SMILE Lines Like You Mean It..

I once met a gentleman who had been a NYC fashion photographer in the mid 1960's.  A very dapper older man with a great sense of style & impeccable manners.  He was a client of a friend of mine & on several occasions we met, by chance, in the waiting room of our mutual acquaintance.  I've always been enthralled by the romantic idea of  New York City in the 60's & on these few occasions I  enjoyed speaking with him.  He was rich with stories of famous models & actresses whom he had photographed during the height of a Manhattan mesmerized by Andy Warhol & Edie Sedgwick. His stories usually ended up with some serious dish about which ones were untouched natural beauties & which ones were "retouch nightmares" as he jokingly referred to them.  He knew I was always eager to be his captive audience of one & like any vintage fashion junkie, I listened with pure intent & always had a list of questions & inquiries which I think he found quite entertaining.   I will never forget one particular discussion when I asked him about the best beauty secrets of that era & what he thought of modern beauty treatments.  "Darling, if you never want to age a day in your life you must never allow your emotions to be seen upon your face."
 "What?", I asked "Wait, what do you mean?" "I Mean ( he continued) that if one never wants to see lines upon their face they should never allow the world to know how they really feel & that includes intense happiness as well as dismay"  I pondered that idea for a moment & I'm sure the look of amazement & confusion upon my face was indeed NOT hidden.  He went on, "I once knew a fabulous model from the 60's who lived by that rule & she practiced it immensely to the point where it became second nature. Oh she never showed emotion upon her face & do you want to know something?"    "What What?!"  I prodded,  hanging on to his every syllable.   "I happened to bump into her some 25 years or so later while having lunch in Greenwich Village & her face was still seamless with zero wrinkles. Just as it had been when she was 24!"   "NOWAY!", I gasped, "that's incredible!"  "Oh yes indeed" he said "but of course she was also alone, lonely, miserable, had no companion, no friends & NO SMILE."   As he began to roar with laughter I knew I had been taken.  "SMILE, LIVE & ENJOY every moment of LIFE my dear & you'll always be beautiful!!"   I can still feel the warmth of his wrinkled smile.

Wishing you a gorgeous day filled with smile lines full of laughter.
Hepburn Hugs & Ric Ocasek Dreams

xo
Birdee Bow