Helena Rubinstein, the Woman who Invented Beauty Book Review
Fabafterfifty: Book Reviews
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Review by Ceri Wheeldon For any woman looking for inspiration in business, I can highly recommend, not a ‘how to’ book, but a biography of one of the early pioneers of the beauty industry, Helena Rubinstein. Helena Rubinstein is described by many as ‘The Woman who Invented Beauty’ What a formidable woman, not to say a true visionary. From humble beginnings and armed with a determination to have a better life and not to be married off to a suitable man selected by her own parents, she made the brave decision to leave her native Poland and head off to Australia. Here she soon recognised that the pots of cream created by her mother, could be the saviour of the skin of Australian women exposed to the harsh sunshine. With sheer determination and using her considerable charm, Helena worked with the recipe given to her by her mother’s chemist in...
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Best Knickers Always: 50 Lessons for Midlife
Article by Rebecca Perkins. Coach Rebecca Perkins shares her personal journey that led her to write her book, Best KnickersAlways: 50 Lessons for Midlife Life isn’t always (and let’s be honest never will be) sunshine and roses, and living in a perpetual state of nirvana would probably become stifling and boring. By the time we’ve reached midlife we’ve all faced our challenges—some of us more than others and some of us more than our fair share. Courage and resilience, however, come from our ability to get back up again after we’ve tripped and fallen over life’s obstacle course. Getting back up again is a choice. We always have that choice. So, we get to midlife and we face transition. Those of us who are parents come to realise that our children do not rely on us as they once did. They are leaving home. Those of us who have been...
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Ten tips to help you make better decisions
Article by David Wethey – author of DECIDE Hopefully my own graduation to the next stage (Sage after Sixty?) gives me a degree of credibility on your excellent site, Fab After Fifty. Of course it’s a good time to be experienced and worldly wise. We all have the chance to be fitter, healthier and smarter than the generations before us. But we still need some guidelines to make those important decisions which will make all the difference. Here are my ten best tips: 1. Write it down Most of us make lists. However lively we are feeling, it is just so easy to forget things, and our ‘to do’ lists keep us on track. It is the same with making decisions. Deciding is a process and a journey. It can’t all happen instantly. We need to remind ourselves about our goals and targets, and the options in front of us. It is...
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Happiness comes in all shapes, sizes and ages, says Dr Linda Papadopoulos
Interview with Dr Linda Papadopoulos Nature takes its course, and we should not be thinking of ageing being the worst thing ever. In today’s society, far too much emphasis is often placed on how we look – we are bombarded with images suggesting that to be valued you need to appear young and pretty. How often do we convince ourselves that our lives will be transformed if we are thinner, prettier, have better skin, fewer wrinkles? Body image and ageing I asked Dr Linda Papadopoulos for her thoughts on body image and ageing. Firstly, says Linda, we should not be thinking of ageing as being a problem. Being less beautiful should not equal lower self esteem. Worrying about how we look is such a waste of energy. We should be embracing the stage we are at. To be attractive to others you need to be the happiest, healthiest you –...
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Does the fear of death stop us from living?
Article by Sally Petch “Often we only find ourselves facing death when friends or family become ill” says Sally, “so I have written Death Matters, which deals with death in a positive way so we can live more fulfilled lives.” “Death is nothing at all.” So begins the famous eulogy by Canon Henry Scott Holland, but I have come to find that it is just the opposite for so many people in the Western world. It is everything, and our fear of it stops us from ever really living; as a society we go to great lengths to avoid anything to do with death or dying. Many of my friends and clients have asked who I think will actually want to read a book about death. Doesn’t it make you depressed spending so long writing about such a subject they ask? I can honestly say it doesn’t. Death is as...
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Best Yoga exercises for Power toning your abdominals, midriff and waistline
Article by Barbara Currie For anyone needing a little motivation to start exercising, Yoga guru Barbara Currie looks fitter at 70 than I have ever looked in my entire life. Barbara shares with us some of her best exercises to improve our flexibility and tone our midlife bodies. Unlikely to be the case if you are over 50, but just in case we have some younger readers joining us, Barbara does not advise to attempt these movements if you are pregnant. 1. Yoga Abdominal Lift This is like a wonderful gift. It takes 30 seconds a day and is brilliant! This movement must be done on an empty stomach. The ideal time to do it is before breakfast. Stand straight with your legs about 1 foot apart and place your hands on your upper thighs. Inhale deeply then exhale fully and keeping the air out of your lungs pull your abdominals in and...
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The Little Black Dress Book: How to dress perfectly for any occasion
Review by Ceri Wheeldon Fashion fades, style is eternal – Yves Saint Laurent. Tracy Martin helps all women find their own individual style with confidence. I have always had a passion for clothes – just ask my husband who despairs of the amount of wardrobe space I need, so this is the perfect book for me to have sitting on my dressing table. It would also make a lovely birthday gift for friends. In The Little Black Dress book Tracy Martin talks you through how to dress for practically any occasion, from weddings to picnics in the park. Not only in the LBD but trousers, skirts, accessories and mixing vintage with high street finds. Textiles, shape, cut and design are all taken into account in helping to create your own personal style guide. Great tips to revisit our style over 50 Tracy guides you through the process of finding your...
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Would you compete in a People’s Olympics? Olympicked!!
Article by Fabafterfifty What a great idea! Having been spellbound by the Olympics over the past 2 weeks a press release about a book based on ordinary people picked at random to participate in the next Olympics gao me thinking. Michelle Sinclair’s novel Olympicked! imagines just that – a Games where all the competitors are chosen by random selection and given just four years to train in their allocated sport. Michelle, who lived in London until earlier this year, got the idea from a chance remark made by her husband. “He joked that the Olympics would be much more entertaining if it was ordinary people competing instead of highly trained athletes. It was just a passing comment, but the thought stuck in my mind and the more I thought about it, the more I realised it wasn’t such a crazy idea. People could achieve quite a lot with...
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Appointment in Zambia. What example would your early adventures set your grandchildren?
Article By Sara Dunn. Would stories of your youthful adventures set a good or bad example to your children or grandchildren? Sara Dunn talks about her decision to write Appointment in Zambia, and what she hopes her grandchildren might learn from her exploits! Appointment in Zambia is the account of a journey through Africa in the days before Satnavs and mobile phones, but nonetheless with the political unrest and human suffering which is still associated with the continent. In 1970 newly-weds Ross and Sara set off, with extraordinary naivety and a lack of proper preparation, to drive from Edinburgh to Zambia in a standard saloon car. This is the story of their epic car journey. Sara was 21 and couldn’t drive and Ross was 23 when they and their brand new Hillman Hunter in Golden Sand, a colour chosen before they’d opted to drive through the Sahara… started out. For...
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Book Review and author interview :Women of a Dangerous Age by Fanny Blake
Article by Ceri Wheeldon When two women making significant changes midlife, meet on holiday in India , they form a friendship which takes them into situations neither could have imagined. Lou leaves a long term marriage to pursue an independent life and career, while Ali looks to walk away from life as a serial mistress and commit to a long term relationship. Women of a Dangerous Age is a refreshing read with realistic portrayals of both main characters – midlife women are interested in romance, career, style and new beginnings, and it was good to read a book that recognised that. I caught up with author Fanny Blake to ask her how the book, and characters came about: Changes as big birthdays approach “I wanted to write a book which captured women’s thoughts on life as ‘big birthdays’ approached. People often think ‘this is it’ and I wanted to show...
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