A fresh and natural award

Barbara Follett received a 'Fresh and Natural' award from Good Housekeeping magazine in May.
The article is reproduced below.

It’s hard to believe that Barbara Follett, Deputy Minister for Women and Equality and MP for Stevenage, is 65. Her luminous skin and dark hair keep her look young and fresh. She tells GH why it’s important to care for your appearance…

As an MP, looking good gives me confidence and makes me feel competent. No matter who you are or what you do, to some extent the way you look and dress affects the way other people treat you.

Like any woman, Barbara admits her desire to lose ‘the odd stone or two’ and says she’s like to have legs ‘that don’t look like those on a billiard table’, but overall, she’s comfortable with the way she looks. ‘If I wasn’t by the age of 65, I’d be a bit worried,’ she says.

So what beauty secrets can she impart?

‘Very few,’ she says. ‘Vitamins are the only thing I rely on. Years ago, when I worked in Africa, I concocted a little set of vitamins tailored to my needs that I’ve taken ever since. I’m also on HRT, which helps give me energy, but really, my main plus for looking young is my mother. At the age of 90, she looked about 65.’

In her ministerial role, it’s important to Barbara to encourage other women to keep active and socially involved as they get older. ‘Don’t sit back and think, “Now that I’m old, I don’t matter.” I make myself busy so I don’t have time to dwell on other things like ageing. The only time I feel it is when I get ill and it takes me longer to recover.

‘I’m been happier in my 50s and 60s than I’ve ever been,’ she says, partly attributing this to the love of her husband, the novelist Ken Follett, but also to a change in her mindset. ‘I’ve stopped doing what so many women of my generation do, which is always just be there for someone else, not just for yourself.’

Barbara has to think twice when people ask her how old she is. ‘In my mind I’m 34,’ she says. ‘It’s an irritation to my daughters when people ask if I’m their sister. I didn’t like it when people asked me that about my own mother, but now it’s flattering.’

Issued: 22.04.2008

Further information
Please contact Anthony Miller via the 'Contact' page, or by fax on 020 7219 1158.

<< Back to press release index