Tricia Cusden, Pro-Ageing Beauty Founder

1. The best thing about the menopause is…..

…the freedom that comes from no longer living life via a monthly cycle. It was so liberating to lose the mood swings and the ways that ovulation and menstruation affected me physically. As I entered the perimenopausal phase my periods became extremely heavy, so work and social life became a constant worry of potentially embarrassing flooding. The relief when that stopped was immense. I also feel that my postmenopause life has been about growth, accompanied by a greater energy and focus to pursue new opportunities.

 2. The hardest thing about the menopause is….

For me, it was the crushing migraines that put me in bed for two days every fortnight during which I vomited continually. I honestly thought I was dying of a brain tumour. I saw a wonderful consultant who immediately made the connection with menopause to prescribe three drug therapies including HRT. I’d go so far as to say that he changed my life!

3. My lightbulb moment was….

…in  January 2013 just after my 65th birthday. I’d just had a bruising year in 2012 helping my daughter Suzy cope with a baby born with very complex needs who spent her first 10 months in hospital. You could say that starting Look Fabulous Forever (LFF) was the result of an existential crisis. I needed a new direction, a new challenge and to get out to meet new people. I knew that I had bags of energy and enthusiasm to do that, I just needed to find something which totally inspired me. I thought ‘What do I love?’ and ‘What would I like to change?’ And the rather surprising answer was: “I love makeup and beauty’ and ‘I hate the anti-ageing messages of the beauty industry and would like to counter them’.  Everything I have learned over a longish life has been useful to me at LFF and nothing has daunted me. I’ve learned that a business can be built on kindness, honesty, integrity, and authenticity. I love what I do, I love our customers and I love working with our brilliant team at LFF.

4. My selfcare superhero is…..

I have long believed in meditation and eating foods which are truly nourishing and this has become more important the older I get. I came late to exercise but now see a personal trainer twice a week. She is my superhero because I talk to her about everything under the sun and she creates perfect exercise programmes to keep me supple and strong.

5. I couldn’t live without…

Great skincare which I developed with a biochemist for Look Fabulous Forever. Menopause dramatically affects the skin, which becomes thinner (loss of collagen, elastin and oestrogen) and therefore much thirstier. Good skincare is essential and ours is formulated to be really rich in all the ingredients that ageing skin needs in order to look luminously healthy.

To find out more about Look Fabulous Forever head here

Need some help getting your skin in shape? Check out these midlife skincare tips from Davina McCall.