What do I need to get a nicer face?

[MouthHelp]

Recently turned 38 but i feel like i’ve aged a decade in the past three years. Started getting very down about my looks. I’ve always been plain but feel as though other things are happening now such as sparse eyebrows, thinning hair at the temples, having to die my roots every two weeks (not ready to go grey!).

I’m not stressing too much about hair just now as i’m still trying to grow it beyond shoulder length since getting lots of breakage three years ago trying to lighten it with a hairdresser.

My main focus for now is my mouth. I have exceptionally small features and my mouth embarrasses me. Very thin lips and the top one disappears when I smile. It turns up into the gum. I’ve been reading that a lip flip with botox might be better suited for this problem rather than fillers? does anyone have any experience of the flip procedure?

Whats upsetting me most is the weird flaps i’ve acquired at the sides of my mouth. The left one of far more prominent than the right. I feel as though my face is slack around the lower cheek area by the mouth and was wondering if fillers would get rid of these or at least make the lines less obvious?

Im a total beauty novice. I wear very basic makeup. Pretty much allergic to everything (my face blew up for about two weeks last year when i tried a lash lift and tint at a salon with my niece for her birthday!) so this is a big step for me.

I want to start researching what will improve the lips and lines issue. Lots of places near me with doctors which say they offer a free consultation but I doubt they’ll be impartial.

Thabks for any tips/advice. Please ignore the shiny skin - just put on some moisturiser!

You're bonkers!

Like everyone else, I was startled when I got to your pictures. Your self-description led me to think you must look like me, and poor you at 38. I'm 69! In fact, you look bloody lovely and your face hasn't got any issues. At least, not on the lower half ... and I am very sure you'd have mentioned any upper-half concerns!

Your niece should be shot for telling you not to smile in photos. Wtf? Nothing wrong with your lips or your smile. Instead of scrutinising the mirror for possible flaws, examine it as if it were a friend's reflection. Identify what's good, pretty, charming and well-balanced. Finish with an appreciative smile (yes, your smile!)

This is surprisingly tricky - I don't even know how we've all been trained to bully ourselves like this, but it's been damn effective 😡 I've been doing the friendly reflection thing for years now but, in the first few months, I stuck a tape across the top of my bathroom mirror that said "You look nice".

Second the face gym recommendations - it's a bit late for me now, and I keep wishing I'd started it in my thirties when you're supposed to! Well-groomed French women do it every day, along with several other beauty maintenance routines we should probably all do (if we could be bothered).

Bless you, as others have said you have a gorgeous smile and you absolutely have lips!!
The first comment I had on my gummy smile was when I was 17 by an old man on the bus... my lips aren't even small, I just have a large smile! My point is I understand how others words can stay with us and manifest. I think what you need to work on is regaining your self esteem and confidence. I promise you, changing your face will not bring these things about, you will always find something else to have an issue with and want to "fix".

You have pretty lips with a prominent cupids bow!

People have told you (in so many words) you have unattractive lips/gums/smile? DM me their addresses, I’m in a slapping mood today. One slap for being rude, second slap for telling lies and third just because then I’ll get the bus home.

Please, don't get fillers. Many people who got them are having them now dissolved, because of the problems they cause.

I've had to get 0.75ml filler injected to have "fuller" lips and those are still smaller than yours! Your lips look lovely, your smile looks lovely. If you're eager to do "something", look into upgrading your daily skincare routine and invest into daily SPF.

😂 love this comment

Profilo is great for an overall fresh look, it also sorts out the side of the mouth. Not noticeable at all

Beautiful smile and great teeth. Honestly you don’t need to do a thing.

Gosh, your niece was very rude. I know it's very easy sometimes when someone makes a comment like that to begin to dwell on it and once you've noticed a perceived "flaw" it's all you can see. But honestly and without wishing to sound patronising, it's all in your mind. Probably thanks to a constant bombardment of images throughout your whole life of unrealistic beauty standards. I'm adding to the chorus of voices here to tell you that I'd be thrilled to have your face!

You have beautiful teeth and a great smile. Your features seem very refined. Your skin looks healthy, clear and nourished. Your lips are very normal and not too thin - they are part of what makes your smile so lovely. You have a couple of creases - so what?? That's what skin does. You look naturally beautiful and I really do think that if you started getting injectables and tweakments you risk losing that natural beauty. And then you're on that awful path of chasing something unobtainable and paying more and more money for results that are less and less convincing.

