Forget all about anti-ageing – we should celebrate growing older
Tired of feeling ignored by the beauty industry TRICIA CUSDEN, 68, decided to take matters into her own hands and create a ‘pro-age’ cosmetics company
IT was yet another wasted make-up purchase that finally pushed Tricia Cusden to come to a decision that would change her life. “I bought a new foundation from a premium brand and when I tried it at home it just wouldn’t stay on my skin,” says Tricia.
“I had spent quite a lot of money and it made me think why couldn’t I find make-up that worked for me in my 60s?”
This thought led to an idea: to create a make-up range that catered specifically for women who were 50-plus.
The result was Look Fabulous Forever, which Tricia set up in her living room three years ago and is expected to turn over £1.5million this year.
Tired of feeling that women her age were ignored by the beauty industry, the 68-year-old grandmother from Wimbledon, south-west London, created a brand that was designed to meet the needs of post-menopausal skin.
“My foray into the beauty world grew out of my own frustration that, in my 60s, I felt the beauty industry ignored me,” says Tricia, who previously ran a management training consultant business.
“I thought there must be other women who feel the same way.”
Tricia, who now employs five team members including two of her daughters, says she couldn’t understand why the majority of products aimed at older women were marketed as anti-ageing.
“I hated the anti-ageing rhetoric because it implies that there is something profoundly dreadful about getting older.
“I was perfectly happy with how I looked. I didn’t look in the mirror and despair. I saw a face that had aged, had lived and that was fine with me.
“We should celebrate the process of ageing and see it as a positive time in life.” Giving herself a clear mission statement that “age is no barrier to looking fabulous” Tricia set about creating her new range.
She started with 13 products, including primer, mascara and cream blusher, which were produced in small batches of just 200.
All the products were designed with older skin in mind.
“A lot of older women seem to be afraid of make-up as if there’s an age we should stop wearing it,” says Tricia.
“That is ludicrous. The right make-up is like magic and we need more of it when we’re older, not less.
“When you are around 55, mainly after the menopause, your skin starts to change. It stops producing as much collagen and elastin and loses some of its luminosity and contrast.
“This means make-up behaves differently and can end up sitting in fine lines.”
In late 2013 when her products were ready, Tricia roped in her friends to help her with her first campaign.
“They tested the products and appeared in the photographs and videos on my website. I wanted to show how the make-up looked on an older face.” By February 2014 Tricia’s make-up tutorial videos had gone viral on YouTube and were getting thousands of views a day. “That’s when the business really took off and orders started coming in from America, Canada and all over the world,” she says.
Since then Look Fabulous Forever has gone from strength to strength and although at present sales are all online there are plans to extend the range into shops.
There is no doubt that Tricia’s idea struck a chord with women her age.
“I’m so glad to be challenging the norm, asking, ‘Why do we have to look younger?’ and, ‘Why can’t we look our age?’”
Tricia believes that being in her 60s herself meant other women could relate to her.
“Customers know that someone real is talking to them. I am experiencing the world as a 68-year-old,” she says. “I know first-hand that ageing can have a major impact on women, they can feel invisible and less confident.
“However the truth is it doesn’t have to be that way.
“I feel like I’m really helping women to look and feel better.
“People tell me I’ve helped them feel more confident and that is amazing.
“I couldn’t ask for more.”