Fight back against pink repression

For a few days last April, I was cranky about another one of those prescriptive diatribes about what women should - or should not - wear after a certain age. It was an article in the Sydney Morning Herald Style column that got me going, written by one Michelle Lawford.  I do not know who this repressed 50+ lady is, but in her "Retail therapy" column she listed all of the things she thinks women over 50 should not wear. The list included bikinis, plunging necklines.. and HOT PINK.

As for me, I specifically wore hot pink for my 50th birthday dinner at Manta Restaurant, Wooloomooloo (Colette Dinnigan chiffon hot pink blouse with black velvet hot pants and Wolford faux garter hosiery - pictured above with friends Rachel G, Bronwyn S, JoAnne W and Gillian E).

I have worn hot pink on many occasions since then, and challenge Michelle to justify her exhortation that I (and all my sisters) should stop. What she really meant was she herself did not want to wear hot pink, or more likely she could not wear hot pink. Though never having seen this woman, my guess is that she never suited hot pink at all, so it would be no surprise that at 50 nothing had changed.

I am no clairvoyant, but have a strong gut feeling that Michelle has a complexion totally unsuited to hot pink, whereas I have olive skin.

My tabou colours are salmon pink, baby pink, light grey and khaki.

Colour is such an important form of personal expression, even if it's only black or beige that you wear. Colour is also a means of mood enhancement. Choose your colour based on many factors: skin tone, the type of garment, the precise hue, the appropriateness of the occasion - but least of all, age.

That kind of prohibitive talk does make me cross, as a reaction to what I perceive is a form of shame or shaming. I reject the shaming of 50 year old women who dare to wear HOT PINK.

PINK AND PROUD

At school reunion, in Carla Zampatti satin glam bomber jacket ( with Sandra, Alison and Lisa)

Attending Karl's graduation, Cambridge, in YSL Rive Gauche pink wool suit over black chiffon blouse with pussy bow, topped by mohair cape.

(P.S. Michelle, I also do plunging necklines and bikinis, although the latter can be a bit scary. I am emboldened to do so because my husband says "one pieces are for women who have given up"!)

A tale of two face masks - Ren Glycolactic mask versus Elemental Herbology Facial Glow

Twice I had purchased Renʼs Papaya (Glycolactic Skin Renewal Peel) mask, which at $90 for a 50 ml container is well worth the price.  It is a “glycolactic peel” mask, which leaves the skin amazingly dewy and glowing.  

I had recommended it to friends and planned to continue using it.  That was until the helpful staff at Mecca Cosmetica in Myers city store offered me a sample pot of Elemental Herbologies Facial Glow mask. 

I loved the Facial Glow mask, which I used in preparation for its companion products, Facial Detox the delicious Facial Soufflé, a rich moisturiser which can be used as a light overnight mask (and is also recommended for use when travelling by plane to prevent dehydration). 

I just couldnʼt decide which mask to purchase, because although I loved both, it was impossible to compare them accurately. The time of day, time of the month, season, etc could all affect the state of my skin, and the results of the mask. 

It seemed the only way to compare them was to try both masks at the same time on different sides of my face. Once again, the Mecca consultant was at the fore, offering me a sample pot of each so I could proceed with my experiment. 

Renʼs Papaya mask specifies to be left on the skin for 10 minutes, and the Facial Glow only 4 minutes. 

By 4 minutes, the tingling was more pronounced on the Facial Glow side of my face, though not as intense as a salon peel. I left it on for a further minute beyond the recommended time, and the tingling became more intense - bordering on stinging. I used a warm face cloth to gently remove the Facial Glow from one half of my face while the Papaya continued to develop. 

Even after 10 minutes, the Papaya mask was not stinging and tingling had settled down, while the left side was still tingling 5 minutes after the product was removed. 

The result? The Ren mask left my skin visibly more glowing, and more comfortable. 

Although Facial Glow was also very effective in removing dullness, it is probably more recommended as an intense fruit acid treatment at home, to be followed by its excellent companion products. Admittedly, I left it on for a minute longer than recommended so I canʼt criticise the fact that it was slightly stinging. 

I love all of the products I have mentioned above!  Check out Mecca Cosmetica skin care

Nevertheless, I would suggest those people with sensitive complexions should seek out a much gentler product because they have altogether different skin care issues than a post-combination skin matron such as myself.

Portmans guipure cotton lace skirt story

One of the sad things about getting older is that you can no longer take advantage of young gals clothing stores, which offer the latest styles for very reasonable prices. I am talking stores like Portmans, which in case you haven't noticed lately, has really updated its look and I really like some of the latest offerings.


So much so, that recently I walked straight into a Portmans store (Pitt St Mall, Sydney) and picked up a $79 cafe-au-lait guipure cotton lace mini-skirt with chunkyish bronze visible zipper at back. The whole experience from viewing the skirt in the window, trying it on, purchasing it and walking out, took about 10 minutes.


For those who don't know me very well, I am a big lace nut - have been so ever since the 1980's when lace made a gigantic comeback with the New Romantics ( that was post-punk). 


I am always looking for nice lace pieces to add to my collection, especially guipure lace  because I love the texture.


The new skirt made its debut at a dinner party at Randa's at Coogee. Compliments all round, and friends were saying - "that's not from Portmans!" "I've gotta check out Portmans" etc.  So far so good until I got into the back seat of the car (having offered Sean to sit in the front with Geoff, me and Suzi in the back) and a car seat button hooked onto the lace a ripped a grapefruit size hole in it! Oh woe!


Suzi's immediate problem solving was: just go back and buy another one. You love it, it's great value, just do it. Laura added encouragment, suggesting I ask for a discount.


I now have two skirts: one is perfect and will be kept safe from the evil Volvo car seat buttons. The other has now been patched with a silk organza customer patch in my favourite shape - the heart.


I made the patch using a remnant from a Trelize Cooper pinky red silk organza top that fell apart about 5 years ago. Using a paper stencil I made graduated size heart shapes that I hand- and machine-stitched over the gaping hole, as well as one on the back/inside of the skirt.


New skirty will have another outing to a BBQ tonight.


The only down side of this skirt is its length. Unsurprisingly, one of the reasons youth brands are cheaper is they use less fabric. I am really pushing it to wear such a short skirt. Check out the pictures for yourselves!


Age-appropriate dress is a very big topic - one I shall leave for another day! 

Check out Portmans web site