Elle MacPherson celebrated being fabulous at 50 a few months ago, but for Elle Macpherson being beautiful doesn’t come from being young, it comes from within.she tells Red.
Elle on Hitting 50
“I don’t want to be young, I want to be beautiful, the most beautiful I can be, of course I do, but that doesn’t come from being young. If I look at pictures of when I was young, my smile wasn’t even genuine, because it was so wracked with self-consciousness. I don’t even recognise myself in some of my younger pictures. My legs were up to my armpits with little, skinny arms, before I had the babies, but coming to New York and London [from Australia] I was such a fish out of water and I can see it in my pictures.
Now I look at my pictures and I think, “Yeah, that’s where I’m at. That’s who I am.” I’m not 20, I’m 50. I’m comfortable. I love my children and I love my husband. I love my life, that’s what I focus on. Actually, if someone asked me when I hit my peak, standing from 50, I would say now or my forties. Maybe when I’m 60, I’ll say my fifties. It certainly wasn’t my twenties.”
Being completely comfortable in her own skin is also reflected in her style, which, by her own admission, is now a lot more understated:
Looking After Herself
“It’s still really important to look after myself, but it’s more effortless today. I know what I’m doing. I know what I like and I don’t have to impress. Not that I don’t have anyone to impress, I’m not trying to impress. I dress for myself. I am myself. I experiment and I keep it simple mostly.”
Elle MacPherson Bikinis Never
“It’s just so freeing [not wearing a bikini], not worrying “how do I look in this light?”. If you don’t feel up to wearing a bikini, don’t wear one. It’s about what you love about your body and showing that off, rather than the parts you don’t love.”
Elle has Bad Days Too:
“I’d lost that thing that goes “what a beautiful day”… I felt like, ugh, drudging…. I was having trouble going to sleep, then waking at 4am, sleeping just three or four hours a night.”
The solution in a supergreens
She found a solution (via Harley Street nutritionist Dr Simone Laubscher), in super greens then turned it into her latest business venture:
“I wanted to share something that really helped me, with other people. I think it’s the modern approach: beauty from the inside out. It sounds like a cliché, but it really works. It’s easy to get out of balance, but also easy to get back in, and with very little we can support our system to make those choices.”
Elle on Her Secret To Being Self-accepting.
“I think it’s a great diet: supplementation, meditation every day, seven hours of sleep, three litres of water and a lot of laughter… I don’t think being beautiful, or taking care with your appearance, negates taking care of your interior – we can combine both.”
Elle MacPherson Red August editionElle MacPherson full interview in the August issue of Red is on sale 4th July.
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