Don’t know if you’ve ever read a copy of ‘O’ – Oprah Winfrey’s magazine. If you haven’t, I suggest you get a copy from W H Smith straightaway. In my book, one of the best reads around in magazine form mainly because she treats all of us as special, regardless of what we look like. The magazine also has some great tips on all relevant topics such as finance, love, healing and so on so not just for fashion and style followers. I loved this month’s fabulous style article highlighting just how the blonde hair, permatan look can age us. The magazine took a number of beautiful women from California, all blonde haired, blue eyed, long haired with great bodies and dressed them using New York ‘rules’. What an amazing difference. To my eyes anyway, they all lost years from their ages – without exception. I’ve spoken many times about how I feel I have a more youthful and stylish image due to ‘muting’ my look and wearing softer colours in my clothing and make up. Well it worked on them too.  Be interesting to see if they keep it up once they return home to the West Coast. Here is the code of dress they were using before the makeover.

1. Hair: blonde and long
2. Skin: very tan (often spray-tanned)
3. Teeth: blindingly white
4. Lips: conspicuously full
5. Noses: pert
6. Breasts: notably large
7. Tummies: flat; hips: nonexistent
8. Nails: long, French-tipped, and square
9. Jewellery: big and frequently diamond
10. Clothes: mostly pastels, corals; formfitting and revealing

So next time you are thinking about a sunbed/fake tan, a boob job, synthetic nails or hair extensions – beware! It’s now not only old hat but truly ‘old’.