A WOMAN often mistaken for being decades younger than her age has revealed she doesn’t have a long-term skincare routine.
Marie Mercurius was in her 40s when she became interested in slowing the signs of diabetes aging.
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Marie Mercurius, pictured, went viral on YouTube when she revealed to her subscribers the secret to looking youthful at 56Credit: Marie Mercurius 
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Marie, pictured, says she became fixated on using ‘clean’ beauty products from the age of 40Credit: Marie Mercurius 
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Marie, pictured, gives herself a facial at home two to three times a week with budget-friendly purchasesCredit: Marie Mercurius
Marie, who shares lifestyle videos on YouTubeshocked her subscribers when she revealed she is 56.
Viewers said, “You look late 30s or early 40s” when commenting on her now-viral video about maintaining a youthful appearance.
The Studio Manager of Toronto told The Sun that during her twenties she didn’t care about the ingredients in her hair beauty products.
She would even sleep with her makeup on after a night out.
“It wasn’t until I was in my 40s that I started getting more into clean beauty,” Marie said.
“It was back in the day when a lot of people were doing things to themselves, doing procedures and spending exorbitant amounts of money on skin care products and things like that.
“I just thought, you know, I’m getting older, I want to take even better care of myself so I can maintain my youthful appearance.”
Marie said people have always told her she looks younger than her age.
Genetics plays a role, but she swears she looks younger than her mother did at the same age.
She revealed her skin care routine is relatively short and uses products from the BeautyCounter and Honest brands.
“I just started using a gua sha thing,” she said. “In the morning I cleanse my face in the shower with a lightweight cleanser.
I’m 73 But Everyone Thinks I’m In My Forties – My Age-Defying Look Is Mainly Due To The Food I Eat, Here Are My Secrets
“I use a vitamin C serum for brightening and then a moisturizer as it gets colder.
“I use a heavier moisturizer more than I would in the summer so that my skin stays nice, plump and moist.”
Fair Beauty Vitamin C Radiance Serum costs £35 on Look Fantastic, while Beauty Counter’s All Bright C serum is not available in the UK.
A budget-friendly alternative Boots Vitamin C PRO Brightening Booster Serum which only costs €6.
Marie removes dead skin cells and grime from her face two to three times a week with an exfoliator.
Impurities are also removed from her skin using a charcoal-activated mask.
Marie revealed that there’s one step in her skincare routine that she’s been neglecting lately.
“I have to start steaming again,” she said. “I used my clothes steamer to steam my face to open my pores and then do a little facial.
“I use distilled or filtered water instead of tap water and make sure it doesn’t get too close to my face.”
How to reverse aging in just 2 weeks, according to the royal nutritionist
London-based Gabriela Peacock, who has helped Prince Harry and Princess Eugenie, among others, prepare for their weddings.
She told Fabulous: “The science is clear that we all have the power to make simple life-changing changes to better our future selves – no matter what genetic hand we’ve been dealt.
“The reality is that we all indulge in unhealthy eating habits at times, such as processed foods, smoking cigarettes, drinking too much alcoholbreathing in pollutants in the city and even drinking water from plastic bottles – all these are not good for us.
“All this does is promote the aging process, but we all have the potential to change this.”
It can be difficult, but try to avoid sugary carbs because they fuel chronic inflammation, which is one of the worst enemies of anti-aging.
Only now you will gain weight if you consume them regularly, but you energy and hormonal levels will be affected and this will affect how you look and feel.
Whatever your age or health condition, it’s never too late to reverse the rate at which you age and embrace the energy and strength of a younger you.
Antioxidants, such as vitamins A, C and E, are essential in neutralizing free radicals, the culprits behind premature aging.
Incorporating a spectrum of colorful fruits and vegetables into your diet provides a powerful source of antioxidants.
Omega-3 fatty acids, found in abundance in oily fish such as salmon and flaxseed, are essential for maintaining skin elasticity and hydration.
Omega-3 fatty acids nourish your skin, retain moisture and reduce fine lines and wrinkles.
