Is there a ritual for eternal youth?
WELLNESS
Nicole Furia
3/26/20256 min read
There are passions we feel drawn to for no particular reason—they are simply within us. Sometimes, they emerge in childhood; other times, they ignite at a specific phase or moment in our lives… like a magical spark.
For me, it was the first kind. Since I was little, I’ve had a magical and special attraction to the world of beauty, natural remedies, and wellness… ever since I used to sneak beauty products from my mother’s drawer—sometimes with disastrous results. Like the time I used a beautiful vermilion lipstick to draw on a leather bag, then placed it on a cream-colored fabric sofa… I can still hear my mother’s screams echoing in my ears!
From there, it was a crescendo of experiments, research, and studies, small rituals that I created, but also many emotions that I will share with you, if you have the pleasure of listening to me.
Now, let's go back in time for a moment. I was in London, in 2017… my partner and I had just opened our shop, a Boutique & Spa in the center, near Oxford Circus… the chaotic heart of the city...
I remember perfectly that instead of being happy and radiant, I was indeed happy because a beautiful dream was coming true… but completely burned out, I was exhausted… and it was truly a paradox when you think about it, because we were opening a temple of wellness and beauty, and yet here I was, preaching self-care and taking care of oneself… something I had always done for years… but at that time, far from home, I had dedicated myself 100% to the work and squeezed myself dry, neglecting my light, skipping all my beauty rituals, and I was starting to feel the weight of the responsibilities that were coming… so physically and mentally, I was a violin string… If you want, I can explain in more detail that dark state of mind that enveloped me, something many of you might have experienced, and how I slowly managed to overcome it… it was several steps, several phases… let's start with the first one.
If nothing in life happens by chance, they say, just a few days before opening, a petite, elegant woman with decidedly oriental features entered the shop. She carried herself proudly, her gaze filled with curiosity. She spoke to me in Italian, which immediately intrigued me. She was a writer and lived near our boutique. In fact, she was a very special writer, as she was the first Chinese-born writer to write in Italian. Born to an Italian father, a diplomat, and a Chinese mother, at thirteen, she was forced to leave her homeland for political reasons. She reached Italy alone, after seventy days of navigation aboard a Greek ship.
She entered the store and wanted to know everything. What did we do? What treatments did we offer? What was Ayurveda? She didn’t know aromatherapy, her eyes sparkled like a child's in front of a whole new world to explore…
She deeply moved me.
… She was radiant despite everything, despite all the things that had happened to her in the previous years, including the loss of her beloved husband, health problems, and an uncertain future...
And I believe that from that moment on, I understood that eternal youth is not just a matter of outward appearance. It’s a state of mind.
We can keep that spark alive inside us, even as the years pass. We can take care of ourselves in many ways, with small daily rituals. Just like she did: she practiced Tai Chi, drank green tea, not only for the properties of the tea but for the ritual she created around it… she treated herself to a spa pedicure and still bought beauty products to gift herself a daily moment of well-being… And more importantly: she kept herself open to life.
And all of this reflected outward, the light in her eyes and her soul. You could feel her energy coming through. Powerful.
Talking to her, a beautiful journey began. We spoke about the China she had lived in as a child, and how she later lived for several years in Milan, working in public relations for the fashion elite. Almost every day, she would come for a cup of tea, and sometimes she would take us around Chinatown, always looking incredibly elegant.
I never felt like I was speaking to an 80-year-old person; it felt like I was talking to a young woman, and she made me feel young too.
I had the sense, talking to her, that it’s truly possible to reach eternal youth.
Not by living forever, but by living each day to the fullest!
Because in the end, for me, true beauty is feeling good and living in harmony with your body and mind, despite all the inevitable changes that come with the passage of time.
And if there is a ritual for eternal youth, perhaps it is exactly this: staying curious, open, and taking care of yourself with love, every single day. Cultivating wonder, allowing yourself small pleasures without guilt, nourishing your body and soul with acts of beauty and mindfulness. Because youth is not a number, but an energy, a way of inhabiting time with grace and vitality.
My fascinating Lady soon became a very precious friend. She had given herself the pseudonym "Bamboo" because she used to say that "bamboo bends to life’s problems but doesn’t break." And I think it was perfect for her.
So that encounter was gold and realigned me with my true nature. Little by little, I began to find the right path to my well-being, striving to be full so I could then give to others... because I had chosen a job where people who came to our center sought comfort, not just aesthetic beauty, they sought to feel good.
I’ve heard it said many times, but it’s true: if we don’t recharge and take care of ourselves, we are like empty shells. And we shouldn’t fill ourselves up just to give to others, but to find our vital energy, the joy of living, the beauty of living... our curiosity!
It was Lady Bamboo who made me understand that it wasn’t enough to know everything about wellness and beauty: we needed to live them. She embodied the perfect balance between beauty and well-being. Every gesture of hers, from the way she took care of her skin to the simple act of sipping tea, was an act of presence and love for herself. I realized that in recent months, I had treated beauty as a job, a duty, without giving myself the pleasure and authentic care that once inspired me. It was time to change, to rediscover the profound meaning of those gestures and make them mine with new awareness.
Because it may sound like a cliché, but it’s true: we cannot radiate beauty if we are not well with ourselves. There’s no cream or treatment that can make a difference if that special light doesn’t come from within.
There are so many ways to feel good with ourselves, even though we often hide behind "I don’t have time," "I need money," "I don’t know where to start."
Yet, there is a world of simple rituals that can make us feel better: a tea with a book, the warmth of a fireplace, massaging face oil, five minutes of outdoor meditation, a daily walk.
A ritual doesn’t have to be complicated or spiritual: it can also be just a daily gesture that helps us feel better, like a face massage or a few deep breaths before starting the day.
In the context of wellness and beauty, a ritual is not just a habit, but a moment dedicated to yourself, where the gesture becomes an act of care and presence, transforming the routine into a deeper and more meaningful experience.
Helping us live better and keeping us vital.
Going deeper, fortunately, today we have access to so many holistic disciplines and things we can do.
And that’s exactly what I want to share here: a journey to rediscover beauty as an act of love for oneself, through rituals, mindfulness, and small daily acts of well-being. I would like to tell you what I’ve explored and what has helped me, from aromatherapy, yoga, face yoga, natural products, mindfulness rituals, Ayurveda, and crystals... many things that we may try together and that can inspire us to maintain our well-being.
Thank you for following along so far, and before we part, I’d like to leave you with a thought:
Have you ever tried to feel good, but really good? How do you feel about yourself, not only physically but also mentally? Do you feel younger or older than your age?
Are you living at your best?