Your issue is not how you look it's the company you keep. What absolute arses, i am fuming on your behalf.

She doesn't need her mouth sorting out, but how can it not be noticeable if it "sorts it out" as that suggests a change. The only mouths that need sorting out are the niece and friends, a zip i would suggest?

You have a lovely mouth/ smile. Really.

I'm not into the inflated lip look at all and yours look good OP. The artificial sex doll look I don't think is one to aspire to.

Your lips are a lovely shape and you have perfect teeth. Why wouldn’t you want people to see them?

I understand the pressure to get fillers but they’re unnecessary and by getting them, you’d be increasing the pressure on girls and women to conform and get them too.

I always think, whatever insecurities I have, I cannot reinforce them onto my daughter. I do worry about the daughters of women with lip fillers etc. What message does that send to their daughters about their features they’ve inherited?

I was going to suggest Profilo or Seventy Hyal but then forgot to come back to the thread! Agree it can give a rejuvenated glow.

You have a lovely mouth and smile. Honestly. I read your post and then saw the pictures and was genuinely confused because the pictures didn't match your description at all.
I agree with others who've said your only problem is the company you keep! I can't believe you've had so many weird, rude comments about your appearance from family/friends/colleagues.
Please don't mess with your face because of these rude people. You look lovely as you are.

You look fab. Your lips are a good shape! Don’t do a lip flip. It can look really weird and even give a faint shadowy moustache effect.

Try Benefit Gimme Brow for slightly fading eyebrows. My eyebrows are thinning/fading but I get them very subtly threaded, which makes them a little more defined.

Inkey List tripeptide plumping lip balm is a great product. For some reason, the tinted one doesn’t seem as good as the plain one.

i think post 35, most women look better with a little blusher. Pixi bronzer and blusher sticks are really good and so easy to use.

I honestly think you should try a few products like these and forget about anything invasive. Work out the cost and spend it on some nice skincare, makeup and hair care.

Your niece is growing up in the era where cosmetic surgery as the norm, where people like Kylie Jenner getting cosmetic work done at 16. 16!!

Her baseline for what a normal attractive female looks like is way off.

I wouldn't listen to the opinion of anyone who even remotely thinks it's appropriate to comment on your looks because their sense of what's normal is way off base, however "polite" they were.

Agree with all PP. The way you described your lips in your post was not what the picture shows! It's sad the way us women tend to look at ourselves through a different lens to what other people see. And I get it, I am constantly looking at (what I think) are the negatives about my face. I'm 43 and feel my neck looks more wrinkly, my crows feet are really visible, to the point I don't want to smile too much! I too thought about lifts and doing other bits, but then I thought sod it. I will keep using good creams and serums etc and do my best to keep my skin looking as best as it can at my age, but that's it. I don't want to rewind time anymore, and I don't want start messing with procedures. Your niece is from a generation where the instant glam look is lip fillers and false eyelashes. It's awful imo and men don't even like it.

Just adding to the chorus of ‘your lips look great.’ Because they really really do!
Mine are way thinner. So I do understand thin lips, but yours are fab as they are (especially with your lovely teeth).

Please stop being so critical of yourself. You have a beautifully shaped mouth - cupid's bow upper lip and a dimple when you smile.

Well, I haven't a clue as to what you're talking about. In these pics, you look great. Btw, you have a beautiful smile.

Please could you shared the targeted treatments, which serums and any names for the type of radio-frequency facials please? Am new to all this and would love some pointers xx
Thanks 😊

Your family and friends are so rude to comment on your appearance like that, especially when there's absolutely nothing wrong with the shape or size of your lips. I'm assuming the comments were made by people who have had fillers/Botox themselves and have lost sight of what normal looks like. Your lips aren't thin at all! I have a friend who really does have thin lips and a top lip that almost does disappear when she smiles, so what, she would look ridiculous with fillers.
We all age, there's nothing to prevent that, either you waste your time worrying about something beyond your control or you accept it and relegate it to the back of your mind. Use good moisturiser , serum and eye cream that helps to keep your skin looking good. I'm 60 so a lot older than you, I've never worried about it because it's so pointless, I'm still me whatever the exterior looks like.