Collagen, a structural protein that declines with age, can be replenished through collagen-rich foods such as bone broth and lean protein sources.
She said it only takes 15 minutes to open the pores and the process can be followed by a scrub or mask, followed by serum and moisturizer.
She prefers wearing a hat and staying out of the sun rather than using sunscreen because of its long list of ingredients.
Having previously been scarred by a facialist, Marie said she is hesitant to have the extraction done professionally by estheticians who have no experience working on dark skin.
She believes that spending large amounts of money on products and treatments does not always mean that the results will be better than budget-friendly options.
Avoiding toxins in the food she eats is just as ‘important’ as the products she uses for a youthful appearance.
“There are a lot of processed foods that are full of toxins,” she said.
“They don’t do great things for your hormones or your gut, and your gut microbiome plays a huge role in the health of your skin and your overall well-being.
“I think people forget that our skin is our largest organ and we really need to take care of it by eating minimally processed foods, more fruits and vegetables and dark leafy greens.
Exercise is crucial because you lose muscle mass so quickly from the age of 30.
Marie Mercurius
“I will say that I’m guilty of not drinking as much water as I should, but I still feel like I’m doing okay.
“ As far as supplements go, I don’t take anything for the skin, but I take iron and vitamins D3 and K, two in one.
“Just because I don’t get enough sunlight in the winter and that really affected me last year.”
Marie said alcohol is “drying,” so she limits herself to a maximum of two drinks when guests come over.
She can go a month without drinking, while trying to avoid ‘comfortable things’ such as dark chocolate and crisps if they contain more than three ingredients.
The only meat she eats is grass-fed beef from a butcher, because it is difficult to know how chickens are raised.
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Marie, pictured, says she avoids drinking excessive amounts of alcohol as it dries out the skinCredit: Marie Mercurius
Microwaves are also off-limits in favor of stovetop cooking, as she tries to avoid aluminum.
“I prefer to cook at home because at least I know what goes into the food,” she said.
“When you go to restaurants, you’re not sure what oil they cook in.
“I’m really trying to get people to understand that women, especially who are menopausal or in the middle of menopause somewhere, understand that it’s the toxins in what you eat, what you put on your skin, the clothes you wear. you’re carrying, the things in your environment that speed up the aging process and can really destroy your hormones, giving you a horrible menopausal experience.
“I stopped wearing conventional fragrances about three or four years ago because of the endocrine or endocrine disruptors that affect your estrogen, thyroid, progesterone and all that.
“I wear aluminum-free deodorant, which is the better way to go.”
Marie said getting at least seven hours of sleep a night and focusing on strength training can help prevent age-related conditions such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.
She combines her exercises with at least 40 minutes of walking a day and regular stretching.
“Exercise is crucial because you lose muscle mass so quickly in your 30s,” she said.
‘You’re not going to gain weight because at that point you don’t have the same hormone levels as you did in your 20s.
“If you don’t want to train, you have to do it anyway.
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Marie, pictured, prefers to eat natural food and exercises regularly to stay in shapeCredit: Marie Mercurius
“But also try to do things to distract yourself from the stress of work. If you have a favorite book, read it, if it’s a comedy, watch that.
“If it’s a dance party for one person in your living room then do that, you need to take your mind off stress because that is actually a major contributor to aging and staying healthy.
“Stress is probably one of the biggest causes, aside from food and toxins in our environment.”
Many commenters on Marie’s YouTube channel said that not having children contributed to her youthful appearance.
However, she believes it is possible for mothers to stay looking young if their children don’t cause a lot of stress.
Implementing healthy lifestyle changes as quickly as possible is beneficial for everyone.
“We are creatures of habit and it’s hard to change that, especially as we get older,” she says.
“But I don’t want people to be in the position that if you had done this earlier, you could have prevented this disease that you can’t do anything about now.”
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Marie, pictured, said stress can cause the skin to age prematurelyCredit: Marie Mercurius