I realized that, even though I watched her on Younger, Hilary Duff is still lodged in my brain as the starlet from 2005 who wore all the low-slung belts-over-shirts and too many necklaces and a hat or three, and fought with Lindsay Lohan over a boy. I was struck looking at these photos not by the nudity, but by the maturity in her face, which actually is even more pronounced in her “Body Scan” video. It may sound dumb, but truly, it’s a real moment when you realize someone who is frozen in time for you is actually a 34-year old mom of three. The cover is beautiful — she looks fantastic — and I appreciate that she is very clear about the fact that she got this bod with the help of a trainer, rather than pretending — as so many celebs have — that her only workout is running around after her kids. She says, “I’m proud of my body. […] I also want people to know a makeup artist was there putting glow all over my body and someone put me in the most flattering position.” I’ve always found her likable on camera, and she seems that way in real life; I think she is friends with the also-likable Mandy Moore, actually, and now I want to see them do something together. I’m putting it into the universe. Raise Your Voice II: Louder.
