HELP! Suddenly I look really old.

[gramercy]

Caught sight of myself in a mirror this morning - and have to admit that I look like a very haggard Sandi Toksvig.

I've always looked young for my age, but now, in my mid-40s, I look ancient.

I am very pale with fair hair, and all of a sudden about a million lines and wrinkles have appeared. My face is also always going red which is really attractive (not!).

I see someone like Orla Brady from Mistresses who is 49 and I want to weep: I look nothing like that.

What can I do? Any make-up tips? I know I can't stop the march of time but would anything make me look less grim?

Well yes I agree you can tell, if you knwo what to look for, but then you can tell when people colour their hair, bleach their twwth - so long as it looks better it doesn't matter!

What do you do about under eye bags and dark circles?!

I've tried loads of eye-creams but nothing seems to make any difference.

Laura mercier secret camoflage,or touch eclat (daaaahling).

Polly I wear my glasses more these days, not cos my eyesight is going with age but cos they disguise the eye bags!

Okay will take a look at the Laura Mercier one, ta.

Was thinking only today that I might eventually need to wear my glasses all the time - hadn't thought about the disguise factor! At least that would be a plus.

I had a makeover at YSL in Debenhams last week. Normally I wear makeup about once a month, I can't usually be bothered with it. But the foundation, and famous Touche Eclat, have really converted me, and despite the pretty extortionate price, I bought them and have used them every day since. It's about the 1st product that has seemed to make me look better and therefore be worth making an effort to use.

If you are not used to wearing full make-up I can thoroughly recommend Bare Escentuals mineral foundation kits - they come in a very lightweight powder form and give incredible coverage and skin tone correction without looking heavy or mask-like. The kit comes with some really good brushes and a demo DVD. It's about £40 in Debenhams and will last you ages. Also can't beat YSL Touche Eclat.

My current hairstyle is like Trinny's on a very good day, but more Rick Wakeman on a day-to-day basis.

I think I will investigate one of those store make-overs once the school holidays are over. I will be well cheesed off, however, if I pay £££££ and all they do is cake me in orange. Make-up and pale skin are poor bedfellows.

Please can the 80s come back big time so I can wear lots of kohl and have a perm?

Touche Eclat is no good for covering up dark circles, it is a highlighter.

If you want to cover up really dark shadows the best thing is Touche Velouté by By Terry. It is designed by the same person who designed Touche Eclat, but it is a concealer, not a highlighter, and works far better on dark shadows.

I don't have bags but I have congenital purple shadows which are there if I am tired or not, and Touche Velouté is the only thing which covers them. DD has got them as well and she has started using it, and it works wonders. I cannopt recommend it highly enough (is about £24 quid, lasts about 6 months, or less if you have a sodding teenage daughter raiding your make up bag).

I'd happily take my first day in the morning face at 30 for my all day 40 face! That's not the way it's panned out here, I can tell you that for sure!

me too rufus!!!

I second getting Botox and fillers.

The trick is to not overdo it.

I always said I wouldn't do it, but 4 kids in 8 years put pay to that

Was the best spent money ever. Within a week I had no lines at all and didn't look tired.

I'm 36, in 10 years time I still want to look 36. This way I will

I'm fascinated by this "colours" thing. Is it really worth it?

I think they colours you wear are really important - I know if I wear the wrong ones I look like shite. But I think it's fairly easy to self-diagnose to be honest.

Let's do yours now, OP! tell us your complexion, eye colour, hair colour in great detail please.

Oooo, will you do mine too? Thanks to three darling children aged six, four and four months, I look and feel a good 10 years older than my real age of 36. I also have no idea what suits me anymore. Do I sound pathetic enough for help yet???

shall I post a pic? only briefly though.

be brutal

Er, ok, but form an orderly queue behind Grammercy. It's her thread you know, and she's got real problems. She looks like Rick Wakeman.

pics up but just for a little while, whilst FN tells me to wear a bag on my headassesses my colouring

Eyes are same colour blue as the top I'm wearing (unintentional matching)

Hair is natural and red.

Skin is pale, slightly pinky I think. Faded freckles.

Just mascara on in first pic, wearing makeup in second.

Can I have my colours done too?! Hair is greying so dyed medium to dark brown which has reddish tones in sunlight. Eyes are sort of gingery brown with green round the outside. Skin tone is sallow in winter, tan v easily in summer.

I will wait patiently. Like a good girl.

I've looked at sorky's pic though and I'm much more in need of help. She looks very presentable, I'd say!

You look very pretty and not old and haggard at all. Especially with 4 kids! I think you look younger than you are anyway.

Sorry OP!

well thank you scootergrrrl, but I'm pretty hopeless with clothes.

Grammercy! hurry up, your colours are being done!!

God that sounds like something you'd hear in Asda

Who does colours? My hair is same as sroky but have green eyes. Skin pale but not that whitey pale, more creamy with light freckles. My sister says I should wear yellow but I am not too sure...

Yellow!?!

With our hair colour!?!

Having said that.....I'm waiting for a stranger to tell me what I suit so I can't really comment can I?

I have never worn yellow...ever