May 4

May 4 Older is better....or at least every bit as good

Isabella Rossellini became the face of Lancome in 1982 at the age of 30. 12 years later there was a lot of hoo-ha over the fact that the brand terminated her contract, saying that, at 42, she was too old. "The executive at the time told me that adverting is about dreams." Isabella has said in interviews. "And the dream allegedly was that women dream to be young."

Well, I wonder what it says about women's dreams now, with Lancome reinstating their (then) highest paid model in her 65th year?

I saw the new campaign when I was in Debenhams this week, and, if I hadn't been on my own and in a crowded place therefore risking being carted off by security, would happily have cheered. Not only does Isabella look beautiful (goes without saying), elegant and serene, but she also looks, cheer it, no...really, cheer it, real.

OK, so the images are shot by the peerless Peter Lindbergh (you should follow his Instagram feed, it's heavenly), so she looks her undeniably beautiful best, but hers is a face untouched by anything other than the experiences of life, rather than the scalpel of a surgeons knife like so many others (ahem, Jane Fonda).

I really, really, really hope this is more than a cynical marketing move by Lancome to attract publicity for their new product, but I'm going to hang on to my determinedly glass-half-full optimism and believe that this is a another small step towards recognising that older women - and men - are a) more likely to buy a product aimed at them if the model actually looks like them (well, them in their dreams) and b) enough of a commercial force and opportunity that more products and services should be developed and marketed at them.

What do you think? I'd love to know!