KAYWA

Rachel Polla

This is the lovely Rachel Polla.  She recently appeared in Migros Magazine talking about Botox.  Nothing wrong with that and neither is it surprising as her parents are Barbara and Luigi Polla the founders of The Forever Laser Institute in Geneva.  What is surprising is that Rachel Polla is just 25 years old.

 

 

 

Rachel loves the Botox effect claiming they make her eyebrows higher, opening up her face and that she is less tired looking…at twenty five.  It may be a long way back for me, but one thing I do not recall about my twenties is feeling tired and more importantly looking tired. At twenty five I was working hard and playing even harder with limitless reserves of energy that I took for granted.  Any spare cash was spent on airtickets, weekends away, clothes and records.  Esthetic upkeep was minimal as wearing the glow of youth there was little need for more.

But it is around twenty-five years of age that your face starts to take on the look of the older and wiser woman you will become.  There are no lines or wrinkles yet just a few traits of laughter, of expressions as light as the strokes of a charcoal etching.

 

I use Botox.  I started in my early forties.  I like my face, it’s the one I was given and I’m sticking by it.  It has never let me down but around the early forties I started to notice frown lines and an overall look of tiredness that never left.  I am proud of my face, my crows feet prove I laugh a lot but they do not have to start at the corner of my eye and end up somewhere near my ear, nor do I need those tram lines across my brow.  So I chose a great cosmetic doctor who now knows my face better than I do and I trust him.  The effect is subtly refreshing.  One girlfriend asked if I had changed my mascara and a male friend whispered Do You have a lover?  So I am happy, I still have history on my face: my years on the ski slopes; the beaches in the Middle East; my three children; my happy marriage and I hope a kind spirit all come through but don’t necessarily hit you in the face.

The dangerous part of putting Botulinum Toxin in my body does terrify me but so far there has been no scientific proof that this will kill me – any related deaths are mostly found to be caused by an underlying illness.  Besides, for the past 30 years I have poured chemicals onto my hair without any apparent side effects.  Every time I swear it will be my last but by the end of the fourth month the muscles in my face start to revert to their old mean ways and back I go to Botox Bob.

 

Just two years ago Migros Magazine ran the following headline “Du Botox à 30 ans!” (Botox at 30!) At this rate we could be seeing 10 year olds lining up for their shots in six years time.  I’m forty-six years old.  The lovely Rachel Polla as you can see in this photograph taken from her site Alchimie Forever.com is twenty-five years old and is likely to stay that way all her life.

In her defence her father tells Migros Magazine that the earlier you use Botox the better as the stronger the muscle, the more efficient the treatment.  So it is best used as a preventative measure before the wrinkle forms and any human expression I take it.

 

 

Rachel Polla is already a lovely young woman but if she continues to use Botox we will never know the beautiful older woman she could become; how when she smiles her eyes crinkle in the corner and when she concentrates her brow furrows just a little bit.  I fear too early use of Botox could turn the next generation of women into strange surreal humanoids. 

Copyright Julesritter.com

Valentines Day is soon upon us and expectations, as always, are running high.  We're talking sex.

 

Let’s start with the facts:  “The problem with women is that they cannot differentiate love from sex”, lamented a famous womaniser in the press recently.  This is true - aside from those who make a living in the sex industry - and not to be lamented.  We females are governed by nuturing, loving hormones whilst you males have physical parts that literally rise and fall on a whim.  It’s biology tout court.

 

Let’s look at desire:  For women the desire to have sex starts outside the bedroom.  Read that last sentence again.  So many of you men complain about not getting enough sex that I can only presume that this fundamental given must come as a complete surprise.  Four words: Laughter, Appreciation, Respect and Kindness.  Practice LARK and your love-life will improve. 

