Release Date:

November 8, 2006

Article:

Thank God Glam Is Back . . .

Daily Mail ©

So glamour is back! And not a moment too soon. At last women will be encouraged to look groomed and fabulous without being mocked for it.

As someone who grew up surrounded by beautiful, glamorous and groomed women (my mother looked like Greer Garson and two of my aunts were stage beauties), it has always been somewhat second nature for me to emulate them.

I never liked the bare-faced, lank, greasy-haired look on myself, nor on teenagers so young and beautiful they could almost get away with it.

And since women can improve themselves vastly with cosmetics, lotions, potions and hair products, why not go for it?

So I'm pleased to learn this year, finally, that sales of skin care products and cosmetics in Britain will hit £1 billion, as this proves what I've always believed: most women want to make themselves more beautiful.

Ever since Cleopatra bathed in asses' milk, it's been accepted that the fairer sex would want to become fairer.But that seemed to change in the Nineties when, after the excesses of big hair and lots of paint and powder in the Eighties, the minimalist look became de rigueur.

I thought the Nineties were drab and boring. Getting dressed in the morning was a no-brainer most of the time — black top worn with black skirt or pants, no make-up and floppy, undone hair. Or, if all else fails, just jeans, jeans, jeans.

I hated it and I was always true to myself. I like looking groomed and I love make-up, particularly lipstick, which is the most flattering cosmetic a woman can have - especially a vibrant red!

Think of those sexy screen sirens of yesteryear — Lana Turner, Ava Gardner, Liz Taylor, Grace Kelly, even Audrey Hepburn — all defined their lips with glorious, bright, glistening lipstick.

But it's only in the Noughties that there's been a slow creep back to 'full-on' glamour. Starting with Naomi Campbell and Catherine Zeta-Jones, I'm glad to see that young actresses and models are embracing glamour.

I believe strongly in beauty creams, lotions and anti-ageing moisturisers. The skin is the body's largest organ and the one that shows the most wear and tear. Consequently it needs the utmost maintenance.

Moisturiser, which when I'm at home I lather on three or four times a day, is essential but it's not enough. That's why I believe strongly in make-up.

All the women I know who are over 40 and who have used a light base or foundation for most of their lives have much better skin than those who eschew make-up. It's another layer of protection against the sun. The other night I was watching a TV programme which featured the writers Germaine Greer and Barbara Taylor Bradford.

They are both in their 60s, but the skin on Barbara's face, who is an advocate of moisturiser and foundation, was peaches and cream, while Germaine's was weathered and dull.

I also apply night cream every night. This is where I do believe you get what you pay for.

For the past four years I've been using one particular cream and I've found not only an improvement in the quality of my skin but it seems to prevent those little lines that creep up on you while you sleep. Frankly, I think I'm responsible for a large chunk of that billion-pound cosmetics habit. I wonder if the industry would give me a rebate?

And it's not just the way we present our faces - I see glamour coming back slowly in the fashion industry as well. Although I favour the boho-gypsy look on holiday, in cities it looks scruffy and I believe that being well-dressed is making a comeback.

I'm now on the East Coast of the U.S. and I notice that many women have already embraced the chic look so rare in the previous decade.

Not the blousy peasant look of the Seventies, but tailored trouser suits. Not the huge fake hairpieces of the Sixties, but the clean spare lines of the mini-shifts.

Not the frumpy, twin-set and tweeds and pearls of the Fifties, but sharp, stylish coats and jackets.

Thank goodness jackets are back. Ditto high heels, black opaque tights, dresses and sleeves — a must for any woman over 45.

Thank you, Roland Mouret, for bringing out his fabulous figure-hugging Galaxy dress that is more flattering than an Italian waiter. It started a trend much like Diane von Furstenberg did to create Eighties glamour with her wrap dress.

I'm delighted to see that some of the younger generation, led by Scarlett Johansson, Dita Von Teese and Christina Aguilera are glamming up in real life and not just for the red carpet. To me, they are saying they take pride in their femininity.

I feel also that how you look reflects how you feel. If a woman puts herself together and looks great, the chances are that she feels great, too. Another trait of the glamorous woman is to be proud to look different.

To dare to be an individual is the mark of a woman who knows who she is and where she's going. The movie stars of the Thirties, Forties and Fifties were all individuals.

Jean Harlow, Rita Hayworth, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe; they all looked completely different and even though other actresses tried to copy them, they retained their own look.

All these icons also established the many 'looks' which women of their generation could follow. When was the last time an actress had her own 'look'?

I suppose Jennifer Aniston in Friends brought us layered hair and low-key make-up in the Nineties, but why has it taken a decade for anyone else to break away from that?

In today's magazines I find it hard to differentiate between one straggle-haired blonde and another. When I first saw the 24-year-old Nicole Kidman in Dead Calm she impressed me not only with her talent and unusual looks but with her generous bright-red curly hair.

That seems to have gone now, tamed by stylists into the fashionable straight look and dyed brown. Ditto Julia Roberts. Singularly gorgeous in Pretty Woman with her luscious body and rich auburn hair, I barely recognised her in Ocean's 11, with her hair dyed black and hanging straight, little make-up, and dull clothes. And it wasn't a character part.

There has been a horrible 'cookie-cutter' look that has lasted far too long, made worse by the way that Botoxed foreheads, puffy fake lips and false boobs make everyone look exactly alike. The dictionary defines glamour as 'an alluring romantic attractiveness, one that is unreal'.

I applaud that definition, and have always strived towards it. And to the young women today who want to bring that allure and romance into our daily lives, I say welcome back, and thank you.

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