To say she simply cannot be turning 40?!

100% this. ^ It's doesn't make someone 'bitter' if they state facts. And it is a fact that most people pretty much look their age. And even the most beautiful and stunning of women (like actresses and other celebrities) look their age when they're not in the stage (or camera) spotlight, and have no make up on ...

Many celebrities (particularly female ones) use botox and fillers, and this makes the skin smooth. Even the gorgeous Salma Hayek has clearly been using botox. Her face is a smooth as a baby's! No way has she not been using botox on her face! Without the botox and make up she will look pretty much her age.

As you say though, fillers and botox can result in making people look older. Not younger!

I'm really not bitter and definitely not nasty. Blunt I guess at a push. J-lo, Halle Berry etc are 1 in a million movie stars and even they look their age without ring lights following them round. They're beautiful women and I see beauty in older women everywhere. I'm the last person on earth to run women down. I'm being very specific in my comments. Age catches up with everyone. There is no running from it. Botox, fillers, face lifts etc are clearly visible. They never make you look younger.

What a bitter message!!! Also completely untrue-I have friends that have turned 50 and they look amazing and could easily pass for 10 years younger! My mum also looked so much younger than her age even now. Then there’s the likes of JLo, Jennifer Aniston and many other celebrities in the 50 plus bracket that look amazing. You just come across nasty tbh

Boomers were born from 1946 to 1960.
They are 65-79.

This. No-one looks more than 6-7 years younger, not when you look close up/carefully, and take off the make up. Salma Hayek is clearly gorgeous - but take off the make up and botox, and she will very likely look like a woman in her 50s. And why wouldn't she? Why SHOULDN'T she? She IS a woman in her 50s!

What the fuck is wrong with looking your age (or close to it?) The obsession some people on Mumsnet have for wanting people to think they look younger than they are, (or thinking a woman is more attractive if she looks younger than she is,) is ridiculous. We are all ageing and we all look our age (pretty much! As I say, within 6-7 years.)

.

I do think a lot of people are really naive about this.

People gushing about how young you look or saying ‘I thought you were only about 35!’ are often being polite. If asked how old I think someone is I’ll always shave at least five years off what I actually think, sometimes more like seven to ten. As no forty year old will be offended to be thought of as about thirty two but they might be offended to be thought of as forty two.

I didn't say mid 50s, I said 50 odd....so 51 and 52 in my friends' case. It's a bit arrogant of you to assume you know better than me when I know them and you don't. I was out with one last night she was mistaken for the daughter of someone in our school year so that means they thought she was a generation younger. So easily 15 years or more at least off her actual age. Maybe we just mix in different circles.

And Salma Hayek looks early 40s to me.

Mad how much thought we give to it, such a waste of life

No way does anyone in their 50s look like they are in their mid 30s.

Maybe, from a distance a few people in their 50s could pass for mid 30s at first glance. But they will look closer to their age when you look properly/closer. No way does someone of say, 53-56 look like they're in their mid 30s. Not in a million years.

Salma Hayek is gorgeous yes. She is 58. She doesn't look 58, and she could pass for 10 years younger. Maybe 47-48. She has had a lot of botox though. Without the botox and make up, you can bet she looks closer to 58.

@Scrimt · Yesterday 23:22

I'd riot if someone told me I looked like a young Claire Sweeney

WTF is wrong with Claire Sweeney? She is quite pretty!

She looks great! I think we take care of ourselves better now and have more “help” available than years ago so don’t she as quickly, on the outside at least. Her husband is lovely looking too, they seem like a nice couple.

What does a 20, 30, 40, 50, or 60-year old woman look like anyway? Who sets the 'yardstick'?

Why is this so important to other women? Weird.

I'm the same age as her and think she just looks our age, I think people's idea of what a woman in her late 30s/early 40s looks like must be skewed. I certainly don't feel old so not sure what people expect a 39 year old to look like.

He wasn't her strictly partner. She was partnered with someone else and it's hardly being struck by a curse when neither of them were in relationships at the time. They've been together years now, are obviously happy and have 2 beautiful little children together

I agree that i always thought of her as a young mum too and I'm 51 if that makes a difference. 40 IS old to be having babies.

I'm not saying she doesn't but she absolutely looks her age, which there is nothing wrong with of course.

She's 59

@Lookingatthesunset I get that! I'm also from a youthful looking family, I'm coming up 40 and people are genuinely shocked about this! I've always been baby faced, hated it in my 20s but now I just laugh as its quite nice. My mum is the same, people never believe she's in her 70s.

Gemma A looks great, I think millennials are aging appearance wise much slower than previous generations though.

I knew she was a similar age to me and I’m 40 next year. We probably look a similar age.

looking at the people I went to school with, some of us look pretty young and some not so much. I feel there’s quite a divide at this age of how people have aged. it’s mainly genetics really as I know people who are physically very fit but have aged facially significantly more than others who may not be as fit.

Shania trains in her 60s and looks utterly amazing!

No, I really don't

She’s beautiful woman but her voice is so masculine and booming and it’s a complete antithesis to her appearance.

She puts some stupid stuff on social media as well.

I think part of this is the generations before us have aged and aged hard - I remember my grandparents who were 50 and 49 when I was born and they looked old, hair perm and set, v sensible clothes etc worked in a factory there whole lives

we do have much better cosmetics and non invasive and invasive treatments

the other thing is we can’t actually gauge from photos in magazines as to what people look like, filters and photo shop and even when on tv make up etc plays a huge part in toning down age

You will do. There's no disguising it. I'm not saying you can't look great. Of course you can but you don't look younger when you're post 50. The menopause robs us of estrogen, collagen and elasticity in the skin diminishes, skin slackens etc. It's just biology sadly.

Wow what a generalisation! I'm 51 and I don't think I look it