” I’d ask them. “A good wash with hot water and soap then a splash with cold water and a dab of cold
cream morning and night,” they’d say with surprise. “Isn’t that what everyone does?”
Clearly it worked. But my generation got hooked on the claims of the cosmetic giants.
We bought lotions and potions to hide our teenage acne. We chose cleansers and toners, moisturisers and night creams, lip oils and eye creams – convinced that it would make a difference.
Then as we got older we opted for anti-ageing creams which promised to keep wrinkles at bay.
One of my friends has a shelf in her bathroom crammed with umpteen products – some for her neck, her eyelids, her hands, the soles of her feet. Seriously.
Now I admit I’m not immune from the thrill of wandering round a department store and sampling the products. I have a weakness for serums which you put under your moisturiser to nourish your skin. Nothing is ever going to make me look as good as Joanna – but I do enjoy the buzz of buying into the dream.
So if a little pot of face cream represents hope in a jar – I’m happy to keep hoping.