I’ve decided to age gracefully rather than resort to cosmetic help. Truth be told, I’m just not brave enough to go the Botox route – I can’t get my head around injecting bovine serum into my face. There’s something very unnatural about it all.  Yes, I thought about having my vision corrected but doubt there’s a hand in the world steady enough to allay my fear of a scalpel slipping. So a facelift or a chin tuck – they’re out. When I remember, I do some facial exercises. When I catch myself frowning, I knead my brow. And when I fear the winds might change, I smile.

But I may have found a way of reducing the odds, a way of delaying the whole looking older thing, without the pain that comes with knives and needles.  Enter Angéla Ragány.

Angéla is a personal stylist. Once an international lawyer with the Hungarian National Assembly, she decided to change career and do something she’s always loved doing – help people, like me, look better. A recent graduate from the Mod’Art  fashion school in Budapest, she has developed her own brand, ColourMyStyle.

When it comes to what we wear, it’s not about what looks good on someone else, she says. It’s not about our friends’ opinions. It’s not about guessing. Personal Colour Analysis helps us discover what looks good on us, what colours best suits our skin complexion, our eyes, and our hair colour. And when we have this down, we can emphasise all of our most attractive features by using the right clothing, accessories, and makeup. [Well, I won’t be going the make-up route, but the clothes and accessories I can handle.]

As I sat in front of the mirror in my bedroom (Angéla does home visits), I watched, fascinated, as she held the various colour swatches to my face. When she got it right, my skin looked smooth, polished, refreshed, and yes, rejuvenated. I actually looked younger. When she got it wrong, the imperfections, the shadows, and the wrinkles, stood out like a tan on an Irish beach. My skin looked positively grey, and I visibly aged. Trouble was, half my wardrobe was the wrong colour. The culling was painful [all that wasted money], but necessary. Now that I have my pocket swatches of the colours that suit me, I spend less time trying to figure out what to wear, shopping is much easier, and buyer’s remorse has become a thing of the past.

I defy you to show me anyone, male or female, this side of 40 who doesn’t want to look younger. And my significant other is no exception. I asked Angéla to do a joint session, to analyse himself as well, hoping she’d desiccate his wardrobe, too. But the laugh was on me. I’d bought him a couple of shirts before Christmas and I could have chosen better – much better. He now has his swatches, too, so no more money down the drapery drain there either. We both know what to buy.

Angéla is happy to advise about what best suits your shape, too. I had this done a few years ago, but very little stuck with me. This time around, I have a few key points to keep in mind. Empire waists, hip-length tops, and straight jeans are the way to go. For him it’s slim-fit solids. It’s all a bit of an optical illusion really where the only thing going under a knife is the material. And after all that, if you’re still wallowing in uncertainty, Angéla will take you shopping.

A 90-minute colour consultation will set you back 18 000 ft while a combined session with style advice costs 26 000 ft. Email Angéla at  info.colourmystyle@gmail.com and start from there. She’s on  Facebook, too: https://www.facebook.com/colourmystyleblog/

First published in the Budapest Times 29 January 2016