Models are getting older. As in the over 60 set. That’s right, if you have yet to see Helen Mirren in her latest role as the face of L’Oreal you truly are missing out.

While super models of the ’80s are now in their 40s and early 50s, there is a new set of model on the scene. And they are the over 60 set.

The gorgeous Helen Mirren is the new brand ambassador for L’Oreal Paris. In a video for the brand, in which she proudly proclaims “our perfect age is now”, she not only suits up in leather and red lipstick, but persuades us to grow another year bolder.

Yep, a real life 69 year old woman publically singing the praises of growing old gracefully. Not exactly an everyday occurrence. But it may be soon enough.

With everyone from movie stars to Bravo Housewives to real housewives getting injected, plumped, and pulled regularly, looking your age has not been at the forefront of pop culture. But are we getting over the eternal youth syndrome and headed toward aging gracefully?

Hopefully, yes. Mirren is not the only older woman to step up to the designer marketing plate. Jessica Lange is doing ads for Marc Jacobs Beauty at 64. American author Joan Didion is the new face of Celine at 80!

And all three look au naturel, their lines and grey hair proudly on display. And why not? They are not 30. Why try to look it?

Even those 40-something models are beginning to show off their real age. Cindy Crawford’s latest lingerie pic to go viral was the real deal, no touch ups. There were even some noticeable wrinkles on the red carpet at this year’s Oscars. Not all sleek foreheads and cupie doll cheeks.

In our youth-obsessed culture we’ve been trying so hard to look as young as possible. The new beauty movement seems to be headed in the direction of looking as great as you can for your age. This means happy and healthy. Sure, it may sound cliché, but what woman with a healthy glow who looks truly comfortable with herself doesn’t look beautiful? Think maintenance rather than reversal. Keep what you have healthy and looking great.

This means steering clear of too much salt and sugar, eating a balanced diet, getting adequate rest and exercise, and reducing stress. Meditation is a helpful tool in raising your PMA.

Using healthy beauty products is also better for skin and health. There are many natural anti-aging ingredients that support the skin. And don’t forget the sunscreen. UV damage is the leading cause of prematurely wrinkled skin and spots. Try a tinted moisturizer with mineral SPF like Marion Cotillard wore to the Oscars.

We seem to be at a beauty crossroads. Will we keep fighting the inevitable or revel in the natural flow?

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Image of Helen Mirren via Shutterstock

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Helen Mirren’s Queen Elizabeth I shows us how to behave in the face of adversity.

Anyone who believes life is easy probably lives under a rock, inside a cave or in the magical, enchanted land of Denial. Life is more like a visiting carnival in the local church parking lot. You climb into that rickety “Black Hole” spinner ride – it shakes, spins, and pins you to the sides of its walls until you have the strength to peel yourself out of it at the end of the ride. But you have to know how to cope with the pressure when life straps you in for that wild ride.

This is exactly why we need Helen Mirren in our lives. The always eloquent British actress, who has played six queens in the course of her career, knows how to inspire both on and off the screen.

Here she plays Elizabeth I in an HBO mini-series of the same name. Mirren delivers the queen’s famous speech to the troops at Tilbury in Essex. The year was 1588 and England was facing a possible invasion from the Spanish Armada. The Queen herself rode out to greet her troops, who were massed to face the Spanish Duke of Parma. The text of this speech was found among royal papers in 1624, and it is believed that Elizabeth I herself delivered these very words to her troops.

Mirren spoke of playing Elizabeth I to HBO. As Mirren explains, “Queens are always such fascinating creatures, especially queens who equip themselves extremely well. They don’t fall prey to their circumstances or to men. It’s much harder for a woman to do that than a man. Much harder. She [Elizabeth I] earned our respect over the many generations that have come after her.”

Strong words from a strong woman about one of the most badass female icons. And yet, we can all carry this strength into our daily lives and livelihoods, even after the carnival ride, or in the case of Queen Elizabeth I, after a bloody war.

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You can lie, sue, and Spanx all in the name of youth in Hollywood.

We age. It’s a normal part of life for all women, like getting your period or slowly turning into a person who refuses to wear high heels. But if you live and work in Hollywood, it’s a different story. If you are a woman, you are supposed to look young. If you are a woman over the age of 25, you are supposed to look young – for your age. If you are an actress, you are supposed to look like a zygote with Botox who is allergic to carbs.

So what are the women of Hollywood supposed to do?

First, lie about your age. Most actresses shave a few years off their birth certificate. This is a given fact in Hollywood, just like Renee Zellweger’s amazing legs. Note that these hacked birth certificates suddenly invert for actresses after the age of 50, such as Meryl Streep, Judi Dench, and Helen Mirren. Then, their sheer force of coolness shines forth like a laser, scorching everyone in its wake.

And if you’re caught lying about said age? Sue. This week, Amazon.com revealed that they were being sued for $1 million after revealing the age of a “Jane Doe” actress on the Internet Movie Database website. Amazon.com refused to remove the age reference. Now that everyone knows she is a wasted hag, Jane Doe insists she can’t get work because she looks too young to “play” 40. The burden of looking younger than your years is heavy for some.

Second, admit that you wear Spanx. Jessica Alba, Portia DiRossi, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Gwyneth Paltrow all cop to “a smoother silhouette” thanks to the spandex girdles. Further, the right slimming undergarments are essential, say housekeeping books from the 1950s that also recommend greeting your husband at the door with a martini and light conversation about your bomb shelter.

In a post-feminist world, Spanx are useful in manufacturing enlightening moments in a marriage. Like when you realized you haven’t packed your Spanx for an out-of-town wedding, and your husband asks if you’re talking about the underwear for your paunch. After everything goes white and “Flight of the Valkryies” plays in your head you admit, yes, it is the underwear for your paunch.

Finally, cultivate a “who cares?” attitude that secretly includes a nightly dosing of bird excrement on your face combined with extracts of sake and gold chips. Because have you heard? That’s how the Japanese stay so young.

Or you could just leave Hollywood’s standards and actually not care. In the end, we all age. Just smile at the 20-year-old heaving a long-winded sigh that he or she feels so old because they just found their vintage iPod from 2003. After all, there comes that day when we’re all wearing the same comfortable shoes and asking someone to repeat what they said.

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