Does anybody prefer how they look now they're older?

[Gooooo]

According to media/society everybody in their 20s is effortlessly beautiful and walks around with an undeniable glow, men constantly staring at them wherever they go.
I really dislike how only youth is supposed to equate to beauty and how society worships it so much.
I was looking at pictures of myself in my 20s this morning and I look like a football, my face is unbelievably round. You don't notice it until you look back at old pictures, now in my 30s my face has lost this subcutaneous fat and it looks a lot slimmer. I also had very severe chin acne in my 20s which has now cleared, I've had braces too.
Is anyone else feeling that they look better with age as opposed to the opposite?

I feel more attractive now I'm older (50s) I think it's more about confidence though. Looking back at old photos I can see a lovely youthful glow - but an awkwardness.
People do put a lot of pressure on women and girls to look a certain way. For me it was from my family and peers and I grew up feeling not quite 'enough'. It took me a while to fight that feeling off so I'm very grateful not to have grown up with social media and the endless selfies!

I was 100% better looking in my 20s compared to my 30's the difference is I just don't care any more haha. I used to be so obsessed with my appearance and it made me miserable. Now, as long as I don't look too windswept hag and I'm presentable enough to not scare anyone I really couldn't care less. Because ultimately it really doesn't matter that much. It's took me a long time to really take that on board.

I think it's a roller coaster....

I looked kick ass in my teens and early twenties.
Probably my most conventionally good looking in my late twenties turning thirty.
Exhausted and lost my way in mid thirties to early forties during the baby and young kids years.
Fittest in my late forties but a bit boring style wise.
Early fifties, vaguely fit but best looking hair/style and probably the most comfortable with how I look.

That's lovely to hear you feel a lot more confident now.
Yes, there is so much pressure, so much ageism. It's endless.

yeah I do. Was looking through old festival photos the other day to identify some artist I’d seen fifteen year ago and got jump scared by photo of me in my mid twenties with awful hair, a double chin and a style I can only describe as “formal goth”.

tragically, I’ve never looked better than I do right now.

That's a good way of seeing it as a bit of a rollercoaster rather than linear. We're sold the idea that upto around 30 you'll be at your best, then it'll be a gradual decline.

I hate all pictures of myself from my early-mid 20's! I was overweight and had acne. I look a lot better now.

Not at all, I was so hot in my 20s I literally used to turn heads. Now I feel invisible 😕

I do yes. Technically I probably was more attractive in my 20s but I was insecure and overweight and had no confidence.

In my early 50s I now know exactly who I am and what I want. I know how to dress to my best advantage, how to do my hair etc.

Most of all I have loads of confidence which is 80% of feeling attractive.

I read threads on here all the time saying “Don’t you miss the 80s when you were a teenager and felt young and beautiful?” Nah. Give me older woman confidence every day over having fewer wrinkles but being absolutely desperate to please everyone else and having no idea who you are.

I'm sure you still do look beautiful and turn heads!

I think it depends where you are. I'm in Greece ATM and yesterday I was walking down the road, I'd had 4 hours ' sleep and felt like a bag of shit, just had a hoodie on and some leggings. But a lot of men were looking at me, even some younger/good looking ones. Definitely doesn't happen that much in the UK!
yes, confidence is so important!
I also had no idea what suited me, I still don't have it all sorted out but I'm getting there!

Very jealous of you being in Greece!!!! Love Greece.

Just had a look back at my photos. My face definitely looked squishier when I was younger, I prefer my cheekbones now. I also have more confidence, and give less of a fuck about others opinions on how I look. So yes, I think I do prefer how I look now. Very nice realisation to come to, thanks OP.

I definitely feel this, I'm more confident and more likely to buy things I want to wear rather than whatever everyone else is wearing. I think it's a combination of more disposable income, a more diverse social group (all my friends used to be work friends, now I also have a load of school mum friends from all sorts of different social places), the confidence that comes with being a bit older. I'm not aiming for hot, that never got me anywhere, I'm aiming for glamour!

