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“I might be 50 but I feel 30”. Now I understand. Except I think I’m 29.
Whenever I read an article about a woman and it say’s “Jessie Normal,
age 49”, or “Martha Bigs, age 51” I think, blimey, she’s getting on,
and then I realise that I’m the same age. It’s a strange position to be
in. The worst moments are when you catch a glimpse of yourself in a
mirror by accident and think “she could do with some help” and then
realise who it is.
I’m a lawyer in the music and entertainment industry. I travel
extensively, work incredibly long hours, and deal with some very
stressful situations. I am visible, accountable and have to be able to
negotiate deals in an increasingly difficult industry. Shopping,
holidays and other pursuits are simply fitted in where possible. I have
a lot of energy and love my life. I don’t use make up other than
lipstick, I forget about my hair until someone tells me to do something
with it, I simply wash my face and use whatever moisturiser is on hand.
I smoke, although I don’t drink alcohol and I have always hated
sunbathing (too tedious). I dress in jeans most of the time and always
carry my passport. Remember I’m 29.
The trouble is, despite looking pretty ok during the first half of
my forties, the natural deterioration hit me without warning. I
suddenly noticed deeper lines, but even worse I could see jowls. My
profile was terrible. Droopy. I started doing that thing where you look
in a mirror and stretch your skin back towards your ears. This became a
regular exercise – on the tube, in shops, in the toilets at
restaurants. Then I went through the internal struggle, aging
gracefully v intervention. I know some fabulous looking women aged 50+,
in fact one of the most naturally beautiful women I know is in her
70’s. Also, everyone, except 2 enlightened friends, told me I was mad
or vain or stupid or I’d regret it or I’d look terrible because
everyone looks terrible after cosmetic surgery. The psychology of it is
amazing. One friend told me her husband would leave her if she had
cosmetic surgery, the implication being my partner obviously didn’t
care (actually it hadn’t even crossed my mind to discuss it with him).
They missed the point, I didn’t want to look 29 or even 40, I just
want to look bloody good for my age. So I did a bit of research and
ended up at 111 Harley Street. I felt at ease from the start. The
clinic manager, Celia, was fabulous. She booked me an appointment with
Dr Alexandrides fairly quickly and sent me additional information about
the procedures and techniques available. It was a whole new world.
Yannis Alexandrides was great. He told me that a mini lift would give
me the results I wanted and explained why. It was important to me that
I remain as natural as possible. There was no hard sell, no suggestion
that I might to consider other work at the same time, just clear sound
advice. He warned me that a mini lift will not eliminate wrinkles or
deep lines but will certainly “freshen” my appearance. I immediately
booked the op.
I’m now just over 6 weeks post op. What I find very interesting is
the reaction. Some people were quite hostile when I told them I had
already had the op. Even though they hadn’t seen me the opinion was I
had ruined my natural good looks. At a party a couple of weeks ago, a
friend introduced me by warning the others that my face might drop off
as I’d just had a facelift so better not make me laugh. There have been
lots of rather disparaging jokes but as I guessed its now old news and
the fact is I look so natural that everyone has more or less forgotten
that I have had cosmetic surgery. My 50th Birthday party fell 6 weeks
and 2 days after my op – a grand affair with a lot of my clients
playing on stage specially for me. The reaction was amazing, everyone
remarked how bright I looked. Some asked if I was having an affair
(hilarious) My sister flew in from Monaco. She feels she has a duty to
tell me how crap I look and does so with alarming regularity, however
the first thing she said was “what’s happened you look fantastic”. Now
that truely is an endorsement as she had no idea I’d had work done.
Even when she saw what’s left of the scars she could hardly believe it.
Thank you Yannis Alexandrides.
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