The (new) new you begins with not frowning

MANILA, Philippines - If you’re having a nice time, you end up glowing.

Clichéd as it is, looking forward to your 40s/60s is best fueled with extraordinary contentment. No amount of face cream is going to help you do that. Except maybe for the tried-and-tested, and a few things that make life events more enjoyable.

1) Drink nutrients

The best and most accessible habit is to drink copious amounts of water beginning in the morning. You want to look like you’ve slept for 48 hours straight, but very capable, and hydrated. Sip, don’t chug it. If you have the luxury of time, squeeze in a few fruits. If you find seaweed grass belonging more to your father’s diet, banana with plain yogurt smoothies are so simple to go with your morning eggs. Mix up strange fruits with a neat Electrolux blender from Abensons.

2) Seneca-call

The great Stoic philosophers did it, and you can train your facial muscles to adopt a neutral face, even if you have just been made “redundant.” Some people call it “Botox face,” but without knives and needles. A great after-effect, too, of being a modern yogini is a meditative face. You’ve seen this profile photo several times: looking at the landscape, a purposeful glance, looking everywhere, but with introspection. After looking at ceiling-height mirrors in meditation with some strangers, you become aware of strange frowns or fossilized sneers. To achieve a neutral face is as simple as widening your eyes, lifting your eyebrows and keeping it like someone just told a funny joke. Maybe carry around a bottle of eye drops for blank, clear eyes. Get Eye Mo Daily Care formula, available at all local pharmacies.

3) Nap

There’s some restorative benefit in resting your eyes by shutting your lids. My co-worker likes to go back to her parked car to nap for an hour at lunchtime. Because we both like to be alone and be with people, napping is the in-between moment, grabbing a few moments of fresh air. Of course, a proper full-hour lunch takes supremacy. For super-soft naps, try a Comfort pillow cloud from Tempur, Fort Bonifacio High Street.

4) Hair do

When you feel the world demands that you keep up a certain appearance, you obviously are wasting your time with the wrong haircut/hairstylist. I have been wearing the same cut since 2008 — a modified undercut, cut on the underside and more volume on the top. To finish, it’s always blow-dried with a round brush for a lift on top, without being bouffant. For an insouciant quiff, I like to keep it respectably down, with a certain nonchalance. For a full top, use a thick-bristle durable brush like KENT Army Brush MN11 in ebony wood, if you can find it online.

5) Miracle cream

Those genetically “gifted” with large pores and oily skin may have slight concern over horrible close-ups in the advent of tablet devices zooming in these days. Though a luxury, Dr. Brandt is the kind of polished doctor with a demeanor straight from La Piel que Habito. Dr. Brandt introduces products with curious spellings, almost like a taxidermist, but really he’s a specialist you’ll want to sit and talk with — from his choice of music to his engaging line of intriguing products. From a terrible day of lacking sleep, dab on a little non-greasy and lightweight moisturizer in the morning: try Dr. Brandt’s Pore No More or Givenchy Mister Mat, available on Sephora.com.

6) Surrender control

Part of going to the gym with a trainer or attending group classes is disconnecting. Normally, I don’t like to be told what to do, but for once it is nice to be not in control. I like my spinning class with an instructor who comes prepared, with a bouncy Billboard tracklist that matches the uphill-downhill cadence. With a trainer, it is nice to try different equipment like the Russian Kettleball — those big metal balls in different sizes. Using gravity to do squats or lifts is great for legs, buns and abs. While it might seem comedic at first to do aerobic stunts in public, it is acceptable to do this in the comfort of your home after you’ve picked up the right moves, if not in the less-crowded area of the gym. Find Russian Kettleballs in your gym or at Adidas shops.