Joan Collins, 76, has penned a long essay in the Daily Mail all about the way that women are feeling sexier, and appearing more glamorous, well into their twilight years. The thing is, Collins has a lot to say about eating right, exercising, using sunscreen and practicing proper skincare, but she makes nary a mention of the primary way a lot of well to do ladies are looking younger – plastic surgery. This woman has definitely had work done and to so pointedly not even bring up the topic makes her entire argument look foolish. (Note: while I would bet good money that Collins had a facelift about a decade ago and doesn’t get fillers or Botox, my mom says Collins looks like she could be all natural apart from the excessive amount of makeup she wears. I doubt it. She had good work done, but her face is tighter than normal.) Collins does bring up a lot of good points about aging and taking care of yourself. She even had some zingers in there about 20 and 30 something women looking old and used up due to their lifestyles. Here are some highlights, with more at the source:

Older women are sexy and vibrant
Why should people be so surprised that women in their 50s, 60s and 70s look sexy and absolutely wonderful?
Unfortunately today, with the media’s excessive emphasis on youth, youth, youth, some women over 40 are beginning to feel unsexy and with that often comes a tremendous feeling of insecurity.

The fact that there are scores of women looking stunning and far younger than their biological age seems to be overlooked, or, if recognised, then met with wonderment.

Certainly there are dozens of over-50 actresses who look great: Sophia Loren, Susan Sarandon, Ursula Andress, Stefanie Powers, Raquel Welch, Barbara Eden, Joanna Lumley, Linda Gray – the list is endless and these are just the actresses!

I have many friends in their 60s, 70s and 80s, not in the limelight, but who all look absolutely stunning.

Older women have great sex
In France, they revere and respect older women, as they do in most Latin countries, where they consider them to be delightful and to possess true sexual allure.

It is a fact that many of the most famous women in history were sexually active well into middle age and beyond.

Catherine the Great, in her 60s, was reputed to take young lovers some 40 years her junior to bed.

Mae West, who lived to 90, had a lover 45 years younger than her, and she coined the classic phrase: ‘It’s not the men in my life, but the life in my men.’

Sarah Bernhardt, the great French actress and the legendary Coco Chanel both had lovers in their twilight years.

A lot of young people think that sex is the prerogative of the young. Many are appalled by the idea of the over-40s or even their parents being or looking sexy or even, God forbid, having sex.

Older people are “younger” now
Today, 60 is the new 45 and 50 is more like 35.

As for ‘old’ age, I’m with that great philosopher Bernard Baruch, who said: ‘Old age is always 15 years older than I am.’ How true! Or Groucho Marx: ‘Growing old is something you do if you’re lucky.’

On young girls looking “rough”
Getting older should be just that: getting older, but not becoming old and losing one’s sex appeal. I believe that one is as young as one looks, so it’s absolutely crucial to keep your skin and figure in the best shape you can – advice which young girls today should heed.

Time and time again I see women over 50 who have taken care of themselves looking glamorous, and girls in their 20s and 30s looking… well, rather rough.

On taking care of herself
But I have treated my body as I would a car, only the best in petrol, care and maintenance, and I’m happy to say it seems to have worked for me…

So I took the advice of one of the most youthful women I ever met and since then have been fanatical about protecting my face, if not my body, against the sun’s rays in summer and winter.

After moisturising, I slap on foundation, which protects skin far more efficiently than any of the socalled miracle creams and I always wear a hat or a cap because even on the darkest of days the sun’s rays can penetrate through the clouds and cause damage.

That’s my miracle cream, and many of my girlfriends who have followed the same advice still look amazingly good. I strongly believe in protecting first rather than shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted.

With harmful UVA and UVB radiation in the environment, it is essential to start your regime as soon as possible if you want to stave off the ageing process and look glamorous well into later life.

Some media witches have mocked me for always wearing make-up. But they should take note, for I can assure them that if you take two women over 50, one of whom has always protected her face and one of whom has never done anything other than wash with soap and water, guess which one will have the best skin?

And not just slightly less lined, but skin that looks 20 years younger.

But it is essential to always put something moisturising on your face and then, with foundation on top, you will avoid much of the wear and tear of ageing.

On airbrushing and wrinkle creams
I’ve always been sceptical about the so-called miracle creams that proliferate the glittering cosmetic counters of major department stores worldwide.

I raise an even more cynical eyebrow when I see glossy magazine advertisements of gorgeous 20-something models recommending and extolling the virtues of anti-ageing creams.

Who do they think they’re kidding? Are the big cosmetic companies convinced that the average woman is deluded enough to believe the preposterous claims in their advertising?

Or is it just that youth sells everything today, so let’s show pure youthful beauty and let the poor fool who buys the product think that she, too, could look like the model if she used the product?

And to add insult to injury, the photos are retouched until the models’ faces and skin have perfection possible only in a two-year-old. What sane woman is going to believe that a lotion can refine, renew and transform skin in ten minutes?

[From The Daily Mail]

This woman gets all worked up about how “miracle” creams don’t work and advertisements are airbrushed, but completely avoids mentioning surgical interventions. A lotion can’t “refine, renew and transform skin in ten minutes,” but an injectable filler can. A surgical procedure can go even farther. What a shame that such an important topic loses its authority with that one little omission. Collins should take a lesson from Jane Fonda and admit the obvious.

Joan Collins is shown on 2/10/10, 1/30/10, and 1/16/10. She’s also shown with her 44 year-old husband, Percy Gibson, on 12/10/09 and 11/9/09. Credit: WENN.com