At 76, Lady Astor of Hever is showing no signs of slowing down.
A mother of three, stepmother of three and grandmother of three, she has added another achievement to an already colourful life by launching her own fragrance collection.
Her journey has taken her through modelling, teaching, activism, writing and fundraising for the National Autistic Society, a cause especially close to her heart because her daughter Olivia is autistic.
She has also experienced three marriages, embraced vegetarianism and Buddhism at different points in her life, and survived a terrifying shipwreck in Indonesia.
She met her husband, Johnnie, the 3rd Baron Astor of Hever, in 1989.
For Lady Astor, however, age has never meant the end of reinvention.
She believes staying curious about people, places and the wider world is one of the secrets to remaining young in spirit.
Fitness Became a Priority Later in Life
Exercise was not always part of Lady Astor’s routine. Although she has always considered herself active, she only began structured exercise when she reached 50.
The turning point came after her brother almost died while the pair were climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for the National Autistic Society.
He had an undiagnosed heart condition, and the frightening experience encouraged her to take fitness more seriously.
Today, she exercises three times a week from her kitchen through Zoom sessions with personal trainer Samantha Lucas, whom she has worked with for more than 25 years.
Her weekly routine includes strength and HIIT sessions on Mondays, Pilates on Wednesdays and functional strength training on Fridays.
After recently being diagnosed with slight osteoporosis, she has also introduced skipping into her routine.
Her Approach to Food Is Simple
Lady Astor believes good food should provide energy rather than leave her feeling uncomfortable.
She favours organic chicken, vegetables and line-caught fish while trying to keep sugar consumption low. Her breakfast can include Greek yoghurt, blueberries, pomegranate, seeds, toast and marmalade, accompanied by several cups of Earl Grey tea.
Lunch might be a salad with chicken or quail’s eggs, while dinner tends to centre around plenty of vegetables and greens.
She also tries not to eat too late because she dislikes going to bed feeling overly full.
Despite knowing that alcohol is not considered ideal for bone health, she admits she still enjoys white wine.
Why Her Hair Matters So Much
For Lady Astor, a bad hair day can quickly become a bad day altogether, which is why she has invested heavily in maintaining her hair over the years.
She has trusted colourist Caroline O’Brien and stylist Sherman Sullivan at John Frieda for roughly 25 years.
Although she sometimes jokes about how much she has spent on her hair over the decades, she believes certain luxuries are worth the cost.
Her beauty routine extends beyond her hair. She has regular threading at Kamini Beauty and has visited Nicky Eldershaw at Ozzie Rizzo’s Mayfair salon for facials, manicures and waxing for an extraordinary 43 years.
She Still Makes an Effort With Her Appearance
Lady Astor believes looking after yourself remains important, including within a long-term marriage.
She keeps her nails relatively understated, preferring polished toes during summer while leaving her fingernails bare and well maintained.
She also wears make-up every day, even when she is staying at home.
Her routine includes Dior Forever Skin Glow foundation, No7 eyeshadows and a volumising mascara she discovered online.
She also pays close attention to her weight, weighing herself each morning and adjusting her food intake if the scales move beyond the number she is comfortable with.
She credits portion control and avoiding snacks between meals for helping her maintain her preferred weight.
Her Style Has Not Changed With Age
Rather than allowing age to dictate her wardrobe, Lady Astor continues to dress in a way that reflects her personality.
She favours tailored clothes because she believes they flatter her shape and avoids overly loose, layered dresses.
Reiss is among her favourite places to shop, although she has also found pieces she loves at Zara and Uniqlo.
She has even developed her own routine of exercises aimed at keeping her arms toned enough to continue wearing sleeveless clothes.
When she eventually decides she wants more coverage, she says she will simply adapt some of her favourite pieces, just as she recently added chiffon sleeves to a winter dress.
Supplements Are Part of Her Morning Routine
Lady Astor also takes a range of supplements, which she lays out each morning before washing them down with tea.
Her routine includes Bone Balance, vitamin D spray, collagen with turmeric and glucosamine and chondroitin supplements aimed at supporting her bones, skin, hair, nails and joints.
Adventure Keeps Her Feeling Young
Staying curious is not simply a philosophy for Lady Astor; it is something she puts into practice.
She travelled alone to Cairo in February to visit the new Grand Egyptian Museum, travelled to Pompeii with a friend in May and visited Vienna with her husband in June for his birthday.
Her adventures have also included cycling in Rwanda, where she encountered gorillas.
She believes experiences like these help keep life exciting and prevent people from becoming stuck in a routine.
A Childhood Memory Inspired Her Love of Perfume
Her passion for fragrance can be traced back to her childhood and a ritual involving her mother.
When Lady Astor was young, her mother would hurry upstairs before her husband returned home to freshen herself up after smoking.
She would brush her teeth, apply lipstick and spray herself with perfume.
She would then allow her daughter to smell her Jean Patou Joy while telling her it was the most expensive perfume in the world.
That childhood memory stayed with Lady Astor and eventually helped inspire her decision to create her own fragrance collection decades later.
Her Perfumes Tell Stories From Her Life
The new collection is deeply personal, with each fragrance connected to a different chapter of her life.
Hethersett recalls her childhood in Norfolk and takes its name from the village where her Mackintosh grandparents lived.
Nadira No9 draws inspiration from her travels in the Middle East.
The most dramatic story belongs to Adrift: 8.7°S 118.3°E, whose name refers to coordinates in the Indonesian archipelago.
In 1973, Lady Astor travelled by cargo boat from Lombok to Bali.
The journey turned into a nightmare when the engines failed and the vessel drifted helplessly for 12 days without food or water.
The boat eventually reached land around 200 miles from where it had started. At the time, Lady Astor believed she might not survive.
The ordeal left her with a lasting appreciation for how fragile and precious life can be — an outlook that continues to shape the way she lives at 76.
Reinvention Is Clearly Not Finished
Launching a fragrance line may be Lady Astor’s latest reinvention, but she insists it will not be her last.
She has already completed a second novel and remains determined to keep exploring new interests rather than allowing age to define what she can or cannot do.
For her, staying engaged with the world is perhaps the most important beauty secret of all.
