By Liana Jacob
PEOPLE assume this FIFTY-FOUR-YEAR-OLD womanâs FIVE children are her SIBLINGS because she looks SO YOUNG â and itâs down to using factor-fifty moisturiser DAILY for the past TWENTY-TWO-YEARS.
Social media influencer and model, Violet Trikilis (54) from Melbourne, Australia, was first scouted by model and photographer, Helmut Gensen, at a rock concert when she was 17.
They embarked on a relationship and throughout their romance, he introduced her to the modelling world where her career took off.

At 5ft 9in, initially Violet struggled with her image and would almost starve herself on just 1,000 calories a day, resulting in a weight of 8st 7Ibs and a UK size six. She describes her figure at the time as a âbag of walking, hungry bonesâ.
She couldnât live this way for long as she loved food too much and over time she adapted a healthier diet. After five years of modelling, she welcomed her first child, Paris (now 34), when she was 20 years old. Over the next 13 years she had four more children; Samantha (29), Mia (25), Jamie-Lee (23) and Daniel (21).
By this time, she developed a new, healthier perception of what beauty looks like and kept a toned, healthy weight 9st 4Ibs and a UK size eight.

By the time her children were old enough to look after themselves, she started taking care of herself. In July 2017, she looked in the mirror and saw wrinkles on her face and strands of silver hair coming through â which she liked.
From that moment on, she started her journey of ageing naturally and she realised that âmatureâ models were becoming more popular, so she delved back into the modelling world. She began her Instagram page to inspire other women that it is possible to age naturally without having surgery or Botox. With 18K followers, she has regularly posted her various fashion trends and maintained her modelling career.
Now when she walks out and about with her five children, she is showered with compliments from strangers who do double-takes when they find out sheâs their mother. Some assume they are adopted, that theyâre all siblings or best friends.

âI was seventeen and at a rock concert for band Cold Chisel I was spotted by a model/photographer from modelling agency, Chadwicks. We dated and I was introduced to the modelling world, where my career spanned for many years,â Violet said.
âGrowing up in the Melbourne modelling scene in the eighties, an average model was underweight by eleven to thirteen pounds, living off cigarettes and coffee.
âI had to almost starve myself as my bone structure is quite large, so Iâve always looked slim but eleven pounds underweight; a bag of walking, hungry bones.

âI couldnât live like that because I loved food and I never had the passion to keep myself hungry, so I took a step back.
âI quickly decided to let myself and my body just be. I was a ballet dancer from the age of five to sixteen and that is where my posture, stance and grace came from.
âAfter modelling for five years, I had five children. My body was strong and my core paid off, with not one single stretch mark.

âHaving my five children young, I was an empty nester at the age of fifty. This is when I stopped looking after everyone else and for once I chose to look after myself.
âI looked in the mirror and saw my wrinkles appearing around my eyes and forehead, strands of silver hair coming through but I actually liked what I saw.
âI have always been on a natural journey and Iâve always believed in letting nature take its course. The world was on my side, as mature models started to become a trend.

âSo, I joined an agency, started an inspiring account on Instagram to show women of today that you can age gracefully without Botox and fillers, you can stop dying your hair, you can dress in trendy outfits and that you can eat everything in moderation.
âPeople canât believe that all my children are mine; itâs always a conversation starter when people see my gorgeous daughters out with me.
âSome comments I get are, âare you all best friends?â âare you all sisters?â âNo. This canât be your mum,â and âwith your figure, Iâm sure they are all adoptedâ.â

Violet considers herself a minimalist when it comes to her beauty regime and believes that keeping it natural and simple is her secret to ageing gracefully.
âMy secret to ageing gracefully is to keep it natural and simple; when it comes to beauty my routine consists of washing my face and only moisturising with a fifty plus sun factor moisturiser for the last twenty-two years,â she said.
âMy diet is simple; I eat everything I love in moderation and if I overindulge one day, Iâll eat light the next. Exercise to me is so important.

âI was a ballet dancer from five to seventeen and my body will never forget the graceful movements and strength that ballet gave me.
âStill to this day I get told I have an amazing posture. Your body never forgets. Now I walk five kilometres four times a week but stretch regularly.
âMy background in fashion helped me maintain my youthful appearance and the fact I have four beautiful girls who I wanted them to see that you can age naturally and take care of yourself as well as being a mum.

âThis all stems from having a mother who always took care of herself, was confident about ageing and today she is ninety-one years old; amazingly beautiful and still rocks denim jeans and loves fashion.
âThree years ago, if I had a couple of grey hairs, I would dwell on them and run to the hairdressers to colour them. Now I’m dye-free and I actually feel empowered and I love seeing my silver shining through my hair.
âIt feels amazing that I can represent the new mature women in the modelling world. I’m all for inspiring women that you can be middle aged, Botox and dye-free and still be beautiful.

âIt’s looking at yourself and being happy with what you see, wrinkles and all. Being confident and not being afraid to age.
âI feel more empowered now than when I was in my twenties and not afraid to voice my concerns. I have the confidence now to not follow but lead.
âMy advice is to start slowly and to listen to your body and head. If you are not a runner like me, then walk. If you feel like you prefer the gym, then go and join.

âIt’s all about finding what your head and body likes and go for it. It doesn’t happen overnight but slowly it will become a routine and be a natural part of your life. â
For more information on Violetâs graceful ageing journey, visit: www.instagram.com/a_stylish_age