I felt pretty comfortable with my looks from 18 - 40. I’d always been slim with good skin and nice hair. Those basics do make it easier to just look well presented and attractive. Then I had a baby at 41 and I’m fatter than I’m used to (very top end of healthy BMI but definitely carrying lots of flab) and totally knackered. My eye bags are awful. That said, a small amount of Botox and a new fitness regime and I will be happy - I don’t want to look 20, I want to look like a stylish 40 something. The challenge is just how much maintenance that is going to take!!

I looked my best age 34

Not now I'm proper old 😂 Still, I no longer give a shit what anybody thinks of my appearance, and that's wonderfully relaxing!

I think I was pretty in my 20s. I had anorexia, spent hours on my makeup and wore my hair hanging over my face because I felt unattractive. When I look at the very few photos of young me, I just feel sad for her/me.

My most confident phase was mid-30s to mid-40s. I'd kicked the eating disorders and was exercising probably a bit too much, but was as fit as fuck with all the beauty benefits that brings. I felt fantastic, was in charge of my life, didn't care if I wore makeup or not, was single again and sexually assertive. I had a lot of fun!

No, I’m gross now that I’m older. I used to be lovely and slim and beautiful. Now I struggle to control my weight because of hormonal changes. I have stretch marks and saggy skin from pregnancy, two different size breasts from breastfeeding, my teeth aren’t as white (but I can’t have them whitened because whitening causes me severe pain), and my hair has greys so I have to dye it (not as nice as my natural colour). I have wrinkles, my breath stinks from having a stomach ulcer, and due to hormones I’m convinced my other bits stink too.

I hate myself basically, I’ve turned into a horrible smelly fat old woman and there’s nothing I can do about it. I remember being young and thinking that (much as I loved her) my mother was fat and smelly - I didn’t realise that childbirth and menopause do that to you.

I think your response is a very common one as women do become typically invisible to men over a certain age but that's not because they don't still look hot but more as a lot of men define hotness as being young (depressingly).

I go out with my 16 year old who will be in baggy jeans and an overseer cardigan not trying to draw any attention and she gets stared at by sleazy men who never even notice I'm there even if I'm all dressed up having made an effort.

I think that women need to be happy with themselves not worry about whether they're objectively attractive to men. I prefer how I look now probably more than any period in my life. I can afford a decent haircut and nicer clothes, skincare etc and I'm way more confident than I ever was. There's no point me defining it by whether men notice me because 90% of them wouldn't give me a second look!

I think it's the wrong sort of men and I'm glad to not have their attention anymore.
When I was 15/16 I got all sorts of attention from pervy men by virtue of being incredibly young and a schoolgirl.
If I've lost their 'attention' due to being a bit older then good riddance thankfully.

I think if somebody like Cindy Crawford walked down the street a lot of men would look at her, even though she's visibly older she's still striking and with a great figure.
I think the wrong sort of men will think anybody over the age of about 25 looks 'old' as they're attracted to girls they think they can manipulate probably.

I'm 34. I think objectively i was more attractive in my 20s, probably. Same as you though i carried more of my weight on my face and now i don't.

I feel much more attractive now though. I have much more confidence.

I finally managed to clear my acne thanks to a dermatologist but apart from that everything else on my face is worse. My eyes were sort of sunken with natural shadows need them even when I was young so losing fat in that area has done me no favours.😭

I’m focusing on my boobs and body still being pretty great in my 40’s 😂

Totally agree!

I didn’t even get attractive teen years. Being a late bloomer I had a flat chest and no curves until my mid 20’s. Teenage me was too skinny and awkward with really bad acne and braces for a number of years. Of course now I wish my boobs were smaller!

I feel more attractive in my 40s. I lost weight, learned what suited me clothes wise and can do my make up better. But maybe increased confidence. Learned to love me

30s is not very old though. I looked my best in my 30s. Still looked like I did in my 20s without the chubby face. Body looked great. Skin was amazing. Went downhill in my 40s. Perimenopause, aging skin and weight gain. Come back in 20 ears and see if you really think you look better older.