Looking older than my age

[stargir]

Age 53 with nasolabial folds and dryish skin. I have never really worn much make up and have been using a tiny amount of Bourgois gel foundation to even out my skin tone along with Olay retinol 24 night cream and Olay regenerist day cream. I have tried all sorts of moisturisers and foundations but I am feeling really low with how old I look and wondered if anyone could recommend some sort of tinted moisturiser or other product that could give me a bit of glow, I was on the point of ordering some trinny London BFF de-stress cream but that has mixed reviews and I can’t afford to waste money. I hate thick make up and would never consider fillers or Botox as I have a fear of needles and don’t have tons of money to spend on beauty. I do wonder if years of running have caused the sagging of my skin so know I mainly do cycling and gym classes. Any suggestions?

You can tell nothing about someone’s face when they are holding the camera at an angle and gurning. It’s the face at rest and unfiltered that will tell you how it’s holding up and even if the face is doing well the neck is usually showing the age and even if the neck isn’t the hands will be, along with the knees. My advice is just enjoy life and dont scrutinise the mirror.

I want to try Tret and am going to Spain next month. What am I looking for in terms of strength, brand etc. please?

I wouldn’t waste money on facials etc. Better to diy at home. I’m of a similar vintage and at a similar point I paid for a course of CACI facials - waste of money - I looked worse as it seemed to make my under eyes look even more hollow!

What I have had good results with is a LED light mask. I worry about the ones that go over your eyes, so I bought a ‘Lightstim’’ a few years back and I find it plumps up my skin at least for the day on which it’s used.

As for products, I like the REN Ready Steady Glow a couple of times a week to exfoliate. Can buy a mini size in J Lewis or Marks or Boots to see if it suits you.

I also wear Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Intense ADVANCED BB Facial Sun Protection SPF50 in fair every day all year round adding foundation I mix up
myself on top in my Tzone. Serves as sun protection and nice glow. I mix a max factor foundation with a little moisturiser to get consistency that suits. Better than any expensive foundation.

Nails - can’t be bothered with time and expense ( and damage to
nails) of repeated appointments for gel. I use a Rimmel pinky French manicure nude type coat on my nails which dries in 5 mins. Easy to top up or replace and no chips visible.

Good luck. A smile is a natural facelift and a lipstick in a shade you love will give you a lift.

I saw a video about the Holmesburg Prison testing and it put me right off using tretinoin for vanity. I used isotretioin when I had a skin condition but if you saw the history of tret it would put you right off.

You can work out how taught their cheek muscles can pull their skin

Microneedling is excellent, I do it at home, it really builds collagen better than Tretinonin, I use an electronics microneedling pen not the rollers as it goes deeper, would highly recommend, the one I use is the Dr Pen A6 and I use it around 3 times per year, you need numbing gel though

Totally agree 💯

Easier said than done!

Are you planning to change your hair style?

How long did it take before you saw the results of microneedling? I've been going for in clinic microneedling once a month for the past 3 months and don't really notice much difference at all.

I think around 6-9 months, I have been doing if for about 3 years, 3 times a year to counteract the gradual loss of collagen, I go quite deep at home, I’m 49 and have hardly any wrinkles, be patient with it, you will notice a difference after a while

Am I missing something here? Why has she posted these unflattering photos, is she being ironic? Her skin tone is quite grey and her features are somewhat 'manly' shall we say. And, if she genuinely loves herself why on Earth doesn't she take a face frontal photo in natural light? Why the contrived angles and weird pouty thing? So many questions!

I've spent the day with my 81 year old Auntie who was a professional model back in the early 60s. Now she is truly beautiful and has no need for forced camera angles or pouting. She remains beautiful from every angle and in any light, because that's what real beauty is.

Anyway OP I would highly recommend getting your teeth professionally whitened by your dentist (please don't buy stuff off the Internet). It really brightens up your face and makes you smile more, so it's a win win.

Also, having your lashes tinted opens up your eyes. I don't rate the LVL Lash Lift and sadly they don't seem to offer a proper, old fashioned lash perm (which used to give a nice curl). But a decent pair of eyelash curlers work wonders.

This sounds interesting

I don't do socials

@Sonant you've got a FB account!

Face or arse. You've chosen arse. I personally would not touch tret with a barge pole. If your skin is dry and sagging, use some nice oil (avocado from the supermarket is rather nice) and massage it in, and exercise your lower face with smile exercises. Loads on YouTube.

Albert Kligman - Wikipedia

Is it just me, or can anyone else see a resemblance to David Walliams ?

This thread is so horrible. What about someone posting a photo has made you want to put the poster down? So what if you think she's fishing/isn't attractive/ does it all the time - you don't have to actively attack her looks and her face. It's like watching bullies all dive in to get a quick fix.

Absolutely 💯 agree. Really unpleasant to read.

Absolutely it’s like playground bullying except by a bunch of anonymous middle aged women. Why shouldn’t she be happy with her looks and want to share that? Does it diminish anyone else?

Exactly @TheGander @PeachyKeane it's not hard to scroll past rather than add a bitchy comment

Yeah the history is incredibly dark

Read up about it. I'd never use it for vanity.

A lot of medication, surgical techniques etc provably have quite dark histories though. Look at some of the medications and treatments of the past. Barbaric.

I don't use it anyway @porridgebath because to me wrinkles are perfectly natural and not a disease to be eradicated