We met with Isabelle Peyrouse, a French image consultant of 55 years who helps people look and feel their best and took the Pro-aging discussion further. Discover her journey as she transitioned to an inspiring woman who didn’t let age dictate how she should dress, look or feel.
“Once I accepted the fact of aging and embraced it instead of taking it negatively, I honestly think I became more appreciative of my beauty.”
Q1: Could you please tell us a bit more about yourself?
My name is Isabelle Peyrouse; I am a French image consultant. I am 55 years old. In short, I help men and especially women feel better about themselves with fashion, beauty, and attitude.
Q2. What are your interests and passion? Did your age ever stop you from pursuing them?
My passion? It’s the lifelong passion for fashion. My mother was and still is a very modern woman. I always saw her wearing makeup and dressing very well. She made her own clothes, and at one point, she made mine too. Indeed, it is from her that I truly experienced becoming a modern woman, in tune with the times. So, I naturally followed this path. I have found my style and now I feel very passionate to help others also discover their individual style, beauty and the right attitude. I try to explain to women that we can wear modern clothes with good styling to look and feel rejuvenated ultimately. We can make use of subtle makeup and cosmetic improvements that makes us look healthy and beautiful. Age doesn’t have to define how we dress or what our beauty should look like. This doesn’t mean we dress up as teenage girls. It’s just about understanding what suits us best. I always took great care of my image, so my age did not stop me from achieving the life I want in any way.
Q3: What does beauty mean to you?
This is a vast topic. Well, beauty for me is something coming from the heart. Beauty is about many things – the smile, the charisma, how we portray ourselves, and our attitude. It’s really about personality and especially the self-confidence that you exude. I think real beauty is that; it’s self-confidence.
Q4: Aging is a personal journey for all. It can even be a difficult time with all the changes taking place. Would you agree? How did you take this transition?
I think I really freed myself when I started keeping my hair gray. My hairdresser said that I would look fine with gray hair, and to be honest, I was thinking about it for a while. So, I went for it, and I believe this was the start of my real transformation, both outwardly and mentally. Usually, the perception is that old people have grey hair but once I embraced my silver hair, I looked amazing and radiant. This is when I truly accepted my age and everything about myself, and believe me; I started feeling really great. Just this mindset helps me feel luminous in my skin and completely in my element, whatever may be the age.
Q5: What do you think of the pro-aging movement?
Well, I’m totally into it! It’s true that anti-aging isn’t very pretty because it means we are against aging or somehow want to pause it. We don’t really like this term and have replaced it with “pro-aging,” which is a much more positive expression. We have to show people that we exist and know how to make a lot of things good. Women like me, we have experienced life, have had many journeys and we still do so we have to show that age is not a problem. It doesn’t have to be stopped or reversed. It is not something terrible and we are not afraid of growing older or looking our age. On the contrary, we want to do lots of things, and we don’t want age, hindering these opportunities.
Q6: What other lifestyle changes have helped you age well?
I think it’s sports and a more active lifestyle. I started exercising when I turned 50 years old, and I realized that it made me feel better. Even physically I noticed that it sculpts my figure and leaves me feeling very active. But in general, I started paying attention to everything in my routine, like eating better and looking after myself and my mental health.
Q7: What is your advice to women who are on the same stage of life as you?
I have noticed that people often take special care of their physique; they even go to doctors, but they forget to take care of their mind, and the two are linked. I actually did a favor on myself when I changed my job at 37, and having met many women who were going through this aspect of aging, I was really able to think and prepare myself better. I think it is all in the head. Once I accepted the fact of aging and embraced it instead of taking it negatively, I honestly think I became more appreciative of myself.
Q8: What are your future plans for life?
I always want to go a step further from where I am in life. I wish to continue in beauty, and I have even been looking at modeling. Why not become a senior model? That’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and I am already on it. The most important thing is to continue to believe in our abilities and then actually go ahead with those without any unnecessary fears holding us back, especially not letting age control how we lead our lives.