Dame Joanna Lumley is perennially glamorous at 79 and she’s clearly determined to stay that way. The iconic actress is the newly announced face of Lancôme and she tells Good Housekeeping she’s making the very best of her new role – involving an anti-ageing cream designed to mimic a thread lift.
‘I use the new Lancôme Rénergie Collagen+ Lift-Xtend Cream to stop that crumpled paper bag effect, which can happen as you get older,’ she told Good Housekeeping, in an exclusive debrief on her signing. ‘The skin can look tired and sag, but this new cream is wonderful for that lifting effect – and, thrillingly, it works very fast.’
As Joanna notes, the new cream ‘rebuilds 10 years of collagen loss’ – and that’s all down to a clever anti-ageing peptide technology inspired by clinical thread lifts, but with no needles required.
Lancome Renergie Collagen Lift-Xtend Cream
Lancome Renergie Collagen Lift-Xtend Cream
Her skin certainly looks glowing in Lancôme’s official campaign videos, in which Joanna explains why she’s put her face to the brand. ‘I use the things that I know and trust, like Lancôme,’ she says. ‘I love the way the products make my skin feel but also how I feel – it gives me confidence. I’ve been using Lancôme for more years than I can count.’
Joanna is the latest in a long line of evergreen women being snapped up by beauty brands, joining names like Helen Mirren, Demi Moore, Jane Fonda, Paulina Porizkova, Davina McCall and Andie MacDowell as brand spokesmodels.
Joanna tells Good Housekeeping she’s delighted to be working in an industry that’s woken up to the power of older women and is reflecting them in everything, from advertising imagery to product development.
‘It’s marvellous that the beauty industry has changed so much now in terms of its approach to ageing,’ she tells us. ‘Models are often older these days and grey hair can be enviable.’
Joanna herself prefers to remain blonde but, unlike her high-tech skincare regime, she takes a far more casual approach to tackling greys. ‘I buy hair dye in the shops and just go, “I wonder what this looks like.” And sometimes it’s not quite right, and you go, “Good – I can fix that.” And it just makes it a bit more exciting,’ she said in a recent BBC interview.
She’ll even have a go at cutting her own hair, she revealed: ‘People say, “Oh, how can you do it?” I say, “Get some scissors and just go snip.” It's partly impatience and partly because I quite like mistakes.’
Missteps aside, she said she’s learned what really works for her, beauty-wise, over the years. ‘My mantra is to make the best of yourself,’ she told GH. ‘Keep fit and supple, and smile at everyone.’
And smother on a thread lift in a jar, too, of course.
Beauty Director Lynne has spent the past two decades testing and reviewing the latest in everything from skincare and aesthetics to spas, fragrance and makeup. When she's not being a human guinea pig she loves to immerse herself in a deep bath, a good book and large glass of iced rosé.
