By the Book By Tricia Rayburn

A Conversation with Charla Krupp

Charla Krupp, bestselling author of How Not to Look Old, talks to Dan's Papers about her professional path to beauty, the importance of looking good in the workplace, and how women in the Hamptons measure up...

You've been the beauty director of Glamour and an editor at In Style, and have made countless appearances on the "Today" show, "Oprah" and more. How did you first become involved in the beauty industry? What led you to write How Not to Look Old?

I became an official member of the beauty industry when Ruth Whitney called me when I was at In Style and begged me to come back to Glamour - where I had been her entertainment editor - to become Glamour's beauty director. She wouldn't take no for an answer, and offered me the moon, so I said yes. It was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life. What led me to write HNTLO was that after doing a "Today" show segment on jeans for SHOP Etc., where I was the executive editor, a book packager called and asked me to lunch. She wanted me to write a book on jeans. Bottom line: I didn't want to spend three years of my life writing about jeans. I only cared about how the right pair of jeans can make you look younger and hipper. So I put together a list from head to toe of all the little tricks I've learned to make you look younger and hipper. And that list is my bestseller!

In HNTLO you say that looking good isn't just about vanity - it's about personal and financial survival. Looking good helps women get and keep jobs. Have our professional appearances become increasingly important over the last few decades?

We have always been a sexist, age-ist and looks-ist society, but it's getting worse as our culture becomes more dumbed-down and superficial. No one wants to admit the dirty little secret that Looks Count when you're being considered for a position in a company. Sometimes, the pretty people get the job even if they are less talented, less experienced in professions where image is key - fashion magazines, television, Hollywood for starters. Want to get hired in America? Get gorgeous, be young. And yes, 40 is the new 30, but 50 is the new 65, when it comes to retiring...that's the age we're supposed to retire, right? Masses of women right now are being forced to retire earlier than planned. We need to find another way to compensate for the weekly paychecks lost. Because every woman who is 50 now has a 40 percent chance to live to be 100. That's another 50 years of supporting ourselves. And we live an average of seven years longer than men - and make 75 cents to every dollar they make. Women have two choices: jump back into the workforce or start your own business where no one can ever let you go again. Either way, you want to give yourself the best shot at reinvention...you do not want to look old!

You're spending the summer in the Hamptons. Do you think most women here do the right things to not look old?

I think most women in the Hamptons look fantastic. I've been traveling around the country, telling women not to look old, and I have to say that in comparison, Hamptons women take care of themselves. They work out, watch what they eat, shop for something new, and generally live a healthy lifestyle. If anything, there is a tendency among some women to do too much here. If you are high-maintenance and don't know when to quit, you run the risk of joining The Women Who Have Done Too Much club. We have all seen women in restaurants and at parties with full-blown lips, Vulcan brows and frozen faces - it's not youthful, it's scary.

How can women in the Hamptons look their best on the beach - where bikinis abound and usually anything goes?

Summer is the most challenging season. I hate to say this, but after a certain age, you should probably retire the bikini and wear a tankini or one-piece. Unless, of course, you still have the body of a 20-year-old! The older you get, the more sophisticated you want to look.

You include many great shopping and services resources in HNTLO. What are your must-stop shops for stocking up in the Hamptons?

I love the dresses, bags and shoes at the new Tory Burch store in East Hampton, and for cashmere, Christopher Fischer has the yummiest selection. Buying prestige beauty products is surprisingly impossible in the Hamptons. For mass beauty products, I like CVS. What we do have are great places to exercise and get beauty services. For spinning, I love Soul-Cycle in Bridgehampton. For massages, I love Naturopathica in East Hampton. For facials, Yasmine D'Jerradine in East Hampton. And new this season is Salon Xavier in Sag Harbor - check it out!

Charla Krupp will be signing copies of How Not to Look Old, at Tory Burch in East Hampton this Saturday, July 12 at 5:30 p.m. Call 631-907-9150 for more information.

Tricia Rayburn is the author of The Melting of Maggie Bean (Simon and Schuster, 2007) and Maggie Bean Stays Afloat (Simon and Schuster, 2008). Thoughts? Ideas? tricia@danspapers.com

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