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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

What age do you think your looks started to fade ?

472 replies

LardLizard · 14/02/2018 23:30

I think I still look pretty great at forty, don’t think my skin looks forty at all
So I’m wondering when will I really notice it ? Know it’s different for everyone
I’m think maybe after 50 now ?

OP posts:
LoveBeingAMum555 · 16/02/2018 22:06

Mid forties. I am 46 and really have to make a lot more effort now, I catch a glimpse of my reflection and think I look old and tired. I work out a lot and am naturally petite but you hit an age where being a size 8 really doesn't make much difference, it doesn't make you look younger any more, in fact it can do the opposite!.

000bourneFarm · 16/02/2018 22:11

Not read the full thread but I bet about half of posters give an age that is divisible by 7..... 35, 42, 49 being the likely ones, give or take one year.

entropynow · 16/02/2018 22:15

Been pig-ugly all my life, so at 56 no looks to loose Grin. Brain is still in good working order and that's what counts.

entropynow · 16/02/2018 22:17

lose, argh.

theftbyfinding · 16/02/2018 22:43

Almost the day I turned 50 I noticed those hideous Marionette lines from the side of my mouth to jawline. Feint, but there. Other than that, I look great, an older version of me. Grin No lip lines or wrinkles yet, but when they arrive, I won't be having fillers or botox.

I do think it's tied up with the menopause which was around the same time, loss of oestrogen I guess.

YellowBucket · 16/02/2018 22:50

I’m 40 next year. Everyone always tells me I look young for my age. I took a rare selfie earlier this week and was shocked to see creases had appeared next to my eyes.
I’m far from vain but felt slightly sad about it.

gamerwidow · 16/02/2018 22:55

I’m 42 and have noticed a decline in the last year probably because I’ve put on a bit of weight. So what though I’m not going to tie myself in knots trying to compete with younger women. I am more than my looks and I am happy with myself even if I no longer turn heads.

myusernameisnotmyusername · 16/02/2018 22:57

I'm 36 and starting to realise I can't get away with no make up anymore. I'm getting more lines around my eyes although not so many on my head. I've been told I look early 30's but I'm definitely thinking I'm starting to look my age! I was using face cream from Aldi but have switched to Olay now.

Springprim · 16/02/2018 23:03

I was asked for ID at 40. I'd spent the day on a wind swept beach in Devon, with my hair all over the place, no make up-pretty rough really. I guess the unkempt look could be pretty ageless!

simiisme · 16/02/2018 23:10

It's weird, but I'm much more comfortable in my skin at 51 than I was at 21.
Some days I look in the mirror and see my Mum - I look tired and old. Other days I look and think, 'Not bad!'
Being happy and irreverent makes people see you as a younger person. I have friends of all ages and I'm delighted that younger people seem to enjoy my company - even if I usually slope off just after midnight like a mature Cinderella :D

phoenix1973 · 16/02/2018 23:11

40-42.

WanderingStar1 · 16/02/2018 23:30

Hmm - things have been getting a bit 'crepey' for years now but I agree with a PP that the full collapse is probably tied up with the menopause. I had an early menopause (40s) and would say I still looked fine (ish) in my early forties, but now in my early 50s my body has flopped (no heavier but totally untoned), my jawline has collapsed into jowls, chins and a droopy mouth, and my eyelids have also sagged! A friend who I have only known for 8 yrs or so didn't recognise me when she saw some photos of me in my 30s! I did smoke for 20+ years which probably hasn't helped, but it's a scarily rapid descent into middle age when I still feel about 21......Shock Grin

phoenix1973 · 16/02/2018 23:32

The worst part is my decotellage which looks awful in the light. My mums started going at about 60, mine was 35!
I no longer look in mirrors and rarely have my photo taken.

SandyY2K · 17/02/2018 00:02

It is depends on your ethicity.

Goodenoughparent101 · 17/02/2018 00:04

After my baby at 32

MyKingdomForACaramel · 17/02/2018 00:05

Bang on 35

TinklyLittleLaugh · 17/02/2018 00:10

The menopause thing is a bit concerning. I'm 53 and have my periods regularly. I'm a bit worried now that I could go to the dogs at any moment.

SleightOfMind · 17/02/2018 00:13

44, got better looking as I’ve gotten older.
Was definitely not an attractive child/teen.

Will probably reach the tipping point soon but there are compensations.

BraayTigger · 17/02/2018 00:15

I have only just noticed recently that I don’t look a patch on how I used to. Skin looks older and fuller with more wrinkles. Can’t keep the weight off either (I am still slim but not as slim as I have been). I am 34. It’s a little depressing I didn’t really appreciate what I had.

SingingSands · 17/02/2018 00:45

Last year, 38. I just suddenly looked tired, very, very tired and dull. Like, dull hair, skin, nails in bad condition. I’ve lost my sparkle Sad

pinkhousesarebest · 17/02/2018 00:46

42, the year I had dd, my second child.I had always looked young and I nearly fell down in shock when a colleague described me as an older mother. I knew the game was up at that moment. However, I never enjoyed my good, youthful looks as I was tracking lines from I was 25. So much happier now at 55.. all my new friends are much younger than me and don't seem to find my ageing a problem and I forget I'm not their age. I find it all pretty liberating tbh.

IncyWincyGrownUp · 17/02/2018 00:58

I never looked good so any downward trajectory isn’t problematic.

The highs and lows of my fringe over the years have been more interesting. It’s currently having a resurgence after some fallow years. Not as thick and glorious as it was about six years ago though. Sad times.

MissWilmottsGhost · 17/02/2018 07:13

I still look fab at 45.

Other people may disagree.

Fuck 'em.

Shimmershimmerandshine · 17/02/2018 07:19

Not as yet, early 40s. That said I'm no stunner so maybe the answer is 'about the age of 5' Grin. My best feature is my figure and as yet that is still the same.

thecatsabsentcojones · 17/02/2018 08:46

This question relies on the assumption that you think there's a time you looked amazing. Looking back at photos I looked fine but never felt like it, I still don't now, so the fact that I've got less wrinkles than some of my peers doesn't mean much. I suppose you lose your looks when you start to be invisible, I still see people giving me the odd look so I suppose that's not happened yet.

I know people who really pride themselves on their physical attractiveness to the point that it forms their entire sense of self. One friend said she'd never leave her partner after a certain age because she wouldn't look as good, I sure as hell wouldn't be trying to form another relationship purely upon what my face was like. There's so much more to life than looks. I feel more comfortable with the ageing process purely because I've never seen my looks as defining my life, I'm glad of that now.