 

If you want to play cupid and not end up like the guy in the picture, do not complain and unless you are considering a monastic future do not initiate sex with the question “Fancy a pull/quickie/…..?” (Blank to be filled in by you depending on age and generation).  Believe me neither of you will be hearing violins/seeing fireworks/walking on air with any of those as a prelude.

 

Let’s talk romance:  For Valentines Day do not ,under any circumstances, buy us sexy underwear - unless we have specifically asked for it - we know who you are really buying it for and quite honestly the blatant message  is  offensive not to mention a turn-off.  Chocolates, flowers, perfume, candle-lit dinners or anything which has required a little pre-planning and thought will all be gratefully received with a deep smoldering gaze. 

 

Let’s Look at Appreciation:  Surprise us, even if it is just emptying the dishwasher when it is not your turn.  In fact any kitchen duties will do but work up to proposing that scene from The Postman Always Rings Twice involving Jack Nicholson, Jessica Lang and a kitchen table.  You don’t want to fall foul early on, it will take more than a re-arrangement of the cutlery drawer before she is throwing off her apron with lust.

 

Let’s look at appropriate physical contact:  Why can’t you just cuddle?  A simple hug without the hand moving south with the ferocity of an Alpha male and the hip grinding would be appreciated.  Not that we don’t want the ferocity of an Alpha male but reserve that part for when you have won us over.   Be forewarned: There is an art to the non-sexy cuddle, practice on your kids or the dog.  It requires letting certain muscles relax (yes) and an exchange of loving energy.  It does not mean a quick pat and a clasp with all the warmth of a mortician’s slab.

 

You see we females are different, very different and we need to be handled with care.  We like romance, compliments (yes I know it’s shallow but that’s what hormones react to) and if you make a little effort to overcome the evolutionary circuitry, a regular sex life will be yours for the asking.  It really is a LARK. 

www.julesritter.com

 

Copyright Jules Ritter January 2008

 

Move over guys you’ve been hogging the limelight long enough.  2008 is the year of the woman.  It’s our turn.

 

 

We’ve got Hillary, Segolene Royal, Mme. Sarkozy, Kylie Minogue, Amy Winehouse, the late Benazir Bhutto, Kate McCann, Oprah and many more.  You may not agree with them, probably don’t even like some of them but they are all making waves on the world stage as never before, all fighting their corner and standing up for what they believe in.  Above all, all show tremendous courage and guts. 

 

The men in 2008? Gordon Brown, George Bush, Al Gore, Christophe Blocher….Where is Hillary’s other half now?  Bill? Long-heralded as the only reason Hillary got this far has been shrugged out of the limelight in a Miss Piggy style karate chop  - kerrpaw! take that Billykins, maintenant c’est moi.

 

2008 is for the Chinese the year of the Rat - known as the hardest working sign in the Chinese zodiac.  The UN has declared it the year of the potato. Yes po-ta-to.  It is in fact the year of the rise of women, you potato heads.

 

Forget about the carbon footprint of planes, the non-equality of women is what we should all be fighting for (and flying off to summits in Bali for) and I predict there will be a huge fall out from neglect.

 

Hillary can’t win and she probably won’t.  Whether she cries or fights like a man she is accused of being soft or having a hissy fit.  She can do nothing right but she sticks at it because every little inch she gains now - clawing her way to the White House - is a huge leap for the sisterhood.  She is laying down tracks and we should all be grateful to her.  Our mother’s generation never had a sense of their options, we do but also the sense of our boundaries invisible though they may be.  The next generations of women can have even greater expectations. 

 

On the front-line at home, Sophie-G was today dumped unceremoniously by her boyfriend, first day back at school.  She has rallied, she has rebelled, she has consulted her numerous sisters and she has demanded to know why of this shrivelling speci-man.  She is a fighter and is already learning from the likes of Hillary Clinton.   

 

Women are the world’s unsung heros so now beware our battle cry.  Go Hillary.  Go Sophie-G.  Go all of us women.  It’s our turn.

copyright jules ritter january 2008