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.

Equally, you obviously associate youth with being pretty but actually if someone is pretty then they will most likely always be so regardless of age. They will look their age but but pretty. My DH has a great aunt that used to be a makeup artist for ITV, she is in her 90s in a wheelchair and evidently in her 90s but still is naturally beautiful.

People make accusations of being delusional like the OP as they obviously equate youth with beauty and are therefore inadvertently accusing them of arrogance whereas people can think you look young but plain.

Yeah but it's taken in the half dark!

You look younger you have gorgeous bouncy hair

Waving at you Doggo!
It's not the age, it's the mileage and I've done a bit too...😁 It definitely shows in my face - one of DS's mates asked if I was his 'Grandma' when he was younger. I thought I was looking passably alright that day! 😂

Yeah this. Virtually no-one looks more than 5-7 years younger than their age, not when you look properly. There are some hilariously deluded posters on this thread. 😂

Who on earth is asking all these 'babyfaces' how old they are anyway? I don't think I have ever been asked how old I am, by anyone. Are people just meeting people and just telling them their age??? (Or asking people theirs...?) Are people meeting strangers and saying 'hi, I'm Julie/Mandy/Helen, how old are you?' Or 'hey I'm Tracey/Liz/Maria, guess how old I am, go on guess guess guess, betcha can't guess!'

Who the hell goes around telling people their age? And who the hell goes around asking people their age? It makes no sense, none of it. And as for the poster who said she met a 52 y.o. woman who allegedly looked like she was just out of her 20s, and I seriously doubt she did! and dragged her around everyone she knew saying 'OMG guess how old she is!' WTF? Who does that?!

I'm in my mid mid-late fifties, and look it. Why wouldn't I? What on earth is wrong with looking your age? Why the utter utter desperation (by some people) to tell everyone that loads of people think you look 20 years younger? Why is everyone so desperate to be thought of as looking much younger? You do know you don't right? None of you. No-one looks a lot younger than their age.

HTH.

OP, you’re being somewhat ridiculous here. You’ve been given a bunch of examples but you refuse to accept any of them. Why exactly did you start this post? You’re clearly only interested in post reflecting your opinion 100%

@Goldenbear No, I honestly don't equate youth with being more beautiful- quite the opposite. My whole point was that if you have facelift surgery with the goal of knocking years off, you're going to be disappointed. I look infinitely more "beautiful" (I am not beautiful) now that my turkey neck and jowls have gone, but I don't look remotely younger for having it done. And I'm cool with that.

I've literally posted about being dragged around by someone doing that to me.

I'm not at all desperate. I didn't even know who she was, let alone have a deep emotional investment in her opinion of me.

The simplest answer is that she was genuinely surprised about how old I was.

I can't remember exactly how the topic came up. But I certainly don't go around asking people to guess my age and I think it's highly unlikely she has a hobby of going up to strangers and asking their age so she can waste her time lying to them that they look younger than she assumed.

I said to her, it's probably that I've always drunk a lot of water. I've got very clear skin and not many wrinkles. It's hardly surprising that a lifetime of staying hydrated would make someone have good skin.

Personally, I see a 40 year old woman in the mirror. But I can't pretend that I haven't been told I don't look my age countless times because I have. I don't know what to tell you if you don't find my account credible, but that's the truth.

Not many have said 20 years- that's just hyperbolic.

So you look your age and your so comfortable with that, that you categorically refuse to believe anyone looks younger than their years based on the fact that you don't (presumably), if you are so fine with that why are you so defensive about it, evident from your nonsensical statement that you know all posters on here contradicting your opinion are liars! Do you also know everyone in the country, the world to back up your claim that no one looks younger than their years- hilarious!

I really do think if I posted a photo of my 12 year old DD on here, those who categorically know everyone in the world does not look younger than their years, would declare her at least in her late 20's as you can she has been exposed to the sun😎or some such ridiculous theory, such is their desperation to prove their point!

