Does anyone really look younger than their age?

[smoleyjolie]

Online on forums, social media, on dating profiles and even in real life people claim to look younger than their age, they are X age but don't look it. They get ID's in the supermarket buying wine.

I am always highly sceptical because I've know people who say to my face how they look like they are 25 when they are actually 38 because they have no lines or wrinkles when I am looking at them and thought they were actually in their 40's and they have obvious wrinkles and grey hair, people are delusional! Honestly the capacity people have to delude themselves about anything is quite staggering and I have never met someone who claims to look younger and it actually turn out to be true.

When I was younger I thought some older people looked younger so I once thought a woman when she was 49 was closer to 30 but that was because I assumed all people of 49 looked "old" which isn't the case at all and looking back she looked great but she also looked her age which is fine.

Going back to the first case where the women was convinced she looked over 10 years younger, what could I say I just said yeah you look great and its the same anytime anyone makes that claim. People aren't going to dispute it.

I think sometimes people do look about 5 years younger. 10 years is really pushing it though.

People who have bad botox or fillers usually look older.

I'm in my early 40s and I still get carded and offered student tickets on public transport. Some people just look young. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I look a lot younger than my age. I think about 8-10 years, but many people still mistake me for a late teen, uni student, early 20s and refuse to believe me when I say I’m 34 (I’m nearly 35 and not so much different in facial looks to when I was 20, except I’m 2 dress sizes bigger) however I certainly feel in my 30s! I definitely don’t have the energy and stamina as when in my 20s. People who know me often say my behaviors give my true age away because on looks alone I look like a kid still.

I’m 41 and I got asked for ID in the summer! Admittedly, the woman was quite an advanced age herself! I think everyone looks young as you get older and you lose perspective.

People are often a bit surprised when I mention I have a 14 year old daughter, and tell me I don’t look my age. Some people do look young for their age, but when you really look at them I think you can tell.

My mum looks 5 years younger and think I do too. When I turned 30 a colleague exclaimed 'I would never have guessed you're anywhere near 30'. Cheers, ancient now 😄

My colleague is 57 and I thought she was 47. I feel like my ability to accurately judge age has decreased the older I get!

I’m 40 and at work (lots of members of the public) a lot of people assume I’m in my twenties. Same with my Mum - people assume she’s fifteen years younger than she is and my Grandad, who people assumed was my Dad as a kid.

Good genes I guess - we all live to be 100 in my family too!

I look a lot younger than I am. Always have really. The last time I got asked for ID when buying alcohol, I was 47. And it was by someone who looked my age.

I often have people say I look younger than my age, I am almost 50. I don't get ID-d or anything like that but I do get a lot of people saying how surprised they are when they find out my age. I think it's what you said in your OP - that some people expect 49 year olds to look old. But I am still interested in clothes and fashion and going out and staying slim etc etc. So in that sense I haven't changed that much since I was 30. I am sure my face looks older than it did of course but a bit of light botox and keeping an interest in all the aforementioned helps. And luck of course, family genes and not suffering too badly with illness.

I think there are different ways of ageing and if it matters to you and you're a bit lucky too you can still look good. That might go downhill as I move into my 50s of course! But currently I have friends from my class in school that look as 'good' as I do (again a mixture of staying in shape and luck) and some that look 10 years older.

People are always surprised when they find out my age.
Last week someone thought I was 15 years younger than I actually am 😳

I frequently get told I look early thirties when I'm actually forty.

I don't see it though! I looked significantly younger in my early thirties.

It might be the way I dress, which is quite jazzy. Plus I'm short and a size eight.

People think I'm younger because I have no presence, poise or gravitas (not for want of trying) but am in a senior role.

Some people do look younger than their age but I would say anything more than 5 years is very unusual

There's also a widely held belief that the second you hit 40 you're basically ancient and therefore should be covered in wrinkles etc.

