Small things that make a person look younger (sadly looking at celebs wondering how the hell they do it)?

[celebrate30]

I'm in my late 30's & have been shamelessly looking at celebs in their early 40's like Louise Redknapp who still have a youthful vibe & energy... Little things I notice about other fab stylish women older that me is that usually
they have long swishy, bouncy layered hair or a nice stylish bob
no noticeably grey hair
in very good shape
well fitting clothes, knows what suits them
subtle make up
Would love some more tips & I need to stop envying Louise Redknapp. I feel I look every one of my 38 years at present & look older than alot of women who are 10 years older than me! So please list what you think makes one look youthful & stylish. Thanks

ibiscuit I know! Even at 36, I started a new job and everyone though I was late twenties. So thought I would always track about 6/7 years younger looks wise. Then my forties hit. I look every inch my age. So it feels like I aged 8 years overnight and that is really hard.

The age just creeps up over night, this thread has been great, lots of tips..
I'm starting by
-forcing myself to drink green tea
-take some b vitimans
-do a skin mask, scrub & hair mask weekly
-start walking
-think consciously about what really suits me not just what I like
-moisturise twice away & start wearing spf
-start using eye cream
A poster up the post said once you reach a certain age you need to accept you need to spend more on your appearance, very good point

One thing nobody else has mentioned in posture. That's often how I can tell if a slim woman with long hair who appears young from the back is nevertheless middle aged. The shoulders start to droop. I suppose we should all do yoga...

Pilates

Oily fish for skin

Sleep

Teeth - crest whitening strips from cali white do really work

Not really sold on idea of overly “casual/ funky” wear (highlights and a spiky cut not hugely flattering)

oh, and the “can I speak to a manager?” haircut

If that’s your style then go for it, but I think a neutral, natural, modern classic look is more flattering? Sort of not twin set and pearls but not hoodies either?

“Young” styles on older people not good IMO (yeah 45 year old blokes in tight Superdry t shirts strained over beer tums I’m looking at you )

Too much obvious processing (coloured hair or coloured nail varnish or overly threaded brows) not hugely flattering)

Re:wrinkles, I think paradoxically trying to conceal them draws more attention to them?

I’ve noticed women/men wearing glasses as a “trick” to conceal wrinkles which does work but depends if you want your date to fall down in horror when you take them off

Smiling can make anyone look better (may not work if you’re a judge or undertaker or copper)

Of course ultimately wear what makes you happy, but those are my observations

I can pass for 8-10 years younger than I am when I was on holiday with my 23 year old son practically everyone we met thought we were a couple 😂
I religiously cleanse my face morning and night and exfoliate
Have a professional facial once a month
Moisturise my face twice a day sometimes more
Have my teeth cleaned and polished twice a year
Never smoked and rarely drink
Not overweight but not underweight
Manicure / false nails every two week
Eyebrows and the most amazing fine Russian eyelashes every two / three weeks
Don't wear loads of make up
Don't follow fashion trends for clothes or make up unless it is something that I like

Oh and 8hrs sleep more if possible and drink lots of water
I rarely drink coffee or tea either

Re people saying you look younger than you are, most of the time it’s just a stock response to being told a woman’s age.

They’re just being polite.

"Re people saying you look younger than you are, most of the time it’s just a stock response to being told a woman’s age.

They’re just being polite."

No, you can tell the difference between politeness and real surprise at someone's age.

I’m 38 and often get asked for ID in the supermarket- but only when I’m
rocking a just got out of bed look, never when I’m actually styled in my work clothes!

Therefore my top tips for looking younger are scruffy hoodie, no make up and bobble hat

As previous it's genuine shock with me , one girl spat out her tea .. there are women my age who look old . It's not to say I look young for my age ,maybe they look really old ??
I do enjoy life and love to laugh so maybe it's simply my outlook 🤷‍♀️

Generally speaking....

I think that it is a bit sad that women try to look older when they are in their teens, then spend the years after their 20s trying to look younger.

Why is it that we rate our self worth on looking younger? Why is it that our years of knowledge and life skills showing on our faces and bodies are not celebrated? There is nothing wrong with being a 'crone' (menopause), once upon a time the crone was revered as a wise woman and something to aspire to.

The in the show biz world of having to stay young as a woman is unnatural and misogynistic. We see older men in films having much younger women as their romantic partner in the story script. It is an awful message to be sending out, that a woman's worth is based on how youthful she looks.

We are all humans, we all age, why is it that the journey that is life can not show itself on our faces?

