"Fountain of Youth" Puzzle Piece - Optimism, Gratitude, Music, Keep Busy.

At 108, Alice Herz-Sommer lived in a London flat by herself with no assistance. She survived the Holocaust and later, cancer at the age of 83. 

She passed away today (Feb. 24, 2014) at 110. 

Here are her secrets to the Fountain of Youth:

Alice's mother taught her two most important lessons that led to her living a happy long life: 

1. "Learn, learn, learn." Up until the end, Alice practiced the piano 3 hours a day. "I felt that [music] is the only thing which helps me to have hope. It's sort of religion actually. Music is God."

"The worst thing in life in my opinion is boredom. When people don't know what to do with themselves, they are very very bored." Besides her passion of music, Alice also swam very day till 96.

2. "To be thankful for everything.. seeing the sun, seeing a smile... Everything is embraced." The secret of being happy as she gets older? To think backward, think of the good things that's already happened. "I know about the bad, but I look at the good thing."

RIP, Alice.

Here is an interview with Alice when she was 108.

"Fountain of Youth" Puzzle Piece - Belief in a Higher Power & "Horse Sense"

103 year old Fern Groh had saved $1,000 from her teaching job at in the 1940 - which is a lot of money back then. But wait till you see what she did with her savings. She is one financially savvy lady.

"Save as much as you can" and life below your means are her financial M.O.

But when asked what she values more, she said without missing a beat: "To be in good health & enjoying life means more than money." - "If you are in good health, you will enjoy anything.... If you are not in good health, you will not enjoy anything."


To find out how to be in good health, watch the other posts on this blog for what worked for so many.

"Fountain of Youth" Puzzle Piece - "I work at it."

Carmon Dell'Orifice, world's oldest working model at 82 years old, tells her secret of staying young:  "I work at it."



Besides her elegance and intelligence, she strikes me as one of the most down-to-earth person that can look beyond the glitter and embellish and just enjoy the process of living. This may sound ironic for a fashion icon, but it might as the be the very foundation to her longevity in the here-today-gone-tomorrow modeling world.

"Fountain" Puzzle Piece - Healthy Diet - Recipe: Barley Soup

Career chef Bernando Lapallo is 112 years old and has his own Youtube channel. Watch as he demos, at 109, how to make barley soup. According to Bernando, the soup "keeps the colon clean" - just “don’t over cook it”. 

Read Bernando's story here.

"Fountain" Puzzle Piece: Looking healthy & fit from inside out

Sunny Griffin, once the highest paid model in the world, shares her beauty and health secrets.

I love Sunny's observation that supermodels are healthy and fit because they are healthy and fit - think Giselle Bundchen and Miranda Kerr - Giselle is the highest paid model in the world today. Miranda is the 2nd high paid. Both are health nuts.

As a makeup artist, I cannot tell you how crucial good skin is to start - makeup can even out skin tones but it can't smooth out skin texture.

Given everything else being equal, photographers would always go for someone with smooth skin because that means less retouching, which means saving money and time while maintaining the integrity of the original image.

So I sincerely hope aspiring models to not rely on makeup as a crutch. Instead, I hope they would start with a healthy diet, which will lead to healthy skin and more energy in front of the camera, which will lead to more bookings and more money in their pocket, which will lead to career longevity. Good luck and good health!

"Fountain" Puzzle Piece - Facial message

I often get asked about non-surgical ways to reduce puffy eyes and dark circles - besides a healthy diet, the key lies in improving blood circulation and draining of bodily fluid away from the under eye and face. The result are brighter eyes and a face lift!



This lymphatic drainage exercise will help you do just that. It takes only 60 seconds. I do this first thing in the morning in between sipping on my detox drink (a glass of hot water infused with fresh squeezed lemon juice). At the end of the exercise, my sinus is open and my complexion peachy - I'm ready to start the day.

"Fountain" Puzzle Piece: Peace

105 years old Jesse Jordan 105 lives with so much peace that she said she is ready for heaven.

"Fountain" Puzzle Piece: Strict Diet & Walking

111-year-old Bernando Lapallo shares the 5 foods that he can’t live without. 

Bernando stood out to me as a makeup artist - I don't think I've ever seen anyone over even 80 with skin as smooth as his. I think every skin care brand in the world would die to have him as a spokesperson. What's his skin care routine? Good old olive oil.  

Also check out how Bernando makes his Barley Soup here.

"Fountain" Puzzle Piece: Raw Diet

Meet Annette Larkins - the 40-year-looking 70 year old firecracker and raw foodiest. From her, I picked up juicing wheatgrass and sprouting. She also inspired me to start this blog - Thanks Annette!