Something to shout about as Lulu 'just gets better with age'

Published on Monday 29 September 2008 22:24

SHE has been a fixture in the music charts for decades, but the years have only been kind to Lulu, according to the public.

The evergreen Scottish pop star heads a list of celebrities whose looks are said to have improved with the passing of time.

The Shout and Boom Bang-A-Bang singer, who turns 60 in November, is No1 in the women's list – with fellow Scot Sir Sean Connery topping the men's poll.

The result of the survey is the latest feather in the cap of the Glasgow-born Lulu, who has confounded critics with her youthful appearance since making a career comeback alongside Take That in the mid-1990s.

She has made no secret of her beauty regime, which, until recently, included injections of wrinkle-smoothing Botox. While she has refused to rule out cosmetic surgery in the future, she did give up Botox earlier this year for fear it would render her facial expression "immovable".

Instead, Lulu cites a healthy, active lifestyle – regular walking, yoga, salsa dancing and Wii Fit – and a vigorous beauty regime as the cornerstones of her youthful appearance.

She has even launched her own range of skin cream, Time Bomb, which has been a top seller on the television shopping channel QVC.

The fair-skinned star also says that keeping out of the sun for lengthy periods and a healthy diet without ever starving herself have combined to keep her fresh-faced.

Another Scot, Lorraine Kelly, was fifth in the women's section of the survey of 1,000 adults, conducted by a shower gel company. Other women who were deemed to be looking good included Elizabeth Hurley, Madonna, Carol Vorderman, Dannii Minogue and Sharon Osbourne.

Among those said to have aged less well were Pamela Anderson, Faye Dunaway, Judy Finnigan, Ulrika Jonsson and Brigitte Bardot.

Among the men, Rod Stewart – who had a hit 36 years ago with You Wear It Well – was deemed to have worn well, as were pin-ups George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp.

Those not thought to have aged so gracefully included the Rolling Stones Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, former prime minister Tony Blair and actors Michael Douglas and Al Pacino.

Meet the ultimate anti-wrinkle agent

TYPICAL. He's never had Botox, went grey during the Thatcher years and probably thinks an exfoliator is a piece of agricultural machinery. Yet Sir Sean Connery, now a ripe 78 years old, has done what millions of us would give our eye teeth (or whatever ones we have left) for: He's aged well.

Because for someone whose hairline disappeared before the introduction of decimalisation, Connery undoubtedly still has his looks. The elegant white beard, the craggy, tanned face, the bushy eyebrows – Connery doesn't look old, he looks gently aged, mature. And damn, does he look good in a kilt.

So forgive me if I sound just a tiny bit bitter, but come on: it's just not fair. While the women of the world have to plump, preen and powder, are taught to cleanse, tone and moisturise from the moment they're born and spend a lifetime smearing on the make-up, patting on the anti-ageing creams and squeezing themselves into outfits that lift, flatten, push, and generally doing everything humanly possible to hold back time's tide, men like Connery simply swan in, crack a crinkly yet distinguished smile, and make us all feel like we're 102.

Why is it that men seem to age better than women? Or is it just that we think they do? While it is still verging on taboo for a woman to embrace her grey-haired roots, it is not only the norm for men, it is the preferred route, adding (often undeservedly so) an air of autumn sophistication.

Men get laughter lines. Women get wrinkles. And while everyone can cite at least one example of a man who's not aged so well (Keith Richards looks like a long-lost cadaver suspended in formaldehyde), it is depressing to note that the women who do make the "aged well" list in this instance are either frighteningly young (Minogue and Halliwell are still in their thirties), or in such permanent pursuit of youthful looks – Madonna spends four hours a day at the gym and Sharon Osbourne's had so much plastic surgery it probably takes her four hours to glue herself together in the mornings – they never have time for anything else.

Perhaps then, all women should let the hair go white and the wrinkles run wild. But then looks are only one aspect of ageing. In fact, for many it becomes the first time in their life when they can have fun without worrying about their looks. After all, if you can't age well, then why not grow old disgracefully?