I am all for good diet, keeping healthy, toned and wanting to look good. But this social pressure for women to look younger than they are I really find obnoxious.

Bugger nails, hands are way more important. Get the strongest urea handcream you can buy (Flexitol 25 per cent for cracked heels is bliss) and keep it by the bed. Massive difference and feels lovely.

I remember seeing hayley mills about 20 years ago in tesco in teddington. i was gobsmacked at how old she looked in the flesh. anyone seen joanna lumley in the flesh.

I'm 33 and don't look much different from my twenties just yet, but looking at how I can look after my skin as I start to go through another phase of my life. It's not about trying to look younger, but I want to look good for my age. It's a tricky balance between growing old gracefully and not just giving up the ghost.

I want to look like I take care of myself and enjoy looking good - that's just how I feel most confident. A bit like how the men get to do it - it's not that George Clooney looks 35 (he doesn't) but he looks good for his age, like he makes an effort and it pays off (with good genes, too, obviously). But with famous women, the focus is nearly always on how much younger they look, which is a shame.

Well to be fair, we accept wrinkles on men more easily but I think there’s still effort to stay young and fit looking. Tom Ford would be a good example of a man who has worked hard to look younger than his age pretty successfully.

And you do see people who genuinely look younger than their age. I have a colleague who I really thought was about 23 - I nearly fell off my chair when she revealed she’s 36. It was a combination of looking really young, quite a high voice and being in quite a junior/funky type role.

I do wonder if you put her in a suit, whether I’d have thought the same.

I'm 40 in three weeks and am noticing my appearance changing fast. I never really did sunglasses because I am very petite and look ridiculous. Is it too late to start to try and find some?

What about sunscreen for UVA and UVB? Will that help if I start to wear it now? I've always relied on the moisturiser spf but what do others use for UVB and how often do you apply?

Not being at work is transformative.

I'm 63 and a full-time teacher, on my long holidays, and generally perceived as younger the I am. I have a mirror above the small table I do my MN-ing on (think Jane Austen-type small table). I glanced up the other day and was astounded to see how much younger I looked. When not at work, even the jowls go. I wear sunnies all the time and SPF 50 and a hat, but it's not that, as I know I look like shite at the end of a hard semester's work, even with the above.

This is not a helpful observation in some respects, but I intend to go part-time at the end of 2018, though not entirely for my jowls' sake. :o

@ProjectGainsborough .. I do think there is an element of being in context . I don't work but over xmas got a temp job and a lot of staff are young . They thought I was a lot younger because I guess I should have a proper job at my age. Of course I've been bringing up the kids and dh has a fab job but hey don't know all that .

Hmm. I agree that on the face it's skin and facial muscle tone that makes a big impact.

At work, I see dates of birth on my database when I deal with people.
Some people have worn worse than others because their skin is becoming leathery and their face is sagging more. Possibly due to things like smoking, sun damage, lack of sleep, dehydration, poor diet, all of them combined?
I have tried loads of the recommendations from s&b, use the One retinol and vitamin c serum (homemade) at night and matrixyl type cream (homemade) and nivea during the day. Tried others, such as the aspirin mask (good) needling (ow) and homemade acid peel (ow, if left too long), but like the creams best.
Agree with factor 50, particularly when the sun appears.
My skin looks pretty good for 50.
Not sure if anyone else mentioned, but recommend facial yoga/exercises to combat the droopy face. I discovered exercises discovered at yoga class. They definitely lift the eyebrows and jowls amazingly. (surprised face from doing too many)

Yeah sporty but I do think you have to look young in the first place! When I went on a styling day, the woman told me I had a ‘mature’ aura (early 30s at the time)

What kind of facial exercises marta? Intruiged!

I use anthelios sunscreen icelandic. I know lots of MNers swear by Biore Watery essence but although the texture is really good, when I had one of those UV test things at a salon it wasn’t providing any coverage at all

I lie if people ask how old they look. I have never been asked by someone who wouldn't mind the answer though. So I will look, judge the youngest I could imagine the asker to be. I then take ten years off that and answer. If the result would be

Love this thread!

Good comment I once read on mnet was "I don't want to look young for my age, I want to look good for my age" that'sxwhat we should focus on. Take age out of the equation: it's about looking well,not young

Anyone any tips on how to improve facial muscle tone?

Stay slim and fit. Stand up straight; posture and carriage become ever more important with age. My Pilates teacher, who will be 70 this year, looks 15 years younger than most 70-year olds. Keep moving, stay youthful.