TRICIA Cusden is not a stereotypical septuagenarian. The 70-year-old is a rising star online with more than 4 million views on her YouTube channel. She has become a huge fashion and beauty influencer and her website is popular with older women in more than 28 countries.

She created her website as a voice for grown-up women and as a way to defy society’s ageist stereotypes.

Typically, mature women often find themselves avoiding bold and daring colours and instead stick to light, softer colours to appear more ‘youthful’.

However, Tricia’s go-to statement look is pairing her silver-grey hair with an intense red lipstick and colourful quirky earrings.

She says: “When you’re older, you realise there aren’t many role models around. The beauty industry is so obsessed with young faces which makes it difficult to find inspiration.

“I’ve been a make-up junkie all my life and I would go and buy lots of different things and try them out and see how they worked.

“I was buying expensive and cheap make-up and none of them worked particularly well on my face. I was buying eight or nine products so it was just frustrating.

“There was no one to go to for help; there was no advice. If I went to a beauty counter, they wouldn’t know what I was talking about – they just wouldn’t understand the problem.”

She believes the word old conjures up negative connotations and diminishes the value of older adults. Ageing is often viewed as a negative and many women find themselves trying to reverse the process instead of embracing it.

Society’s idea of beauty typically features images of youthful women in their early twenties promoting anti-ageing products as a way to appeal to young consumers.

But the industry does little to cater for the different needs of older women. There are variations between mature and younger skin – older skin may develop discolouration and abnormal pigmentation and the collagen fibres are gradually displaced resulting in wrinkles. She says there is a lack of beauty products which have been designed to suit mature women’s facial features and complexions.

The fashion industry also tends to exclude female models older than their early 20s with youthful beauty seemingly the only standard on the runway.

Tricia believes that age is just a number and really there’s no excuse for older women to feel the need to give up their style or sense of identity.

She started her beauty business at the age of 65 after reaching the end of her successful career as a management consultant.

She says: “I was pretty much retired and I wanted to try make-up that worked well on my face and I also hated the way that the make-up industry tried to sell older women make-up with an anti-ageing label on it.

“I thought there must be others like me so I decided to invest the money in products. My idea was to sell the products at make-over parties and online and I also made a couple of videos and the business started to take off and grew very fast and sell all over the world.”

She is quickly becoming a fashion, style and beauty icon to women who were struggling with their self-esteem, body and beauty image as a result of older age.

Her online business, Look Fabulous Forever, showcases images of mature women wearing products from her make-up line, before and after transformations, tips, empowering blog posts and videos showing how to correctly apply make-up to accentuate mature features and enhance natural beauty using warm apricot lipsticks, silk face primers and glowing foundations.

According to Tricia, one of the mistakes older women fall into when buying make-up is not using the correct brushes. “If a painter and decorator came into your house and started to put paint on the wall with their hands you’d probably say to them why on earth are you not using a brush?

“It’s about using the right technique with the brushes. One of the mistakes with make-up is that you’ve got to take a little bit of time and actually do it carefully and then you’ll look ten times better.

“If you sit down with a good magnifying mirror as well and really look at what you’re doing and make sure it’s smooth then you can get better results.”

Tricia who regularly updates her website with fashion and make-up inspiration, finds ways to encourage women to share their fashion tips. Every week, Tricia shares photos of women who have particularly good style. Her aim is to inspire other women to accept and love themselves and promote their body confidence and personality through their dress code.

Some of the women captured in her photos are more eccentric and quirky than others, one was wearing a flamboyant red puffer jacket, another sported a peach-coloured hair and one lady who was featured just wore a brightly coloured scarf; all of which represent their individuality, according to Tricia.

Tricia says: “I write a blog which gives tips on what to wear and how to wear it. The answer when you’re older is to cultivate a personal style that you’re happy with. Style when you’re older is the thing to cultivate.

“Everyone struggles to find the clothes that work. My website features women who have overcome those problems and found a way to express themselves through their clothes.

“I think with older women, my advice would always be, think in terms of colour and accessories. They look so drab and they give in. Beige, black or grey. It’s like they give up and think, “oh nobody cares, why should I worry, why should I bother?”

Other tips Tricia has for older women is to adopt a style versus fashion approach.

She says: “I like interesting earrings because they’re easy to wear and not expensive and you can get some really wacky pairs. I love bright lipsticks, I’ve got grey white hair so I’ll put on a red lipstick and a pair of really amazing earrings. It doesn’t matter what I wear, I’ve already made my style statement and I still feel confident.”

Tricia will be appearing at the Aye Write! book festival in Glasgow to discuss her book Living the Life More Fabulous: Beauty, Style and Empowerment for Older Women and her online blog. She will be sharing her tips on fashion, beauty and be giving advice on how to feel empowered as an older women.

“Never think of age as a barrier. it has not been a barrier for anything I’ve wanted to do.”

TRICIA’S TOP TIPS

  • Brush up your skills

Use the correct brushes and learn the right technique to get the best results.

  • Take your time

Don’t rush. Do it carefully and you’ll look ten times better.

  • Think big

Use a good magnifying mirror and really look at what you’re doing so you get better results.

  • Don’t be colour blind

Think in terms of colour and accessories. Forget beige, black or grey. It makes you look like you’ve given up

  • Add interest

Striking earrings are easy to wear and not expensive and you can get some really wacky pairs.

  • Make a statement

I love bright lipsticks, I’ve got grey white hair so I’ll put on a red lipstick and a pair of amazing earrings which makes me confident.

Tricia Cusden is at Glasgow book festival Aye Write! on March 17 at the Mitchell Library