by Doris O'Brien

No hyphenated word in the English language holds more promise than “age-defying.”  When you match a  world-weary noun  like “age,” with   a vigorous verb like “defy,” something‘s gotta give.  It’s almost like  the anticipated triumph of good over evil.

While I haven’t yet succumbed to Botox or other even costlier “treatments,” I admit to having made a few purchases of products that claim to remove wrinkles, crows-feet, fine lines, frown lines, age spots, brown spots, puffiness, dark circles, cellulite and other unseemly distractions that over the long years become beauty’s  unwanted blemishes .

At the same time, I am aware of the age-old (that again!) axiom  “You are what you eat,” which embodies the caveat that no night cream, no matter what its secret ingredients, can dissolve years of poor eating habits and other inadvisable tendencies.    It’s as though our faces have the potential of becoming one large, crumble-prone potato chip.  In other words, even if you are free to lay on the lotions, it cannot exorcise an addiction to Frito Lay.

Still, we see those enticing  “before” and “after” pictures,  accompanied by glowing testimonials from  “ordinary” people who claim to have defied age.   We are confronted by these ecstatic,  metamorphisized mortals in magazines, on TV, and now even on the Internet. A rejuvenated lady looks directly at us across the airwaves and announces, “I’m ____ and I’m 70 years old.  Can you believe it?”

Well, believe it or not, the possibilities have made make-believers of us all!  Despite the occasional confusion between “defying” and  “denying,”  it appears that in good times and bad, the vane — maybe in-vain — search to redeem our “image” has routinely pumped billions into the cosmetics and skin care industries.   The expression “age before beauty,”  has become outdated, now that we have come to expect beauty to trump age in the stacked deck of life.   By way of consolation, we are promised a pricey truce between the warring factions, contained in a magical little vessel worthy of a genie himself.

What did women do before such hype and hope?   How did our aging  female ancestors cope when they looked into a glass darkly?  By what right did a weathered face go from possessing “character” to pleading for revitalization?  And when did we buy into the expectation of living longer,  while not looking as though we had?

Recently I made the fleeting acquaintance of a woman riding on the same city bus.  Within the space of four blocks, she told me that she was in her late sixties,  obviously confiding that piece of unsolicited information because she thought she looked a lot younger.  I had figured she was about 75 years old.  “Well, that’s wonderful!” I responded.

Do we ever ask ourselves what the thriving, profit-driven cosmetics industry is all about?  Is it really “age-defying” — or is it playing to our desires to defy a lot more?  Indeed, what they offer are products suited for an era when those who age often feel as dispensable as everything else around them that is marked by years  —   from appliances to fashion to marriage.  Highly-successful chain stores (e.g. “Forever 21”) have sprung up in order to cater to young people who want cheap and stylish clothing that can be tossed after a season or two without sincere financial pangs of regret.  Similarly, dumping “older” wives (or sweethearts) for younger ones is no longer a privilege reserved for the well-heeled heel.   In fact, much of our  cosmetics mania may spring from the perception of reality on various levels — relationships, jobs,  etc. —  that age is going out of style.

Not all women buy into cosmetic promises with the expectation of miraculous results.  In this day and age (that again!) we are supposed to be a lot smarter. Surely, if there were a fountain of youth, its  cascading contents would not rely on sleazy ads that end with, “But, wait, if you act now we will send you two for the same price!”  But let’s face it:  hope, unlike a healthy glow, springs eternal.  And considering the sluggish economy, why throw mud in the age-defying face of yet another industry?

©2012 Doris O'Brien for SeniorWomen.com

Promotion photo by (Edward William) Cronenweth: Marilyn Monroe, ingenue lead in Columbia's Ladies of the Chorus demonstrates the proper way to make up the lips.

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