- “I actually look forward to getting older — it is certainly better than the alternative — when looks should become less of an issue, and when who you are is the point” Susan Sarandon, 62

- “Sixty is sensual more than sexy, and it’s fabulous” Stephanie Beacham, 62

- “Yeah, I had a facelift years ago. Why not? It gives you all the things you need to be part of the action. I don’t feel like hiding myself away” Debbie Harry, 64

- “Never stop your passion, just keep going. Be modest. Seek great experiences. Be useful. Stick up for what you believe in. Get angry about what you care about” Jane Birkin, 62

FORMER MODEL JAN DE VILLENEUVE ON BEING BEAUTIFUL AT 65

"It’s odd watching my face get older, especially having been a photographic model. But, basically, it’s still the same face, especially around the eyes.

"I look more like my brothers now, and other relatives have appeared over the years. My hairline, for example, has become my aunt Flossie’s. I’ve watched my children change in the same way, and it makes you realise there’s a real sense of history in your own face.

"I don’t feel any different in my sixties, but, of course, I have more experience of life, and so my ideas and opinions have changed.

"I’m not keen on lines, but what I really don’t like is the tyranny of a system that makes women feel obliged to have surgery. I’m never going to be 27 or 35 again, and it feels like a waste of time to worry about it. Having to deal with a new face if a person has had work done can be distracting, too. Being content with who you are is what’s attractive. At 92, my mother is still an active, vibrant, interesting woman — and those are appealing traits at any age. My mother has been my role model. She had four kids and looked after my father, who had polio, but she was also a PE teacher and gained a master’s in counselling. While her main priority has been her family, she has always had a life of her own. That is key to staying young. Women in their sixties are even more of a force to be reckoned with now, because we’ve had more choices than our mothers, thanks to the pill and women’s lib. I’ve worked hard and had a family, and nobody told me I couldn’t start surfing aged 50. My father always encouraged us to be interested in things, and I’ve always kept an open house and encouraged my daughters [Poppy and Daisy] to bring people home. My boyfriend is a session drummer (he’s 59; we’ve been together 21 years), so we have lots of music friends, and

"I go to his gigs every month. My age is never an issue. Jo Wood and Pattie Boyd are good friends; there are plenty of us older ladies still interested in rock’n’roll. So I don’t worry about being the wrong age for anything.

"I’ve been into nutrition since I was 11, because I had allergies as a child. Twice a year, I do a three-day detox — I take a sulphate solution and drink only lemon, orange and grapefruit juice with water. It leaves me feeling refreshed. When I was modelling in the 1970s, a friend sent me a book about raw food and, ever since, I’ve started the day with a cup of hot water and lemon, and I eat only fruit until noon. I stick to straightforward food. I never had bread or pasta when I was modelling, but that changed when I became pregnant. It was difficult to be healthy in the 1970s, when everybody was trying to force alcohol on you all the time; I’ve always enjoyed drinking in context and with food. My father used to have 1½ martinis every night. “My ice cubes are lonely,” he’d say to my mother, who enjoys her glass of chardonnay before dinner — but just a glass. My brother loves manhattans, so I have one with him, because it’s the ritual.

"I’m not an athletic person, but I do yoga and Pilates, and walk four miles every day. I love to read while I walk. My friends think I’m mad, but something about reading in fresh air is very relaxing. Just as often, though, I go out with a friend. I have also signed up to a lovely new gym, and have started ski walking, with the little poles. I took a break from modelling when I had kids and started again aged 44. I think it’s sad that fashion doesn’t represent all ages. I’ve always had a healthy interest in clothes, and I like the idea that my work now could show older people new things they might wear, or different ways they might see themselves. My aunt never married, and people used to ask us why. But she just chose a different life, and I learnt from her that it’s unnecessary to label people differently at different stages of their life."

THE SECRETS OF AGEING WELL

Make-up

“You can make yourself look older by trying to make yourself look younger,” says the make-up artist Mary Greenwell. Take a tip from Susan Sarandon, 62: “Keep colours very neutral, very soft, very real,” says Greenwell. “You can inject a little more colour with lipstick. Using coral and pink is a way to give vibrancy; they look almost kitsch, but are actually kind of wonderful.”

When it comes to foundation, mineral make-up can be a good option, as it tends to settle less in wrinkles. Clinique’s new Super Balance Powder Makeup SPF15 Mineral Rich Formula, £27, requires far less buffing than most mineral alternatives. Whatever you use, be sure to prime the skin —keeping it moisturised becomes harder as you age. Laura Mercier’s Hydrating Primer, £27, is top notch; 0800 123400. If you prefer a liquid base, powder your T-zone after applying it. And remember, says Greenwell, when you hit 60, “make-up is no longer tribal, no longer an extension of the personality you want to express. It is simply about looking beautiful”. Meryl Streep, 60, is the perfect example.

There are also many products on the market that are treatment-based and provide some of the benefits of skincare alongside cover. Try L’Oréal Paris Age Re-Perfect Foundation, £13, which helps to hide imperfections, but doesn’t feel like a mask, as well as By Terry’s Eclat Opulent Nutri-Lifting Foundation, £93; spacenk.co.uk. For a double-action concealer, look to Chantecaille for its Bio Lift version, £52; 020 7730 1234.

Skincare

Of course, with improvements in HRT (if you choose to use it), some of the usual problems that hit post-menopausal skin are lessened. Regardless of this, cosmetics companies are increasingly looking at anti-ageing in a different light.

No longer is it simply about decreasing wrinkles; it’s also about creating a youthful glow and reducing pigmentation (such as age spots). For the first issue, try Lancôme’s Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate, £52.50, which helps to stimulate protein production in the skin. To combat the second, there’s Clinique’s Even Better Skin Tone Corrector, £30, for localised troubleshooting. To get firm, radiant skin like 60-year-old Vera Wang’s, we recommend Givenchy’s Radically No Surgetics Complete Age-Defying Care Cream, £81, or, for a touch of the super-luxe, you could splash £600 on La Prairie’s Cellular Cream Platinum Rare; 020 7730 1234.

Hair

If you subscribe to the school of signature hair looks, like Goldie Hawn, 63, you’re definitely onto something; with your visual markers in place, your age can go almost unnoticed. That said, according to Matthew Soobroy, senior salon manager at Charles Worthington, you need to “re-evaluate the length and colour; you must tweak it as you age. Colour is key. Your skin tone changes; you may need to soften highlights or take the base colour up a couple of shades”. It’s the same with styling, Soobroy says: “Styles should be soft and frame the face; never go one length below the jawline.”

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