Maye Mask – A grey hair looks cool

 “ I’m a scientist; I’m a dietitian, and I had a private practice for 45 years.”

” As a dietitian, no one comments on your looks. Perhaps if I were looking like 50 when I’m 70, then there’s more competition if I tried to look younger. I must say, makeup does make me look younger, and good lighting does as well, but bad lighting can make me look 95. People also like it when they see those wrinkles. And my mom never had a problem with aging. We never discussed it. And she died at 98 a very happy woman. So, as long as no one asks me to have less wrinkles, I think I’m on a roll” – says Maye Mask.

Now she is 73 years old and in 2017  joined the CoverGirl family, becoming the brand’s oldest ambassador in the beauty company’s history. With her sophisticated smile,

Maye is proof that glamour only improves with age.

Nowadays young girls stop her on the street and say that her career gives them hope that if she is doing this at 70 years old, they can do it at 25. Thanks to her iconic grey hair looks really cool. As a dietician food myths drive her crazy.

“Supplements? No! Kale? No! Gluten-free? No! Almond milk? Ugh”.

Just to remind that one of Maye’s children is one of the richest man on the planet – Elon Musk.  When they lived in Toronto and Elon had to go for an interview, they went to Eaton’s and got a $99 suit, his first suit. So he went to the interview with a bank, and he got the job. And he wore that same suit every day because Maye couldn’t afford a second one. She had to work five jobs to support her family, including working as a research officer for the University of Toronto and modeling, she attended lessons to earn Masters degree.

“ Children grow up knowing you work hard, and the harder you work, the better you do and the luckier you get”.

In her latest book, A Woman Makes a Plan, Musk shares the less glamorous sides of her life such as single motherhood, toxic relationships and the struggle to balance her careers as both a model and a dietician. “We used to live in a rent-controlled apartment in Toronto with Elon on the couch. It took three weeks to clean, then I saved to buy $5 sheets. Eventually I bought beds, then a computer, and after that chairs – you can always work on the floor. I cut their hair, gave them mani-pedis, wore $19 shoes to walk the runway. You don’t need massages to be happy”.

In this period Maye dealt with weight issues as a plus-size model, fought against ageism in modeling and suffered abusive relationship. But she managed to survive.

In fact she strongly believed in women’s super power.

That doesn’t sound strange that nowadays her role models are Christine Lagarde and Angela Merkel, perfect women doing perfect things. “I’m not interested in getting into politics myself. It’s a nasty business. Women are better at nurturing than men”. In recent years, she has participated in New York Fashion Week, attended the Met Gala along with her son, Elon, and appeared in Beyoncé’s “Haunted” music video.

As you can see she is a symbol that it is never too late to make the career of your dreams. Her mantra is: “ You can’t control all that happens in life, but you can have the life you want at any age. All you have to do is make a plan.”

According to her faith maybe she will start to slow down at 96.  Same as her mother who retired at that age.