Looking and feeling young in old age has a lot to do with genetics. However, the right lifestyle habits can also make a person appear a decade - or two - younger than they actually are.
GB News spoke to 90-year-old Barbara about the skin care, diet, exercise regime and hobbies that have her ageing backwards. She swears by Astral Moisturiser Cream, which costs less than £5 at Tesco.
Barbara - who doesn't look over 75 - has honed a rather fabulous skin care regime over the years. She starts by spraying some skin tonic on her face then applies the moisturiser.
"Then I take a hairdryer and set it to 'Lanzarote' temperature, close my eyes and use it on my face to open up my pores. Then I put the hairdryer on cold," she told GB News.
Barbara's favourite Astral Moisturiser Cream (200ml) costs £4.20 at Tesco
Barbara McInnis
Barbara isn't the biggest makeup enthusiast but wears one product religiously. Every day she dons a gorgeous red lipstick - Max Factor 120, to be exact.
However, the way Barbara happened upon this shade was quite unusual.
The now 90-year-old suffered badly from what is now recognised as post-natal depression, but it wasn't understood at the time she became a mother.
Her doctor advised that she start wearing red lipstick to "brighten herself up" a little and make herself "feel better", and while of course, it was not a hard and fast cure for post-natal depression, Barbara still finds years later that wearing red lips puts a spring in her step.
She said: "It lifts you because you think, 'Oh I don't look so bad,' or, 'I don't look as grey'."
The 90-year-old ageless beauty pairs her striking lipstick look with pretty silver waves in her hair. The secret to Barbara's healthy strands is a Clairol spray, which she uses just on the ends to give them a colour boost.
She shaves further years off by dressing elegantly, with a beautiful wardrobe that's far from old and dowdy. Speaking to GB News in a chic pink turtleneck, she said: "I am into clothes, probably because they used to be rationed in the war.
"My mum went down the domestic route of all her sisters - the apron, the sink, and the cooker, that was her thing.
"My aunt was the opposite. She had plucked eyebrows, blue eyeshadow, ruby lipstick and wore faux fur. And she said to me once, 'Don't be like your mother'.
"So I've always taken an interest in fashion. I've just acquired a Finisterre wool jacket - very flattering. But I'd love to have a makeover at 90."
The nonagenarian also credits her long life and youthful looks to keeping active and eating well. While Barbara struggles to walk very far and uses a staff, she is no stranger to yoga, and she enjoys a healthy diet too.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
- 'I'm 60 and my secret to looking 45 is a lifestyle habit that stops me from declining'
- Look 10 years younger in seconds by ditching makeup that makes wrinkles look 'deeper'
- 'I'm a hairstylist and women with grey hair can take 20 years off their age by avoiding a styling mistake'
'When I'm on the drums, I let rip'
Barbara McInnis
But although she is fit and healthy, Barbara is not afraid to treat herself, telling GB News that her tipple of choice is "a good slug of brandy" over ice. Top this with lemon, then finish it off with dry ginger ale, for the perfect concoction. She said: "It's my daily treat - I have it every day at 6pm."
Another way Barbara kicks back is by playing the drums, which consequently keeps her young and extremely mobile. Impressively, she is Britain's oldest drummer, playing shows with several groups, taught by the talented Chris Joyce, the former drummer of Simply Red.
She said: "When I'm on the drums, I let rip. And when I'm drumming I don't have time to worry about any problems or lost loves or whatever."
Sharing her pearly words of anti-ageing wisdom, Barbara concluded: "If you want to boil it down to something, you need the four H's - heat, help, hugs and hobbies."
She explained: "You need to stay warm because the body doesn't regulate itself the same when you get older - you feel the cold very much. You need help to do things, for example, I need help in my house, as it currently looks like a tip.
"You need hugs because skin-to-skin contact is almost a necessity - think about a newborn baby that's put onto their mother's breast. And hobbies, I think hobbies are what keep you healthy."
Barbara's current hobby is an unusual but certainly interesting one. She said: "Quilting is my main hobby. And I've just finished my coffin quilt for my coffin."
