[imagesource: Andrew Yee / Instagram]

Gwyneth Paltrow said that she felt “so good” turning 50 that she wrapped herself in gold and did a photoshoot to “express her energy and optimism”.

The Hollywood actress turned lifestyle guru (we’re being kind about Goop) marked the milestone by stripping bare again, as she has done before.

For her 49th birthday, she shared a naked picture of herself in an outdoor bathtub and for her 48th, she took it all off in the garden. This time, gold dust was involved.

Paltrow also wrote an accompanying essay, at one point explaining that she had learned to accept “the marks and the loosening skin, the wrinkles” that come with being 50, notes The Telegraph:

If she suffers from any of those things, they were certainly not evident from the pictures, in which she displays a body of which a 21-year-old would be proud.

With the luxury of “a Californian millionaire lifestyle and some very good genes”, plus a generous amount of time to spend looking that good, yeah, sure, we hear you, Paltrow.

Image: Andrew Yee/Andrew Yee

The rest of us (not yet aged 50) are slogging away behind computers with bad backs and ever-protruding bellies so that we can try and afford a simulacrum of what makes Paltrow look that dashing at 50.

Image: Andrew Yee/Andrew Yee

Jealous? Pff, never.

There is something slightly grating about the way a ‘perfectly’ bodied person tries to be inspirational for the masses, most of whom don’t look like Paltrow no matter how many situps and facemasks they do.

Bodies are bodies, yes, and all are worthy of celebration, but that message doesn’t come across when the messenger appears flawless:

 

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A post shared by Gwyneth Paltrow (@gwynethpaltrow)

Besides saying that ageing is “actually a beautiful thing”, adding that all we need to do is “open our perceptions”, the Goop goddess also said of her 50-year-old body:

“Silver hair and fine lines. The sun has left her celestial fingerprints all over me, as if she soaked a brush in dark-taupe watercolour, flecking it over my skin.

“And while I do what I can to strive for good health and longevity, to stave off weakening muscles and receding bone, I have a mantra I insert into those reckless thoughts that try to derail me: I accept.

“I accept the marks and the loosening skin, the wrinkles. I accept my body and let go of the need to be perfect, look perfect, defy gravity, defy logic, defy humanity. I accept my humanity.”

The entrepreneur said she would do all she could to live for another 50 years, and listed all the ways that she would spend those years:

“I would like to slow down. I would like to retreat a little bit. I would like to make my circle smaller. I would like to cook dinner more. I would like to see misunderstandings become understandings,” she wrote.

“I would like to continue to open the deepest part of myself to my husband, even though it scares me. I would like to sing more, even if it’s just in the shower. I would like to tell anyone that had a negative experience with me that I am sorry.”

So lovely, so sweet.

She did take some time to list her imperfections, which included no patience, swearing at other drivers, not closing her closet doors, and lying when she doesn’t want to hurt feelings.

[source:telegraph]