This year, the fashion is for the stars to wear their own faces
A NEW generation of celebrities committed to ageing gracefully is rewriting the definition of beauty in Hollywood, writes KATRINA LAWRENCE.
IN the movie Boyhood, widely tipped to take out the Best Motion Picture Drama award at today’s Golden Globes, Patricia Arquette, herself nominated for a Best Actress award, ages before our eyes.
And without the usual help of make-up and prosthetics.
Filmed over a 12-year period, the movie tracks six-year-old Mason as he morphs into an 18-year-old man, his family growing with him.
Arquette, now 46, filmed her first scenes as mother Olivia when she was 34, traditionally a peak age for actresses in Hollywood.
A study published in the Journal of Management Inquiry last year found a female movie star’s average per-film salary dropped off rapidly once she blew out 34 candles on her cake.
It’s therefore understandable that many older actresses might not want to look their age.
In Boyhood, Arquette illustrates how life, and motherhood, can take its physical toll. It’s a warts-and-all performance, even more so considering that Arquette wears minimal make-up.
“My clients are craving role models for natural ageing,” says Anna Field of The Paddington Beauty Room.
“When we keep seeing celebrities who have wiped out wrinkles with Botox and fillers, some women find it hard to come to terms with their own ageing face.”
The result, adds Field, is confusion about what ageing really looks like.
“We have this crazy situation where 60-year-olds think they should look like 30-year- olds, and 30-year-olds think they look like 60-year-olds.”
But there are promising signs of a rethink says Double Bay Clinic founder Melanie Grant, who has observed early signs of a trend towards looking natural among more mature celebrities, as well as clients.
“High-definition film, along with social media, has had a major effect on our approach to skincare,” she says.
“Nips and tucks are all now magnified. My 40-something clients, who were happy to look ‘done’ in their 30s, are now asking for a more ‘natural’ look.”
Such Hollywood stars as Meryl Streep, 65, and Helen Mirren, 69, also nominated for her Best Actress (Comedy or Musical) today, have surely done their bit in encouraging movie studios to offer substantial roles to older women, in turn showcasing the face of ageing to audiences.
Other nominees at this year’s Globes include a number of celebrities ageing gracefully: Julianne Moore, 54, Jennifer Aniston, 45, Amy Adams, 40, Jessica Chastain, 37, Robin Wright, 48, Jessica Lange, 65, and Australian star Frances O’Connor, 47.
While Forbes listed 24-year-old Jennifer Lawrence as the highest grossing actress of 2014, many double her age are kicking major career goals.
Italian Monica Bellucci, 50, bombshell star of the upcoming 007 film Spectre, will be the oldest Bond Girl, while best friends Nicole Kidman, 47, and Naomi Watts, 46, continue to win an impressive variety of high-profile roles.
And let’s not forget that other Australian of beautiful ageing Cate Blanchett, 45. Accepting her Best Actress award at last year’s Oscars, winning over Adams, Streep, Sandra Bullock, 50 and Judi Dench, 80, Blanchett called out those in “the industry who are still foolishly clinging to the idea that female films with women at the centre are niche experiences. They are not. Audiences want to see them and, in fact, they earn money.”
In another sign that it’s becoming acceptable, and lucrative, to age in public, beauty companies are increasingly signing up spokeswomen who happily embrace a wrinkle or 10.
Nars boasts Tilda Swinton, 54, and Charlotte Rampling, 68, as stylish spokeswomen.
And if some Golden Globes nominees miss out on taking a statuette home, they can take comfort in the knowledge that they’re a beauty star for many women: Aniston is the new Aveeno spokeswoman, Lange fronts for Marc Jacobs Beauty, while Mirren and Watts were recently signed up by L’Oréal Paris, where they join Moore, Jane Fonda, 77, and Jennifer Lopez, 45.
“I love that there are beauty muses of all ages now,” says Elsa Morgan, make-up director for L’Oréal Paris Australia.
“It’s wonderful to be able to work with younger models, as they tend to be quite experimental with make-up, but when you work with older women who have a strong personal style, it’s a joy to be able to enhance that.
“On a personal level, seeing so many different faces and ages of beauty is amazingly inspirational.”
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AND the awards for best supporting beauty products go to … Meet five of the nominees’ favourite skin and make-up buys.
L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Lipstick by Julianne, $21.95, pharmacies
This rosewood-beige shade, available from February, was custom-blended to complement the skin tone of Still Alice star Julianne Moore, nominated for a Best Actress award.
YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat, $78, department stores
Jessica Chastain, acknowledged for her supporting work in A Most Violent Year, shines on the red carpet; this gorgeously glowy foundation is
one of her secrets.
La Mer Crème de la Mer, $220, 1800 661 392
Amy Adams, also in the running for a Best Actress, Musical or Comedy gong, is a devotee of La Mer, and the moisturising effect it has on her dry skin.
SK-II Facial Treatment Mask, $28, selected department stores
Emily Blunt, competing against Adams for a golden trophy tonight, always wins in the skin stakes, partly thanks to this cult-status cloth mask.
Estée Lauder Automatic Lip Pencil Duo in Fig, $44, department stores
Up for a Globe for her role in Cake, beauty lover Jennifer Aniston (she’s co-owner of hair brand Living Proof, and Aveeno ambassador) is a fan of natural-look lips.
Originally published as This year, the fashion is for the stars to wear their own faces
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