Like I said - up to 40 many people can look quite a bit younger than their age. Water won’t get you far when you hit your mid to late 40s so enjoy it now. (And don’t be smug). Many people don’t have wrinkles when they’re 40. But menopause will deal a big blow - huge loss of oestrogen. It’s not the wrinkles it’s gravity and inevitable sagging.

Hence why no celebrities who are 50 and have all the money in the world to fight ageing, look any more than a couple of years younger if that. They look good but they all look like women in their late 40s.

You can’t fight ageing. Even if for the first 40 years of your life you have looked many years younger. It will catch up with you.

Really not talking about 12 year olds here I think.

I'm highlighting the envy (misplaced IMO) often leads to the denigration of others on these kinds of threads, by others, I really mean women who like putting down other women due to some insecurities they have or some other reason only known to themselves.

"I don't think I have ever been asked how old I am, by anyone. Are people just meeting people and just telling them their age???"

You start talking about things eg what work was like when you started out, how many TV channels you had and then you either volunteer your age or thereabouts or people ask you. I'm asked quite regularly. It's something we do to place people, to be able to know which times they've lived through, what we have in common, etc.
I know all my friends' ages and most of my colleagues' too.

Yes, exactly, it's called conversation, when you're first getting to know a friendship group, you may discuss the music of your youth or they may say, 'do you remember that pre-school programme when you were little, Rosie and Jim- "no as I was at secondary school then!". Do the Mumsnetters who are in denial that anyone looks younger than their years, then say in these scenarios, "come to think of it, when i look more closely, you do have a few lines, that puts you at least 10 years older than that programme". Then they turn and smile to themselves walking off, with their self esteem given an extra boost! 😂

Yes. My best friend. She's 39 and older than me but she gets asked for ID all the time and people always think I'm much older than her, which is not great 😠She honestly hasn't changed since we've been to school together. She looks exactly the same (and would fit into all her clothes from school).

I think this is the issue. You're assuming I'm being smug. I think you rather enjoyed telling me that I'll age. That's not news to me.

I'm not telling you I think I look younger than 40. I'm saying that what other people say to me. Hubris doesn't come into it.

No I think most people look their age. I'm 34 and I think I look nice most of the time - well cared for skin, no obvious wrinkles, no grey hair but I still look like I'm in my early-mid 30s. You can just tell I think, not a bad thing though! We are used to 'looking your age' being a synonym for 'looking rough' but it really doesn't have to be.

I think it’s interesting when you look at people in groups and I think yes it’s possible to look younger then your age.
When I look at group photos of friends that are all roughly the same age but honestly some do look older and some younger.
I know a few lads that drink too much and it is absolutely aging. You would put 10-15 years on them to their actual age.
A relative is 18 as is the best friend. The best friend is doing lip fillers, plus too much tan and make up. Looks like someone in their 30’s.

My granny is in her 80’s when you see her alongside people her own age she just looks fresher with far less wrinkles.

No one looks more than 5 years younger or older than their age. Your changing skeleton and the way you move is the true give away of age and no amount of exercise can change that.

Up until the last few years, people always thought I was younger than I was. Not just buying alcohol etc, well into my 20's I was asked by a shop to prove I was old enough to have the credit card I was trying to use - and the shop assistant was young.

Now I'm peri-menopausal, with bucket loads of stress, a generally poor diet and very disturbed sleep, I suddenly look older. Mostly I have too much to deal with to care.

So it’s all a bit pointless telling people how young you look for your age then isn’t it pre-40? Other people said it to me but I didn’t wander around telling everyone or posting on the internet about it. Because it does all change. You won’t permanently look young for your age. It doesn’t really matter.

Could you tell the checkout assistants at my local Waitrose, and the door staff at Wetherspoons then, please?

I didn't announce this apropos of nothing. It's relevant to the subject of the thread.

You were the one who decided that 40 was the cut off point for anyone to discuss the perception of their age. That's not based on a consensus or specified in the OP. I can only apologise for any upset you've felt for me not following your made up rules.

Yes, people age. No shit.

In my experience, staff in Waitrose ID everyone regardless of age. It's happened to me recently and I'm 51 so that proves my point.