Sep 19, 2022 - But I digress...
We’ve got veteran beauty editor (and newsletter author par excellence) Val Monroe on the show this week, and we’re talking about finding a more forgiving attitude towards beauty as we age, among other things. Val said a lot that both made sense to me and made me really think, I have to say. Do listen in, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Kim France
I was born in Houston, Texas in 1964 and have lived in New York City since 1988. I had a long career in magazines, working at Sassy, Elle, New York, and Spin, and in 2000, I founded Lucky magazine, which I edited for ten years.
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I was born in Houston, Texas in 1964 and have lived in New York City since 1988. I had a long career in magazines, working at Sassy, Elle, New York, and Spin, and in 2000, I founded Lucky magazine, which I edited for ten years.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable for people to remark that a wonderful conversation about aging in which self-acceptance is a big theme is being promoted using a photo that doesn’t reflect what the guest looks like now. I checked out her instagram and she is still stunning but definitely more wrinkles than in the photo. Because she’s 70. That’s her whole point ,right? To be the best 70 she can be rather than fu***ing up her face and looking ageless but weird?
She does not look 70 in this photo — she looks 45. A bit confusing — especially given the topic, as this is actually a very unrealistic idea of what age 70 looks like.
This is Val’s instagram: https://instagram.com/thisisvalmonroe?igshid=MmIxOGMzMTU=
She’s not shy about how she looks! But also doesn’t have a current fashion headshot 🙂
This photo, by the way, goes back at LEAST as far as 2008 online. It would be nice if the one featured here were a lot more current.
Yes, thank you — the Instagram is a much more realistic depiction of a beautiful 70-year-old woman!
She is aspirational!! I turned 49 in August and if that is 70, I will take it. And I might try some Botox in my forehead….
It’s not. This is an old photo. Check out her Instagram for current photos.
She is aspirational!! I turned 49 in August and if that is 70, I will take it. And I might try some Botox in my forehead….
I’m late 50s and started doing botox in my forehead a couple of years ago. I don’t have the lines between my brows but my lids were getting heavier and this lifts them just a bit. There is a stage when the botox first kicks in where my brows are very arched in a way I really don’t like, but when they settle in it’s amazing. I also have a bumpy chin (it’s called “pebble chin” in a lot of the beauty writing) and a tiny bit of botox helps this. I did filler in my chin once combined with the botox and it was amazing but expensive.
As Val talks about in the podcast, the tricky thing is finding someone you trust who won’t tell you to botox your whole face.
I’m very late to the game but just listened to this episode. Thank you Kim, Jenn, and Val for a really balanced and realistic discussion. I appreciated that you all acknowledged both that it is hard to deal with the changes inherent in aging and that you want to be kinder to yourselves and others. I think Val really nailed it when she pointed out that these procedures may produce an effect but not make one look younger — “ageless” in this case is quite different from youthful. I find myself most drawn to the look of older women who look elegant, vital, engaged. There is an ease to the look of people who aren’t fighting aging that I find appealing.
Iris K, I completely agree. Part of the conversation in the episode was about placing unrealistic expectations on how we can prevent all visible ageing , and I’m sure Kim and Jen would not want to contribute to this , so it certainly would have been better to use a current photo of Val. We do all look at that photo and go ‘wow I want what she’s having’ ! Which is kind of beside the point. Otherwise really enjoyed the episode, thanks.
Ps I thought Sandra Bullock looked pretty good in Lost City and not that skinny either!
Listened to it this morning, love Vals’ refreshing honesty!
Looking forward to the podcast and just here to say I love her dress!!
Drop the deets on that eyebrow lady, Kim!
Absolutely brilliant podcast. As someone who is 71 she is sooooooo right about the difference between 50’s and 70’s or even 65 and 70. It’s a whole different planet. Thank you both so much for having Val Monroe on the podcast.
Just FYI – – went to Stitcher a moment ago to listen to the new episode, and it doesn’t show up there; the last episode is from September 12. (Heading over to Spotify now. (-: )
This woman is in her 70s?? I am hanging on her every word…
The picture is from many years ago — it goes back to at least 2008 online. Go to her Instagram to see what she looks like now. She’s a gorgeous woman but does not look like the above photo (nor should she be expected to at 70!)!
Wow. I’m going to listen and copy her beauty regimen word for word.
Just googled Blue Light therapy—never in a million years.
I had daylight photodynamic therapy (dPDT) for actinic keratosis. This is a medical procedure that is not to be taken lightly. Recovery was difficult, painful and involves staying inside with the lights off. A side benefit was collagen stimulation. I would not choose to go through this procedure for that reason. I’m not sure I’d go through it again.
I’m really looking forward to this one (even more than the others LOL) – Val Monroe’s newsletter is so good! I love her writing – she’s clever & kind & funny.
Whoever she is she looks great! You can’t tell me she’s invisible!
Agreed. Is it a current photo?
The photo is from at least 14 years ago (goes back to 2008 online) and probably more. But you can check out her Instagram to see that she is still a very beautiful woman. I find it a bit odd that they are using an old photo like this to illustrate a conversation about aging, etc. But I don’t think it was done intentionally. It is ironic, though, haha! No one should look at this photo and think this is what 70 is.
I can’t tell you how current the photo is, but I can tell you this is what Val currently looks like.
I will add that she looks GREAT in her other photos as well. But she doesn’t look 45, as in this photo, which is clearly either older or professionally touched up.
There are photos of her on her Instagram that are actually a FAR more realistic depiction of what women look like at age 70 — neck and all (and good for her for not filtering that). This photo is a bit misleading, I think. It’s not what she looks like in other images.
I chose that picture of Val because I like to avoid posting headshots, which often look boring and corporate, and I thought this was a great picture of her. I certainly wasn’t trying to mislead anyone—why on earth would I? Sheesh.
Understood that this wasn’t the intention. But the photo posted looks MUCH different than the photos she herself posts on her Instagram. There is not one wrinkle, not one neck line, nothing but ultra smooth skin and blonde tresses in the photo posted here, so it also gives a very unrealistic idea of age 70. It’s not what she actually looks like in her other photos (she has real-lady wrinkles and gray hair, too!). So just kind of ironic given the topic that the photo posted of her makes her look around 20 years younger than she actually is (and she is BEAUTIFUL without the airbrushing, etc., and as Jen said, not shy about sharing what she actually looks like now — which is a gorgeous 70-year-old woman with terrific, but not unlined, skin).