Social networks are not just for teens and millennials. More and more senior influencers are emerging on the Internet and making their voices heard. Here is a close-up on this phenomenon.
It started insidiously. I felt more and more disconnected. Less and less concerned with what I was reading on my Facebook feed or the blogs I used to frequent.
Then, the movement accelerated. It was as if all bloggers were suddenly becoming moms. No offense, right! I think it’s really great that women with kids have built a virtual network where they can share with each other. But reading about breastfeeding, cloth diapers and food allergies when you don’t have kids gets boring after a while. And not in the way of the famous vindredi…
Then came the coup de grace. I was about to read a post entitled “Live it up! There’s no age limit to make your dreams come true!” before I realized that the author was only… 26 years old. Another was complaining that she didn’t want to celebrate her birthday this year because she was turning 25 and was suddenly afraid of getting old.
Clearly I needed to unsubscribe from some Facebook pages.
Jessica, Noémie, Fannie or Sarah-Jade may be nice, but it’s hard to identify with them when they talk about make-up and clothes or when they tell their life stories. Me, when I read “30 years old, time to take stock… where we start to look at the past with melancholy and the future with despair”, I rather want to laugh. Or roll my eyes, depending on my PERIMENTED mood. (Yes, it starts in your 40s. You’ve been warned.) Don’t get me wrong. I know that turning 30 is a major milestone. But it’s not the only one.
I’m also not saying that my interests don’t overlap with theirs. I’m just saying that our concerns aren’t necessarily the same, and the way we talk about them is different. “My way of blogging or vlogging does differ from that of my younger colleagues,” confirms Eve Martel, 47, of the Quebec blog Tellement Swell. “As you get older, you put events in context and have more perspective. We’re less into life’s surprises and more into active exploration.”
Anything goes
Fortunately, in the last few years, we have noticed the arrival of senior bloggers, who speak to an audience often left out.
We could of course name Gwyneth Paltrow, 46, on the Goop platform. Or Garance Doré (whose more personal posts we love!), 43, on Atelier Doré. One could think of Mitsou, 48, or Julie Bélanger, 44, who also deliver blog posts on their site.
But it’s not just the stars who have something to say. Other bloggers also have things to say that we can relate to. They talk about fashion tips, beauty advice adapted to our age, good addresses, etc. We go from a post about an inspiring woman to another about the timeless V sweater, followed by a review of a museum exhibition or a video of a Pink Floyd song performed by Alpha Blondie. Now that speaks to me.
“At 40, everything is allowed: becoming a mother, changing careers, taking up sports, taking time for yourself, dressing the way you like, changing your life, leaving everything behind…”, writes Sandrine Chartier Gerin with accuracy. I agree with her! We want to enjoy life, but we also want to find answers to the questions that this stage raises, to talk about new perspectives and career changes at an age when everything starts over.
We too want to wear colorful clothes, get a massage at the latest spa, go on a weekend getaway with our husband… or our younger lover. We may even like to stand in front of a camera. Yes, we do!
Today, we are still young at 40 or 50, whereas 20 years ago, most women were already grandmothers at that age… or in the process of becoming so.
Virginie Urbini Gorse, a cheerful 50-something from the French blog Jeune vieillis pas, illustrates this reality in a post where she puts side by side a photo of her grandmother (an old lady with white hair knitting) and a photo of one of her friends with her grandson. The latter looks more like Inès de La Fressange than an old-fashioned grandmother! We only have to think of Marcia Pilote, 52 years old, who reaches a large audience with her different platforms and who does not correspond to the idea of a grandmother either.
Senior, but not too senior
It must be said that the boundaries between ages have become blurred. According to a survey published in the London newspaper The Telegraph in 2017, 96% of women over 40 do not consider themselves to be middle-aged. More than two-thirds feel they are in the best time of their lives, 59% feel younger and more vibrant than ever, 90% say they have a younger attitude than their mothers and 84% said they don’t define themselves by their age.
That’s the case for Eve Martel, who sees herself as more of a perennial, meaning someone who is in the know, on top of new technologies, surrounded by friends of all ages. “My audience varies by platform. The women who check out the blog or Facebook are my age. Those who follow me on Instagram or YouTube are younger. I don’t have kids, but I know that many moms follow me precisely because I have a different profile.”
