I’m mid 40’s and regularly get told I don’t seem it, people tend to guess mid 30’s. I’m attractive enough but not beautiful, my nose is profoundly squint.
I think it’s attitude that makes you look younger, and the feeling lost and unsure and trying to blend into the background that ages you. I look back at the photos of me when my kids were young, and I look older then than I do now, when I was unsure of myself and wearing safe and easy clothes that everyone wore, to fit in at the office, and to avoid drawing notice to the baby weight. I currently have a health problem which means I am not fit, nor slim, nor well rested. I have very long, Brightly coloured curly hair, I don’t do well groomed, or chic, or classic. I wear lots of black, a bit goth, short skirts, a big fake fur coat in winter that looks fairly tatty. Black eyeliner. I never wear heels, always doc martens. Never get nails done, just chuck on black nail varnish. I think just wear what you want, but be bold with it, dressing safely looks old. I don’t follow any of the rules, I just wear what I like and don’t worry about what other people think. I have learned what suits me and the groomed look ain’t it. There are some things I like on other people, like biker jackets, but they don’t look good on me, so I don’t bother. I don’t try to look young, or old, I just wear what I find appealing, and as I have got older I have gotten braver with it.
I also don’t mess with my face, no Botox, no fillers, I hide the forehead wrinkles behind a fringe but that’s it. I’m just going to let my face do its thing, I have earned every line and crease, and they are part of me. I want know what I will look like as I age, and I want to look like me!
Looking at the photos you posted, my suggestions would be: your hair is fine but needs to be in better condition, curly hair takes time to work out what product works for you, so keep experimenting til you find the right thing. I find Curlsmith products excellent, but buy a sample size of anything new, until you are sure it works for you. Find a hairdresser who specialises in curly hair, most hairdressers, even good, expensive ones, don’t have the first clue how to cut or style curly hair, so they will always get the shape badly wrong.
Ditch the Breton tops, they are dull and the kind of thing my 70 year old mother wears. Go bold, and accept that sometimes you will get it a bit wrong, start to have fun with clothes again.