What I see in the mirror: Julie Myerson
'When I was 35, I considered having a rose tattoo – my kids flatly forbade it and I'm extremely grateful'
Julie Myerson
Friday 8 July 2011 22.59 BST
I see a woman of 51. But it's strange and oddly comforting to notice that the dreamy, unformed face of my 13-year-old self is somehow still there, too.
I like my face. I'm not even slightly beautiful – my eyes are OK, but my nose has a bump and I'd certainly never have chosen these teeth – but somehow the whole seems to work, and I wouldn't dream of messing with any of it. Attractiveness is never straightforward anyway: on a good day, when I'm happy and have had enough sleep, I can smile and trick just about anyone into thinking I look good.
 |
| I’m not even slightly beautiful – my eyes are OK, but my nose has a bump and I’d certainly never have chosen these teeth' |
I have two piercings in my left ear, which I used to think cool but don't bother with now. When I was 35, I considered having a rose tattooed on my bottom, but my kids flatly forbade it. I'm extremely grateful – it wouldn't be a good look now.
I'm not worried about ageing. No one who's had friends die young can ever complain about getting older. I doubt I'd do anything like Botox, but I'm certainly vain enough to spend money and time on my face. I acquired my mother's Clinique habit as a teenager. Although people say I look like her, the most surprising person I occasionally glimpse is my paternal grandmother, Ida. She was more odd-looking than beautiful. Now and then I catch my profile in a shop changing room mirror and I almost laugh out loud because she's just so eerily there.
• Julie Myerson's new novel, Then, is published by Jonathan Cape, at £12.99.
No comments:
Post a Comment