Australian stylist Courtney Blood says that her mum ‘steals the show’ whenever she appears on her Instagram feed. Photo / mondayprojectco Instagram
Personal stylist Courtney Blood shares the secrets to ageing gracefully she learnt from her mother.
For as long as I can remember, Mum has looked after her health. She has always exercised and made home-cooked meals and looked after her appearance. She was never flashy or overt about her health routine when we were growing up. It was just always, quietly, there. And sure enough, that has passed on: me and my brothers and sister all run marathons or do loads of sport and lead healthy lives. It’s even passed to the grandchildren – my son has just run the Sydney marathon for the second time.
I hated running as a child but I’ve finally caught the running bug and now we run together. She also helps me in my work and is partly responsible for my recent career change. Until two years ago, I was working in corporate human resources, but I wanted a career that I could carry into my seventies.
My mum is an incredibly well-dressed woman who used to make a lot of her clothes – I practically grew up under her sewing machine – so in some way, that informed my decision to retrain as a personal stylist at the age of 52. I also started sharing my ideas and insights with other women. Now, I have nearly a quarter of a million followers on Instagram, @mondayprojectco. Part of that success is thanks to Mum, who regularly makes an appearance on my feed. She is still as slim, elegant and well-dressed as ever – the perfect model and great fun to hang out with.
The irony is that, at 83, she’s often too busy to come and help me out with content, but the response when she does is phenomenal. She has stolen the show! Followers mainly want to know how she looks so good – some of them even ask if she’s AI generated! But there’s nothing generated at the press of a button here: Mum has been chipping away for years; in fact, she has been the same her whole life.
Running is just one of the habits I’ve picked up from Mum – here are all the other things she does to keep youthful and healthy and which help me stay on track, too...
Mum starts the day with two Weetabix and a cup of tea. Lunch is a toasted cheese and tomato sandwich with more tea, and dinner is lean meat (chicken is a favourite) or fish with lots of vegetables. Keeping up your protein intake is essential as you age, to help maintain your muscle mass so you don’t fall into frailty.
She has a banana for a snack and is partial to a piece of shortbread with a cup of tea in the afternoon. But, although she loves biscuits and often has a packet in the cupboard, she never overdoes it. There are no exclusions in mum’s diet and she looks forward to treats, such as her fish and chips every Sunday. But, you won’t find her on Uber Eats, either, and the portions in her household have always been small.
She has inspired me to cook more at home and after a few months I really notice the difference.
Marie says: “I have this amazing soup making machine that I use all the time, especially for dinners – lentil and tomato soup is my speciality.”
Mum has been running for the past 42 years. She and Dad were always runners and my sister and I spent every Sunday as kids being dragged to cross-country competitions, which I hated.
But two weeks ago, Mum ran her 600th cross-country run (making her the first woman in her running club ever to do that) and I ran the whole distance with her.
Mum ran her last marathon aged 77 and now runs 10k most days as well as running competitively on Sundays. She runs first thing after her Weet-Bix! On top of that, she’s hugely active – she gardens, does all her own cleaning and walks to the shops. Quite often when I go and visit, I’ll drive past Mum who will have been on a walk somewhere. I don’t think she sits down much during the day.
We went travelling this summer to Spain and Portugal and not once did I have to worry about whether Mum could manage climbing a steep flight of stairs or being on her feet all day.
Marie says: “I try to include hills and cross country in some of my runs as it helps me run for longer on the flat. And while I’m not into fancy sports gear, I do rely on good trainers. Asics are my current go-to.”
Mum uses nothing besides Sorbalene, which is a gentle soap substitute, to cleanse and Nivea to moisturise. She buys the stuff in the blue tin and, while it’s rather thick, she spends those few extra moments working it in, so it absorbs really nicely.
As a child, I always saw her take a bath every evening, then slather herself in Nivea from face to feet. She does that to this day and for the past year I have started doing the same. Forget the fancy stuff, it’s Nivea in the blue tin that works!
Mum has never had the facelift that people wonder about – since she doesn’t carry any excess fat, she’s managed to retain a sleek jawline and I think that really helps her look young. She is religious about SPF, layering it on throughout the day depending on when she’s going out. The brands she uses vary, as it’s whatever she can get hold of in the supermarket.
Maries says: “I always run in a cap and sunglasses to protect my eyes as well as my skin – and I will always consider wearing a long sleeve top, if it’s not too uncomfortably hot to do so – it adds another layer of protection which is important when you’re exposing your skin to the Australian climate every day.”
Mum takes magnesium powder every day, which is great for relaxation and improving sleep but also for bone and heart health. She’s also big on collagen powder to keep her joints healthy and elastic. (Powder has the edge over tablets, as it’s said to be more easily absorbed.)
She also has a monthly massage which is great for improving mobility and easing arthritis pain in the over-70s.
There’s no doubt, Mum’s mental health is supported by her dynamic lifestyle. She is on the move throughout the day, eats nutritious, home-cooked food, surrounds herself with family and friends, and is still curious about the world. She regularly takes classes and reads a huge amount – at the moment she’s ploughing through the works of Thomas Hardy.
A huge part of her wellbeing has been to always look elegant and put-together. She still makes a huge effort with her clothes and is never less than perfectly turned out (despite the amount of exercise she does, she never leaves the house in her sports kit).
Mum brought me up with the mantra, “Hair, skin, teeth and nails.” She believed that you should care for all those things with as much as you could afford and that if you had great hair, skin, teeth and nails – and did enough exercise – you would be able to wear anything and look great.
Looking good makes her feel good and, although she now has grandchildren – and three great-grandchildren – who she obviously wants to be around for, she has always looked after herself in this way. A woman who, when her kids were so little she couldn’t get out of the house to exercise so she ran on the spot for an hour every evening, is wired a certain way. And she’s getting the payback now: the fact she has stability, the fact she’s so healthy and can do what she does in a day…
As told to Annabel Meggeson