There’s something to be said about the narrative surrounding ageing these days. The new entrants in the aesthetics lexicon includes everything from longevity skincare to age-blindness; a more nuanced take, if you will, of ageing, whereupon we are choosing to embrace the process rather than reject it entirely. The language encompassing it skews overwhelmingly positive: instead of eradicating wrinkles and crows feet, we are looking to bolster collagen formation. Slowing cellular degeneration is another desired outcome. Not forgetting buzzwords in the vein of biological maintenance, too. It is a marked improvement from the fear mongering that once ran rampant within the space; an unhealthy standard Lucy Liu once upheld and has since left behind.
“You know what’s so funny is that as time went on, I found that my beauty regime got more simple than before. When I was younger, I was constantly caught up in trying to look like somebody else,” Liu muses with a laugh. “I eventually grasped that beauty is not about perfection—just like how our personalities are not about perfection. I learned that when it comes to ageing, it’s not about preserving who you were, and is more about being where you are now. It centers on allowing the experiences that you have in your life to be part of your confidence and your individuality.”
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Naturally, this realisation was hardly gleaned in a day. As the face of Merz Aesthetics’s latest regional campaign, Your Time is Now, Liu addresses her renewed take on skin ageing which exhibits an affinity with Merz Group’s plethora of treatments. Dubbed the Proudly Becoming Collection, it comprises a variety of procedures which enable clinicians to address multiple complexion concerns that foster enhanced skin resilience and health. We sit down with the woman of the hour to find out more, from the singular lifestyle change that has made the biggest impact on her wellbeing thus far to the secret behind her unwavering confidence.
You’re clearly someone who is very much sure of who she is. What would you tell someone who is still learning to embrace who they are becoming?
I feel like it’s so important to be present. I know that’s a very complicated thing to say, and everyone’s like, well, “I’m here.” What does that actually mean? You see, so much of our time is spent thinking about the future or the past. And they say that depression is about the past, and anxiety is about the future. So, what it means to be in the present is when you’re really just here. You’re not thinking about what you didn’t have as a child, or pondering if you’re going to be able to hold onto things later. This has been a very special thing for me to recognise, because as an actress, I’m often thinking about a movie or a project that I want to do. Like, you have to get in shape for something. You have to gain weight, or lose weight, or cut your hair. It’s too much to think about. But if you’re simply just here in the present, you’re not going to get overwhelmed.
On that note, walk us through how your definition of confidence has evolved from the different chapters of your life.
Confidence is about really understanding that I’m a unique person, and that I’m not like anyone else. Nobody is. Confidence comes from knowing that you are one of one. It’s a rather layered sort of thing, where you think about yourself and wonder if somebody is going to replace you, or if they’re going to be better than you. It’s a mistake to think about that because it erases who you are. And people want you for who you are! Your deficit is why you’re here.
Would you say that your definition of beauty has changed in the same way as well?
You know what’s so funny is that as time went on, I found that my beauty regime got more simple than before. When I was younger, I was constantly caught up in trying to look like somebody else. I eventually grasped that beauty is not about perfection—just like how our personalities are not about perfection. I learned that when it comes to ageing, it’s not about preserving who you were, and is more about being where you are now. It centers on allowing the experiences that you have in your life to be part of your confidence and your individuality. It goes back to what I was saying earlier about being present and intentional and connected.
You’re the face of Merz Aesthetics’s Proudly Becoming Collection. What does the phrase mean to you at this stage of your life?
It means appreciating who I am today, and not treating the past as the standard. I did the first Charlie’s Angels movie in the year 2000, 26 years ago, and I’m not the same person as I was then. I don’t expect myself to look like that person or act like that person. That person did some foolish things in the past. Every experience basically shapes you, so I’ve learned to evolve from it and not punish myself from it. I find that it’s about preserving yourself in a very different dimension, and in the only way that you are now.
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What is a singular lifestyle change that has made the biggest impact on your wellbeing?
I’m very much passionate about my work, but I did find that my work ethic was becoming more of an obsession than anything. It’s so important to stop and to not be afraid that you’re gonna lose something if you do. And I find that when you learn to stop occasionally, it makes space for you to receive other things. You need to have the confidence that you’re going to continue to work, and that your work is going to change and evolve. It sounds a little fatalistic, but understand that there’s always going to be something there for you. The road is wide and it’s long. A lot of fear based qualities emerge when you’re younger, but it should never be a driving force.
Is there anything you tell yourself in the moments where fear takes over?
When fear rears its head, I run towards it [Laughs]. Somebody once told me that I embody this term: antiphobic. So, usually when people are afraid of spiders or heights, they stay away from them. But when I get scared, I actually run towards it, which is a crazy thing. I have realised that you can actually look at fear, and understand it’s part of you and always will be, but it doesn’t mean that you have to conquer it. Because you never will, right? Fear comes in different forms. The reality of it is that if you look at it and you get comfortable with it, you will see it as a part of yourself. It was a really comforting thing for me to understand that.