“I am the oldest blogger!” exclaims Marie Héroux, 60, of the blog La P’tite Madame. She sees her age as an asset. “I stand out from the young bloggers. I created La P’tite Madame because I didn’t see myself in what I was reading. I wanted to talk about beauty and fashion for women like me. My readers are in their fifties and write to me to thank me or ask me for advice, because my style is accessible,” says Marie who started her blog as a hobby and for whom it has become a retirement project. In order to keep it going, Marie can attend up to three events a day. It’s a far cry from knitting by the fire!
The new ageless generation
Gen X women (1962-1978) are on Instagram and YouTube, coworking, going on yoga-surfing retreats in Hawaii, dressing at Betina Lou, Frank & Oak, Uniqlo…
And what about their savings? They have significantly more money than they did in their 30s, when they had to pay for their house and car. By 2030, in rich countries, consumers over 60 will grow from 164 million to 222 million and spend more than $4 trillion a year.
It’s time for brands to take an interest in them on social networks and stop using millennials to sell them luxury cars or Gucci bags, when we know that these young women have nothing to do with the clientele that can actually afford to buy these things.
At the same time, it’s not about these new influencers turning into an advertising machine. Yes, they talk about consumer products that may interest their peers. That said, it would also be interesting if they could take advantage of their platform to create a community as tightly woven as that of moms, a virtual tribe that would allow women to exchange on fashion and beauty, but also on issues related to their age, and this, while being entertained. Because we have to admit that the women who follow these influencers have something that most young women lack: a refreshing sense of self-deprecation!
“I wish my blog would take a more business-like turn in 2019, because I’d love to be able to make a living that way,” says Lyne Ste-Marie, 53, of Tornade Rousse. “That said, I still want to publish articles for pure pleasure, to share my discoveries that will be useful to others or simply my moods or adventures… These are still my most-read articles.”
“We seem to be the first generation of girls who are not old at 40 or 50,” says Eve Martel. We really have a different path than the women who came before us. We don’t have any examples, which makes us wonder, “Which way am I going?” It would be fun to go together.” We’re up for it.
40+ Women’s Blogs
1. Mon blog de fille
She is one of the pioneer beauty bloggers in France: Hélène Legastelois has been gathering beauty lovers on her blog Mon blog de fille and her Youtube channel (with 197,000 subscribers) since 2005. At 50 years old, the Parisian who worked for 10 years in the tourism industry pleases by her frankness and her honesty which places her far from the clichés of the superficial influencer. Inseparable from her chic boyish haircut, Hélène Legastelois speaks openly about “taboo” subjects, such as her cosmetic medicine procedures.
2. Angie Hot & Flashy
In the United States, the senior beauty influencer who is a hit is Angie Schmitt, aka “Angie Hot-and-Flashy” on social networks. Since 2012, the 59-year-old American with a glowing complexion has been posting beauty videos on her Youtube channel with 986,000 subscribers, who follow her make-up tutorials and crash tests, always detailed and well explained.
3. Tricia Cusden
In England, it is Tricia Cusden who stands out in the beauty influence for seniors. At the age of 65, the Brit realized that there weren’t many cosmetics dedicated to mature women, so she decided to create her own beauty brand named Look Fabulous Forever in 2013 which met with great success. At over 70 years old, Tricia Cusden likes to wear flashy lipsticks and flaunt her elegant white hair. Her Youtube channel (nearly 39,000 subscribers) has over 8 million views.
4. Melissa 55
At 66, Melissa looks 20 years younger. It is with this beauty that does not seem to know the signs of age that the American seduces her 36,500 followers on Instagram. The blonde Tennessee native also has a YouTube channel (127,000 subscribers and over 12 million views) on which she posts makeup tutorials dedicated to women in their 60s. If some Internet users accuse her of having resorted to plastic surgery, Melissa does not hesitate to film herself jumping out of bed to reveal her few wrinkles and marks of fatigue.
5. Nicole Tonnelle
Nicole Tonnelle has been a beautician since she was 20 years old. She closed her beauty salon before creating her own blog Bien et bien dans votre peau, realizing that “there wasn’t much on the Net for people over 50”.
