éme Sex and so many other books which have formed so many of us, especially those of my generation who did not have the possibilities which are today available to women.

Wolf (herself a beauty) asserts that there is a relationship between female liberation and female beauty. She seems shocked that thirty-three thousand American women told researches that they would rather lose ten to fifteen pounds than achieve any other goal. Well, losing weight also means being healthier so who can blame them? Hillary Clinton, inspite of her enormous achievements, once exclaimed: 'Dear God, please make me thin!'  I feel the same though I do precious little to achieve this admirable aim.

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But it is also a matter of aesthetics. We have a duty to look after ourselves in every way we can. Who wants to see women and men looking drab and not making an effort to make the best of themselves? There is little that cheers most of us more than seeing well-turned out women - and men. Who wants feminists with unruly hair, clogs and looking utterly colourless? You will find that successful women make an effort to look good except for the occasional bluestocking. As to the-girl-next-door, yes, only if you are Doris Day and enjoy the kind of face that looks more than just fine when simply washed with soap and water. Most of us need more than that.

It is not only women who pursue beauty and grooming. Thankfully men do too. You only have to look around you to see how true this is. Barbers now offer all kinds of services. Even when it comes to cosmetics men have quite a choice these days.

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 If it is a balanced pursuit then all is well. It is only when it becomes compulsive, an obsession, an addiction that it is ugly. As in everything else, balance is the answer. Women plastered in make-up generally do an unkindness to themselves. Fat women in tight clothing are a plague.

Adornment is an enormous and often pleasing part of female culture. But only the gullible follow all the advice - and adverts - of the beauty business. 'You should be like this' is a message which is followed by those who don't think and have little self esteem.

 The problem with cosmetics exists only when women feel invisible or inadequate without them. In a world in which women have real choices, the choices we make about our appearance will be taken at last for what they really are: no big deal - as long as we use our faces and clothes and bodies as simply one form of self-expression out of a full range of others.

We can dress up for our pleasure, but we must speak up for our rights. We need to look however we want to look and to be heard as we deserve to be heard. That is what is important.

l

Well, you may think that creams are merely 'hope in a jar'. But I have seen it again and again that those who have taken care of their skin fare better as they get older.  I haven't as I have spent too much time under a sub-tropical and Mediterranean sun and I regret it. Now it is too late to do anything about it. My advice is 'don't'.  Or protect yourself.

These thoughts have come to me after attending a Lierac Paris Sun Care Launch on the rooftop of the Golden Tulip Vivaldi hotel. It was most pleasant as there was a breeze and a lovely view. St Julian's like me, looks better when the lights are low and all the awful buildings are not discernible.

Laboratoires Lierac were launching their new anti-aging suncare range 'Sunissime' . We were introduced to the guest speaker Pauline Caussanel who had just arrived from Lierac Paris and spoke excellent English.

This launch was slightly different to the usual because after an audio-visual presentation we were asked a few questions about it. I knew none of the answers so did not win anything. There were ladies who were much better acquainted with beauty products than myself and some of them won very handsome prizes: magnums of wine, exclusive Lierac gift packs and two tickets to the Joseph Calleja concert.

Elisa and Alaister McKenna were excellent hosts. They have two small children but have managed to build a thriving business.

We all enjoyed the Prosecco and delicious canapés 'by the light of the silvery moon' and chatted away.

Some of those present are pharmacists and to the handful I spoke too I could sense a love for what they were doing. 'One of them told me,' of course sun protection, after-sun creams and so on make a difference especially to the way we are going to look as we get older.'

Most of these products have been produced after much research in laboratories. They are not the Cold and Invisible Cream my mother used to use. These days there is scientific research behind most products.

Yes, let's not discourage the pursuit of beauty but let us not become enslaved to it. Moderation is always the answer.

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