Enjoying a third, fabulous act in life

Episode

Tricia Cusden: Author and businesswoman

Living longer and healthier means embracing a third chapter in life as “fabulously” as possible, says Tricia Cusden, a former management training consultant who has built a successful new business, in her late 60s. When she and her daughters sat down for dinner in Los Angeles last week, they had to pinch themselves, after realizing they were living Tricia’s dream. Five years ago, instead of retiring, she launched Look Fabulous Forever, a makeup brand designed for women aged over-55. It has grown into a multi-million pound family business, with millions of YouTube views for makeup tutorials. Promoting Tricia’s product range in Hollywood is a surreal highpoint in the London businesswoman’s inspiring journey. She is also the author of Living the Life More Fabulous, a guide to “feeling great whatever your age.” In this LLAMA podcast interview Tricia explains her belief that we should “go into a period of renaissance rather than retirement,” and feel younger as we explore new adventures, later in life.

Notes and quotes

Connect with Tricia’s company: Look Fabulous Forever | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Tricia’s book: Living the Life More Fabulous: Beauty, Style and Empowerment for Older Women

“I love the idea that with our longer lives it is possible to go into a period of renaissance rather than retirement. I see it as a renaissance and I think that we need to open our minds more and more to this third act of life and see it as a potential period of rebirth.”

03:39 When Tricia reached retirement age she says she was no mood to wind down.

“I was sitting at home on my sofa having just turned 65 … and thinking to myself what do I do for the rest of my life? I felt very very very very much in need of a new challenge and new direction and to do something exciting and different.”

05:33 As a lifelong “makeup junkie” Tricia decided to follow her passion and form a new business – in part, because she was “really cross with the beauty industry and the way it treats older women.”

“I very much dislike the anti aging rhetoric of the beauty industry. I think it’s quite insulting when you’re in your mid 60s.”

11:20 Without doing any market research Tricia says she followed her hunch that other women felt as frustrated and offended by the the beauty industry that she she did.

20:59 After five short years in business, Look Fabulous Forever products were selected for inclusion in the so-called goodie bags given to nominees at the Academy Awards in Hollywood.

“We here because of the Oscars and every person that’s nominated for an Oscar will receive, alongside a lot of other gifts, our makeup.”

22.54 Tricia says she feels “overwhelmed” by what’s happened in the past years.

“From an aging perspective, I would go so far as to say that five years on, I feel five years younger.”

27.53 Check out Tricia’s book: Living the Life More Fabulous: Beauty, Style and Empowerment for Older Women

“We all know at heart that nothing stops the aging process aging it is an inevitable and natural event in one’s life and I think that the continual pressure on particularly on women actually to look as young and youthful as possible is ridiculous and it needs to stop.”