There are conflicting opinions on whether women of a certain age should wear bright lip shades, but you would be hard-pressed to find a woman more qualified to challenge this ideal than stylist turned beauty entrepreneur Linda Rodin. One glance at the 69-year-old style icon shatters all preconceptions of what mature women can or cannot wear. It’s obvious Linda is a fan of the bold lip. And she always pulls it off.

Dorrie Jacobson shot to internet stardom with the creation of her blog Senior Style Bible. The 85-year-old retired Playboy Bunny, model and make-up artist fed up with the portrayal of mature women in the media and fashion magazines, and wanting to create a platform that celebrated older women and offered a more modern approach to fashion and ageing stylishly.

Ahummingbird’s nest was swaying precariously on the tip of a slender cactus branch on our front porch. I looked at it and then went to say something ridiculously optimistic to my husband – Look, honey, a hummingbird is bringing new life our way. But, given the diagnosis he’d finally gotten from the doctor that morning, I myself wouldn’t have believed what I was saying. Deep inside I didn’t feel like anything new was heading my way at all. Deep inside I was afraid that my husband’s Parkinson’s disease, like the hummingbird’s nest, was too heavy for the branch.

Ialways get undressed with my back to the mirror in dressing rooms and this one is particularly small so turning around to face myself will take some tricky manoeuvring. The 8-inch clear Perspex stilettos and the small but potentially fatal pile of discarded clothing at my feet will not make it any easier either.

Bali has long drawn visitors and expats in with its endearing chaos and exotic, tropical vibe. But for Ginette Pearson, it was the vivid local textiles that prompted her return visits, ahead of a more permanent one, armed with only a single suitcase and a sewing machine.