Age with grace: Kate Bell

Kate Bell is an Australian model & expert on women aging, health & beauty. She’s telling us through a Q&A some important insights about her take on beauty.

I had the honor to chat with Kate about beauty and aging, specifically about the term «aging gracefully» as many would call it.  She shares some of her favorites yet simple rituals to maintain a glowing skin. 

What’s the #1 tip/advice you will tell women about beauty?

Be kind to yourself. Star in your own movie, have fun and do things that bring you joy. Happy people are beautiful people.

If you could only choose one skincare product, what would it be? Why?

Rosehip oil. It’s not very expensive so you can buy in bulk. I use it all over my body. Helps balance any sort of skin.

What’s the best age to start taking care of your skin and building a skincare regimen?

My French girl friend told me her mother talked to her about taking care of her skin when she was early teens. I think is good time to start thinking about taking care of ourselves.

When it comes to skincare what do you look for specifically?

Results. Natural or not. If it works I’ll consider it.

You are an expert in aging. There’s a concept called «aging gracefully». How do you interpret that?

I’m an expert in women’s appearance in regards to aging because it’s what I’m experiencing, working as a full time model. Also as a lifelong yogi I know my physicality extremely well, I know how our bodies change over time. I don’t want to sound scratchy but this term «Aging Gracefully» is used by young people to mean people over 40 seem to be handling the aging process with ease. 

But I find it a ridiculous term. Who wants to age gracefully!? I want to do what I want, look how I want, say what I want, wear what I want and if you ask anyone over 40 they will agree with me. We want to age disgracefully thanks very much. 

What’s your take on beauty procedures such as botox, fillers, surgeries? Or do you prefer to flow more towards holistic beauty?

Everyone makes their own choices about how they self express. It’s not for me to judge anyone. Personally I haven’t had botox or fillers because I’m scared of these things. Life is holistic so my choices align with this viewpoint. I do have cutting edge scientific therapies to look and feel good, and to have maximum energy. 

When did you start talking about beauty? Why? Where did that passion came from?

I realised one day I’ve not just survived the Fashion and Advertising industries, but am thriving! I realized I have much to share being a lifelong yogi with a 36 year on-going modelling career.

Describe your everyday habits/Beauty routine.

I have many. Beauty starts from the inside. Our skin is just what we see. I start my day by tongue scraping/Jihva, a Shatkarma/yoga self-care technique, to banish nighttime bacteria build-up. I drink a huge glass of warm water and on it goes all through my day- a list too long to go into here, in fact a whole book!

A few things I will share are: in summer after a hot morning shower I massage my entire body with coconut oil, for cooling. In winter it’s black sesame for warming, then I jump back into the shower and do 2/3 minutes on cold. I use various natural moisturizers. I use various scrubs every couple of days. I love saunas. I love masks before a shoot. All things that help me shine.

Kate’s musts

You can find Kate via Instagram at @i_am_katebell

Thanks for reading!