Stella Ralfini,70, considered one of the most knowledgeable women in the beauty world today, admits naivety is what keeps getting her in trouble with the press. ‘You’d think once was enough and I’d have learned my lesson three years ago, but when a different media company approached me earlier this year I fell headlong in the same trap.’
Told the story would have an inspirational slant, and believing it was about her recovery from skin cancer, her passion for Argentinian Tango, her search for a soulmate, why her homemade beauty products were proving so popular, beauty/health recommendations and why her skin was so flawless for her age, another shock awaited.
When the article appeared in the Daily Mail, Stella laughed with rage to read that ‘She rubbed urine on her face daily to keep it young.’ In chats she shared with Chrissie Wood from Mercury Press beforehand, Stella mentioned urine therapy, a practice known in Ayuvedic and Chinese medicine as being used for curing acne, wounds and skin complaints. (the info was also sent in writing). Furious her words had been twisted, Stella terminated their agreement on the spot and vowed never to go near another media company.
As Stella says ‘Everyone who knows me, including my followers on Facebook and other social media platforms, knew the article in the Mail was a mish-mash of sensationalized untruths and stood stoically by my side. However, the world at large thinks I’m a hilarious, nutty, sex therapist grandmother – when I don’t even have grandchildren. Why can’t the press write an article about me without throwing me to the wolves for once? Why don’t they take time to read the loving, thank you messages I receive every day from grateful women who admire me, my beauty tips, advice and honesty?’
Stella, blessed with good looks, often likened to Elizabeth Taylor, and physically in great shape, is now working on an illustrated beauty calendar, which goes on sale September 2018. Called ‘Sensual Sorcery’, it brings together what she considers the very best of her homemade beauty products and health tips. ‘All the nonsense in the past has made me pretty fierce,’ she says, ‘So if anyone decides to mock me in the future, I will use my sorceress powers and turn them into cockroaches.’
Stella Ralfini is a professional life coach, beauty advisor and award winning author.