Paulina Porizkova On Ageing, Authenticity & Rewriting The Rules
In my twenties, I was on top of the world. I was on the front of every magazine cover, sometimes three or four a month, but I was an entitled brat. That’s what happens if you give a 20-year-old a lot of money. You don’t value it very much because you haven't had to suffer to get there. My modelling career was flying, but I still felt insecure. There was endless comparison – some called me the most beautiful woman in the world, but I was also on the receiving end of ‘Your boobs aren’t as nice as Cindy Crawford’s’ and ‘Your legs aren’t as good as Elle Macpherson’s’. The constant negative comparison took a toll.
Decades later when Estée Lauder approached me about working with them for a second time, I was wary. I was like, ‘Remember last time?’ I loved the pictures we created, the beautiful campaigns and was very proud of the work we did together, but I also felt a little trapped. I felt like an object, solely there to sell. And I didn’t want to repeat that. But when the brand presented the idea of this partnership, it felt very different from the get-go. I went to Lauder’s headquarters for a meeting and said from the off I would not – under any circumstances – hold up a bottle or advertise anything labelled as ‘anti-ageing’. Everyone went quiet at first, then they said, ‘Okay, we hear you. That’s actually why you’re here.’ They felt they could help me amplify my message of acceptance, embracing my age and who I really am to a wider audience – and of course they were right.
Ageing is the best thing that can happen to you. When you’re young and starting out, you’re full of boundless hope and optimism of what’s to come. You haven’t gone down the road yet, and that excitement and energy is fantastic; it’s what changes the world. Now I’m older, my strength lies in the fact that I have already been down that road and can share what I’ve learned along the way. But being on the other side of the ‘desirable’ years does feel like unchartered territory. In today’s society, older women are no longer treated as repositories of wisdom, so what’s our purpose? This annoys me, I’m way cooler than I’ve ever been and I don’t accept I should retire and be quiet.
Over the years, I’ve learned to let go of caring about what others think of me. Trust me, that really lightens your load. When I was younger, I wanted to please everyone, be memorable and prove my value and that I was worthy of love. I was such a good little soldier – I’d show up on time, do my work to the best of my ability, be really nice to everybody and essentially tap dance for my life day after day. It wasn’t until recently – in my mid 50s – when my marriage was tanking, my career was non-existent, my husband died and disowned me in his will, that I realised how lost I was. I stepped back and thought, ‘I’m not going to live my life like this anymore.’ It’s impossible to pinpoint what got me to where I am now – it’s a mixture of growing older, gaining maturity and living long enough to start finding out who I am.
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I tend to ignore most beauty myths. When I can get away with it, I only wash my hair once a week. SPF is incredibly important and you should be careful with your sun exposure. But at the same time, I’m going to have my vacation and swim. I won’t be sitting indoors in a dark room to avoid the wrinkles. I’ll take a few wrinkles! In order to live you have to expose yourself.
Coming into this partnership, authenticity was so important to me. I don’t post on Instagram about products that I don’t use – I would never do that. Being 60, I’m now at a stage of life where I’m okay with my lifestyle, and I don’t have to go out there and kill myself trying to have a more elaborate one, which is an incredibly privileged position to be in. Everything I speak about, I genuinely use, including the Advanced Night Repair line which is great for my dry, mature skin. Every evening I remove my make-up with the Cleansing Balm, followed by the Gelée. Then I apply Eye Lift + Sculpt which is fantastic – absurdly good. Next I put on the ANR Serum which everyone – including me – loves, and finally the Overnight Treatment. I don’t wash my skin in the morning, instead I layer Eye Lift + Sculpt, ANR Serum then slather on Revitalizing Supreme+ Youth Power Creme SPF 25, even when it’s not sunny outside. When I’m working, my skin gets tired and my face is the first place to show it, especially if I’ve had a late night or one too many glasses of wine.
I would love to be in a room with all the women who feel insecure and point out all the beautiful things about them. We all have bits we don’t like or wish were different, and I've got plenty. But having somebody point out the beauty in you – whether it’s the way you smile, your beautiful eyes, hands or voice – makes you feel good. If you take the time to look for beauty, you will see it everywhere.
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