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She Says: 'I Look My Age and That's OK'

A skincare salesman's tactics didn't work for this mom

By Amy Knapp

The beauty industry thrives on the self-loathing and self-doubt of female consumers — and stokes fears about growing older. For everything "wrong" with your body, there is a cream, powder, or pill to correct the supposed flaw. But what if women decided they were OK just the way they were?

Annick Robinson recently created buzz with a Facebook post about her experience with a beauty kiosk salesman. Robinson was approached at the airport in Montreal by a salesman who followed a typical "script" of pointing out her saggy eyelids and crow's feet. But she didn't go for it.

"What's wrong with looking 40?" she retorted. "I have a miracle baby at home and haven't slept in two years, so if I have bags, I am grateful to have them, and my husband and I laugh a lot... I don't think I need your cream."

In her post, Robinson says she wasn't angry at the salesman but at the ageist message and our willingness to buy into it.

A recent survey conducted by Dove found that women were tweeting negative messages about their looks with shocking regularity. But 82 percent of the women surveyed believed that social media can help change our attitudes about beauty.

We need more Robinsons to help alter that standard.

 

Amy Knapp was formerly the associate digital editor for Next Avenue. She previously was an editor for InnoVision Health Media's consumer publicationNatural Solutions Magazine.   Read More
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