Does anyone remember the buzz around J Lo performing at the Superbowl (2 years ago maybe) and the utter astonishment that she had managed to hit 50 and still look in shape and attractive, as if you're expected to be decomposing by that age 😁

People do normally act shocked when I tell them my age, but maybe they are being nice! I think there is an expectation for women my age to wear certain clothes ir be a certain weight so maybe it just interferes with expectations when we don't conform to that. I actually find it hard to judge other people's ages as well.

When I was in my 30s I definitely looked younger than my age. But now in my 40s my skin has caught up 😂 it's the eye creases and the wrinkly neck, I very much look my 40 something years now! All my friends around my age look the same as me too! We all like to think we look youthful but the reality is, the signs are all there 😂

I do look younger but I’m mixed race, until menopause I really looked a lot younger but have aged since then. I remember a student asking me what A levels I and taken at freshers, I was almost 30 and a member of staff. As they say Asian don’t raisin. I’m around a size 8 and though people take the proverbial on here about teeny tiny people I am very slight. A chap thought I was about 35 a couple of weeks ago, he was a very elderly gentleman though so who knows what his eyesight was like I am mid fifties

I don’t know. I have a "baby face" and have never been one to wear much make up. Even in my mid to late twenties I still had strangers questioning if I was over 18. It used to really annoy me!

Yes! My beautiful friend. We are now early 50s and she’s just started to visibly age a tad and looks early 40s and smoking hot. Until very recently she honestly looked late twenties. She’s half Indian so I don’t know if that helps. She’s a total freak though.

I think I look fairly good for my age but it’s hard to know if I look younger because that’s something people feel compelled to say to women. I look like Miss Haversham next to beautiful friend no doubt.

I’m slightly lardy at the moment and that ages me I think as I’m small so always on the threshold of dumpy.

I absolutely do not resemble a 25y/o, but people (here) are shocked when they discover that I am 51. (Most guess between 35 and early 40’s depending on how much sleep I’ve had.)My mother aged badly due to heavy smoking and sunbathing and had several melanomas removed. I didn’t want that for myself, so when I worked with some stunningly beautiful Korean and Japanese ladies, I asked for skincare and health tips. Obviously staying out of our harsh Aussie sun was vital. I have used spf 50++++ religiously from when I was a teen, worn hats, spf 400 sunglasses and even carried parasols of necessary. I have double-cleansed every night - first with a balm or oil cleanser, followed by a ceramide face wash. In my 30’s I added tretinoin at night to promote collagen production and Vitamin C (and other antioxidants) to brighten my skin tone and reduce hyperpigmentation. I have some fine lines around my eyes and one down my forehead, but that’s about it. (I drink lots of water too.)

I'm 45 and probably look between 40-45 depending on if my roots need dyeing and I'm wearing makeup or not. My DH is 49 and looks 35 when he's knackered. Jammy bugger! It's funny when he tells people he's a grandad and has a 31 year old daughter, you can tell they don't believe him.

Lol. like I said, people are delusional.

No, nearly everyone looks no more than a few years either way. To think otherwise is deluded, even if you get asked for ID by some half blind teenager in a shop.

Exactly! I've seen people with more wrinkles than a shar pei insist that everyone things they are years younger than their age so I never believe anyone at their word on this and I've never yet seen anyone in real life who's age surprised me even when they seem to think it should.

Even if you look rough af no one is going to tell you how old you genuinely look, they will shave off a few years.

I don't believe half of the people on MN who claim to look at least 10 years younger. Especially those who talk about people mistaking them for teenagers and not taking them seriously in their extremely senior jobs.

I had two people guess 27 the other day which was very flattering-I'm 37!

I once had a 40 year old work colleague laughingly tell me a story about a hotelier who had called her and her sister (22) "a lovely mother and daughter" and then showed me a photo and said "oh come on really, how could you possibly mistake us for mother and daughter" 😳 I didn't know what to say.

Honestly she was 40 and looked 50. The age gap could 100% have made them mother and daughter anyway but, Diane, if your reading, yes you DO look like you could be Sally's mum.