to think that most people look better at 30 than they ever did at 20!

[Mammie81]

Most of my friends turn 30 this year. I can only see it as a good thing as :

I know where to get a good haircut now
I'm far less scared of things
I can afford better clothes

I looked a state at 20 but I thought I was the bees knees! Bring on the 3 oh!

I certainly look a lot better now (mid-thirties) than I did in my teens/twenties. I'm not sure what it is - confidence in my skin, knowing what suits me etc I guess.

I look better at nearly 40 than nearly 30 ,so yes I agree ~lots more gorgeous years to come :)

I turn 30 in a few very short weeks and I'm terrified! I'm 6 stone heavier than I was at 20, and apart from a fab pair of boobs I hate my body. So this is one nearly-30 that doesn't feel better now than 10 years ago!

Not true for me I'm afraid. At 20 I was tall, thin, tanned and confident. I had time to do my hair and money to do my nails. I had decent clothes that were replaced before they got old

At 30 I couldn't afford a haircut, I had got fat, I'm sure I'm shorter, I haven't seen my hairdryer for months, my nails are broken, I wear wellies even when it's dry and sunny and I'm always covered in mud, my clothes are all full of clothes and I won't replace them because I am losing weight don't you know

Bring on 40, it can only get better!

Same as Imnotaslimjim

Lies! I bet you are beautiful mmsmum x

aww Mammie thank you! That is a lovely thing to say

I do. Am slightly plumper and probably not quite as 'dewy', but better overall I think.

Hmmm At 20 I was thinner more tanned with false nails and stuff but now I have a proper haircut and stuff I would probably agree I look better!

I look better now at 40 than I did 10-15 years ago but thats mainly to do with me losing 5 and a half stone.

i dont think it will be true for me, kids wear you down, give you less time to look after yourself and less money to spend on yourself!!

I have definitely gone, if not to seed, then downhill since my 20s. There's no denying it - I was way hotter then, but never really appreciated it!

I think women learn to dress well and use cosmetics better, and get their hair cut in a style that suits them, in order to counteract the natural ageing process.

Thus my clothes and hair suit me better now than when I was 20, and sometimes my make up looks great (when I can be bothered to make an effort), although I myself am chubbier, saggier, and generally a bit less 'dewy' (to quote Ninky).

Anyone can look dewy with enough vaseline on the face!

I think I looked better at 20 myself, judging by old photos.

However I do think I look better at 39 than a lot of current 20 year olds on account of the ludicrous unflattering hairdo's that they all seem to sport these days. What is it with these daft comb-overs??

I definitely look better at 31 than I did at 20 - clothes hair and makeup are all better - but I am so much more confident in myself, and that is what I think makes the biggest difference. I do weigh 1.5 stone more but that is my DC's fault

Recently had a school reunion-we're 36 and hadn't seen each other since we were 18.
Good grief we all look better! Hair straightners have been invented in my case. At 18/20 we were wearing cardigans with deliberate holes in and dms, today we're a lot smarter and any extra lbs were helped by good underwear!

Ummm no, at 31 I look considerably less hot (and considerably heavier) than I did when I was 20, although I probably have better hair.

I think in general though, due to more trendy but cheap clothes shops, hair straighteners and fake tan etc today's younger people look WAY better than any of us did a decade or more go. Will the 20-somethings or today look even better in 10 years?

Plus, the whole celeb perfection culture has given young girls more to 'aspire' to. Beautiful women have always been around in the media, but these days they look just that bit more preened than they used to. Take Cheryl Cole for example.

I think I appreciate what I have in terms of looks much more now at 40+ (emphasis on the +). Back in my 20s all I saw was the glass half empty, sad to say. I don't look much different (thanks, Garnier) bar a few wrinkles and I'm 1.5 stones heavier but it seems to be distributed evenly all over so no major problem areas. A lot of how you look depends on how you see yourself, iyswim.

I looked thin and sexy at 30, but that was before I had children! I deliberately wore a tight-fitting outfit for my 30th birthday bash as I kind of had a feeling it would be one of the last times I could really get away with it, and I was right!

I wish id apreciated how hot i was in my early 20s.

Post 2nd baby and unemployment ive totally let myself go. Greasy, frizzy dark, uncut hair. Bushy eyebrows. No make up or nice clothes/ underwear. Stones overweight.. yellowin% teeth. Glasses instead of contacts. Im like a 'before' picture!

Bollocks!

When i was 20 I was 8 stone 3 pounds, lovely body, not a mark on my face, clear skin gorgeous thick hair and would have looked good in any clothes whatsoever. I wish I'd known how fabulous i really looked but at the time i thoguht i was ugly.

Now I'm 32 I weigh 10 stone 5 lbs, fat arse, bingo wings, fat stomach, fat thighs, fat face, my hair is thinner, I have the beginnings of fine lines on my forehead, I have dark circles under my eyes from working with vdu's all day and working long hours.

Better looking at 30..... BULL SHIT !

Rant over

I turn 30 this year. Tbh, I think I look exactly teh same as I did at 20. Perhaps I am naive but I can't see any difference in photos (in fact, I am sure I am being naive!). I weigh the same, my hair is the same, I dress the same.

I looked a gazillion times better at 30 than 20, even after two kids. As Gok says, it's all about the confidence...and the hair, and the dress sense.