Is not drinking the holy grail of looking good in your 30s?!

[Iamsunshineinabag]

I haven't had an alcoholic drink for a couple of weeks and the other day I was looking in the mirror thinking oh I look rather more radiant and 'alive' than usual (mum of a 3 year old, work FT yada yada). Wondered if it was my skincare or something.

Well I've had a couple of Christmas parties this weekend and there's been a lot of wine consumed. Looked in the mirror this morning and thought oh christ what a difference!! My skin looks worse, I look tired even though I've not been out late.

Could it really be that alcoholic has so much of an impact on how you look?!

Alcohol is inflammatory and a diuretic so yes, definitely.

But there’s lots of other factors too.

I'm in my 50's and the next morning after I've had a drink or 2 I get dark circles under my eyes after quite a bit of booze my face looks puffy

I don't really drink these days though so I really notice the difference

My skin is very clear and bright and I don't have any lines yet which is all down to no longer smoking, hardly ever drinking, good skincare routine and healthy eating.

So yes it makes a difference but no way could I have stopped drinking in my 30's but I didn't really notice an effect. My DC were very young then and I was working FT so I probably wasn't drinking during the week much at all

I am 50 and notice I look weirdly bloated if I have had wine. Doesn't happen with spirits, just wine. It also very quickly gives me a very noticeable bloat belly and a red cheeks and nose.
There's a sort of romance that surrounds the drinking of wine that subtly hides the reality of it's affects on the body.

I didn't drink at all during my 30's as went off the stuff, but do enjoy an occasional Bushmills with ice now. Haven't noticed any difference since meno either.